Microsoft Project and Visio Buying Guide (2013-2024): Which Version Do You Need?

Quick Answer

For Microsoft Project: choose Standard if you build schedules and Gantt charts solo, and Professional if you manage a team, assign shared resources, or need to publish to Project Server/Project Online. For Microsoft Visio: choose Standard for basic flowcharts, org charts, and floor plans, and Professional if you need data-linked diagrams, UML, BPMN 2.0, or database/network diagrams built from live data. On the version question, any release from 2016 through 2024 will run comfortably on modern Windows; 2013 has already passed Microsoft’s extended support cutoff, so budget-conscious personal use is really the only case for it. All the boxed/keyed editions covered here (2013–2024) are one-time-purchase, perpetual volume licenses — not subscriptions — activated with a product key or a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), not a Microsoft 365 login.

1. What Is Microsoft Project? Standard vs Professional

Microsoft Project is Microsoft’s desktop project-management application: Gantt charts, task scheduling, dependency tracking, resource assignment, baselines, and built-in reporting. It has shipped as a perpetual, one-time-purchase desktop product for well over two decades, sold in two editions.

Project Standard

Project Standard covers the core scheduling toolkit: templates, automated scheduling, dependency management, multiple timelines, Gantt chart task highlighting, baseline tracking, and reporting. It’s built for a single planner working on a project independently, without needing to publish schedules to a shared server or manage an enterprise resource pool.

Project Professional

Project Professional includes everything in Standard, plus the features aimed at teams and organizations: enterprise/team resource management, the ability to share and pool resources across multiple projects, Team Planner views, and connectivity to Project Server or Project Online for collaborative, multi-project portfolio management. According to Microsoft’s own product listings, “the core features of the two products are nearly identical when initially purchased,” and the real gap opens up once you need resource pooling, engagement management, or server-based collaboration (Microsoft Store — Project Standard 2024).

If you’re weighing Project against Visio for your own workflow rather than choosing an edition, our Microsoft Project vs Visio comparison breaks down which tool actually fits scheduling work versus diagramming work.

2. What Is Microsoft Visio? Standard vs Professional

Microsoft Visio is Microsoft’s diagramming application — flowcharts, org charts, network diagrams, floor plans, process maps, and technical schematics — also sold as a perpetual desktop license in two editions.

Visio Standard

Visio Standard includes the core diagramming toolset: basic flowcharts, org charts, simple network diagrams, floor plans, and general-purpose templates and shapes, plus standard Office-style formatting and export options.

Visio Professional

Visio Professional adds the features that make Visio a serious IT/engineering tool rather than just a drawing app: data linking (connecting shapes directly to Excel, Azure Active Directory, or other data sources so diagrams stay current automatically), industry-standard notations including BPMN 2.0 and UML 2.5, database/network diagrams built from live schema and topology data, and expanded shape libraries. Microsoft’s Visio Professional 2024 listing specifically calls out the ability to “automatically generate org charts from data sources like Excel, Exchange, or Azure Active Directory” and to “connect your Visio shapes and diagrams to data from common internal and external sources” — capabilities Standard does not include (Microsoft Store — Visio Professional 2024).

We cover this Standard-vs-Professional split for both products in more depth, edition by edition, in our dedicated Visio Standard vs Professional & Project Standard vs Professional guide.

3. Microsoft Project Version Comparison: 2013–2024

Every Project release from 2013 to 2024 uses the same core Gantt/scheduling engine; what changes release-to-release is mostly UI refresh, file-format compatibility, cloud/Team Planner integration, and the length of Microsoft’s support window. The table below summarizes the perpetual desktop line (Standard/Professional), not the Project Plan subscription tiers.

Sources: Project 2013 (Microsoft Learn), Project 2016 (Microsoft Learn), Project 2019 (Microsoft Learn), Project 2021 LTSC (Microsoft Learn), Project 2024 LTSC (Microsoft Learn).

What actually changed between releases

2016 introduced the modern Office ribbon refresh and improved resource-engagement tools; 2019 brought further scheduling and reporting refinements plus tighter Office 365 file compatibility; 2021 added the Team Planner-centric collaboration experience introduced across the Office LTSC 2021 wave; 2024 carries the current Office LTSC 2024 visual refresh and the longest support runway of any perpetual release, through October 2029 (Office LTSC 2024 overview — Microsoft Learn).

