Office 2007 is like Vista making Office 2010 a must upgrade Microsoft has jacked up prices accordingly
I have been searching for 80 days for a low cost source for Microsoft Office 2010 and found it at eValusoftware.com.
A 2 computer license cost only $160, about $120 less than most places.
If Microsoft hadn’t pulled a Vista and ruined Office with Office 2007, I wouldn’t be upgrading. I live inside Microsoft Office and have for almost 20 years. The GUI changes in Office 2007 buried things like “File Share” and standard formatting you use all day long along a new-fangled “ribbon”. Everyone hates it including the mothers of Microsoft programmers.
Microsoft’s fixed most of the interface with Office 2010 which they offered on a 90 to 180 day trial. Good move since I got used to it. The crunch comes when you try to buy it. Office 2010 Home and Student for 3 users is a reasonable $160 but it leaves out Outlook which is the best mail client for people with multiple accounts, access to Exchange and a host of other complications.
Microsoft Home Office and Business includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, and Outlook 2010 and leaving out Access 2010. It costs a whopping $350 but is often sold for $280. In the confusing world of Microsoft licensing, this version is a 2 computer license which is perfect for someone with 2 desktops or a desktop/laptop combination.
Getting the best price
eValuesoftware.com, which I found on Amazon.com, offers the same 2 user license for $160. That’s the lowest legal price I could find.
The company is a Microsoft Partner, an Amazon.com partner and proudly links you to their Better Business Bureau rating. You can’t be too careful buying software on line. Many of the lowest priced sites are scams to get your credit card.
The software is not a DVD. It requires a few simple steps to download.
- Order the software from eValuesoftware.com
- Wait 2 hours for the product keys to arrive
- Download the 90 evaluation software from Microsoft.
- Install Office 2010 and inset keys given. That’s it.
It would be prudent to backup up the download file since there is no DVD. In my case, I was evaluating Office 2010 Professional which had to be uninstalled before the eval copy of Office Home and Business 2010 could be installed. Cost per CPU was $80.
Office Professional costs $240. Home and Student is $100. Some versions have DVD options.
The downside is obviously not having a DVD but a penny saved is a penny earned.
In the Cloud
Some people are switching off Microsoft Office completely and going with Google Docs. They are free and almost compatible with Office. I tried that and it works but wasn’t comfortable with moving 20 years of documents from my computer to some cloud location on the web. That may be feasible in the future but not yet.
Disclosure
We have no business relationship with Microsoft or eValuesoftware.com which is typical for products we write about. We do get a minuscule commission on items you purchase at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca if you link directly from this site. Our recommendations are always based on our honest evaluation and lowest landed cost.
Bill T
Thanks for the heads up on evaluesoftware.com as a source for Office 2010. I already got burned twice tring to buy the $94 and $149 versions – had ro have my credit card canceled and reissued…
I guess I will “Try” evaluesoftware.com
Daniel Parker
Stephen, I was doing some research on the web for reviews and your article came up. I really enjoyed your review of our service. If you would ever like to contact me directly my email is Parker (at) evaluesoftware.com
D. Parker
eValueSoftware.com
Jeff
(Link removed) evaluesoftware – This company is a total Fraud and SCAM!!! They take you order and money then never send you the software. I order Microsoft Office 2010 Retail Download and never received the download instructions or license keys. I communicated with them several times via email and phone and still no software. I requested a refund and still no response from the vendor.
DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!
William Belle
My company evaluated OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/) and found it to be good. The only problem was the formatting of Word docs was not 100% which unfortunately, since we share files with outside stakeholders, a bit of a deal breaker. Besides, we’re afraid like everybody else tied to Bill’s apron strings. Nevertheless, it is worth trying out because… it’s free!
Stephen Pate
I would have dropped MS Office last year for the same reasons but 20 years of Word Docs is too much to convert. MS Office has become an annoying program.
When will someone figure out you need to have a mail client that collects all your email addresses in one box?
Oh right, Facebook is rolling that out. Cheers
Ben
We have used eValuesoftware twice and have had a good experience both times. The first time was a “license only” purchase as described in the article and everything worked perfectly. I wonder if Jeff did not realize what product he was purchasing?
Stephen Pate
evaluesoftware did try to help – MS is the dumb 800 lb gorilla in the room.
lnal
There is not alot of credible info on companies like
techvaluedirect.com and evaluesoftware.com, over the phone they stated that they have bulk discounts but i could not find further…