Before you spend a dollar on Microsoft Office, check your school email. Microsoft says educators and students with an eligible education email address can get Office 365 A1 for free. If your district or school qualifies, the thing you were about to shop for may already be waiting for you, and that’s the best news on this page.
Microsoft Office is the family of apps most of us grew up on: Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for slides, Outlook for email and OneNote for notes. Microsoft now sells these under both the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 names, and it says Microsoft 365 builds on top of the Office 365 apps and adds management, security and compliance tools. For a teacher, the names matter less than the question underneath them: what can I get without paying, and what will cost me?
How To Get The Microsoft Office Teacher Discount
The plan to look for is Office 365 A1. Microsoft donates it to eligible institutions at no cost, and it includes web-based versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus PC-only versions of Publisher and Access. In plain terms, that’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint running in your browser on any computer you sit down at.
Eligibility comes down to the school, not just you. Microsoft says you can use the education plan as long as you’re working at, or enrolled in, a qualified educational organization, and that your eligibility may be re-verified at any time. Microsoft also says approval is often instantaneous through an automated process, though an institution that still needs to be verified can take up to a month. If you’re planning a new school year around this, start early so the wait doesn’t land on the week you need it.
It helps to know what happens if you leave. When a plan expires, Microsoft says the Office apps enter a reduced-functionality mode: you can still view documents, but you can’t edit or create new ones, and online services tied to your school email stop working. You can extend the plan by re-verifying your status as an educator or by moving to an Office 365 personal plan, so a job change doesn’t have to mean losing your files.
What Free Doesn’t Include
The free plan is the browser-based suite, not the installed desktop apps. Microsoft’s A3 plan is the one that adds full access to Office desktop apps and lets them be installed on up to five PCs or Macs per user, but Microsoft lists A3 under pricing for institutions, so it’s something a school or district buys rather than something you purchase at a teacher rate. If you need desktop Office, ask your IT department what your district already licenses before you pay for anything yourself.
Microsoft Store’s educator discount doesn’t help here either. Microsoft excludes Office software and apps from it, and it excludes Windows 11 and Windows 10 too, so there’s no teacher price on either one. What the store discount does cover is hardware: select consumer Surface laptops and 2-in-1s are eligible for up to 10% off, which we cover on our Microsoft Surface teacher discount page.
Q&A
Is there a Microsoft Office teacher discount?
Yes, and it’s better than a discount for most educators. Microsoft says educators with an eligible education email address can get Office 365 A1 for free.
Can I get Word for free?
Word is included in the A1 plan as a web-based app. If you aren’t eligible for A1, Microsoft says you can still get free access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint through Microsoft 365 for the web.
Does the free plan include Office for Mac?
The A1 plan is built around the web-based apps, which work in a browser on a Mac. The installed desktop apps come with Microsoft’s A3 plan, which Microsoft says can be installed on PCs or Macs and is priced for institutions.
Is it Office 365 or Microsoft 365?
Microsoft says Microsoft 365 builds on Office 365 apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and adds management, security and compliance tools. For an individual teacher, the free A1 plan is listed under Office 365.
Do teachers get a discount on Windows?
Not that we could confirm. Microsoft excludes Windows 11 and Windows 10 from its educator discount at Microsoft Store.
Can I use the Microsoft Store educator discount on Office?
No. Microsoft excludes Office software and apps from that discount.
I’m retired, or my school doesn’t give me an education email. Can I still get something?
Microsoft says people who aren’t eligible for the education plan can get free access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint using Microsoft 365 for the web. That’s a good starting point if a school address isn’t an option.
How long does verification take?
Microsoft says it’s often instantaneous. If your institution needs to be verified first, it can take up to a month.
More Information:
Everything above comes from Microsoft’s own education product page and Microsoft Store’s discount terms. Plans, eligibility and prices change, so check the current details before you plan around them. For more savings on classroom and home technology, browse our tech discounts for teachers.
