Office 2016 and Office 2019 end of support
Before I start explaining what LTSC means, a quick reminder why Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 and Microsoft Office 2024 might’ve gotten a sudden spike in users in October 2025.
October 14, 2025 marks the date when the 2016 and 2019 Office editions reached their end of support (or end of life, if you like informal yet accurate terminology). While technically it won’t stop you from using Office 2016 for years to come, there are some arguments for performing an upgrade:
- You won’t receive any updates. If you’re happy with the features, that’s great, but remember that there won’t be any new official bug fixes or security updates.
- Depending on your organization, keeping unsupported software can be not only a security risk, but also a breach of your compliance policies.
- If you’re using any third-party apps that integrate with any part of the Office suite, they might stop working.
- In MC1154299, Microsoft warns that unsupported Office versions may no longer comply with DLP, sensitivity labels, Conditional Access policies and other Purview capabilities, as well as other modern compliance tools. Keep that in mind on the off chance you use Office 2016 or 2019 within a Microsoft 365 environment.
October 14, 2025 marks the end of support for more than just Office 2016 and 2019. Here’s what else kicked the bucket that day:
- Exchange 2016 and 2019
- Windows 10
- Skype for Business Server 2015 and 2019
- Visio 2016 and 2019
- Project 2016 and 2019
- Visual Studio 2015
- Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS)
- Windows Defender Exploit Guard
That’s quite a list, if you ask me. I’m sure close proximity to Halloween was just a coincidence. Still, it’s better to make sure that no software from this list comes back to haunt you.
What is Office LTSC?
Microsoft Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) is the Office suite version designed for some non-standard use cases. Its target audience is organizations that need MS Word, MS Excel, or any other part of the suite but, due to their requirements, must go without updates for long stretches of time. This might be the case if a company uses:
- devices disconnected from the Internet for security reasons,
- workstations with poor or no Internet access,
- regulated devices that need Office capabilities but cannot receive updates to prevent disruptions.
What does Office LTSC 2024 include?
Office LTSC 2024 includes Microsoft’s core productivity apps, which are:
- Word,
- Excel,
- PowerPoint,
- Outlook,
- OneNote,
- Access (not available for Mac).
What’s the difference between Microsoft Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024?
Both Microsoft Office 2024 and Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 include a perpetual license. Their retirement date is set to October 9, 2029. Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 is volume-licensed and meant mainly for commercial and government customers. Microsoft Office 2024 is directed to both individuals and organizations. You don’t need volume licensing to purchase Microsoft Office 2024. In terms of features, it goes like this:
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 is “Office 2024 frozen in time”. While it will not get any new features, it still allows installing security updates when they are available. Its most important feature is the ability to run unattended for a long time. Microsoft Office 2024, on the other hand, gets some hand-me-down features from its cloud version (Microsoft 365) along with security updates.
Office LTSC vs Microsoft 365 apps
It’s no secret that Microsoft tries to get everyone on board with Microsoft 365 apps. The cloud Office version can also be installed directly on workstations, is the first to get new features, and, let’s be honest, provides a steadier income for Microsoft. That’s why Microsoft 365 gained a feature that can make the cloud version competitive with LTSC.
Microsoft 365 response to the need of unattended, disconnected installs is extended offline access. The problem with it is that even with the extended offline access turned on, you need to validate the license once every 180 days (30 days with extended offline access turned off). Validating requires Internet access. If there’s no way to grant Internet access to a specific device, you can use another device and validate the license with a zip file. How to extend your Office license for offline use
Generally, if your organization is running on Microsoft 365, looking into LTSC makes sense only if you need some workstations to operate without updating for a long period of time, maybe even well after Office LTSC 2024 is officially retired.
Pricing comparison: Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 vs Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365
| Microsoft 365 Personal | Microsoft Office 2024 | Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| $9.99/month or $99 year. Subscription-based. | $249 (Home & Business) or $149 (Home), one time purchase. | Prices depend on various factors and are obtained directly from Microsoft or its resellers. One time purchase. |
The prices above were provided by Microsoft Store as of May 2025. Some Microsoft Partners can offer different prices.
If your organization is running on Microsoft 365, looking into LTSC makes sense only if you need some workstations to operate without updating for a long period of time, maybe even well after Office LTSC 2024 is officially retired.
Office LTSC 2024 system requirements
- Operating system:
- Windows Server 2022 or later,
- Windows 10 (although it’s no longer supported since October 2025!),
- Windows 10 LTSC 2019 or later,
- Windows 11,
- Windows 11 LTSC 2024,
- AD DS with min. Windows Server 2019 schema installed,
- 1.1 GHz dual-core processor,
- 4 GB of RAM,
- 4 GB of available disk space on Windows and 10 GB on macOS.
How to install Office LTSC 2024?
Since Office LTSC is a volume-licensed app, installing it requires a bit of preparation.
- Download and install Office LTSC 2024 license pack. It lets you set up Key Management Service to activate the software.
- Download the Office Deployment Tool.
- Create the xml config file.
- Remove Office products on user devices (if there are any).
- (Optionally) Download Office LTSC 2024 installation files. This step is mandatory if the workstation has no Internet connection.
- Install LTSC instances using the Office Deployment Tool.
What’s changed between Office LTSC 2021 and 2024?
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 introduces several new features as compared to the 2021 version, which reaches end of life on October 13, 2026.
Changed UI
Office LTSC 2024 has a new look. Microsoft says that Fluent Design principles applied here make the experience more intuitive and user-friendly.
Accessibility
The Accessibility ribbon offers guidance on how to make your documents more accessible to everyone. For example, it lets you know when your text might be hard to read or when images are missing their alt text.
Support for Open Document Format 1.4
Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 allows you to open documents, charts, and presentations created in the Open Document Format 1.4, used by such programs as LibreOffice.
New Excel features
There are quite a few updates that make Excel more useful:
- dynamic charts with dynamic arrays help visualize data automatically,
- 14 new text and array functions make it easier to handle more complex scenarios,
- image handling is easier thanks to the new IMAGE function,
- workbook load speed has been improved.
PowerPoint enhancements
A new PowerPoint feature allows you to create videos in the Recording Studio. It’s also easier to add closed captions or a cameo with new built-in features.
To learn more about what has changed in Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 vs 2021, see: Complete list of new features.
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Office 365 Is very good office suite, but it is costly. Reduce it price upto Dollar 20 so that it can be accessible to every intended user.