Microsoft updates Office for iPad apps with more affordable monthly subscriptions

Word 1.1 for iiPad (Photo Cropping)

Windows maker Microsoft has just refreshed its Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for iPad with support for month-to-month Office 365 subscriptions, the team announced today in a blog post.

Before, users were only able to buy a yearly Office 365 subscription within the Office for iPad apps.

Starting today, the refreshed Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications allow you to take advantage of Apple’s In-App Subscription feature to buy recurring monthly subscriptions for Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home.

A monthly subscription for Office 365 Personal is priced at $6.99 per month. Office 365 Home will run you $9.99 per month. These month-to-month payments compare to the previously available $99.99 annual subscription for Office 365 Home.

As you can see for yourself, monthly subscriptions are available at a lower price compared to the annual payment option. I’ve included Microsoft’s feature matrix below for a better understanding of the various Office 365 tiers and payment options.

Office for iPad (payment options, subscription tiers)

The Office 365 Personal tier is for people who want to use Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote) on one tablet and a single Mac or Windows PC. The Office 365 Home tier is for individual customers and families wishing to use Office apps on up to five computers and five tablets.

Office for iPad (monthly subscriptions)

If you’ve already purchased Office 365 Home for one year, you’ll continue on the same subscription. “If you buy a monthly subscription on your iPad, you can switch to an annual subscription from your iPad, or from iTunes on your PC or Mac,” the team noted.

[App Store via The Office Blogs]