4. Microsoft Visio Version Comparison: 2013–2024

Sources: Visio 2016 (Microsoft Learn), Visio 2019 (Microsoft Learn), Visio LTSC 2021 (Microsoft Learn), Visio LTSC 2024 (Microsoft Learn).

What’s new since 2019

Visio Professional 2021 was a meaningful jump: new Azure and AWS infrastructure stencils, real-time multi-user co-authoring on a single diagram, a refreshed ribbon and Start screen, direct hex color entry, instant diagram-to-data linking, and Information Rights Management support (What’s new in Visio Professional 2021 — Microsoft Support). Visio 2024 carries that feature set forward on the current Office LTSC 2024 platform with the longest support timeline of the group.

5. Licensing & Activation: Perpetual, Volume, and MAK Keys

Every version in the tables above — 2013 through 2024 — is sold as a perpetual license: you buy it once, activate it with a product key, and it keeps working indefinitely with no recurring subscription fee. This is a fundamentally different model from Microsoft 365-style subscriptions (Project Plan 1/3/5, Visio Plan 1/2), which require an active subscription to keep working but always deliver the latest cloud-connected features.

Perpetual copies of Project and Visio 2016 onward are part of the Office LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) family, distributed through volume licensing. Volume-licensed keys generally activate one of two ways:

• Retail/product key activation — a single key tied to one installation, entered directly in the app.
• MAK (Multiple Activation Key) activation — one key that can activate a set number of installations against Microsoft’s activation servers, commonly used by businesses deploying to many PCs at once.

If you’re unfamiliar with how MAK keys work versus retail or OEM keys, our MAK key explainer for IT pros covers the mechanics in detail, and our step-by-step Project & Visio install and activation guide walks through the process for these specific products.

6. Lifecycle and Support: What “End of Support” Actually Means

Microsoft’s lifecycle model for these perpetual releases has two phases: Mainstream Support (new features, non-security fixes, and full support requests) and Extended Support (security updates only, no new features). Once a version passes its final support date, it keeps running — Microsoft doesn’t remotely disable it — but it stops receiving security patches, which is the real risk for anyone still on it.

Practically, that means:

• Project/Visio 2013 have already passed their final support date (April 2023) — Microsoft Learn confirms both reached end of extended support at that point (Project 2013 lifecycle, Visio 2013 lifecycle).
• 2016 and 2019 both run out of support in October 2025, per Microsoft’s lifecycle pages.
• 2021 LTSC is supported through October 2026.
• 2024 LTSC is the newest release, supported through October 2029 — the longest runway of any version covered here (Project 2024 LTSC lifecycle, Visio LTSC 2024 lifecycle).

LTSC releases, by design, get five years of mainstream support and no separate extended-support phase, with no new features added after launch — they’re meant for environments that want a stable, unchanging install rather than continuous feature updates (Office LTSC 2024 overview).

7. Who Needs Standard vs Professional — and Which Year?

Choose Project Standard if:

• You plan and track your own projects without a shared resource pool
• You don’t need to publish schedules to Project Server or Project Online
• You want core Gantt charts, dependencies, and baseline tracking at a lower price

Choose Project Professional if:

• You manage shared resources across multiple concurrent projects
• Your team needs Team Planner and collaborative scheduling views
• You need to connect to Project Server/Project Online for portfolio-level reporting

Choose Visio Standard if:

• You draw straightforward flowcharts, basic org charts, or floor plans
• You don’t need diagrams tied to live data sources

Choose Visio Professional if:

• You work with BPMN 2.0, UML 2.5, or formal database/network diagramming standards
• You need diagrams that stay in sync with Excel, Azure AD, or other external data
• You’re documenting IT infrastructure, including Azure/AWS topology diagrams

Which year to buy:

For anyone buying new today, 2024 LTSC makes the most sense — it has the longest support runway (through October 2029) and the current interface. 2021 is a solid, cheaper alternative still supported into late 2026. 2019 and 2016 are workable for tight budgets or compatibility with older systems, but both lose support in October 2025, so factor a near-term upgrade into that decision. 2013 is past its support window entirely and should be treated as a last resort. You can browse current options for Project Professional 2024, Project Standard 2021, Visio Professional 2024, and Visio Standard 2021 directly.

