Microsoft 365 vs. Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft 365
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Office 2016 is the familiar suite of Office products including applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for use on a single PC or Mac. The 2016 is no longer available for sale from Microsoft, and support is at an end since 2020.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*When billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Considered Both Products
Microsoft 365
Chose Microsoft 365
It is one of a kind in my eyes.
Chose Microsoft 365
BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the …
Chose Microsoft 365
In my opinion Microsoft 365 is the most complete out of the bunch because of the cloud and desktop apps, the easy expandability it brings in combination with Azure and Entra/Intune. I must say that Google Workspace is a close contender but the desktop apps are less complete in …
Chose Microsoft 365
Thunderbird is very nice tool but in my case not used because I have several issues with his calendar.
Zoom is very good tool, providing you low band usage and good video and sound quality.
I have tested OpenOffice but not nice UI experience.
Chose Microsoft 365
Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, …
Chose Microsoft 365
All the features in Microsoft Office 365 are better than any other product in the market except the protection feature. This is the only weakness in Microsoft 365 where had to stop their protection and buy Proofpoint Advanced Threat Protection.

The Exchange Online feature is …
Chose Microsoft 365
Device compatibility and enterprise level voice isn't as readily available with Google Voice.
Chose Microsoft 365
Google sheets is better for sharing and collaborative editing. Versioning of the same file is also one of Google Sheets strong points.
Microsoft 365 is better for working with local files. It is much easier to store the file in multiple places and backup multiple versions in …
Chose Microsoft 365
I really don't know of anything that is a competitor for Microsoft 365 - that's both good and bad.
Chose Microsoft 365
I used to like Google more than Microsoft because I used it more, but now I think they are very similar. I am able to use both on my phone, both have Clouds, and both have synced calendars, documents, and sheets. The reason I use Microsoft is [that] my company uses it, and I …
Chose Microsoft 365
Google Sheets, doesn't give me the same flexibility that Excel does. I have been frustrated when trying to work in Sheets to build complex spreadsheets. It is easier to manipulate and the spreadsheet can still be shared with a team member when cooperation needs to be had in …
Chose Microsoft 365
Compared to Docs & Sheets, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Sheets offer more functionality. Notepad is almost always pre-installed on Microsoft Word-enabled computers. This alternative to Microsoft Word isn't as robust, but it's free. Microsoft Publisher is incompatible with Adobe …
Chose Microsoft 365
I was not in charge of choosing Microsoft 365, but I have used Google Drive extensively in the past. Google Drive and OneDrive are VERY similar. you can hook them up to your file explorer and share links, auto-sync files, and access them on your mobile/tablet, etc. Google Docs …
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) and Google Drive have a very similar structure. Both have apps that can provide the same performance. For example, Google Docs and Microsoft Word are alike. Likewise, Google Sheets and Excel, Google Meet and Teams, Google Slide and …
Chose Microsoft 365
While I do like Microsoft, I miss using Google. I think it’s faster and just a little less clunky. However, OneNote and Teams are a huge advantage for the way we use Microsoft products at my school.
Chose Microsoft 365
None -- we always used some version of Office.
Chose Microsoft 365
Zoho does a decent job but is lacking in the refinement of its product. The cost point is much lower so this is not really unacceptable if you realize that when purchasing. The feature uses are harder to navigate and making changes requires a little more digging as they are …
Chose Microsoft 365
From a management standpoint, Microsoft 365 is far easier to use than Exchange. No, it is not as robust but for day-to-day use, I would choose Microsoft 365 every time.
Chose Microsoft 365
Because 365 connects most of my work apps such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
Chose Microsoft 365
I have apple products at home and they work well for what we use them for but the problem is not all products work with Mac products. My main design software will export file formats that are 100% compatible with Microsoft but not Mac. This plays a huge role in deciding what …
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is far superior to Google Sheets in terms of functionality and ease of use. Google Workspace facilitates document sharing. [Microsoft] 365, on the other hand, is more powerful in terms of the functions it supports, such as Excel and Power BI. Though Microsoft 365 …
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 has very good security features and is one of the reliable product when it comes to security. It is very user friendly which makes it a popular choice amongst all users. Its frequently enhanced versions with new features added each time makes it a hot product in …
Chose Microsoft 365
Personally I would prefer Google Workspace because it integrates better with the Android based tools that I already use. I also like how Google's Docs, Sheets, and Slides online functionality is their focus rather than an addon to get to the cloud. Google Workspace's sharing …
Chose Microsoft 365
We did not, we knew exactly what we wanted and needed.
