Office 2021 End of Support on October 13, 2026: What to Do Now
In a few weeks, support for Office 2021 will end. What that means in concrete terms, who really needs to act, and what the upgrade to Office 2024 will cost – calculated in detail.
On this page
Short answer: Support for Microsoft Office 2021 ends on October 13, 2026. The software will continue to run unchanged after that, but will no longer receive security updates. Anyone using Office professionally on a computer with internet access should plan to switch to Office 2024 now – updates for that will run until October 2029. The surcharge, depending on the edition, is between €22 and €153.
What happens on October 13, 2026
Nothing visible. Word will continue to open documents, Excel will continue to calculate, the license remains valid and does not expire. It is a perpetual license; the end of support does not change that.
What ceases is the monthly update provision:
- No more security updates. Newly discovered vulnerabilities in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint will no longer be closed – but will continue to be publicly documented.
- No technical support from Microsoft.
- No compatibility adjustments for new Windows versions or changed file formats.
How urgent is it really?
That depends entirely on the usage scenario. Honestly assessed:
| Situation | Urgency |
|---|---|
| Commercial workstation, email reception, customer data | high – switch now |
| Private computer with internet access | medium – in the next few months |
| Offline computer, lab, production, secondary device | low – can remain |
The critical point is Office documents from emails. Specially crafted Word and Excel files have been one of the most common attack vectors for small businesses for years. As long as Microsoft patches, this door is continuously closed again. From mid-October, it will remain open.
For businesses, a second point is added: those who process personal data must take state-of-the-art measures according to GDPR. Software without security updates is difficult to justify in an audit.
What the switch costs
Office 2024 is the last generation available as a perpetual license. The surcharge compared to the respective 2021 edition:
| Edition | Office 2021 | Office 2024 | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | €168.99 | €286.99 | €118.00 |
| Home & Business | €214.99 | €236.99 | €22.00 |
| Professional Plus | €174.99 | €327.99 | €153.00 |
The case is particularly clear with Home & Business: for a €22 surcharge, you get three additional years of security updates. That's about 61 cents per month of security. If you're already facing the decision, you shouldn't hesitate here.
Calculated based on the remaining update period, it looks like this: Office 2021 has about one month of support left from today, Office 2024 has 37 months. The price per month with security updates is therefore many times lower for Office 2024, even though the license is more expensive.
Which edition is right for you?
- Office 2024 Home & Business (€236.99) – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. The right choice for self-employed individuals, home offices, and small teams.
- Office 2024 Standard (€286.99) – the same programs without OneNote, but as a volume license. Useful for about five or more identical workstations.
- Office 2024 Professional Plus (€327.99) – additionally Access and Publisher. Only where databases or desktop publishing are used.
The surcharge for Professional Plus is rarely worth it for the entire team. A mixed setup is almost always cheaper – more on this in the article How many Office licenses do you really need?
What about Microsoft 365?
The subscription receives security updates as long as it runs – that's the one real advantage over any perpetual license. However, you pay continuously. Over five years, a single subscription costs around €350 to €500 compared to a one-time €236.99 for Office 2024 Home & Business. The full calculation is in the article Office without a subscription: the true costs over five years.
How the transition works
- Completely uninstall the old Office version and restart the computer.
- Install Office 2024 using the provided download link.
- Enter and activate the license key.
Your files remain untouched – they are in the file system, not in the application. Outlook mailboxes are re-integrated on first launch; for a POP3 account, back up the PST file beforehand. If activation is problematic, the article Office activation fails can help.
What if you do nothing?
Office 2021 will continue to run indefinitely. There is no forced shutdown, no activation lock, no expiration date. So you are not making a decision against an ultimatum, but a risk assessment.
For an offline computer in the workshop, the answer is clear: stay. For the workstation where invoices and offers from external mailboxes are opened daily, it's just as clear: switch.
In short
The end of support for Office 2021 is not an emergency, but a good time for a conscious decision. For Home & Business, securing three more years costs €22 – that's the simplest calculation in this entire article.
All editions can be found on the Office 2024 page. The comparison tool shows which one suits you; all background information on license types and legal aspects can be found in the Office guide.