Why This Matters for You

Buying the wrong edition or the wrong year has real downstream costs. Pay for Professional when Standard would have covered your workflow, and you’ve overspent on features you’ll never touch. Buy Standard when you actually need cross-project resource pooling or data-linked diagrams, and you’ll hit a capability wall and have to repurchase. On the version side, buying an out-of-support release like 2013 today means running software with no security patches — a real exposure if the machine touches email, the web, or a network. Matching the edition to how you actually work, and the version to how long you need it supported, is the whole decision.

FAQ: Common Questions

Q1: What’s the actual difference between Project Standard and Project Professional?

A: Professional includes everything in Standard plus resource pooling across multiple projects, Team Planner, and the ability to connect to Project Server/Project Online for team collaboration. Standard covers the core scheduling and Gantt-chart toolkit for a single planner.

Q2: What’s the actual difference between Visio Standard and Visio Professional?

A: Professional adds data linking (connecting diagrams to Excel, Azure AD, and other sources), industry-standard notations like BPMN 2.0 and UML 2.5, and database/network diagram templates built from live data. Standard covers basic flowcharts, org charts, and floor plans without data-linking or industry-standard notation support.

Q3: Are Project and Visio 2013–2024 subscriptions or one-time purchases?

A: One-time, perpetual purchases. You activate with a product key or MAK key and keep the software indefinitely — there’s no recurring fee, unlike the Project Plan or Visio Plan subscription tiers.

Q4: Is Microsoft Project 2013 or Visio 2013 still safe to use?

A: Both reached the end of Microsoft’s extended support in April 2023, meaning no further security updates. They’ll still run, but for anything beyond isolated offline use, an actively supported version is the safer choice.

Q5: What does “LTSC” mean for Project and Visio 2021 and 2024?

A: Long Term Servicing Channel — a perpetual, volume-licensed release that receives security fixes for a fixed support window but no new features after launch, aimed at organizations that want a stable install rather than continuous updates.

Q6: Which version should I buy if I want the longest support window?

A: Project 2024 LTSC and Visio 2024 LTSC, both supported through October 9, 2029 according to Microsoft’s lifecycle documentation — the longest runway of any perpetual release covered here.

Q7: Can I upgrade from Standard to Professional later?

A: Standard and Professional are separate product keys/SKUs rather than an in-place edition switch, so moving up means purchasing a Professional license rather than “unlocking” features in an existing Standard install.

Q8: Do I need Project Professional to collaborate with teammates?

A: Only if that collaboration involves shared resource pools across projects or publishing to Project Server/Project Online. If you just need to share a schedule file for review, Standard is often enough.

Q9: What is a MAK key, and do I need one?

A: A Multiple Activation Key can activate a set number of installations against Microsoft’s activation servers — useful for businesses deploying to many machines at once. A single-user buyer typically just needs a standard retail/volume product key instead. See our MAK key guide for the full breakdown.

Q10: Does Visio Professional require an internet connection for data linking?

A: Data linking to external sources like Excel typically requires access to that data source, but Visio itself is a desktop application and doesn’t require a constant connection to function — activation and periodic license checks are the main network requirements.

Q11: Is Project 2021 or 2024 a better buy for a small team on a budget?

A: 2021 LTSC is a reasonable budget option with support into October 2026, but 2024 LTSC costs relatively little more for roughly three additional years of support — for most buyers planning to keep the software a while, 2024 is the better value.

Q12: Where do I find installation and activation steps after purchase?

A: Our Project & Visio installation and activation guide covers the process step by step, and our full installation guides library covers other Microsoft products as well.

Conclusion & Next Steps

The Project and Visio decision really breaks into two independent questions: which edition matches how you work (Standard for solo use, Professional for team/data-driven needs), and which version year gives you the support window you need. For most buyers in 2026, that means Professional if you touch shared resources or data-linked diagrams, Standard if you don’t — paired with 2024 LTSC for the longest runway or 2021 LTSC if you’re optimizing for price with a shorter (but still active) support window. Avoid 2013 outright given its support status, and treat 2016/2019 as short-term bridges rather than long-term picks given their October 2025 support cutoff.

Browse current Project and Visio license keys, or read our companion guide on Project vs Visio if you’re still deciding which product you need in the first place.

Trust & Support

Questions about which edition or version fits your setup? Reach our team at contact@softlicensedeals.com or via WhatsApp at +1 (323) 218-6077. For general licensing questions, see our FAQ, and for step-by-step setup help, visit our Installation Guides.