How to get Office 365 on the cheap

Even at its list price of $70 per year, a personal subscription to Microsoft 365—or Office 365, as it used to be called—is one of the better deals in tech.

That subscription gets you full access to Microsoft's Office suite along with 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage. I've been a mostly satisfied subscriber for years, partly for the Office software, though mainly to access my photos, documents, and personal music library from any device.

But part of that satisfaction comes from never paying full price in the first place. Instead, I've made a point of buying Office 365 discount codes on eBay, using them to renew my subscription in one-year increments. These codes are often on sale for as little as $45, and have been readily available every time I've checked. (Here's one example.)

Office 365 discounts: What you need to know

To find these Office 365 discount codes, just search for Office 365 Personal and look for listings that offer a one-year or 12-month subscription. Make sure that listing includes a picture of the product advertising a one-year subscription for one person, and that the seller has a large number of positive feedback ratings.

Look for an indication of a one-year subscription, along with a strong seller reputation when buying Office 365 subscriptions on eBay.

Jared Newman / IDG

Alternatively, if you're looking for a family subscription, search for Office 365 Home Premium instead. These tend to be a bit pricier, but allow up to six family members to each have their own 1 TB of OneDrive storage.

A couple words of warning:

• Do not, under any circumstance, purchase a lifetime subscription to Office 365, no matter how low the price is. These likely come from unscrupulous sellers distributing shared or stolen accounts, and and even if they work, you won't be able to use them with your existing Microsoft account.
• Avoid buying from international sellers, and watch out for the shipping price. Most sellers don't tack on a shipping fee, but some do.

Once you place the order, you should receive a physical card in the mail containing a code that you can redeem on Microsoft's Office setup site. Sign into your Microsoft account on that site and apply the code. If you already have an active subscription, Microsoft will simply push back your renewal date by 12 months.

During this process, Microsoft might also offer you a bonus month if you turn on auto-renew; you can turn it back off right after signing up and still get the extra month tacked on.

Just remember to repeat this process once per year and you should be able to enjoy Microsoft 365 at a deep discount for years to come.

A version of this story originally appeared in Advisorator, Jared's weekly newsletter for making sense of technology. Sign up to get tech tips, deals, and advice in your inbox.