Microsoft Office LTSC and 2021 are now available in public preview
The next perpetual version of Office is available in public preview.

What you need to know
- Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel for Windows and Office 2021 for Mac are available in public preview.
- These versions of Office don't require a subscription, instead of being available as a one-time purchase.
- Microsoft Teams will ship with these versions of Office rather than Skype for Business.
Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) for Windows and Office 2021 for Mac are now available in public preview. These new versions of Office don't require a subscription but also don't receive any new features. They're intended for regulated devices that can't get updates for years at a time, devices that aren't connected to the internet, and systems that must stay locked in time.
Office LTSC has all of the features from its predecessor plus a "subset of new features already available in Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise," according to a Microsoft Tech Community Post (opens in new tab). The post does not share a list of the new features for Office LTSC. Previously, Microsoft shared (opens in new tab) that "Dynamic Arrays and XLOOKUP in Excel, dark mode support across multiple apps, and performance improvements across Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint," will be in the new version of Office LTSC.
Like Windows 10 LTSC, Office LTSC will be supported for five years and be governed by the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.
Unlike previous versions of Office that shipped with Skype for Business, the new versions of Office will ship with Microsoft Teams. People can still install the Skype for Business client app through Microsoft Download Center.
Microsoft shares that today's announcement is just the first in a series of preview announcements for the on-premises wave. Over the coming months, the company will announce commercial previews for SharePoint and Project Server.
Windows Central Newsletter
Get the best of Windows Central in in your inbox, every day!
Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).
Thank you for signing up to Windows Central. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.