You probably know of the two main ways to get Microsoft Office applications: the subscription-based Microsoft 365, and the one-time purchase of Office 2024. Did you know that there’s also a third option, aimed at businesses and organizations?
Office Long Term Servicing Channel 2024 (LTSC) is an alternative form of Office similar in many ways to Office 2024, but there are some differences worth taking into consideration.
If you’d like to learn more about MS 365, our article comparing it to Office 2024 is in many aspects also applicable to LTSC.
Attention: for the purposes of this article, we will be calling Office LTSC 2024 simply “LTSC”, to avoid confusion with Office 2024.
The applications
Much like Office 2024, LTSC uses a perpetual licensing model, which grants you a 2024 feature-version of the apps included in the given version.
With LTSC Standard, you receive:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- OneNote
- Outlook
With LTSC Professional Plus, the suite is broader, including:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- OneNote
- Outlook
- Access
The inclusion of Outlook in the Standard variant is an improvement over Office 2024, which offers the e-mail program only in its Home & Business version, not the Home edition.
Likewise, LTSC’s Professional Plus version has an edge over Office 2024 Home & Business through its inclusion of Access, Microsoft’s database-oriented software.
Updates and upgrades
The two versions handle possible updates in the same way.
Both Office 2024 and LTSC have fixed feature sets, functionally frozen in time in 2024, and only receive security and quality updates rather than the continuous feature upgrades available through Microsoft 365. They also have the same support expectancy, ending on October 10, 2029.
While it might seem like a lacklustre offer, it has value for users and organizations which value a stable, reliable environment that doesn’t change UI or present additional challenges to the IT department, where applicable.
With no risk of major feature changes, LTSC systems offer more predictable change management and users are less likely to be surprised by a change which might require adjusting established user habits.
It still needs IT support for distributing fixes and security updates, and for conducting regular administration, but it’s better suited to organizations which don’t want to deal with feature changes inherent in MS 365.
Accessibility for businesses and organizations
An important aspect of LTSC is that this version uses volume licensing, which makes it more suitable for organizational deployments than Office 2024, which is sold through retail licensing.
The difference between the two licensing models is mainly in how licenses are purchased, deployed, and activated.
Office LTSC 2024 is distributed through Microsoft’s volume-licensing channel and supports centralized deployment and activation. Organizations can use KMS, MAK, or Active Directory-based activation depending on their infrastructure. KMS and Active Directory deployments periodically renew activation, while MAK normally uses one-time activation for each installation.
For Office 2024, Microsoft sells the retail editions as one-time licenses for one PC or Mac, without the organization-wide KMS or Active Directory activation infrastructure used by LTSC.
This makes the LTSC version a good alternative to Microsoft 365 for organizations which value stable, fixed environments over continuous upgrades. The array of available applications differs significantly, however, which must also be taken into consideration.
Office LTSC Professional Plus vs. Microsoft 365 for Business
| App / service | LTSC Professional Plus 2024 | Microsoft 365 Business |
|---|---|---|
| Word | Yes | Yes[1] |
| Excel | Yes | Yes[1] |
| PowerPoint | Yes | Yes[1] |
| OneNote | Yes | Yes[1] |
| Outlook | Yes | Yes[1] |
| Access | Yes, Windows only | Selected plans[2] |
| Exchange / OneDrive / SharePoint | Not included | Included in the main Business plans |
| Teams | Not included | Depends on plan variant[3] |
| G2A.COM | LTSC Professional Plus offers | Office 365 Business offers[4] |
[1] Microsoft 365 Business Basic provides web and mobile versions of the core Office apps, while Business Standard and Business Premium add installed desktop applications.
[2] Access is Windows-only and is included with Business Standard and Business Premium, but not Business Basic.
[3] Microsoft sells Business plans both with and without Teams in applicable markets.
[4] The G2A.COM listing uses older “Office 365 Business” naming and does not map cleanly to Microsoft’s current Business Basic, Standard, or Premium tiers.
The best pick for you
| Consideration | LTSC | Office 2024 | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals | Usually unnecessary | Good fit for users who want a one-time purchase | Good fit for cloud features and multiple devices |
| Businesses | Good fit for controlled, fixed environments | Useful for smaller deployments | Good fit for collaboration and regularly updated apps |
| Payment | Perpetual volume license | One-time retail purchase | Subscription |
| Feature changes | Fixed | Fixed | Continuous |
| Cloud services | Not included with LTSC itself | Not bundled | Included depending on plan |
| Deployment | Volume deployment | One PC or Mac per license | User-based subscription |
| Access | Professional Plus includes it | Not included in Home or Home & Business | Included in selected Business plans on Windows |
| G2A.COM | LTSC Standard / Professional Plus | Office Home 2024 / Home & Business | Office 365 Business offers[1] |
[1] The G2A.COM listing uses legacy Office 365 Business naming, so check its current terms before comparing it directly with Microsoft’s current Business Basic, Standard, or Premium plans.
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