Microsoft 365 Subscription Explained: Plans, What's Included and How Renewal Works (2026)

Reviewed 2 October 2026 by Esma, Technical Support Advisor at Nerdused.

A Microsoft 365 subscription (formerly an Office 365 subscription) is a monthly or yearly plan that gives you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote on your devices, 1 TB of OneDrive storage per person and continuous updates for as long as you keep paying. You can pay monthly or yearly, and four home plans are available, from Basic to Premium. The plan renews automatically until you turn off recurring billing, and when it ends the apps become read-only.

This page covers how the subscription works. For every price, including business plans, see our Office 365 cost guide.

Microsoft 365 subscription at a glance

What it is	A paid plan from Microsoft that licenses the Office apps and cloud services for a month or a year at a time
Previous name	Office 365 (renamed Microsoft 365 on 21 April 2020)
Home plans	Basic, Personal, Family and Premium
Price range (US)	$19.99 to $199.99 a year, or $1.99 to $19.99 a month
Devices	Install on all your devices; stay signed in on five at the same time
Cloud storage	1 TB of OneDrive per person on Personal, Family and Premium; 100 GB on Basic
Renewal	Automatic at the regular price until you turn off recurring billing
When it ends	Apps open and print files but cannot edit or save; OneDrive drops to 5 GB
One-time alternative	Office 2024, paid once, security updates until 9 October 2029

Prices and plan details were checked on Microsoft's plan comparison page on 2 October 2026. Local prices and tax vary by country.

Microsoft 365 subscription plans for home users

Microsoft sells four subscription plans for home use. Only Personal, Family and Premium include the desktop apps you install on a PC or Mac.

Plan	Price (US)	People	Storage	Desktop apps
Microsoft 365 Basic	$19.99/year or $1.99/month	1	100 GB	No (web and mobile apps)
Microsoft 365 Personal	$99.99/year or $9.99/month	1	1 TB	Yes
Microsoft 365 Family	$129.99/year or $12.99/month	1 to 6	1 TB each, up to 6 TB	Yes
Microsoft 365 Premium	$199.99/year or $19.99/month	1 to 6	1 TB each, up to 6 TB	Yes, with the highest Copilot limits

Personal is for one person. On Family and Premium the owner can share with up to five other people, each signing in with their own Microsoft account. Our Microsoft 365 Family vs Personal comparison covers that choice.

What an Office 365 subscription includes today

A Personal or Family plan includes:

• The Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, plus Access on Windows PCs.
• Updates: new features and security fixes for as long as the subscription is active.
• Extras: Copilot in the Office apps, Microsoft Defender, Teams and Microsoft Editor.

For an app-by-app list, see what is included in Microsoft 365 Personal.

How Microsoft 365 subscription billing and renewal work

You choose monthly or yearly billing when you buy. Either way, Microsoft states that the subscription “automatically renews at the regular price and selected term, unless cancelled”. The setting that controls this is called recurring billing.

To stop the next charge, Microsoft's instructions are:

1. Sign in at account.microsoft.com/services with the Microsoft account that owns the subscription.
2. Find the subscription and select Manage.
3. Select Turn off recurring billing and confirm.

With recurring billing off you are not charged again, and you (and anyone sharing a Family plan) keep everything until the expiry date shown on that page. Cancelling outright is a separate option in the same account area, and Microsoft says not every cancellation is refunded, so check the expiry date first.

You can also renew without a card on file. A prepaid Microsoft 365 product key from a retailer is redeemed at microsoft365.com/setup and adds time to the existing subscription, up to a maximum of five years.

What happens when a Microsoft Office 365 subscription ends

You do not lose your files on the day it expires. According to Microsoft Support, the account reverts to a free account and the desktop apps enter Reduced Functionality Mode. You can open, view and usually print documents, but you cannot create, edit or save until you renew.

Storage is the part to plan for. OneDrive falls back to the free 5 GB. If you hold more than that, you cannot upload or sync new files, and Microsoft says it may delete an over-quota OneDrive after six months. Move large files to a local drive before the expiry date.

Microsoft 365 subscription vs a one-time Office purchase

A subscription suits you if you want Office on several devices, including a phone or tablet, need 1 TB of cloud storage, share with family, or want Copilot. A one-time licence suits you if you use Word, Excel and PowerPoint on one Windows PC and would rather not pay every year. Five years of Personal costs $499.95 at today's yearly price.

Option	Price at Nerdused today	You pay	Best for
Office Professional Plus 2024	From $29.99 (1 PC)	Once	Windows users who also want Access
Office Standard 2024	From $29.99 (1 PC)	Once	Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on Windows
Office 365 Pro Plus 1-year account	$29.99	Once, for one year	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and more on up to five devices (PC, Mac, iOS, Android)

Office 2024 gets security updates until 9 October 2029 but no new features, no Copilot and no 1 TB of storage.

The Office 365 Pro Plus 1-year account is not one of Microsoft's standard home plans, but it gives you much the same: the full desktop apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Access, with cloud storage and automatic updates, on up to five devices across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. It is a one-time payment and needs no product key. You receive a brand-new Microsoft 365 account with its own login details and set it up at office.com. The password can be changed; the email address on the account cannot.

Our lifetime licence vs Microsoft 365 comparison runs the cost over one, three and five years, and the Microsoft Office collection lists every edition we sell.

Frequently asked questions

Is an Office 365 subscription the same as a Microsoft 365 subscription?

For home users, yes. Microsoft renamed Office 365 Personal and Home to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family on 21 April 2020, and existing subscribers moved across automatically.

Can I pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription monthly?

Yes. Every home plan can be billed monthly or yearly. Twelve monthly payments cost more than one yearly payment, so monthly billing suits short-term use.

How many devices does a Microsoft 365 subscription cover?

You can install the apps on all your devices and be signed in on five at the same time. If you sign in on a sixth, Microsoft signs you out of another device automatically.

How do I check when my Microsoft 365 subscription renews?

Sign in at account.microsoft.com/services. The page lists your plan with its renewal or expiry date.

Do I lose my files if I cancel a Microsoft 365 subscription?

Not immediately. Documents on your PC stay where they are and still open in read-only mode. Files in OneDrive stay too, but if you hold more than the free 5 GB, Microsoft may delete the OneDrive after six months.

Can I use Microsoft Office without a subscription?

Yes. Office 2024 is a one-time purchase with security updates until 9 October 2029. Our Office 2024 editions guide explains which edition fits which use. Every one-time option and its price is in can you buy Microsoft Office without a subscription.