Excel Cost: Startup & Ongoing Costs

Microsoft sells Excel in three ways. The first is a Microsoft 365 subscription, which bundles the desktop apps with cloud storage and other features. The second is a one-time purchase of an Office suite that includes Excel. The third is the web version, which is free with a Microsoft account and has fewer features than the desktop app.

Which route is cheapest depends on how long you will use it, how many people share the plan, and whether you need updates. This guide covers the consumer plans and the one-time Office suite that the pages list. Business and education licenses are priced differently, so check Microsoft's business pages if you are buying for a company.

The subscription prices are published by Microsoft and were checked on Oct 13, 2026. Microsoft changes plans and prices over time, so confirm the current numbers on its site before you buy.

Every plan can also be paid monthly. Monthly billing costs more over a full year, but it lets you stop at any time.

Compare the two tables for your plan. Paying yearly is cheaper for anyone who will use Excel for the full term. Microsoft's page notes the savings from the yearly option for each plan.

All three plans on the list include the desktop version of Excel along with Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. The differences are who can use them and what else is included.

Personal is for one person. Family covers one to six people, which makes it cheaper per person for a household or a group of friends that shares a plan. Premium sits at the top and adds Microsoft's more advanced Copilot AI features on top of the Family benefits.

If you work alone and need a spreadsheet, Personal is the lowest cost route to the desktop app. If several people in a household need Excel, Family usually costs less than buying separate plans.

Microsoft also sells Office as a one-time purchase. The version on the store page includes Excel with the other core apps.

A one-time purchase gives you the version you bought and does not include ongoing updates or the extra cloud features of a subscription. It can come out cheaper if you plan to use the same version for many years. A subscription tends to cost less in the first year or two and keeps adding new features.

You can open and edit spreadsheets in a browser with a free Microsoft account. The web version covers common tasks such as entering data, building simple formulas and making charts. It leaves out some advanced features available on the desktop app, so heavy users may still need the desktop version.

• Number of people. Family spreads one price across up to six users.
• Billing cadence. Yearly billing costs less than twelve months of monthly billing.
• Features. Premium adds advanced AI features that Personal does not include.
• Time horizon. A one-time purchase pays off if you keep the same version for a long time.
• Business needs. Companies buy Microsoft 365 business plans at different prices, with admin tools and licensing terms.

• Use Excel for the web if your needs are basic.
• Choose yearly billing if you will keep the plan.
• Share a Family plan with people you trust, within Microsoft's terms.
• Check whether your school or employer provides Microsoft 365 at no cost to you.
• Compare a one-time purchase to a subscription over the number of years you expect to use it.