Office 2007 versions
There are five different packages of Microsoft Office 2007, and they are available with at least three different licences. Which one should you choose?!
Use this table below to find the version which is most suitable for you. You can only buy the "Home & Student" licence if you'll be using Office 2007 at home or for school/college work: you can't use it commercially.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Home and Student |
Basic | Standard | Small Business | Professional | |
 Outlook |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes (incl. Contact Manager) | |
 Word |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 Excel |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 Powerpoint |
Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 Publisher |
No | No | No | Yes | No |
 Access |
No | No | No | No | Yes |
 OneNote |
Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Retail | £48 | n/a | £228 | £257 | £285 |
| Upgrade | n/a | n/a | £141 | £158 | £189 |
| OEM | £47 | £116 | n/a | £149 | £187 |
| Key to products, and individual product prices: |
|
| Outlook |
£64 |
| Word |
£149 |
| Excel |
£130 |
| Powerpoint |
£99 |
| Publisher |
£127 |
| Access |
£161 |
| OneNote |
£54 |
Home and Student licence
The Home and Student allows you to install the software on up to three PCs (provided you buy the Retail licence) but it does not include Microsoft Outlook and is for non-commercial use only.
OEM licences
OEM licences "live and die" with your new PC. You can only buy OEM licences when you buy a new PC, and you must replace them when you replace your PC. They are usually the cheapest way of buying Microsoft Office, especially if you are buying a new PC at the same time.
Buying an Upgrade if you have an old version of Microsoft Office
You can buy the Upgrade version of Microsoft Office if you already have an older version of Microsoft Office. You cannot upgrade from Office 95 or Office 97 - they are too old, but you can upgrade if you have Office 2000, Office XP or Office 2003.
You can also buy the Upgrade version of Microsoft Office if you have Microsoft Works version 6 or newer, or if you have Microsoft Works Suite 2000 or newer. If you don't already have an eligible program that you can 'upgrade' from, you may consider buying Microsoft Works - at the time of writing it is available for under £20 from Amazon. Check that you order the retail version of Works, not the OEM version.
The "Ultimate Steal"
If you are studying at a UK college or university, you should consider the "Ultimate Steal" licence for Microsoft Office. If you qualify, you can buy Office 2007 Ultimate (that is, everything from Microsoft Office Professional plus Publisher, Groove and Infopath) for about £40. Better still, once you graduate, you can keep the licence forever. For more information, see the Microsoft website.
Office Accounting
Some literature indicates that particular versions of Office 2007 include Microsoft Office Accounting Express... you can ignore that, because it is freely available from the Microsoft website regardless of which version of Office 2007 you buy.
Go to the Microsoft Office Accounting website to download your free Express copy of Office Accounting, and to read more about the Professional version.
Prices in the grid were correct on 22nd September 2009. They all exclude VAT and are sourced from ebuyer.com - click the price to go to the Ebuyer website to order.
