Australians still get shafted when paying for Office 2013.
Our price comparison for Office 2013 shows that Microsoft is still taking advantage of Australian consumers. For Office 2010 the price hike was up to 40% more than the USA on a generous calculation.
For Office 2013 the high end is 40% more expensive and a whopping 55% on a subscription.
|
Bundle |
USD$ |
US Price converted to Aussie dollars plus GST |
Official AUD$ price |
Difference |
|
Home Premium – annual subscription |
$99.99 |
$107 |
$119 |
11% |
|
Home and Student – 1PC no transfer |
139.99 |
$150 |
$169 |
13% |
|
Home and Business – 1PC no transfer |
219.99 |
$236 |
$299 |
27% |
|
Professional – 1PC no transfer |
399.99 |
$429 |
$599 |
40% |
|
University – subscription for 4 years |
79.99 |
$86 |
$99 |
16% |
And the outlier is …
|
Office 365 plan E3 – subscription |
$240 |
$257 |
$400 |
55% |
Office 365 Plan E3 in the USA is $20 a month/user plus tax. The Australian ‘equivalent’ (at least what the Microsoft Australia site here links to via a ‘Buy it Now’ button) is Office 365 Plan P which does NOT include Office 2013, only the Office Web Apps. The nearest equivalent to the US product is Plan E3 @ AUD$33.30 per month.
Editors note: We apologize for a mistake in the original calculation which has been fixed in the table above.
Office 2013 Professional is a nice little earner for Microsoft Australia costing 40% more than the same product in the USA. Not as bad as the famous example of a expensive Microsoft product where it’s cheaper to pay someone to fly to the USA, buy it and fly back – link to PDF download see pages 17 and 19.
Calculation Details:
The calculation is designed to allow for exchange rate variations, Australian taxes. If anything it is generous to Microsoft.
Australian and US retail prices from Microsoft.
Interbank Exchange Rate at 13 Feb 2013: 0.97399 plus 2% to simulate higher credit card xrate offered to consumers.
Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST): 10%
The calculation does NOT allow for US state sales taxes (which Microsoft collects even for online / download orders). These taxes vary from zero (AL, OR, MO, NH and DE) to 7.5% in California. With local sales tax it can reach 11.725% in parts of Arizona (according to Wikipedia) or even 13.725% in Tuba City, AZ (according to Forbes).
Previously we included an allowance for extra shipping to Australia but we’ve now removed that. The retail boxes are very small and in many cases non-existent as the customer has to download the Office 2013 install files.
See Also
- Aussie Office 2013 offer up close
- Planned obsolescence in Office
- Aussie pricing ripoff
- Another look at Aussie Office 2013 pricing
- Office 2013: the real startup guide
- Office 2013 – watching the sales pitch
- Office 2013 on sale
- Office 2013 prices double and beyond
- Office 2013 Software License Agreement
- Office 2013 pricing summary
- Office 2010 price increases in Australia
