Windows 10 is not the only Microsoft product that is reaching end of support in October 2025. Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 will also reach end of support in that month. The two Office products do not get an option for extended security updates, unlike Windows 10.
Windows 10 home users may extend support by a year only, through one of three options, but it is better than nothing. The best option is to run a free open source script, which makes the entire process effortless.
With Office 2016 and Office 2019, Microsoft made it clear that it won’t offer the same option. In other words: Come October 2025, both products will not receive future updates, at least not from Microsoft.
Microsoft suggests that customers either buy the latest Office 2024 application or subscribe to Microsoft 365 instead. This can be expensive. A standard edition license costs about $150, and it will run out of support in five years since its release. A Microsoft 365 subscription costs about $100 per year currently, but discounts are available from time to time. Businesses and Enterprises pay considerably more.
While both Office products will continue to work, they will be affected by security issues that Microsoft will only fix in newer versions of Office.
However, not all is lost. Micro-patching service 0Patch announced that it will add both Office products to the list of supported applications.
The company promises to deliver critical security updates for both Office versions for at least three years. Means, the worst critical issues will be fixed until at least October 2028.
An 0Patch subscription for consumers costs about $30 per year. Good news is that a subscription includes other Microsoft products, including Windows 10, version 22H2, as well.
So, if you run Windows 10 and either Office version, you get security updates for both products for the price of one.
Granted, there is also the option to switch to a free Office suite, such as LibreOffice, instead. It is free, but it may take a bit of adjusting and there is no 100% compatibility.