How to Download Office for Free

In this tutorial, we want to discuss how to download Office for free, point some caveats out, and help you get Microsoft Office at the best price because, although you can—technically—download Microsoft Office free of charge, you’ll still need a genuine Office product key to proceed.

Can I Download Office for Free?

Unfortunately, Microsoft removed all the ISO file direct download links from their pages, especially for Office 2010 and older versions that are no longer supported by the company. Even for other editions, like Office 2016 and Office 2019, you still need to access the official Microsoft Office website and log in with your credentials—namely the one you associated your Office license with.

Undoubtedly, Microsoft Office is one of the most popular productivity suites, packed with world-renowned apps, like Word—one of the best and most used word processors in the world, Microsoft Excel, that’s intensively used both at a business and a private level (just think about simple household balance sheets, for example), as well as Access for databases, PowerPoint for decks and presentations, and more. Therefore, we think that many of you might have wondered “Can I download Office for free?” at least once in your life.

In short, although you can download Office for free, you’ll need a paid, genuine license beforehand, and even in this case, the procedure is not straightforward like the direct download of an ISO file. You can read how to buy Microsoft Office with the best discount here. Also, if you want to save some bucks on Windows 10, we’ve got you covered: read 4 Simple Ways to Buy and Save Money Microsoft Windows 10.

Free Office Download—The Easier (and Cheaper) Way

As it might sound counterintuitive, getting a free Office download is possible since you won’t pay for that. Instead, you’ll have to buy your Microsoft Office license and then proceed via the Office.com website to associate your product key to your Microsoft account and then download and install Office.

As you can imagine, if you choose to purchase Office from the official Microsoft Store, you’ll have to be prepared to shell out some good cash. For example, Office Home & Business has a price tag of $2492 at the time of writing.

Fortunately, there is another option: Mr Key Shop! As an independent third-party web store, Mr Key Shop has been in the market for 18 years, successfully serving over 350 thousand customers globally. With an average rating of Excellent on TrustPilot, Mr Key Shop promptly delivers each order within a few seconds from the checkout, offers secure payment methods via PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, etc., and covers every purchase with a full money-back warranty. A further plus is their technical support service, always operative before and after any order.

Mr Key Shop’s catalog only includes premium, genuine, and guaranteed digital products spanning from: Microsoft Operating Systems, i.e. you can conveniently buy Windows 11 and Windows 10; the best Microsoft Office productivity suites, including the possibility to purchase Office 2021 or buy Office for Mac at excellent price points; and the most popular and acknowledged Antivirus Brands (i.e. Norton and ESET), as well as enterprise-grade products like Windows Server and SQL Server.

By the way, did you know that you can buy Windows 10 and Upgrade to Windows 11 for Free?

The best part is that you can save up to 70% over the official MSRP and still get a 100% genuine product key. Moreover, every order includes a full instruction manual and an official download link, especially useful for Office, since you’ll be able to download the ISO file and keep it as an offline backup you can use in case of issues.

Before we go on, make sure you check this tutorial on How to Download Windows 10 for Free.

Microsoft Office Free Download for Windows 10—How to Proceed

To get your Microsoft Office free download for Windows 10 (or Windows 11), you’ll need your product key. As we mentioned before, as long as you purchase a genuine Office license, any subsequent Office download will be free; you won’t have to pay extra charges. However, you’ll have to link your product key to your Microsoft account.

Unless you still have a physical copy of Microsoft Office, i.e. an Office 2010 CD-ROM and the relevant documentation, you can go to Mr Key Shop and get a key for a fraction of the official price tag, otherwise, just take note of your product key from wherever you got it.

Another great advantage of Mr Key Shop is that you’ll access an official download link and, once you run your ISO file, you’ll be able to install and activate your Office version with no further hassle. Plus, if you got a more recent version, you’ll have to enter your Microsoft account credentials and automatically link your activation key for future reference.

But let’s put this aside for a moment and see how to download Microsoft Office free of charge.

How to Get Office for Free

Here’s how to get Office for free, although we’re just referring to the mere download stage.

First of all, go to the Microsoft login page and confirm your identity by logging in with your Microsoft account credentials and clicking Next.

In the next step, input your product key, press Next and then follow the prompts to get your Office installation.

If you’ve already linked your product key to your account, just go to the Office setup page and install Office from there.

Unfortunately, this procedure only applies to Office 2021, Office 2019, Office 2016, or Office 2013 versions available as one-time purchases, that include the fully installed Office applications, namely Office Home & Student, Office Home & Business, and Office Professional, or Stand-alone Office 2021, Office 2019, 2016, or 2013 apps available as one-time purchases.

If you need to download older versions like Office 2010, you’ll have to rely on your physical media or a previous backup installer because Microsoft no longer supports this version.

Once you complete the steps, you’ll be able to install Microsoft Office and use it right at the end of the setup stage.

Microsoft Office for Mac—Free Download

The procedure for the Microsoft Office for Mac free download is quite similar. Just go to the Microsoft Account page and log in with the Microsoft credentials you used to associate your Office for Mac version (learn how to buy and Download Office for Mac).

Select Services and Subscriptions on the upper part of the page and then find the Office version you wish to get, then click Install.

You’ll now download the relevant .pkg file. Double-click it and follow the prompts to proceed with your Office for Mac setup.

Have a product key for Microsoft 365? Click the relevant link and follow the prompts, right from the Services and subscriptions window.

What About Microsoft 365?

You can start a free trial for Microsoft 365, previously known as Microsoft Office 365, to see if that suit is good for you.

Microsoft 365 is a modern take on the classic Office suite that integrates the mobile and Web version of the different apps included, with 1TB of cloud storage, and other security and collaboration features. It’s available in the form of a monthly subscription, with prices starting from around $6 per month + VAT for businesses or $9.99 per month for families (2-6 users).

In the long term, it may become too expensive, especially for basic users. Furthermore, most of the cloud/sharing features are available in the regular “offline” versions, like Office 2016, Office 2019, and Office 2021.

Microsoft Office License From Mr Key Shop

In our book, buying a one-time license for a regular Office suite is far better value for most users, and if you take our advice and go pay a visit to Mr Key Shop’s catalog, it’ll be even a smarter move.