Microsoft Office 2024 Release Date: Everything You Need to Know

The Office 2024 release date was October 1, 2024, for Office Home 2024 and Office Home & Business 2024 on Windows and Mac. People still ask, as if the new Office hadn’t come out yet. It’s been out for two years. Still the newest one-time suite, too.

That day Microsoft put the Home and the Home & Business editions on sale for Windows and Mac.

Volume license customers got Office LTSC 2024 a couple of weeks earlier, in mid-September 2024.

So the useful question has changed. Which edition launched, and what did it bring.

Office 2024 release date

October 1, 2024. On that day Microsoft made the two consumer editions available worldwide for Windows and macOS.

The same day it opened the LTSC line to all customers. Project 2024 arrived then too, along with the new Visio.

Organizations with volume licensing agreements could already download Office LTSC 2024 from September 16, 2024.

Unlike the rumors before launch, there was no slow country-by-country rollout of the consumer suite.

The products were listed in the Microsoft Store and through retailers on the same day.

And the download came from the same Microsoft account page used for earlier versions.

Compared with earlier versions

Office has followed a roughly three-year rhythm since 2016. Each release comes with a perpetual license.

Our timeline of all Microsoft Office versions covers each release in more detail.

Which editions came out on the Office 2024 release date

Microsoft released two consumer editions and two volume license editions.

The two LTSC editions are for organizations. Home & Business adds Outlook and commercial use rights to the Home edition.

Two apps are missing compared with older suites.

• Publisher isn’t part of the 2024 suite.
• Teams isn’t preinstalled either. It comes as a separate free download.

If you depend on Publisher files, we’d convert them to Word or PDF while you still have a working copy.

For a side-by-side look at the two consumer editions, see Office 2024 Home vs Home & Business.

What’s new since the Office 2024 release

Microsoft’s own What’s new in Office 2024 list breaks the changes down by app.

AI Copilot features stay in Microsoft 365.

The 2024 suite doesn’t get feature updates. What shipped in October 2024 is what you keep, plus monthly security and quality fixes. Co-authoring through OneDrive still works for files stored in the cloud.

Coming from the 2021 suite, the jump is usually smaller than from the older ones.

The 2021 release already had dynamic arrays, XLOOKUP and LET. The new text and array functions, IMAGE and cameo are the main gains.

Our Office 2021 vs 2024 comparison lists the exact differences.

What you need to run it

The suite runs on Windows 11 and on the three most recent versions of macOS.

New installs belong on Windows 11. Office often still starts on Windows 10.

Microsoft lists the macOS requirements on its site. On a Mac, we’d keep the suite updated through Microsoft AutoUpdate.

Full details, including 32-bit versus 64-bit advice, are in our Office 2024 system requirements guide.

One-time purchase or Microsoft 365

For most people who just need the core apps, we’d call the 2024 suite the economical choice. You pay once and use it with no renewal.

Microsoft 365 works as a subscription that adds cloud storage, Copilot and constant feature updates. You pay for it every year you use it.

Here’s how we typically explain it. If you write documents, keep spreadsheets and send email, the apps you get on day one will serve you for years.

Paying a subscription for features you’ll never open makes little sense.

Teams who live in shared cloud files and want AI features generally fit Microsoft 365 better.

Our Microsoft 365 vs Office 2024 guide goes through the trade-offs.

Need a key? Our Microsoft Office Home and Business 2024 comes as a genuine one-time license for PC or Mac. Delivery is instant to email.

How to upgrade in 2026

If you still use an older perpetual suite, we’d upgrade.

The new suite opens the same files and keeps the familiar ribbon.

In practice, people rarely need training after the switch. The first questions are usually about the new theme.

The interface looks a little cleaner, and the menus stay where they were. Old files open without conversion.

The usual order:

1. Note which version and edition you have now, under File, Account in any app.
2. Uninstall the old suite first. Microsoft recommends removing older Office versions before installing 2024.
3. Redeem your Office 2024 key at setup.office.com or in your Microsoft account. Then download and install.
4. Open Word and sign in if asked. Confirm activation under File, Account.

Before uninstalling an old Outlook, check where your mail is stored. POP accounts typically keep everything in a local .pst file. We’d copy it to a safe place first and reopen it in Outlook 2024.

Common mistakes about the Office 2024 release

• Waiting for a launch that already happened.
• Expecting Publisher in the box. It isn’t part of the suite.
• Looking for Teams after setup. It comes as a separate free download.
• Expecting new features later. The feature set is fixed.
• Installing over an old suite. Remove the old one first.
• Deleting an old Outlook before copying the local mail file.

Related guides

• MS Office Version List

Terms used on this page

Office 2024 version numbers since the release date

Which build do you have? File, Account, then About. The version line there tells you which of the two Office 2024 families is on the PC.

So a retail copy showing 26xx isn’t a newer Office. Same 2024 suite, same apps, just patched. The retail number moving doesn’t bring new features either.

An LTSC copy that still reads 2408 is normal. Check the build instead. Microsoft lists every one on its update history for Office LTSC 2024 and Office 2024.

Behind? Updates run through Office’s own updater on Windows. File, Account, Update Options, Update Now. On a Mac it’s Microsoft AutoUpdate.

Office 2024 for Mac release date

Same day as Windows: October 1, 2024. Home and Home & Business both came out for macOS then.

• Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2024 is the volume edition for organizations.
• Professional Plus is Windows only. Access has no Mac version anyway.
• New installs need macOS 14 Sonoma or later, as listed above.

More on the Mac side, from Outlook to Microsoft AutoUpdate, is in our look at Office 2024 for Mac.

Office 2024 editions and systems this page covers

The dates, editions and upgrade steps above apply to the setups below.