Introduction
If you are shopping for a perpetual copy of Microsoft Office — one you buy once and own permanently — you currently have three versions to consider: Office 2019, Office 2021, and Office 2024. Each is priced differently, runs on different minimum system configurations, and includes a different set of features.
This is not a guide that will tell you "just get the newest one." For some users, Office 2019 is genuinely the right choice. For others, the jump from 2019 directly to 2024 makes sense. What follows is a detailed, application-by-application breakdown of the differences so you can make an informed decision.
System Requirements: A Critical First Filter
Before diving into features, check whether your machine can actually run each version. These are non-negotiable minimum requirements:
Office 2019 Professional Plus (Windows)
- OS: Windows 10 (version 1703 or later). Note: Microsoft ended support for Office 2019 on mainstream support in October 2023; extended support runs until October 2025.
- Processor: 1.6 GHz or faster, two-core
- RAM: 4 GB (64-bit) / 2 GB (32-bit)
- Storage: 4 GB
- Display: 1024 × 768
Office 2021 Professional Plus (Windows)
- OS: Windows 10 (version 1909 or later) or Windows 11. Office 2021 is not supported on Windows 7 or Windows 8.x.
- Processor: 1.6 GHz or faster, two-core
- RAM: 4 GB (64-bit)
- Storage: 4 GB
- Display: 1280 × 768
Office 2024 Professional Plus (Windows)
- OS: Windows 10 (version 1909 or later) or Windows 11. More current build requirements than 2021.
- Processor: 1.1 GHz or faster, dual-core (lower clock speed requirement than 2021, reflecting optimisation)
- RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended
- Storage: 4 GB
- Display: 1280 × 768
- DirectX: DirectX 9 with WDDM 2.0 or higher for hardware acceleration
Key takeaway: If your PC runs Windows 10 (any reasonably recent version), all three versions will install. If you are on Windows 7 or 8, only Office 2019 is technically supported, but you should strongly consider upgrading your OS. Office 2019 also reaches end of extended support in October 2025, after which it will receive no further security patches.
Excel: The Feature That Changes Everything
For many buyers, Excel is the deciding factor. Microsoft made significant investments in Excel’s formula engine across these three generations:
Excel 2019
Excel 2019 introduced several functions that were genuinely transformative for data analysis:
- IFS — tests multiple conditions without nesting multiple IF statements. Example:
=IFS(A1>90,"A",A1>80,"B",A1>70,"C",TRUE,"F") - SWITCH — evaluates a value against a list and returns a result for the first match. Cleaner than nested IFS for categorical lookups.
- TEXTJOIN — concatenates text from multiple cells with a specified delimiter, ignoring blank cells
- CONCAT — a replacement for CONCATENATE, supporting cell ranges
- MAXIFS / MINIFS — conditional maximum and minimum, equivalent to SUMIFS/COUNTIFS but for extremes
- Improved chart types including Funnel charts and Map charts (powered by Bing)
- Basic Power Query access via Get & Transform
What Excel 2019 does not have: dynamic arrays. Every formula in 2019 returns a single value into a single cell. If a formula would naturally produce multiple results, you see only the first one.
Excel 2021
Excel 2021 introduced the dynamic array engine — widely considered the most significant change to Excel’s core behaviour in over a decade. Key additions:
- Dynamic arrays — a formula can now "spill" its results across multiple cells automatically. If
=SORT(A1:A20)produces 20 sorted values, they appear in 20 consecutive cells without any special entry method. - XLOOKUP — replaces VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP. Can search left, right, up, or down; handles errors gracefully; supports wildcard matching. Syntax:
=XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array, [if_not_found]) - XMATCH — the dynamic array successor to MATCH, with the same advantages as XLOOKUP
- FILTER — returns a filtered subset of a range based on criteria you define. Replaces complex array formulas and Advanced Filter for most use cases.
- SORT / SORTBY — sorts a range or array and spills the results. SORTBY allows sorting by a different array than the one being returned.
- UNIQUE — extracts a list of unique values from a range, spilling the results into adjacent cells
- SEQUENCE — generates a sequential list of numbers with configurable start, step, rows, and columns
- LET — assigns names to calculation results within a formula, reducing redundant calculations and making complex formulas far more readable
Excel 2024
Excel 2024 builds on the dynamic array foundation with higher-level aggregation functions:
- GROUPBY — aggregates data by one or more row fields with a specified aggregation function (sum, average, count, etc.). Think of it as a PivotTable you can write as a formula:
=GROUPBY(region_column, sales_column, SUM) - PIVOTBY — extends GROUPBY to two dimensions, producing a cross-tabulation table directly in a cell range. Equivalent to a two-field PivotTable, but dynamic and formula-driven.
