Introduction
Mac users have had a complicated relationship with Microsoft Office over the years. For a long time, the Mac version of Office lagged behind its Windows counterpart in terms of features, performance, and interface polish. That has changed considerably with recent releases, and Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac is the strongest version of Office for macOS that Microsoft has ever shipped.
This guide is written specifically for Mac users who want to understand exactly what they are getting, how it compares to the Windows version, what the system requirements are, and whether the one-time purchase makes more sense than a subscription. If you are considering Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac, read on.
What Is Included in Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac?
The Home and Business edition for macOS includes five core applications:
- Microsoft Word 2024 for Mac
- Microsoft Excel 2024 for Mac
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2024 for Mac
- Microsoft Outlook 2024 for Mac
- Microsoft OneNote 2024 for Mac
It is important to note what is not included compared to the Windows Professional Plus edition: Mac users do not get Access or Publisher. This is a long-standing distinction — Access has never been available on macOS, and Publisher has been discontinued on all platforms in favour of web-based alternatives. For the vast majority of users, the five included apps cover everything needed for work, study, and home use.
The Home and Business designation is also significant — it entitles you to use Office for commercial purposes, including in a business environment. The Home and Student edition, by contrast, is restricted to non-commercial use only.
macOS System Requirements
Office 2024 for Mac has been built to take advantage of Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, and M4 chips) as well as continuing to support Intel-based Macs. The specific requirements are:
- Operating system: macOS Ventura (13.0) or later. Office 2024 does not support macOS Monterey, Big Sur, or earlier versions.
- Processor: Intel x64 or Apple Silicon (native support for M-series chips, not just Rosetta emulation)
- RAM: 4 GB minimum (8 GB recommended)
- Storage: 10 GB of available disk space. Note this is considerably more than the Windows version due to how macOS application bundles are structured.
- Display: 1280 × 800 resolution minimum
- Internet: Required for activation and certain connected features
The Apple Silicon requirement deserves special mention. Unlike Office 2019 and earlier, which ran on Apple Silicon Macs via Rosetta 2 translation, Office 2024 is a Universal Binary — it runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon without any translation layer. On an M-series Mac, this translates to noticeably faster launch times, lower memory usage, and dramatically better battery life compared to running a translated Intel app.
Installing Office 2024 on Your Mac
Step 1: Redeem Your Product Key
Visit setup.microsoft.com and sign in with your Microsoft account (or create one — it is free). Enter the product key you received after purchase. This associates the licence with your Microsoft account rather than just your hardware, which means you can reinstall on the same Mac if you ever need to wipe and restore.
Step 2: Download the Installer Package
Microsoft will present you with a download button for the Mac installer. The file is a standard .pkg package, approximately 2–3 GB. Download it to your Downloads folder.
Step 3: Run the Package Installer
Double-click the .pkg file and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be prompted to agree to Microsoft’s licence agreement and choose an installation destination (the default Applications folder is correct for most users). The installer places all Office apps in your Applications folder and may take 5–10 minutes.
Step 4: Launch and Activate
Open any Office app — Word is the logical starting point. You will be prompted to sign in with the Microsoft account you used in Step 1. Activation is automatic once you sign in. You can verify activation by going to Word → Help → About Microsoft Word, which will show your account and licence status.
Step 5: Set Up Outlook
If you plan to use Outlook as your email client, add your account by going to Tools → Accounts → Add an Account. Outlook 2024 for Mac supports Exchange, Microsoft 365, Gmail, iCloud, and standard IMAP/POP accounts. The setup wizard guides you through the process and, for most providers, only requires your email address and password.
How Does Office 2024 for Mac Compare to the Windows Version?
Feature parity between the Mac and Windows versions of Office has improved enormously over the past few years. For the core applications — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook — the gap is now very small:
Excel
The new functions introduced in Excel 2024 — GROUPBY, PIVOTBY, and PERCENTOF — are available on the Mac version. Dynamic arrays, XLOOKUP, XMATCH, and LET are fully supported. The main difference is the absence of some advanced VBA capabilities and a handful of add-ins that are Windows-only, but for the majority of Excel users, this will never be noticeable.
Word
Word for Mac 2024 is functionally equivalent to the Windows version for document creation, formatting, and the Editor AI writing assistant. Mail merge is fully supported, as are all standard document templates and styles.
PowerPoint
PowerPoint for Mac 2024 includes Designer, Morph transitions, and 3D object insertion — features that were Windows-only in earlier generations. Presentation playback is smooth, and keynote-style presenter view works well with an external display.
Outlook
Outlook 2024 for Mac has been rebuilt from the ground up compared to the legacy Mac version. The new Outlook for Mac shares its codebase with the web version, resulting in much faster synchronisation and a more consistent experience. Some users who prefer the older "classic" Outlook interface may notice the change, but the new version is significantly more stable and better supported.
Office 2024 for Mac vs. Apple’s Built-In Apps
Many Mac users ask whether they actually need Office when macOS ships with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for free. The honest answer depends on your workflow:
Apple’s apps are polished and work beautifully within the Apple ecosystem. However, if you regularly exchange files with colleagues, clients, or anyone using Windows, the compatibility argument strongly favours Microsoft Office. Pages can open .docx files, but complex formatting — particularly in documents with multiple columns, tracked changes, or custom styles — often renders differently. When sending a CV, a report, or a contract, opening the file in the application it was created in is always the safer choice.
For businesses and professionals, Outlook is also a more capable email client than Apple Mail for Exchange and Microsoft 365 environments, with better handling of meeting requests, calendar sharing, and organisation-wide directories.
Pricing: One-Time Purchase vs. Subscription
Microsoft 365 Personal costs £59.99 per year (as of 2026), which means over five years you will have paid £299.95. Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac from GetRenewedTech is a one-time payment of £49.99.
The subscription does include 1 TB of OneDrive storage and access to the web versions of Office apps. But if you already use Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox for cloud storage, that feature loses much of its value. For straightforward productivity use, the perpetual licence pays for itself in under a year.
Who Should Buy Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac?
- Mac users who need a reliable, professional productivity suite for work or business use
- Freelancers and sole traders who exchange documents with clients on Windows
- Students who want professional-grade software without a recurring cost
- Anyone upgrading from Office 2019 or Office 2021 for Mac who wants Apple Silicon native performance
Final Thoughts
Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac is a mature, feature-rich suite that runs natively on Apple Silicon and covers every practical productivity need. The five included apps handle word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, and notes — and they do so with excellent file format compatibility and a clean, macOS-native interface.
At £49.99 from GetRenewedTech, it is exceptional value for a permanent, full-featured productivity suite. If you are a Mac user who depends on Office for your work or studies, this is the version to get.
