Guides and tips

When two Office licenses are displayed side by side, the “Standard” or “Professional Plus” label does not say much by itself. Yet the short answer boils down to one word: Access. The rest—Publisher and Skype for Business—has either disappeared from the suite or ceased to be a deciding factor. Here is exactly what each edition contains, what Microsoft actually documents, and how to determine which one applies to you.

A word about terminology before getting into the details. “Standard” and “Professional Plus” are names of professional Office editions, not to be confused with the consumer editions “Home” or “Home and Student,” which follow a completely different composition logic. In Microsoft documentation, the 2021 and 2024 releases appear under the names Office LTSC 2021 and Office LTSC 2024: this is the terminology you will encounter if you check the source.

The shared foundation: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook

Let’s start with the most important point, because it is what most people are really looking for: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are included in both editions. Without exception, regardless of the version year. OneNote is included as well, in its desktop version.

One point is often misunderstood: Standard is not a stripped-down or limited version of Word and Excel. They are exactly the same applications, with the same features, the same file formats, and the same VBA macro capabilities. An Excel workbook created in Professional Plus opens identically in Standard. PivotTables, Power Query, Word mail merge, Outlook rules, and conditional formatting are all shared.

In other words, if your use is limited to writing documents, creating spreadsheets, putting together presentations, and managing your email, both editions do exactly the same thing. That is not where the choice lies.

What Professional Plus adds

The difference concerns additional software, not the content of the software the editions have in common. And this list has become shorter from one generation to the next.

A note of honesty before the table. Microsoft publishes the detailed composition of the Professional Plus edition, and only that edition: there is no equivalent page devoted to Standard. The “Pro Plus” columns below are therefore sourced directly from Microsoft; the “Standard” columns reconstruct what commercial descriptions consistently report, which always comes down to the same rule: Standard is Professional Plus without Access.

Read this table line by line rather than column by column, and the conclusion is obvious: Access is the only row that distinguishes Standard from Professional Plus across all three generations. Publisher, meanwhile, has never differentiated the two editions: it appears in both in 2019 and 2021, and in neither in 2024. It is therefore never a reason to move up to a higher edition.

That leaves Skype for Business, the second difference on paper, but one that is becoming less and less relevant. Microsoft writes that “Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 includes Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word,” and specifies that Skype for Business is offered only as an optional installation during setup. In other words, in 2024, this component is not even installed by default on the machine, including with Professional Plus. We will see below why it should play no part in any purchasing decision. As for Publisher, it has disappeared from the 2024 suite, and Microsoft gives the reason plainly: the product is at end of life.

On 123 Licence, Office 2024 Standard and Office 2024 Professional Plus are advertised at the same price, €29.99 including VAT for a license intended for 3 devices, or less than €10 per device. The question is therefore not budget-related; it is whether Access is useful to you.

What Access is really used for

Access is the only real deciding factor in the choice, so let us explain it properly.

Access is a desktop database management system. It stores data in a single file (.accdb) and lets you build a small application on top of it: tables linked to one another, queries for searching and cross-referencing data, forms for entering data with controlled fields, and printable, laid-out reports.

The difference from Excel is not a matter of file size, contrary to what is often said. It is structural. In Excel, each row is independent, and nothing prevents you from entering “Dupont,” “DUPONT,” and “Dupond” in three different rows. In Access, the customer exists only once in a Customers table, and each order refers to it. If you correct the name, it is corrected everywhere. You can also prevent inconsistent entries, enforce a format, and prevent the deletion of a customer who has outstanding orders.

The cases where Access is the right tool are fairly easy to identify: a membership file with a dues payment history, inventory management with incoming and outgoing stock, equipment fleet tracking, an intervention log, or a workshop document database. In short, whenever you have several types of objects linked to one another and data entered repeatedly over time.

Its limitations are also worth knowing. An Access file is capped at 2 GB. Multi-user sharing is done through a file stored in a network folder, which remains fragile beyond a few simultaneous users.

And Access is not available on macOS: Microsoft states this clearly in its documentation. If you work on a Mac, the Standard versus Professional Plus question therefore does not arise, and no Office edition for Mac will provide Access: you will need to look elsewhere, such as Mac database software, an online management tool, or a Windows machine. For the rest of the office suite, however, the Mac editions are grouped under Office for Mac.

One final useful clarification: if you only need to use an Access database developed by someone else, without modifying it, Microsoft distributes a free Access runtime environment (Access Runtime). It opens and runs the application but does not allow you to design one. Many business computers need nothing more.

Publisher: what it is used for, and why you need to act now

Publisher is an entry-level desktop publishing application. Whereas Word works with a continuous flow of text, Publisher works with blocks freely positioned on the page. It was used for flyers, brochures, association newsletters, business cards, invitations—anything requiring millimeter-precise layout rather than a document that simply flows.

Its fate is sealed, and the deadline is close. Microsoft states that Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026, and sets an even earlier date for Microsoft 365 subscribers: starting October 1, 2026, Publisher will no longer open their .pub files. Microsoft explicitly asks them to convert their existing files before that date. It is August 2026: only a few weeks remain.

