How to Move Off Office 2021 Now That Support Has Ended

Office 2021 support ended on October 13, 2026, and Microsoft has said there is no extension and no extended security updates. The apps still open, but they no longer get security fixes. A small business should inventory its installs, then move to Microsoft 365 Apps, or Office LTSC 2024 for offline machines, and retire the old copies.

Little iApps publishes step-by-step guides for owners and office managers who run their own software. This guide is for a team of 3 to 50 people with a mix of Office 2021 licenses, some bought years ago and some on spare laptops. It walks through the audit, the choice, the cutover and the cleanup.

What does end of support mean for Office 2021?

End of support means Microsoft no longer provides technical support, bug fixes or security fixes for Office 2021. According to Microsoft's end-of-support notice for Office 2021, the apps keep working, and phone and chat support also stop.

The real risk is slow and quiet. New flaws in Word, Excel and Outlook will be found, and attackers target them. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) explains in its guide to patches and software updates that attackers may target vulnerabilities for months or even years after fixes are available. For unsupported software, no fix ever arrives.

CISA recommends retiring all end-of-life products. For a small business, that means a deadline you set yourself, not one Microsoft will enforce. Little iApps' editors suggest finishing the move within 30 days.

The same pressure applies to other Microsoft products. Our guide on Windows 10 ESU year two versus upgrading covers the operating system side, which often needs fixing at the same time.

Step 1: Count every Office 2021 install

Start with a simple spreadsheet. List every computer, who uses it and which Office version it runs. Open any Office app, choose File, then Account, and read the product information. Note whether it is Office 2021, Office LTSC 2021 or a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Check the odd machines. A back-office desktop, a shared laptop and a home computer used for work all count. Teams often find two or three installs nobody remembered.

Add two columns for risk. Mark each device that uses macros, accounting add-ins or industry plug-ins. Mark each that has no internet access. Those two groups decide which replacement you choose in the next step.

Photograph or screenshot each product-information screen if you can. A saved record helps later if a license key or purchase email goes missing. It also shows which copies came with a retail purchase and which came from a volume agreement, a detail that matters when you transfer licenses to a new computer.

Step 2: Choose Microsoft 365 Apps, LTSC 2024 or another suite

Microsoft's own upgrade planning guide names two supported paths. Microsoft 365 Apps is the subscription version for desktop, web and mobile, and it is updated as often as monthly. Office LTSC 2024 is a one-time volume-license purchase for one device per license, and it only gets the features it shipped with.

Microsoft says LTSC 2024 is designed for specific cases. Those include regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates, process-control machines and systems that cannot connect to the internet. An ordinary office laptop is not one of them.

The table below compares the three realistic choices for a small team.

For current subscription prices, see our Microsoft 365 versus Google Workspace pricing comparison. If you plan to add AI features, read the breakdown of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business price first, since that add-on changes the monthly bill.

Which option should a five-person office pick?

A five-person office should pick a Microsoft 365 Business plan that includes the desktop apps. It gives every user installs on several devices, automatic updates and a license that moves with the person. A one-time purchase only makes sense for a machine that never goes online.

Do the math over three years. Five users on a subscription cost the same each month, but you avoid buying five new licenses at the next release. Little iApps' editors weigh licensing against support time, because an unpatched machine costs more than a few dollars a month.

Step 3: Test one machine before you move everyone

Pick one pilot computer and one willing user. Install the new Office, open the files that matter most and run the macros you rely on. Microsoft advises testing business-critical Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros, third-party add-ins and complex spreadsheets before a wider rollout.

Keep a short test list. Include a spreadsheet with pivot tables, a Word template with a letterhead, an Outlook profile with a shared mailbox and any accounting export that opens in Excel. Note anything that looks different.

If an add-in breaks, contact its vendor before the cutover. Many have a 2024 or Microsoft 365 version, sometimes at a small upgrade fee. Budget for that now.

Step 4: Install the new version and remove the old one

Install the new apps on the pilot machine first, then on each device in turn. Microsoft recommends uninstalling previous versions of Office before installing Microsoft 365 Apps, since an older Windows Installer (MSI) version can conflict with it. For a small team, the manual uninstall in Windows settings works fine.

Work in small batches, such as two or three machines a day. Back up each user's files first, and confirm that email and calendars sync before you move on. A user who loses a day to a bad install costs more than the delay.

After install, sign in each user and check that Office shows as licensed. Accept any first-run privacy prompt, since Microsoft notes that users may need to confirm it to finish the upgrade. Then delete the old license key from your records so it is not reused.

Common mistakes to avoid during the move

The first mistake is buying licenses before the audit. Teams often purchase a seat for every employee, then discover that two people only use the web apps. Count first, buy second.

The second is forgetting shared and kiosk machines. A reception computer or a warehouse laptop may run Office 2021 and rarely get checked. Put every one of them on the list.

The third is skipping the backup. Before any uninstall, copy local documents, templates and signature files to a safe location. Outlook data files and custom dictionaries are easy to overlook, and users notice them missing right away.

The fourth is moving everyone on the same day. If something fails, you want one affected person, not ten. A staggered rollout also lets you fix the first problem before it repeats.

What does the move cost, and what should you budget?

Budget for three things: licenses, time and add-on fixes. Licenses are the visible cost. Time is the hidden one, because each device needs roughly an hour for backup, install, sign-in and checks. For a ten-person office, that is about ten hours of work spread over a week.

Add-on fixes are the wild card. A legacy accounting plug-in or a custom macro may need a vendor update or a rewrite. Ask each vendor for written confirmation that its product supports your target Office version, and keep the replies.

Finally, set aside a small contingency. A good rule is to add 15 percent to your time estimate for surprises such as a forgotten laptop or a password reset that locks someone out. It is cheaper to plan for that than to scramble.

Step 5: Clean up and prevent the next deadline

Close the loop with a short cleanup. Remove old installers, update your software inventory and set a calendar reminder for the next end-of-support date. Microsoft's lifecycle pages list dates for every product, and the older lifecycle notes show how regularly they arrive.

If your team still uses desktop publishing or other older Microsoft apps, review them now. Our guide on how to move off Microsoft Publisher and save your files shows a similar pattern for a tool with its own end date.

Finally, write down what you chose and why. One paragraph in a shared document saves an hour of debate next time. List the plan, the number of seats and the renewal date.

What to do this week

Treat the end of Office 2021 support as a one-week project. Count your installs on day one, choose a path on day two, pilot on day three and roll out the rest over the following days. Little iApps' editors recommend Microsoft 365 for most teams and LTSC 2024 only for offline devices.

Your next step is the inventory spreadsheet. Once you can see every machine, the rest of the plan is straightforward.