Microsoft is ready to launch a new flat-price version of Office productivity software in the first week of next month. On Thursday, a blog post of the company has indicated that Microsoft will launch Office 2021 along with Windows 11 on Tuesday, October 5. Microsoft earlier emphasized that the company to release Microsoft 365 a one-time purchase Office 2021 for those who aren’t ready to move to the cloud, while the main focus remains on its subscription offering. Office 2021 will arrive in 2 versions: one for commercial users, called Office LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel), and one for personal use. The post also said that Office LTSC is generally available today. It includes enhanced accessibility features, performance improvements across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and visual improvements, like dark mode support across apps.

The new Office 2021 is designed for special situations, as opposed to for an entire organization, such as process control devices on the manufacturing floor that are not connected to the internet. However, Office 2021 for personal use will arrive on Oct. 5, but Microsoft hasn’t yet announced pricing information. The post added that both versions of Office will be supported on Windows and Mac, and will ship with the OneNote app. They will also ship both 32- and 64-bit versions. Microsoft will support the software for 5 years and it does not plan to change the price at the time of release. Microsoft transitioned Office 365 into Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that added more features to the suite of software tools in April 2020.

But it required a monthly payment of $7 for an individual plan or $10 for a family of up to 6 people. The price will reportedly increase in March 2022. The company said that its main focus will continue to be on the cloud, but it understands that not everyone is ready to take that step. However, you can use Microsoft 365 apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel online for free with limited functionality. You don’t need either a perpetual version or a subscription to take full advantage of their capabilities. Some wondered if Office 2019 would be the last perpetual version of the software since Microsoft 365 came along. But Microsoft announced its plan in a September blog post for a perpetual release of Office 2021.