Chose Microsoft 365
Both Google and Dropbox have programs for creating content. They can get the job done but there is a reason Microsft 365 is an industry standard. You can pull together a bunch of different apps and try to get them to communicate together if you want. But it will be a headache. …
Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
I've used WordPerfect and Office over the years. WordPerfect has a lot of nice features, but recently Office has incorporated most of them. The main reason why my company went with Office is due to the file format. Office files are more widely accepted as the standard and …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Office 2010 is no longer supported, so this was no longer an option, we had to upgrade. Also the Office 2010 has several limits that restricted us. Office 2019 does not support updates over WSUS, so it does create an extra administrative cost compared to Office 2016. Their …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office 2016 is an industry-standard and it is easier to use.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We have always used Microsoft Office products, beginning with the older versions, but we did try a brief evaluation of OpenOffice from Apache. Even though that open source software is free, it's got certain limitations and a different functionality that was missing from …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We use Microsoft Office 2016 because at the time it was the best tool for us, but now with full attention to cloud products, we may be thinking of migrating our solution to a cloud service.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
OpenOffice has been the only product that is capable so certain tasks, but doesn't compare to vast capabilities of Office. Haven't found a suitable replacement, Microsoft Office is the prime software for getting work done.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
For certain situations there is a benefit to the "standalone" package of Office 2106, vs. a subscription-based product like Office 365. Especially in the case where there are shared computers, or computers that are used as a kiosk, Microsoft Office 2016 would be one of the few …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
LibreOffice is a free software suite that fills some holes left in Microsoft Office, e.g., a "Draw" program that allows for easy creation of charts & diagrams. LibreOffice will save files in Microsoft formats, but sometimes the formatting is off when opened in Microsoft's suite;…
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We did not evaluate other products. The company already had an enterprise license with Microsoft for the Office Suite, and we were able to get a license and installation of our product by using our company email address. The other option was using free tools, which I know from …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We switched from Outlook to Canary Mail for Mac about two months ago and our experiences have been quite positive. The one big feature we enjoy that wasn't an option on Microsoft Office 2016 is read receipt email tracking. This feature allows us to know when a client has read …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office is more powerful than all its competitors. It is also perhaps most expensive. However its feature set is vast: much higher than other similar products. The other benefit is that it is very popular in the industry. It is used by many of our clients as well.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office 2016 is more robust and feature-packed that Google's suite of software. However, I find that Drive and Google's online software suite is easier to use for collaborative projects and quick notes.

On specific software within the different suites, Microsoft …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We selected Microsoft Office 2016 due to its ease of use. It is also compatible with our client, Microsoft Operating systems. The common user interface across all the applications in Microsoft Office 2016 makes it easy (and familiar) to perform everyday tasks. It is also very …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
The Microsoft Office Suite not only offers much more tools and resources if comparing the main apps like Word/Docs, Excel/Sheets, Powerpoint/Slides, but it also can give you more power and options when taking notes through OneNote (against Keep), communication is easy through …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office 2016 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) does not match up to a live, collaborative platform such as Google documents, Google Sheets, or Google Slides.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
While OpenOffice is nice for a free word processing application, Office 2016 has more features and is more user-friendly to use and update. We have an educational license that can be used with an online portal as well, whereas Open Office is free but is limited in what we can …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office has more flexibility and functionality than OpenOffice. OpenOffice isn't able to translate documents from other programs as easily and has more limitations in keystroke options for editing documents. OpenOffice is free, which can be a factor for some companies, …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
We haven't paid for similar programs, but we use Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides as an alternative and probably use Google more. We still chose though to use Microsoft Office 2016 as it is a program that is familiar, and Google Suite doesn't have all the same advanced …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Microsoft Office has all the features of software like G Suite or Apple's slate of word-editing software. It takes all the positives about these two platforms and then has even more features than either of them to make office work ridiculously easy. G Suite requires an …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
While the other products are fine in and of themselves (particularly LibreOffice) they lack the polish, cohesion, and ubiquitous nature of Microsoft Office, specifically the appearance of Office 2016. Each Office application makes common tasks far easier for the common user …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
I've been using the various incarnations of Microsoft Office for about 20 years now (maybe longer) -- prior to that, we used WordPerfect and WordPerfect Graphics. We probably used Lotus 123 for our spreadsheet software, but can't remember if that was just at home or what we …
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
The key differences between Microsoft Office and LibreOffice are the user interface and the quality of the services. The ribbon UI in Microsoft office makes it easier to navigate through the features.
Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Google's suite of products is a compelling choice when putting it up against Office 2016. Microsoft Office is still the standard to meet and beat. The simplicity of Google's products works well for many of the users who don't need advanced features. Office 2016 for my use as …
Best Alternatives
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
I usually recommend Microsoft 365 to my clients to keep them away from the Exchange server (sorry!) Our business has a lot of issues with exchange email functions and copy machines. I always recommend they download the desktop version and use the online version as needed. You never know when you will be without an internet connection, but you can usually trust your laptop will have a decent charge, and you can still be productive! Let it sync when the powers are back on - or your connection is alive.
Read full review
It is quite suitable for daily work in almost any job. Although now there are more advanced tools, found online in the cloud, it is still a good option for daily work. I highly recommend it as it has always been a reliable tool. The problem would be the support since it is a tool that is discontinued.
Read full review
Pros
  • keeps me extremely organized. It is so easy to link calendars, emails, and documents.
  • keeps me well connected. It is so easy to send a quick message on teams or send an email to a group (for example, my particular team within the company).
  • easy to use. Everything is straightforward, making it easy to find an answer to a question. There is even a search option to figure out how to do something within Microsoft.
Read full review
  • Consistent functionality across the several Office components. This consistency is a great advantage for adoptions of other unused Office components. For example, if you want to publish a book that you have done with Word, you don't need to relearn new menu positions, new file-related actions, new reviewing procedures, etc.
  • Functionality extensions with Add-ins. This has always been a nameplate for Microsoft and Office keeps its tradition. I remember the renowned Bill Gates phrase when Visual Basic has been presented to him, he said: "Make it extensible". So, for example, I use Grammarly to improve my translations and there are thousands of Add-ins that you can purchase to increase your productivity.
  • Continuous improvement of online Office 365 allows for comprehensive usage from any platform, like Apple or Android tablets, Mac or Windows, cell phones and more. Every day and regular user's functions are there. And if you need extensive reviewing capabilities or programming, you can always rely on the desktop version.
  • Spelling and translate for multiple languages are now included in the online version. I should indeed rely more on the online version.
Read full review
Cons
  • I wish it was a little simpler to integrate things from one Microsoft Feature into another one. Perhaps I just don't know the tricks for that yet...after all these years of using it.
  • I didn't like how it defaulted to saving the document automatically with changes, like Google Docs, but it seems that has now changed, and is better now.
  • Generally, I really like how the suite works as is.
Read full review
  • Office 2016 professional edition can be priced for a single user license, it would be nice to see a drop in the pricing.
  • Office 2016 home edition is a better price but does not include outlook 2016, so it is not a good fit for the workplace environments.
  • Office 2016 can run slowly on older systems, so you need to make sure you have a machine that is 4 years old or less for it to run smoothly.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
I am completely satisfied with the product, and helps me on a daily basis. I do not the exact cost (it is not a cheap suite) but on the medium and long term the return on investment is guaranteed.
Read full review
We believe that office 2016 offers the best value when it comes to features included out of the box. The software is used in its entirety by our organization and is easily supported by our staff of IT technicians. Users find this software to be easy to learn and easy to use with minimal learning curve.
Read full review
Usability
It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.
The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.
It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.
Read full review
It's fairly easy to use, but the automatic formatting or capturing of formatting when pasting is wonky - especially when there are outlines or other bullets/numbered lists. Fixing and sizing up tables can be annoying, and there are sometimes formatting issues that we just absolutely cannot fix for some reason
Read full review
Support Rating
Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
Read full review
Microsoft support is very good, big corporation has people for everything. You can find a lot of solutions to problems and helpful tutorials, as well as ready to be copied macros and functions made by communities around the world. Very big user base means there aren't situations that someone else didn't have already
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Everything works and I use it all the time.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the recent collaborative functionalities, nothing really stacks up or compares; this has everything a person in an office (oversimplifying) needs to get work done.
Read full review
We have always used Microsoft Office products, beginning with the older versions, but we did try a brief evaluation of OpenOffice from Apache. Even though that open source software is free, it's got certain limitations and a different functionality that was missing from Office2016, so we decided not to pursue that path.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Microsoft 365 has really been effective and cost saving option for our organization in terms of managing the mailboxes, collaboration and messaging.
  • There is multiple must have features which comes all together in one package and therefore is cost effective.
  • The only negative impact according to me is its inability to protect the environment or domain from external attacks effectively.
Read full review
  • For the user groups that use Office in our organization, they would find it difficult to work without it. Decades of development are hard to just walk away from.
  • Office products are considered standard. When sharing data, there is almost never a question of "What format would you like that file in"?
  • For the price of convenience at this time, licensing fees are priced where we don't feel that we are not getting what we paid for.
Read full review
ScreenShots