Microsoft Office 2019 vs. Office 2016: what are the differences?

Microsoft keeps improving its famous Office suites over time, and releases new versions of Office every few years. In 2015, Office 2016 brought computer based productivity to new levels with collaboration in mind, while Office 2019 introduced features more advanced than ever before when it was released in 2018. Even though Microsoft released Office 2021 and Office 2024, the versions of Office 2016 and 2019 are still relevant tools to many businesses. Moreover, they are still supported on lots of devices, especially Office 2019. Further in this article you can read about the 2016 and 2019 versions of MS Office, the new features each one brought, and their similarities and differences. In addition, you will also find the hardware and software requirements.

Office 2016: What’s new?

Microsoft Office 2016 brought lots of changes to the Office suite, particularly in terms of productivity. This can be seen through improved connectivity in between the Office applications as well as through improvements to the applications’ tools. Below is an overview of the main features for which MS Office 2016 has been praised for by its users.

Office 2016: Collaboration

Starting with Office 2016, Microsoft shifted its perspective on the future of Office, with the intention to transform Office from a familiar set of individual productivity applications to a connected set of applications designed for collaborative work. This new axis of development for the MS Office suites brought major collaboration features. 

Office 2016 introduced real time co-authoring, which is nowadays widely used when collaborating in shared documents. This feature allowed for multiple users to work simultaneously on a single Word document, while changes display in real time for all users. Following the collaborative approach of this version of Office, Microsoft added the “Share’’ menu to the Office applications, which at the time when Office 2016 was released, made sharing widely accessible and easy  for all Office users. In addition, as Skype was the main communication tool pushed by Microsoft, it was integrated to the Office applications, allowing users to initiate chats or calls directly while working within the Office applications.

Office 2016: Productivity

Next to the collaborative tools, other essential productivity features were introduced across the Microsoft Office 2016 applications. For example the search tool “Tell Me”. With this tool, users can easily find commands or features within the Office applications. “Tell Me” facilitates the rapid finding of already familiar features and the discover of the newly added ones. 

 “Tell Me” also came accompanied by the feature “Smart Lookup”, which is a Bing-powered contextual search tool. “Smart Lookup” enables in app information search, aiming to allow the user to stay within the Office applications even when external research is necessary. 

Another new feature for Office 2016 is the “Pick up where you left off’’, which, as the name suggests, allows Office applications to “remember” where you left off while working on a document in order to bring you back where you left the document. 

All these features brought the productivity in Office 2016 to new levels. Below you can find the new features added to the applications Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and the cloud integration of Office 2016.

Microsoft Word 2016

New features added to Microsoft Word 2016 are the grammar and writing tools with advanced spelling and writing style correction suggestions. In addition to this, the “Researcher” tool was introduced. This feature facilitates reference search and citation directly from Word, which significantly simplifies the use of references.

Microsoft Excel 2016

New chart types were added to MS Excel such as treemap, waterfall, or histogram charts. This allowed for enhanced data visualization. Another major improvement was the integration of Power BI to Excel for data analysis and publishing purposes.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

To allow users to further improve their slideshows and presentation on Microsoft PowerPoint, Office 2016 introduced the “Designer sidebar”. It was brought to PowerPoint to allow a simplified slideshow layout design. While the designer sidebar was added for layout design, the Morph transitions were added to PowerPoint to allow object animation across slides resulting in smooth transitions. Important to note is that MS PowerPoint 2016 only allows to play pre-existing morph transitions.

Microsoft Outlook 2016

Regarding MS Outlook, Office 2016 introduced the “Focused Inbox” feature, sorting out automatic emails depending on their degree of priority. This feature was introduced in order to prioritize important emails and separate them from less important communications in the user’s inbox. In addition, cloud-based file sharing though modern attachments was introduced to Outlook 2016, allowing end users to share files seamlessly through their organization.

Office 2016: Cloud integration and additional features

Another major improvement within MS Office 2016, is the further integration of cloud-based storage and sharing. Microsoft focused on improving the reliability of cloud-based activities while increasing file size and volume limits per user. In addition, new IT and developer specific features were added within Office 2016. Microsoft also added new security features, protecting sensitive data, while working on compatibility for mobile devices.

Office 2019: What’s new?

Microsoft Office 2019, released in September 2018, brought several major improvements to the Office suite as well. This time, Microsoft mainly focused on the addition of advanced in-app features.

Microsoft Word 2019

Several new features were integrated to MS Word 2019 such as the “Learning “ tools, which stand for all text spacing, formatting, and read-aloud features. They were introduced to improve both the readability and accessibility of Word documents. In addition, to allow users a distraction-free reading experience of Word documents, the “Focus Mode” was added. 

Another feature helping with navigating through documents in MS Word, is the “Side-to-Side View”, allowing flipping through pages in a book-like manner. Users can write, highlight and draw on documents, as Microsoft Word 2019 now supports the use of a digital pen.

