Microsoft Paying Apple 30-Percent Cut on In-App Office 365 Subscription Purchases

Microsoft is paying a 30-percent cut to Apple on Office 365 subscription purchases made within the Office for iPad apps released today, in line with Apple's in-app purchase requirements required of other brands reports Re/code. This was previously a sticking point between the two companies, and was rumored to be a large part of why Microsoft wouldn't release Office on the iPad.

However, Microsoft's new CEO, Satya Nadella, is apparently more willing to work within Apple's requirements than ousted CEO Steve Ballmer. Year-long Office 365 subscriptions are available for in-app purchase for $100, with the subscription good for downloading Office on up to five tablets and five computers, Mac or PC computers, and Android, Windows or iOS tablets.

Microsoft Word for iPad

Indeed, Microsoft does offer Office 365 subscriptions within the just-released Word for iPad and the other Office apps and, yes, it is paying the 30 percent cut, Apple confirmed to Re/code. Microsoft declined to comment on the matter.

Apple has taken a hard line with all manner of publishers that want to sell things, even subscriptions that go well beyond the iPad content — if anything is sold in the app, they have to use Apple’s method and hand over 30 percent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted to welcome Office for iPad to the App Store, with Nadella tweeting back that Microsoft was "excited to bring the magic of Office to iPad customers". During Nadella's press conference today, he said the company was looking to "empower people to be more productive" and to "do more across all devices".

Microsoft Office for iPad is a free download from the App Store, with Office 365 Home Premium available for $10/month or $100/year good for five tablets and five computers, with an Office 365 Personal subscription good for one computer and one tablet coming later this year for $7/month or $70/year.

There are also separate business options available as well, with billing based on total seats.

- Microsoft Word for iPad [Direct Link]
- Microsoft Excel for iPad [Direct Link]
- Microsoft PowerPoint for iPad [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...

Top Rated Comments

ashwin4 Avatar
153 months ago
The Office 365 subscription is beyond stupid. Everyone hates it
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
153 months ago
So my options are:

- Pay a subscription in order to use word processing/spreadsheet/presentation software on my iDevice, and I don't own the software at all and can only use it if I cough up every month.

Or...

- Use the completely free word processing/spreadsheet/presentation software that came with my iDevice indefinitely, and I own the software outright.


Hmmmm. Tough choice...
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdridwan47 Avatar
153 months ago
I'm not sure if even 1% of iOS users are willing to accept this subcription model.... iWork FTW. :cool:
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Phil A. Avatar
153 months ago
The Office 365 subscription is beyond stupid. Everyone hates it

I think "everyone" is a bit hyperbolic! Office 365 is excellent value for small businesses - I use it for my company and it is very cost effective.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zaphon Avatar
153 months ago
Renting software is like being forced to play arcade machines when you know you have a home console that can run the games just as well for a one-off fee.

Say no to rental software.

Actually if you keep your software upgraded (MS and Adobe both being great examples of people doing the Subscription Model now), it's actually cheaper to do the subscription. It's only more expensive if you're that guy still using Office 2003 because you refuse to upgrade.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMcLovin Avatar
153 months ago
the sad thing about a subscription model is that people that dont use word as their prime workprogram will try to avoid it. For me word is just a text edit tool for simple use, and the only program I use a lot is Powerpoint. But figured out Keynote is a lot better anyway, so Im not even gonna consider it. I would pay a single sum to have the ipad office package - but no way I´m gonna subscribe on something I use once a week maximum. I think many unpro-office users feel the same way about a subscription model.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)