Office 2021 End of Life: Support Ends October 13, 2026 (LTSC 2021 Too)
Microsoft Office 2021 reaches end of support on October 13, 2026. Office LTSC 2021, the volume-licensed release for organizations, ends on the same day. Microsoft's lifecycle pages list a single end date for each and no extended support phase. For Office LTSC 2021 Microsoft says so directly: five years of mainstream support, and no extended support after it. Project 2021 and Visio 2021 follow the same rule.
Which products the date covers
| Product | Who has it | Microsoft policy | Support ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office 2021 Home and Student, Home and Business, Professional, and the two Mac editions | Bought once, by a person or a small business | Modern Lifecycle Policy: one retirement date | October 13, 2026 |
| Office LTSC 2021 Professional Plus, Standard, Standard for Mac; also Project 2021 and Visio LTSC 2021 | Organizations, through volume licensing | Fixed Lifecycle Policy: five years of mainstream support, no extended support | October 13, 2026 |
Sources: Microsoft's lifecycle pages for Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021, and Microsoft's Office LTSC 2021 overview for the support duration. Microsoft states these dates in Pacific time.
What stops on that date
The apps do not switch off. What ends is everything that keeps them safe to use: security updates, bug fixes and Microsoft technical support. Office documents and email attachments are one of the most common ways attackers get into a computer, which is why an unpatched copy of Word, Excel or Outlook is a bigger risk than most unpatched software. The risk is small on the first day and grows with every flaw found afterwards that will never be fixed for 2021.
Every perpetual Office release
| Release | Released | Support ends |
|---|---|---|
| Office 2024 | October 1, 2024 | October 9, 2029 |
| Office LTSC 2024 | September 18, 2024 | October 9, 2029 |
| Office 2021 | October 5, 2021 | October 13, 2026 |
| Office 2019 | September 24, 2018 | October 14, 2025 |
| Office 2016 | September 22, 2015 | October 14, 2025 |
| Office 2013 | January 9, 2013 | April 11, 2023 |
The full history, including why Office has no paid security-update programme of the kind Windows has, is in our Microsoft Office end of life guide.
What to do
- Find out what you run. In any Office app: File, then Account, then About. A company with a mix of purchases often has 2016, 2019 and 2021 side by side; two of those three are already out of support.
- Pick the replacement by how you buy. One-time purchase: Office 2024, supported to October 9, 2029. Volume licensing in a restricted environment: Office LTSC 2024, supported to October 9, 2029. Everyone else: Microsoft 365, which is updated continuously and has no fixed end date to plan around.
- Check the computer underneath. Office is only as supported as the operating system it runs on. Our guides to Windows and macOS support dates cover that side.
- Do it before the date. Licences, deployment and add-in testing take longer than the install itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Office 2021 end of life?
Microsoft lists the retirement date of Office 2021 as October 13, 2026. Office LTSC 2021 reaches the end of mainstream support on the same day, and Microsoft states there is no extended support for it.
Will Office 2021 still work after end of support?
The apps keep opening, but Microsoft stops issuing security updates, bug fixes and technical support for them. Documents and email attachments are a common way in for attackers, so an unpatched Office install gets riskier with every month that passes.
What replaces Office 2021?
Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024, both supported to October 9, 2029, or a Microsoft 365 subscription, which is updated continuously.
Related
- Microsoft Office — every release, live status and EOL Risk Score
- Microsoft Office end of life: every release
- The 2026 end-of-life calendar
- How we verify our dates