Microsoft Excel 2019

Microsoft Excel received major improvements through the addition of new functions for advanced data analysis. Examples are “CONTACT’’, “TEXTJOIN’’, “IFS’’, and “SWITCH’’. Similar as the visualization improvements made to the 2016 edition of Excel, new charts were added to Excel 2019 such as Funnel charts and 2D map charts. Microsoft enhanced Power Query and Power Pivot, respectively a data importation tool and a data modelling tool, working together to effectively manage data in Excel. 

Microsoft PowerPoint 2019

Following up on the previous changes in Office 2016, Office 2019 brought to Microsoft PowerPoint improved morph transition, with the possibility to create them from scratch, moving around objects through slides in order to smoothly transition between them. Also, the Zoom feature was added, making navigation within presentations more dynamic by allowing more movement with dynamic slide linking. 

Some of the most important takeaways from the new features of PowerPoint were the introduction of tools allowing users to insert and manipulate 3D models and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). The introduction of SVG to PowerPoint facilitates image manipulation without losing quality while zooming for example. In comparison, this would not be possible with pixel-based images such as .JPEG images. This new feature of MS Office 2019 allow users to create higher quality slideshows with images of steady quality. In addition to the SVG and 3D models integration, PowerPoint 2019 introduced the 4K video exportation to the Office suite, allowing you to insert and export UHD files within slideshows, thus supporting even higher quality content.

Microsoft Outlook 2019

Outlook 2019 has received a few improvements that are worth mentioning. This includes the @ mentions in emails, which allow to tag any other MS Outlook users, whether it is in an email, or in a Outlook calendar/time table. This feature can prove to be very useful, for example when a specific contact person has to be mentioned in an informational email sent to a large number of users. It makes contacting the person easy to any user, while allowing the mentioned user to keep track of the specific email. In addition to this features, Microsoft improved the focus inbox for Outlook, especially in terms of sorting emails out. It allows for the focus inbox to be more relevant and effective. Also, Office 2019 brought updated contact cards to Outlook, allowing for the display and access to multiple channels of communication, making collaboration within the Office applications easier than ever before.

Office 2019: General features

Within Office 2019, multiple cross-application features were introduced. Firstly, as mentioned in the PowerPoint 2019 section of this article, 3D models and SVG graphics were integrated, however not only to PowerPoint. This addition was incorporated in all Office applications where images can be inserted. Thus, users can integrate high quality visuals in Word documents as well. 

Another general feature released in this version of Microsoft Office was the dark theme. Widely used nowadays for the comfort of the eyes while using any type of screens, the dark theme was first introduced to Office in its 2019 version, across all Office applications. In addition, Office 2019 introduced the possibility to customize the Office ribbons in order for users to be able to personalize their interface. These new features brought the personalization of the Office applications to new levels for end users.

Interested in Microsoft Office 2019? Request a quote for our pre-owned Office licenses!

Office 2016 & Office 2019: Similarities

Even though both Office 2019 and Office 2016 have their own unique features, they also have a few common ones. Below you can read more about the similarities between Office 2016 and Office 2019, starting with common features, and covering common technical aspects.

Common features

In terms of common features, the most visible similarity between both versions of MS Office is their user interface. Even with the additional features, the user interface of Office 2019 stayed true to the Office suites, maintaining familiarity for end users. This is even true for the later 2021 and 2024 versions, which keep the general appearance typical of the Office applications and suites. The core applications of both Office versions stay the same as well. Both Office 2016 and Office 2019 feature the well known MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. While the focus of Office 2016 was more on collaborative tools, and 2019 on advanced features, both offer great collaboration environments with the OneDrive cloud integration, allowing for seamless file storage and sharing, or with the co-authoring feature, allowing simultaneous work and collaborations across documents within the Office applications. 

Finally, another feature that is common to both Office versions, is the mobile device compatibility. This feature allows users to access and edit documents, from various devices, and from everywhere.

The similarities of Office 2016 and Office 2019 in terms of user interface and features allows for users to easily transition from one version to another. 

Want to know more about the different Office licenses? Contact us for more information!

Technical similarities

As Office 2019 and Office 2016 are very similar in terms of features and user interface, both versions of Office also share similar technical aspects. For example, Office 2016 and Office 2019 are only available through perpetual licensing, in a one-time purchase logic, contrary to their Microsoft 365 counterpart, which is subscription-based. Because of this licensing model, the support period and feature update availability for both Office 2016 and 2019 are the same. 

Contrary to the 365 Office subscription, which includes all the latest features from Microsoft automatically, both the 2016 and 2019 versions of Office receive updates from Microsoft, but do not receive new features. The extended support period for Office 2016 and Office 2019 ends on October 14, 2025, date from which both versions of Office will not be receiving any updates anymore. This means that license holders for Office 2016 and 2019 will be able to continue using Office applications, but will not receive security updates, which can be hazardous as users can be exposed to potentially harmful security risks. Hardware requirements for both versions will be detailed further below.

Read more about the end of life of Office 2016 and the end of life of Office 2019.

Microsoft Office 2016 & 2019: The differences

Despite being similar to one other, Office 2016 and Office 2019 have quite a few differences. This section will depict the differences in approach by Microsoft in developing both versions, the feature differences, as well as the differences in software support.

