Office 2013 Costs Just $9.95 for Some

Microsoft added Office 2013 to the Home Use Program (HUP), which lets employees of some companies and organizations buy the new suite for $9.95. The deal had been tipped previously by several sources, including a Microsoft HUP marketing portal, which noted that promotional materials would be available to volume licensees on Jan. 17. Vanderbilt University had also told its faculty and staff that Office 2013 would be hit HUP no later than the middle of this month.

Enterprises and organizations with Software Assurance (SA) plans can enable HUP for employees, who register for the discounted copy of Office 2013 using their work email address and a program code obtained from their IT department. SA is an annuity-like program where firms pay Microsoft set fees per license over a multi-year span for the right to upgrade to any new versions of a particular product.