New Office 365 prices for early 2013 are now released and considering the many options can be intimidating. Here's how to choose your best version, whether your are interested in a personal, business or academic subscription.

Office 365 is Microsoft's cloud-based service and mobile app suite, and enters a new phase in 2013. With the new Office 2013, the two products will co-exist in a sense. For more detail on this, check out Office 365 and Office 2013...What's the Difference?

and Prices for Office 2013 Desktop Version.

Wondering what all the talk about subscriptions is? Learn more about it by reading my resource on Understanding Office Suite Subscriptions.

Office 365 Subscriptions in Early 2013

The cloud-based Office 365 subscriptions are priced as follows:

Office 365 University - $3.30 USD/month or $39.60 USD/year

Office 365 Home Premium - $8.33 USD/month or $99.99 USD/year

Office 365 Small Business Premium for organizations with 1-10 users - $12.50 USD/month or $149.99 USD/year, per user

Office 365 Midsize Business for organizations with 11-250 users - $15 USD/month or $180.00 USD/year, per user

Office 365 Enterprise and Government for organizations with > 250 users - $20 USD/month or $240 USD/year, per user

Please always check Microsoft's Office 365 page for full details on pricing and availability, but hopefully this run-down gets you on your way to understanding the possibilities.

How Cost Effective Are Subscriptions?

Initially, a cloud subscription may feel like you are pinging your cash into the vortex, but keep in mind, this is in lieu of paying a heftier price tag up front for the traditional desktop version.

Still, as you pay year after year, the cost for subscription access is undoubtedly greater even if you are getting added benefits with that price tag.

In other words, with subscription pricing, Microsoft is guiding users toward choosing their better quality product. It's a good value for what you're getting, but that doesn't mean all users would naturally prefer to pay extra for those benefits.

Behind the Number of Office 365 Choices Is Some Nice Customization

Part of the complexity Microsoft has had to overcome is due to its own consumer popularity. As the most pervasive software suite supplier in the world, many customers seeking Office 365 already have either Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 for PC, or Office 2008 or 2011 for Mac (complete system requirements and compatibility requirements here).

Other customers for this product have never even used the Office suite.

Some Office 365 plans therefore come with original Office Suite software, and others do not (because you may already have it).

If you're happy with your solution, you simply choose the Office 365 plan that maximizes your situation and minimizes your investment and also matches how many others are joining you on this plan.

A Word on Office 365 Kiosk Plans

A kiosk worker is defined as a "desk-less worker." This person may share a computer station with others, so information and email can be accessed at random points throughout the day.

Additional Help: Microsoft's Advisor Tool for Office 365

Hopefully this had made your purchasing decision a little more clear. Office 365 pricing has been challenging for many consumers, despite Microsoft's best efforts at pricing comparison tables.

Please also check out Microsoft's Office 365 Advisor Tool, which I feel is Microsoft's best offering to you, as far as understanding these plans.

I hope to facilitate understanding regarding new pricing tiers that might be announced as Office 365 continues to evolve.

If you still don't quite know where to start, consider a 30-day free trial. This will get you oriented to the Office 365 environment in general.

Questions along the way? Feel free to send them my way and I will help any way I can.