Microsoft Office Web vs Desktop Apps: What is the Difference?
Microsoft Office is one of the mostpopular office suitesout there. The Redmond giant has significantly improved the product and launched Office apps across different platforms. Apart from the desktop apps, Microsoft Office is now available on Android, iOS, iPadOS,Chrome OS, and most importantly, on the web. The web version of Microsoft Office is particularly promising because it’s free to use and offers almost all the major features. That said, there are minor differences in terms of features set which are a deal-breaker for pro users. So in this article, we bring you a full comparison between Microsoft Office Web vs Desktop apps. On that note, let’s go through the comparison.
Microsoft Office Web vs Desktop Apps: The Basics
First and foremost, we are going to discuss the basic differences between the web version of Microsoft Office and the desktop apps. As it’s self-explanatory, theWeb version is online onlymeaning you can access Microsoft Office on the web only when you are connected to the internet. It does not support offline editing or viewing.
Next, you can’t directly select and edit an Office document that isavailable on your local disk. Instead, you will have to first upload the document on OneDrive, and then only you can edit an Office file on the web. It sure becomes a hassle when you are dealing with large Office documents — be it Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.
Apart from that, the web version is primarily free to use, and you can get almost all the things done through a browser. You cansave a document in PDF format on the webwithout installing any add-in which is great. Also, you can save files on your local disk and not just on OneDrive. What I like more about the web version of MS Office is that it automatically saves all your changes so you will not have to worry about losing your progress.
Coming to the standalone desktop apps of Microsoft Office, well, unlike the web version that has a free tier, it does not have one. You need topurchase a one-time license(costs $249.99) for your PC or Mac and then you can install the desktop versions of Microsoft Office. Currently, you will get the whole suite ofOffice 2019and you can use it while being offline as well.
The desktop apps bring a full set of features (which we have discussed below in detail), that lacks on the web version of Microsoft Office. Having said that, keep in mind, the one-time license doesn’t bring additional perks like OneDrive storage and newly-added features likeAudio Transcribe. Also, note that youcan’t transfer an Office licensebetween your PC and Mac. You will have to buy separate licenses for using the desktop version of Microsoft Office on different platforms.
In case, you don’t want to buy a one-time license then you can get a monthly subscription plan called Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365). The paid planstarts at $6.99 per monthand it offers you the offline desktop version of Microsoft Office as well. Along with that, you get many perks on the web version of MS Office too.
For instance, you get offline access to Office Android apps on Chromebooks,Microsoft Editor for grammar checking on the web, AI-powered tools like Audio Transcribe on the web, 1TB of OneDrive storage, advanced formatting options on the web, and more. Considering all the points, opting for the monthly plan seems a much better value.
Microsoft Office Web vs Desktop Apps: Missing Features
Now that we have got the basics, let’s now move to the missing features. Here, we will primarily talk about Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. We will list out all thefeatures that are missing on the webversion of Microsoft Office.
Having said that, bear in mind, just because a tool is not available on the web version does not mean that it can’t render an Office document made with those tools. Basically, you will be able to view those content on the web, but can’t edit them.
1. Microsoft Word
2. Microsoft Excel
3. Microsoft PowerPoint
For a full list of differences between the web version of Microsoft Office in comparison to desktop apps, head over toMicrosoft’s Web Service Description.
Choose Microsoft Office Web or Desktop Apps
So these are the current differences between the web version of MS Office and standalone desktop apps. I would say, for even basic to intermediate users, the free web version is packed with features and you won’t really need to get the desktop apps. However, if you are a professional user who relies on many advanced formatting tools and various Office add-ins then pick the desktop app. Anyway, that is all from us. If you found the article informative then comment down below and let us know.
Arjun Sha
Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.
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