Microsoft: Ad-filled Office apps won't launch widely any time soon

Microsoft has quietly rolled out a free version of its desktop Office apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which doesn’t require a Microsoft 365 subscription.

But here’s the catch: The free version comes with ads, meaning that you will see a persistent ad banner on the right side of your screen, and a 15-second video ad will pop up every few hours. Folks over at Beebom first spotted the change.

It also comes with a lot of limitations. You can’t install add-ins, use advanced data tools in Excel, or access design tools in PowerPoint. This new ad-supported Office app is currently available only on Windows, and it’s part of a limited testing phase.

Other than that, documents can only be saved to OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, and users get 5GB of free storage. Local saving is also not available in this version.

Microsoft has not officially announced the full release of this version, and a company spokesperson told PC World that there are no plans to launch it more widely at this time.

“Microsoft has been conducting some limited testing. Currently, there are no plans to launch a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop apps,” the statement reads.

Earlier this year, the Redmond company raised the price of its consumer Microsoft 365 subscription for the first time in 12 years, increasing it by $3 per month.

This price hike is part of the company’s integration of its Copilot AI assistant into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, as well as the addition of Microsoft Designer, an AI image-editing tool.

The new pricing for Microsoft 365 Personal is now $9.99 per month and $99.99 per year, while the Family plan, which covers up to six users, costs $12.99 per month and $129.99 per year.