Microsoft Office End of Life: 2016 and 2019 Are Dead, 2021 Dies in October
Office 2016 and Office 2019 both reached end of support on October 14, 2025 — the same day — and Office 2021 follows on October 13, 2026. That October 2026 date deserves a circle on the calendar: it is the same Tuesday that Windows 10's consumer Extended Security Updates expire. One day retires the desktop stack an enormous number of homes and small offices still run.
Perpetual-license Office follows Microsoft's classic two-phase lifecycle: five years of mainstream support (features and fixes), then extended support (security only) — and unlike Windows, Office has no Extended Security Update program. When extended support ends, that's the end. Microsoft 365's subscription apps are the continuously-updated exception, which is precisely how Microsoft wants the comparison to look.
Office End-of-Life Table (every release)
| Release | Released | Mainstream ended | End of support | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office 2024 | Oct 1, 2024 | Oct 9, 2029 | Oct 9, 2029 | Supported |
| Office LTSC 2024 | Sep 18, 2024 | Oct 9, 2029 | Oct 9, 2029 | Supported |
| Office 2021 | Oct 5, 2021 | Oct 13, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026 | Supported |
| Office 2019 | Sep 24, 2018 | Oct 10, 2023 | Oct 14, 2025 | EOL |
| Office 2016 | Sep 22, 2015 | Oct 13, 2020 | Oct 14, 2025 | EOL |
| Office 2013 | Jan 9, 2013 | Apr 10, 2018 | Apr 11, 2023 | EOL |
| Office 2011-for-mac | Dec 9, 2010 | Oct 10, 2017 | Oct 10, 2017 | EOL |
| Office 2010 | Jul 15, 2010 | Oct 13, 2015 | Oct 13, 2020 | EOL |
| Office 2008-for-mac | Jan 15, 2008 | Apr 9, 2013 | Apr 9, 2013 | EOL |
| Office 2007 | Jan 27, 2007 | Oct 9, 2012 | Oct 10, 2017 | EOL |
Per-version pages: endoflife.ai/office.
The October 13, 2026 double cutoff
Office 2021's end of support lands on the same day Windows 10's consumer ESU program expires. A home or small-business PC bought in 2021 with Windows 10 and Office 2021 — a completely typical machine — loses its last OS security patches and its Office patches within the same news cycle. If that machine can't upgrade to Windows 11, October 13 is effectively its retirement date; see our Windows 10 decision guide for the full options tree.
Options when your Office reaches end of life
- Microsoft 365 — the subscription apps are continuously patched; this is Microsoft's intended destination and the lowest-friction one.
- Office LTSC 2024 / Office 2024 — the current perpetual licenses, supported to October 2029, for organizations that need non-subscription software.
- LibreOffice and web-based suites — genuinely viable for basic document work; the compatibility trade-offs are real but smaller than they were a decade ago.
- What is not an option: paying for more patches. No ESU exists for Office — the only mitigation for a dead Office is not opening untrusted documents in it, which is not a plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Office 2016 still supported?
No. Office 2016 reached end of support on October 14, 2025 — the same day as Office 2019. Neither receives security updates any longer, and Microsoft offers no Extended Security Update program for Office at any price.
When does Office 2021 reach end of life?
October 13, 2026 — the same day Windows 10's consumer Extended Security Updates expire. After that date Office 2021 receives no further security patches; Office 2024/LTSC 2024 (supported to October 2029) and Microsoft 365 are the successors.
Can I keep using Office after end of support?
It keeps opening documents, but Office file formats are a primary malware delivery vehicle, and every parsing vulnerability found after end of support remains permanently unpatched. Using a dead Office to open email attachments is among the riskiest common EOL setups. Migrate to Microsoft 365, Office 2024, or an alternative suite.
Does Office have an Extended Security Update (ESU) program like Windows?
No. ESU exists for Windows and some server products, but not for Office. When an Office release leaves extended support, no further patches can be bought — the lifecycle table is the whole story.