Office on a New Windows Laptop Is a Trial Unless You Paid

A new Windows laptop does not come with Office to keep unless Office was part of what you paid for: what Microsoft preinstalls is a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 Family. Without paying, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are free in a web browser, and owning the desktop apps costs $179.99 once for Office Home 2024 or $99.99 a year for Microsoft 365 Personal, at Microsoft’s US store prices on 10 November 2026.

What is on the laptop when you open Word

Microsoft’s support page describes the screen most buyers meet. If Word, or another Office app, opens to a Let’s get started screen with options to try, buy or activate, “Microsoft 365 is installed on your new PC as a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 Family.” The same page adds that you won’t get a product key from the laptop’s maker “unless you paid for an Microsoft 365 product key card.”

From that screen, Microsoft lists five ways forward:

1. Start the one-month Microsoft 365 Family trial.
2. Buy Microsoft 365 or a one-time-purchase Office.
3. Add the laptop to a Microsoft 365 subscription you already have.
4. Enter a product key from a new key card.
5. Install an older one-time-purchase Office you already own.

The trial turns into a subscription. Microsoft’s trial page says that after the month, the subscription “automatically renews” unless cancelled in your Microsoft account. On the plan comparison page that day, Microsoft 365 Family was $129.99 a year or $12.99 a month.

Ignoring the screen is not a free option either. Microsoft says Office that can’t activate “eventually becomes unlicensed and all editing features of Microsoft 365 are disabled”, and that preinstalled Office needs the Family trial or a purchase to keep working. The apps on a new laptop are a way in to a subscription, not a free copy.

You may also see the Microsoft Copilot app. That is the new name for what Microsoft calls “the Microsoft 365 (Office) app”, and Microsoft says it is still the place to find files and open Word, Excel and the rest. Copilot Chat inside it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription on a personal account.

If the laptop was sold with Office

Some laptops are sold with Office included. Microsoft’s wording for that case is specific: “a digital product key is transmitted to your PC when you activate Windows. You won’t receive a printed product key.” Word then shows a screen saying the product is installed “as a one-year subscription or one-time purchase”, and you activate it by signing in with a Microsoft account, which also lets you reinstall it later.

Those two are very different buys. A one-year subscription stops editing when the year runs out unless you renew it; a one-time purchase does not need renewing. Check which one the listing names before you count Office as part of the laptop’s value.

What you get for nothing

A free Microsoft account gets Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a browser. Microsoft’s page offers “free access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using Microsoft 365 for the web”, along with web and mobile Outlook and 5 GB of OneDrive storage. Real-time collaboration needs the files saved in and shared from OneDrive. Basic spelling and grammar checks come with it, as our look at what free writing tools cap found.

On phones and small tablets, the mobile apps edit for free. Microsoft says core editing is free on iOS and Android devices “with screen sizes of 10.1 inches or less”. Extras such as tracking changes in Word need a subscription, and so does creating or editing documents on an iPad Pro.

The free route lacks the desktop apps. On Microsoft’s comparison table, a free account also gets Outlook only as the version that “includes ads”, and Copilot with “limited usage”.

Microsoft’s ways to get Word and Excel, side by side

Prices are Microsoft’s US list prices, read from its store on 10 November 2026. Support dates are from Microsoft’s Lifecycle page.

Option	Cost (Microsoft US store)	Apps	People and devices	How long it lasts
Preinstalled trial	Free for 1 month, then renews as Family	As Microsoft 365 Family	As Family	1 month, unless you pay
Free web and mobile	Free with a Microsoft account	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive; 5 GB storage	Any browser; free core editing on screens up to 10.1 inches	No trial period stated
Office Home 2024	$179.99 once	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote	1 PC or Mac; non-commercial use	Supported to 10 October 2029
Office Home & Business 2024	$249.99 once	Adds Outlook	1 PC or Mac	Supported to 10 October 2029
Microsoft 365 Personal	$99.99 a year, or $9.99 a month	Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote with Copilot; Access on PC; 1 TB storage	1 person, 5 devices at once	While you subscribe
Microsoft 365 Family	$129.99 a year, or $12.99 a month	As Personal; 2 TB shared storage; AI for the owner only	1 to 6 people, 5 devices each	While you subscribe
Microsoft 365 Premium	$199.99 a year, or $19.99 a month	As Family, with Microsoft’s “extensive” AI usage	1 to 6 people	While you subscribe

For one laptop and the core apps, buying once costs less by the second year. Two years of Microsoft 365 Personal come to $199.98, more than Office Home 2024’s one-off $179.99. Microsoft’s FAQ is clear that one-time purchases get no upgrade pricing, so the next version is a full-price buy. Our guide to Office 2021’s end of support covers what happens when a one-time version’s updates stop.

For more than one device or person, the subscription covers more. Personal runs on five devices at once, including phones and tablets, and Family stretches to six people. Office Home 2024 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) covers one PC or Mac.

Before you buy

Some budget laptops ship in S mode, which limits the machine to apps from the Microsoft Store; leaving S mode is free but one-way. If you are still choosing the laptop, our roundup of the laptops reviewers rate highest is where to start, and the Office decision can wait until the trial screen appears. When it arrives, Windows Backup brings over files and settings but not desktop apps: what moves to a new Windows PC, item by item.

Questions people ask

Does a new laptop come with Microsoft Office for free?

Not to keep. Microsoft says the Office it preinstalls on a new Windows PC is a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 Family. You own the apps only if you paid for an Office product with the laptop. Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the web are free with a Microsoft account.

How long is the free Office trial on a new laptop?

One month. Microsoft calls it a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 Family, and its store says the subscription renews automatically after the trial unless you cancel it in your Microsoft account.

Can I use Word and Excel for free?

Yes, in a web browser. Microsoft offers Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the web free with a Microsoft account, plus 5 GB of OneDrive storage. On phones and tablets with screens of 10.1 inches or less, core editing in the mobile apps is free too.

What happens if I don’t start the Microsoft 365 trial?

The preinstalled apps stay unactivated, and Microsoft says unlicensed Office has its editing features disabled. To keep using it, you start the Family trial or buy Microsoft 365 or Office, or install an older Office you already own.

My new laptop came with Office but no product key. Where is it?

There isn’t a printed one. Microsoft says a paid Office product bundled with a Windows PC gets a digital key when Windows activates. You activate it by signing in with a Microsoft account, which also lets you reinstall it later.

Is Office Home 2024 a one-time purchase?

Yes. It is $179.99 once at Microsoft’s US store, for 1 PC or Mac, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and is supported until 10 October 2029. Microsoft says there is no upgrade pricing, so its successor costs full price.

What is the Microsoft Copilot app?

It is the new name for the Microsoft 365 app, which many people called the Office app. Microsoft says it remains the place to find files and open Word, Excel and the rest. Copilot Chat in it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription on a personal account.