Development approach

First noticeable difference between Office 2016 and Office 2019, is the difference in development approach Microsoft took. In the 2016 version, Microsoft mainly focused on improving collaboration by introducing features such as the co-authoring across Office applications, which is still one of the most used collaborative tool within the Office suite. This also led to the further integration of cloud-based activities to the Office suite, reinforcing the collaborative environment of Office 2016.

Regarding Office 2019, Microsoft focused mainly on the development of advanced in-app features, while improving previously introduced collaborative features. This can be seen through the introduction of scalable vector graphics (SVG) and 3D model integration throughout the suite, but especially within PowerPoint. 

Features

As detailed in the dedicated section for each version above, both versions of Office brought new significant features and improvements to the Office environment. This section opposes both versions and their features for comparison, starting with the general features of both versions, and then opposing the application-specific features.

General features

With Microsoft’s focus on in-app feature improvements in Office 2019, the general features of both Office versions are quite similar. The majority of new features brought by Office 2019 were notably focused on the introduction of 3D models and scalable vector graphics (SVG). Below you can find a comparative table for the general features of Office 2016 and 2019.

In-app features

To observe further differences between Office 2016 and Office 2019, a comparison of in-app features brought by both versions is necessary. See the table below:

As the general features and the user interface of both Office versions stayed quite similar, the in-app changes mark the real difference between the two versions. Judging on the differences in features, it can also be observed that Microsoft had different focus when developing the two Office versions.

Software support

As far as software support is concerned, both versions have different hardware requirements. Since both suits are older versions of Microsoft Office, the operating system requirements go back to older versions of Microsoft Windows. For Office 2016, the operating system support goes back to Windows 7 and is supported by all other newer versions of Windows. For the 2019 version, the operating system requirements have been updated so that Office 2019 is not compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows Server 2016. Office 2019 can only run on Windows 10 or a newer version of Windows.

Don’t know which Office version suits your needs? Contact us for more information.

Hardware requirements:

Office 2016 and Office 2019 have different minimum hardware requirements. Although most modern computers should run both versions of the Office suite without any problems, the requirements for each version are listed here.

Microsoft Office 2016:

  • Processor: 1 GHz or faster x86 or x64-bit processor with SSE2 instruction set
  • RAM: 1 GB RAM for 32-bit, 2 GB RAM for 64-bit
  • Hard Disk Space: 3 GB of available disk space
  • Display: 1280 x 800 screen resolution
  • Graphics: Graphics hardware requires a DirectX 10 graphics card

Microsoft Office 2019:

  • Processor: 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) or faster, 2-core. Professional Plus version: 2.0 GHz or greater recommended for Skype for Business
  • RAM: 4 GB RAM; 2 GB RAM (32-bit)
  • Hard disk space: 4.0 GB of available disk space
  • Display: 1280 x 768 screen resolution
  • Graphics: Graphics hardware requires DirectX 9 or later, with WDDM 2.0 or higher for Windows 10 (or WDDM 1.3 or higher for Windows 10 Fall Creators Update). Professional Plus version: Skype for Business requires DirectX 9 or later, 128 MB graphics memory, and 32 bits per pixel capable format

Conclusion/Summary:

As described in this article, Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 2019 have both similarities and differences. Overall, both versions offer the same user interface and work environment to allow users to move from one version to the other while maintaining key landmarks within the Office suites. Office 2019 brought some general improvements and new cross-application features such as scalable vector graphics for better visual integration or the dark theme for more visual comfort. The added value of Office 2019 compared to its predecessor Office 2016 lies primarily in the Office applications with enhanced in-app features that increase productivity capabilities within the Office suite.

Office 2016 vs Office 2019: Main similarities

  • User Interface
  • Core applications: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
  • OneDrive cloud integration
  • Mobile device compatibility
  • Perpetual licensing
  • End of extended Microsoft support 14/10/25

Office 2016 vs Office 2019: Main differences

  • Development approach: Collaboration vs advanced features
  • General features: 3D model and SVGs, Dark theme, Customizable Office ribbons
  • Word: Learning tools, Focus mode, Side-to-Side view
  • Excel: New chart types, Advanced data analysis tools
  • PowerPoint: Improved morph transitions tools, Zoom feature, 4K video support
  • Outlook: @ mentions, Improved focused Inbox, Improved Contact cards

Which Microsoft Office version to choose?

Depending on your needs, both Office 2016 and Office 2019 can still be relevant tools. It is important to keep in mind that both Office versions come in a perpetual licensing model which means Office 2016 and 2019 will keep running on your devices indefinitely, but will not receive any security updates past October 14, 2025, date at which their extended support period ends. This means that locally-based use of Office 2016 and 2019 will remain pretty much the same, but cloud-based use might present risks regarding security without new security updates. So, both Office versions can be viable options, depending on the degree of advancement in features that you require. For long-term use, cloud-based environments, or for new or more advanced features, choosing newer versions of Office such as Office 2021 or the latest Office 2024 version will be better options in order to answer all your needs.

Do you have questions? Contact us!

For more information about which Microsoft software and licenses are best for you, please contact us. We are available from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.