Office LTSC vs 365: Key Differences and Considerations

Microsoft recently announced that they will no longer include Skype for Business in their Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) package. Instead, the Teams client will be included. Additionally, users who opt for Office LTSC will not be entitled to an upgrade to a future release.

One of the primary differences between Office LTSC and Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprises or Business is the range of functions available. Not all features included in the latter two options are available in Office LTSC. This may pose some limitations for users who rely heavily on certain features.

When it comes to environments with special requirements, such as validated environments with Windows 10 LTSC 2021, the life cycle of Office 2021 will only be 5 years. This is significantly shorter than the typical 10-year support period offered by Microsoft.

There are some potential special cases where Office LTSC might still be the better choice. For instance, devices with very high stability requirements or older industrial systems without regular driver updates may benefit from the longer support period and more predictable release schedule of Office LTSC.

In contrast, Windows 10 LTSC 2021 will have a total of 123 months of support (Basic and Extended Support), which is twice as long as the current 30 months support offered by H2 versions of Windows 10 Enterprise. However, this is only half as long as the previous version (Windows 10 LTSC 2019). Additionally, the life cycle for Windows 10 LTSC 2021 will be limited to 5 years.

Overall, Office LTSC may not be the best choice for most users due to its limitations and shorter support period. For more information on why LTSC might not be suitable for your needs, see our article 'Choosing the Right Windows 10 Edition.

Office ltsc vs 365