# Office 365 >  >  Difference between desktop Excel and 365 Excel

## lumpenproletarier

Greetings,

Is there any difference between the desktop version of Excel and the Office 365 version? (I've started reading Excel 2016 Bible, by John Walkenbach, and in the introductory material he stipulates that the book covers only the standard desktop version of Excel 2016, which made me wonder, *is* there any fundamental/significant difference between the two?)

Thanks.

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## MarvinP

Hi lumpenproletarier and welcome to the forum,

If you buy the 2016 365 subscription service it will get new updated tools/features each month.  The John wrote the book, he couldn't predict what was coming so he limited it to what was available when 2016 was released.  I'd suggest the 365 subscription.  I'd also suggest learning as much as you can from the Walkenbach material as he is my favorite author.  

https://support.office.com/en-us/art...f-bca4603e1426

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## lumpenproletarier

Thx Marvin

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## FDibbins

There is no "fundamental" difference between them.  I use 2016 desktop, and have found there it has a few handy (but not irreplaceable) functions missing.  like maxifs() and a few others like that.  No big deal, but may come in handy

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## MarvinP

Here is the site that shows what updates have happened in Office 365:

https://support.office.com/en-us/art...rs=en-US&ad=US

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## AliGW

Here's what Mynda Treacy (My Online Training Hub) had to say in the latest newsletter about choosing between the subscription version and the desktop version (she says at the bottom that she is happy for this to be shared):





> Microsoft recently announced that Power Pivot would be available in ALL Office 365 SKUs…finally! We MVPs have been asking for this ever since it got all complicated with what versions of Excel 2013 did and didn’t have Power Pivot.
> 
> It is in the process of rolling out, so keep your eye out for it in your COM add-ins when your software updates.
> I know many of you will be eager to get your hands on Power Pivot, so this week’s newsletter addresses a question I get asked regularly; what version of Office should I get, and if there’s ever been a reason to switch to Office 365 it’s now. Even for those of you who hate paying for something monthly.
> 
> ________________________________________
> 
> Office 365 vs Perpetual Licences
> From time to time I get asked which Microsoft Office licence* should I get; Office 365 subscription, or the one-time payment for a perpetual licence i.e. perpetual licences are the ones you pay for once and own forever…or until you decide to upgrade.
> ...



I agree with her wholeheartedly.

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## FDibbins

Im toying with the idea of switching to 365, but I get my desktop version for a ridiculously low price anyway, through a system based on where I work(ed) 

Min subscription is something like $8.25/mth while my 2016 desktop only cost me $16 or so (+15 if I wanted the install DVD)

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## AliGW

If it’s just for one user, it’s difficult, however for multiple users, it’s a no-brainer: I have the subscription at home on two laptops and a PC, and my partner and daughter also have their own accounts through my subscription. At around £80 per annum for all of that, it’s a bargain, plus you get OneDrive and all the latest additions. The recent addition of PowerPivot was certainly worth having.

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## FDibbins

Im the only 1 that really uses it to any degree.  My wife has the desktop version, and uses it at work, but anything above then very basic, she has to ask me to do it.  Still Im sure I could add her to my licence, on her machine?

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## AliGW

Yes, you could - no problem. She can have her own sign in, it just counts as one of your five installations. You get the tablet version as well on top of all that. It’s a good package if you make good use of it.

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## FDibbins

hmmm I like teh idea of getting the latest version (Im a bit of a techo geek lol).  I think I need to go buy some flowers real quick  :Cool:

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## FDibbins

I have been reading some reviews that say 365 is a lot slower than the desktop version (and has fewer features, which I find hard to believe from at least an excel point of view)

Anyone else here noticed a slow-down?

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## MarvinP

Nothing slower that I've seen.  Perhaps they were talking about Excel through your browser.  That isn't Excel on your machine.  Excel in the cloud (seen through a browser) doesn't allow VBA and doesn't have all the desktop functions.  When you subscribe to 365 you get all of Excel on your desktop.

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## FDibbins

Thanks to the info, I have a feeling tats what they were talking about, too

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## AliGW

Yes, that will be it. Sometimes you get a little bit of lag with OneDrive, but you don't have to use that. As Marvin says, when you run the program from your desktop. It's just like having the desktop version - I am not aware of anything being missing except in the online browser version. I think there are still some misconceptions about the way it works, but essentially each user downloads it and installs it on thier computer.

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## FDibbins

hanks, my wife liked the flowers - thats nice, she said -  (daisies and dandelions and some other flower-stuff i found growing in the lawn), so maybe my luck is in  :Smilie:

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## AliGW

LOL! I never get (nor do I bother to expect) flowers.  :Wink:

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## FDibbins

When my daughter was small (5-6-ish, she is now in her 30's), I decided, on a whim, to buy her mum some flowers, no other reason than to be nice.  They arrived at home while I was at work, and when I got home, my daughter asked if her mum and I had an argument.  When I said no, she asked me why I had bought the flowers then.

out of the mouth of babes lol

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## AliGW

If Mike turned up with flowers, I would know it was the onset of his second childhood. 'Nuff said!  :Wink:

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## FDibbins

I actually just remembered that my daughter didnt ask why I bought flowers, she asked what I had done wrong  :EEK!:

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## AliGW

I'll bet that happens to lots of men.  :Smilie:

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