Office 365 helps you get things done from virtually anywhere, on all your devices. Fully installed Office applications Get the all-new 2016 versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and more, downloaded directly to your favourite devices. Productivity on the go just got easier. The Microsoft Office Mobile apps have the familiar look and feel of Office with an intuitive touch experience designed for your iPhone®, iPad®, and iPad Pro® 1.

Unless you spent the past week offline, there’s really no way you could have missed the that Microsoft released iPad versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. There’s also no way you could have missed the uproar over the pricing for the three apps. But just in case you did miss the pricing uproar, here’s a bit of background on the issue. The apps are free to download and can be used to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files (though installing a 400MB app to view a file seems like overkill). However, you can’t use the apps to edit existing files or to create new files without buying a subscription to, Microsoft’s online Office-everywhere service. Visio type program for mac.

And that subscription will cost you (assuming “you” are a typical home user, and not a business or college student) $100 per year. Suddenly those free apps don’t look so free any more. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Office for iPad launch event. Should you pay the $100 a year for create/edit access in the iPad Office apps? The answer to that question really depends on how you use the Office apps on your computer(s) and/or tablets, and how many computers are in your household.

Note that I’m not addressing whether software subscriptions are a good or bad thing in general—that’s another subject entirely. I’m also not addressing whether $100 is too much, too little, or just right, because the answer to that will vary according to each person’s economic situation. I’m merely trying to address which types of users should consider paying the annual subscription fee, whatever it might be. So should you sign up for Office 365? First, let’s cover two easy “yes” and “no” cases.

I need access to the full Office suite on an iOS device Somewhat obviously, if you need access to the full Office suite on your iOS device, then you’ll be ponying up the $100 per year charge, as that’s the only way to get full access to Office apps on your iOS device. (Note that Amazon is currently selling a.

If you’re in this category, buying now will save nearly 33 percent on your first year’s cost.) Word for iPad Yes, Apple offers alternatives via its suite of iWork for iOS apps (free with new iOS devices, $10 otherwise). But for those who need the highest level of Excel, PowerPoint, and/or Word feature compatibility, the iWorks apps are close, but not close enough, to fill the need. Microsoft wants users on Office 365, and they’re using Office for iPad as the carrot to get them there. You can grumble about the strategy, you can complain about the cost.but if you absolutely need Office on iPad, you will be signing up for Office 365 at $100 per year. I need access to an “Office-like” suite on iOS If you don’t need 100 percent Office compatibility and only rarely need to create/edit Office-like documents on your iOS device, then there are any number of better options than Microsoft’s subscription plan. The aforementioned iWork for iOS apps may be all you need, given they can output Office-compatible file formats when required. Apple's Keynote for iOS If you don’t need the full suite, there are also individual apps out there for presentations, text editing, and spreadsheets, any one of which may meet your needs.

(If only the App Store had a “try before you buy” plan, you could test them to see which worked the best. But they don’t, which is why I recommend buying apps that also offer traditional free trials via their developer's websites.) So much for the clear-cut buckets; this next one is the most complicated, even though it seems simple at first. I use Office at home, but never on iOS devices Given you have no interest in Office on your iOS devices, you may think there’s no reason to sign up for Office 365. And that may be true—but it may also be false. It really depends on how many computers you have in your household, and how often you refresh your Office installation. I use Office at home on just one Mac If you’re just one person, working on one Mac, then things are pretty simple: there’s no need for Office 365, even if you upgrade Office each time there’s a major release. Is $140, or $220 if you need Outlook.