Microsoft Office Mac 2016 - Worth it?

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Level 1

5 points

Microsoft Office Mac 2016 - Worth it?

Hi Everyone!

I recently purchased a Mac and need to get the Office Suite. I downloaded the trial of 2016, today, 1/27/16, and so far, I'm not experiencing the issues that everyone seemed to be having. However, all the issues I'm reading about, were posted October 2015 or before. I'm not finding anything recent. What I am finding recent, are articles that Microsoft has fixed the stability issues.

I have the late 2015 Mac model of the Macbook Pro 15 inch, running OS X El Capitan and I just updated to 10.11.3.

My question is - has there been an improvement in the Mac 2016 version of Office since last year, where it would be worth getting? Or would I regret the purchase and should save my money and try to find a 2011 Mac Office Suite?

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 8:25 PM

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Answer 1

vellal

Level 1

4 points

May 2, 2017 5:18 AM in response to brenda813

MS office 2016 suite for Mac is way superior not only in architecture but in compatibility as well. Earlier I had 2011 version on my Mac book pro. Last year I updated to Office 2016 for Mac(one time buy). It works seamlessly. At home, I work on my Mac (Office 2016) while my office PC is Windows OS. Yet rarely ever I had a problem in working the files interchangeably. Even the videos (in mp4 format) run seamlessly. The stored files on the thumb drive prepared on Mac can be worked on Windows suite without an issue . But please know that though Office 2016 suite for Mac is quite good, it doesn't have some of the advanced features as the Office 2016 for Windows, obviously for commercial reasons.

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,332 points

May 2, 2017 9:20 AM in response to brenda813

Get Office 2016 for Mac. Microsoft is continuously updating this application suite, and although Office 2011 for Mac is still frequently updated by Microsoft too, it was never originally designed for macOS Sierra, or Sierra's feature set. Additionally, Office 2011 for Mac will end of life in October 2017, so I simply wouldn't go there at all.

Here is the Update History for Office 2016 for Mac.

Release notes for Office 2016 for Mac.

Office 2016 - Microsoft Community.

I did not recommend LibreOffice (fresh) because you would have to learn two different office suites, and your productivity would suffer. Additionally, I have worked in Office settings where the mandatory application suite is MS Office (whether Mac or Windows) expressly to avoid document interoperability issues.

I do recommend that you keep the Office 2016 for Mac updates current, whether a single purchase, or Office 365 subscription.

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Answer 3

Jan 27, 2016 8:27 PM in response to brenda813

I don't think it is. Hence the reason I use LibreOffice.

You might want to download it and see if it satisfies your needs.

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Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Jan 27, 2016 8:36 PM in response to brenda813

If need to use Office for your work and require the features it provides then it may be worth it. There are many things you can do in Office that cannot be done using Libre Office. You can freely download the Office 2016 applications. They operate in Trial mode until you purchase the subscription. Libra Office is a free suite based upon a suite once developed by Oracle.

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Answer 5

brenda813 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 27, 2016 8:48 PM in response to brenda813

Thanks for the suggestion of LibreOffice. Unfortunately, I need to stay with the Office Suite since I work on both the PC and Mac platform. I need to be able to open files no matter what computer I'm on. I have Office 2013 installed on my PCs. What I'm worried about is spending $150 to get the 2016 version for my mac and then it starts becoming an unstable, problematic and unusable program, causing me to lose files, work time, etc.

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Answer 6

Jan 27, 2016 9:00 PM in response to brenda813

I share files between my Mac and PCs all the time using LibreOffice.

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Answer 7

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Jan 27, 2016 9:05 PM in response to brenda813

Office 2016 is a $99/yr subscription software. The new version like the older ones will have its quirks. You don't seem to mind the problematic nature of prior versions of Office.

If you buy the $150 version it works only on one PC. The $99/yr or $9.99/yr option works on 5 computers. In any event no matter the cost or the problems, there is only one Office 20xx suite. No other has the same features at any price.

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