Installing Office 2019 Standard for Mac

This guide walks you through downloading, installing and activating Microsoft Office 2019 Standard on your Mac. Allow around 20 minutes. You received your licence details from us by email after your purchase. Keep that email to hand and check your spam folder if necessary.

Important: Office 2019 Standard for Mac is a perpetual licence (volume licence edition). Do not install Word, Excel and the other apps from the Mac App Store. The App Store version only works with a Microsoft 365 subscription and will not accept your licence.

System requirements

Before installing, check that your Mac meets the requirements:

• macOS: Office 2019 requires at least macOS 10.12 (Sierra); macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or newer is recommended. In practice, Office 2019 runs reliably on current macOS versions, although Microsoft no longer officially tests it there. You can find your version under Apple menu > About This Mac.
• Processor: Intel Macs and Apple silicon Macs (M1 to M4) are supported. On Apple silicon, macOS sets up Rosetta 2 automatically if needed. Simply confirm the prompt on first launch.
• Memory: at least 4 GB of RAM.
• Storage: around 10 GB of free disk space.
• Internet connection: required for the download and activation.

Step 1: Download the installer

1. Open our download page.
2. Select Office 2019 Standard for Mac there.
3. Download the .pkg installer. The file is around 2 GB in size, so depending on your connection the download will take a few minutes.

Note: Only download the installer from our download page or directly from microsoft.com. This ensures you receive Microsoft's unmodified original installation package.

Step 2: Install Office

1. Double-click the downloaded .pkg file (by default in the Downloads folder).
2. The installation wizard starts. Click Continue and accept the licence terms.
3. Keep the suggested installation destination (Macintosh HD) and click Install.
4. Enter the password for your Mac user account, not the licence key, and confirm.
5. Wait until the installation is complete (around 5 to 10 minutes), then click Close.

You will then find Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in the Applications folder and in Launchpad.

Step 3: Activate the licence

Office 2019 Standard is a volume licence. Activation is therefore not done by entering a key in Word but through a small additional licence package (the so-called Volume License Serializer), which you will also find on our download page.

1. Quit all Office apps if any are already open.
2. Download the licence package (.pkg, only a few MB) from the download page.
3. Double-click to run it and follow the wizard, exactly as with the main installation.
4. Then open Word. The app starts straight away, with no sign-in or activation prompt.

Check activation

1. In the Word menu bar, click Word > About Microsoft Word.
2. Under License it must say Volume License 2019. Office is then permanently activated.

Are you asked to sign in with a Microsoft account instead? Then an old licence is still stored (for example from a Microsoft 365 trial) or the App Store version was installed. You will find the solution in the next section or in our activation help.

Common problems

• Word still asks you to sign in: Remnants of a previous Office or Microsoft 365 installation are blocking the volume licence. Quit all Office apps, remove old licences with the free Microsoft License Removal Tool (available from microsoft.com) and then run the licence package again.
• App Store version installed: Drag the Office apps from the Applications folder to the Bin and then reinstall Office using the .pkg installer from our download page.
• Installation package will not open: Right-click the file and choose Open, or allow it to run under System Settings > Privacy & Security.
• Installation fails: Check the free disk space (at least 10 GB). If the downloaded file is corrupted, download the installer again.
• macOS too old: On Macs running a version earlier than macOS 10.12, the operating system must be updated first (System Settings > Software Update).

Help & support

Stuck at any point? Our activation help guides you through the most common activation errors. Alternatively, you can reach our support team at any time via live chat. Every order includes 90 days of free support. Please have your order number and the licence email ready.