I wonder how much longer Microsoft will be offering standalone versions of Office....I personally pay for the 365 subscription but absolutely appreciate and root for people who just need the Office suite and nothing else. Kinda weird that Outlook isn't included unless you pay another $100 though More on reddit.com

Microsoft 365 works as well on Mac as it does on PC. The biggest benefits of Microsoft 365 is that you can install it on multiple devices including Mac, a new Mac, a PC, a tablet, and/or a phone. You also get monthly feature updates which you may or may not notice depending on how you use the software. I don't think the additional apps are bloatware. You don't have to use them and you unlock features in Defender and Clipchamp by using Microsoft 365. More on reddit.com

I'm not sure if office 2019 has a native apple silicon version? Unless you're a heavy heavy user for feature set alone I wouldn't bother upgrading. More on reddit.com

I just had this issue yesterday I found on Reddit someone said we have to use the August 13 2024 version to get it to download. Then you can use the updater to update it. Then you can activate it when you open word https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac More on reddit.com