- PERCENTOF — calculates the proportional contribution of a subset to a total, commonly used alongside GROUPBY
- Further performance improvements for large workbooks with many dynamic array formulas
- Improved Python in Excel integration (for users who want to run Python scripts within a spreadsheet — this is a significant addition for data analysts)
Verdict for Excel users: If you use Excel seriously — for financial modelling, data analysis, or reporting — the jump from 2019 to 2021 is transformative because of dynamic arrays. The jump from 2021 to 2024 is meaningful but incremental. If you are still on 2019, upgrading to either 2021 or 2024 will change how you work with data.
PowerPoint: Presentation Features Across Versions
PowerPoint 2019
- Morph transition — animates objects, text, and images smoothly between two slides, creating the illusion of continuous movement
- Zoom feature — creates interactive navigation between slides (Summary Zoom, Slide Zoom, Section Zoom)
- SVG image support — scalable vector graphics can be inserted and edited without quality loss
- 3D model insertion from files or the online library
PowerPoint 2021
- Record a Presentation improvements — new recording studio interface with webcam footage embedded in slides, making video presentations significantly easier
- Stock media library — access to royalty-free images, icons, videos, and illustrations from within the Insert menu
- Loop and trim improvements for embedded video
- Ink-to-shape and ink-to-text conversion on touch-capable devices
PowerPoint 2024
- Designer improvements — the AI layout engine generates more varied and sophisticated suggestions, particularly for data slides and photo-heavy layouts
- Improved Copilot integration (where applicable) for slide outline generation
- Better high-DPI rendering on 4K displays
- Smoother Morph playback on mid-range hardware
Word: Writing and Document Features
Word 2019
Word 2019 introduced learning tools (Immersive Reader) for accessibility, improved accessibility checking, and Focus Mode for distraction-free writing. LaTeX maths equation input was added, and the Translation feature was expanded to support more languages directly within the document.
Word 2021
Word 2021 added a more capable Editor pane — a unified grammar, style, and clarity checking tool that goes beyond simple spell-check. It identifies passive voice, unclear phrasing, and inconsistencies in style. Improved collaboration features including co-authoring with automatic conflict resolution were also added.
Word 2024
Word 2024 refines the Editor further with tone detection (formal, casual, professional), adds better support for writing in multiple languages within a single document, and improves the Researcher feature for pulling in web sources.
Outlook: Email and Calendar
Outlook’s evolution across these three versions is perhaps the most visible:
- Outlook 2019: Solid, stable, and familiar. Focused Inbox for prioritising important messages. Office 365 Groups support.
- Outlook 2021: Improved search, better Microsoft Teams integration for scheduling meetings, Calendar improvements.
- Outlook 2024: Rebuilt "new" Outlook interface (matches the web version), My Day panel, improved search performance. Note: the new interface is a significant visual change — users upgrading from 2019 will notice it immediately.
Support Lifecycle
This matters for business users especially:
- Office 2019: Mainstream support ended October 2023; extended support ends October 2025. After that, no security updates.
- Office 2021: Extended support ends October 2026.
- Office 2024: Extended support ends October 2029.
If you need several years of security coverage without touching your Office installation, 2024 is the clear choice.
Pricing Comparison
| Version | Price at GetRenewedTech | Extended Support Until |
|---|---|---|
| Office 2019 Professional Plus | £22.99 | October 2025 |
| Office 2021 Professional Plus | £29.99 | October 2026 |
| Office 2024 Professional Plus | £29.99 | October 2029 |
Our Recommendation
Buy Office 2024 in almost every case. At £29.99 — the same price as Office 2021 — you get a longer support window (until October 2029), new Excel functions including GROUPBY and PIVOTBY, improved PowerPoint Designer, a rebuilt Outlook interface, and native Apple Silicon support on Mac. The price advantage of Office 2019 (£22.99) is only £7, but it comes with a support expiry only months away and the absence of dynamic arrays in Excel.
Office 2019 makes sense if you need Office on a Windows 10 machine that cannot upgrade to a newer OS build, or if you need a short-term solution and have a strict budget. For Mac users, the same logic applies — check our Office 2021 for Mac and Office 2024 for Mac options for the equivalent decision on macOS.