While we're at it, let's correct a common misconception: a .pub file is not unreadable everywhere else. LibreOffice Draw, which is free, can import them on Windows, macOS, and Linux thanks to the libmspub engine from the Document Liberation project. However, rendering deteriorates with complex layouts (misaligned blocks, substituted fonts). Only Publisher reproduces a .pub file faithfully. The right approach therefore remains the one Microsoft recommends: export anything that only needs to remain viewable or printable as a PDF, convert to Word anything that must remain editable while accepting layout differences, and rebuild recurring templates in a long-term desktop publishing tool.

Direct consequence for your purchase: do not buy a Professional Plus edition for Publisher. On the one hand, it is also included in the Standard 2019 and 2021 editions; on the other, it is nearing the end of its life.

Skype for Business and its status

Skype for Business still appears in the list of Professional Plus applications. Do not mistake what it is for: it has nothing to do with consumer Skype. It is an instant messaging, calling, and meeting client intended for businesses that operate an on-premises Skype for Business server.

Its current status can be summed up quickly. Microsoft's hosted service, Skype for Business Online, was retired on July 31, 2021, and replaced by Teams. On the on-premises server side, Skype for Business Server 2019 itself reached the end of extended support in October 2025; only a subscription edition remains supported, for organizations that have not completed their migration to Teams. And in Office 2024, the client is no longer installed automatically: it is offered as an option during installation.

In other words, for an individual, freelancer, or very small business, this component is of no use. It should never factor into your purchasing decision.

Who needs Professional Plus

Choose Professional Plus if one of these cases describes you:

• You need to open or evolve an existing Access database, often inherited from a former colleague or service provider.
• You manage a file of customers, members, patients, or suppliers with a history, and your Excel workbook is becoming unmanageable: duplicates, broken formulas, and duplicated sheets.
• You manage inventory, an IT fleet, or an intervention schedule, with daily entries made by several people.
• You need to produce clean printed reports from data: follow-up notices, delivery notes, filtered lists, and formatted documents.
• You are a trainer, student, or candidate for an office software certification whose syllabus includes Access.

In these situations, the version to choose is Office 2024 Professional Plus, for the scheduling reasons detailed below.

Who can do without it

The majority of users, honestly. If you did not know what Access was before reading this article, you do not need it.

Excel covers “list” uses very broadly: a tracking sheet, a dashboard, a budget, or a simple inventory. Its theoretical limit is 1,048,576 rows per sheet, which most activities never come close to reaching. And for needs that go beyond Excel, the modern answer is rarely Access: it is more often specialized business software, an online management tool, or a real server database.

Standard is therefore suitable if your work revolves around documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and email—in other words, the overwhelming majority of office jobs. The installation is also somewhat lighter, with fewer components installed on the machine.

The choice based on your profession

A few concrete points to help you decide quickly.

• Student, family use, administrative remote work: Standard is more than sufficient. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook cover everything.
• Craftsperson, retailer, self-employed professional: Standard in most cases. Quotes and invoices are handled in Word or dedicated invoicing software, not Access.
• Accounting, management control, analysis: Standard is enough if you live in Excel. Professional Plus becomes useful as soon as you regularly handle large data extracts that need to be cross-referenced.
• Association, club, volunteer homeowners' association: Professional Plus is often relevant because managing members and dues over time is exactly what Access is designed for.
• IT support, system administration, engineering office: Professional Plus. You will encounter Access databases, if only those belonging to others.
• Graphic design, communications, layout: neither one will solve the problem. Publisher is ending in October 2026, and dedicated desktop publishing software will be more suitable anyway.

2021 or 2024: the version question

The choice of release year now matters just as much as the choice of edition, and it is no longer really open. Office 2021 reaches end of support on October 13, 2026: at the time of writing, in August 2026, less than two months remain. After that date, there will be no more security updates. The software will continue to open and function, but you would be buying a generation that is already at the end of its lifecycle. Office 2019 has been in this situation since October 14, 2025.

If you are buying for the years ahead, the 2024 generation is therefore the default choice: Microsoft has announced that it will support it until October 2029. You will find both editions in the Microsoft Office 2024 collection. A 2021 edition is now justified only in one specific case: compatibility already confirmed with an existing computer or application that requires it. Office 2021 Professional Plus is still available, but buy it with the end date in mind. These lifecycle dates are published by Microsoft and are authoritative: check them when you read this.

In summary

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote are identical in both editions. Access is the only difference that affects your work. Publisher has never distinguished Standard from Professional Plus, and it will be discontinued in October 2026. Skype for Business only concerns organizations equipped with a dedicated server. If you know why you need Access, choose Professional Plus; otherwise, Standard will do exactly the same job.

For 123 Licence, whichever edition you choose, the licence is for 3 computers, the key is sent by email within a few minutes, and the invoice includes VAT.