The fastest way to remove Microsoft Office

The cleanest removal on Windows is through Settings, which uninstalls Office and removes most leftover files in one step. On Mac, you drag the Office folder to Trash and empty it. Both methods take five minutes and work whether you bought Office outright, subscribed to Microsoft 365, or it came pre-installed on your device.

If you want to be thorough — removing every trace, including cached files and preferences — you can use a dedicated removal tool afterward. But for most people, the built-in uninstall is enough. The only reason to do more is if you plan to reinstall Office later and want a completely clean slate, or if you're troubleshooting a broken installation.

Key Takeaways

  • On Windows, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features, find Microsoft Office, and click Uninstall to remove it completely.
  • On Mac, open Applications, drag Microsoft Office to Trash, then empty Trash — no additional steps needed for a standard removal.
  • Uninstalling does not delete your documents; they stay on your computer in whatever folder you saved them to.
  • If Office was part of your Microsoft 365 subscription, uninstalling stops it from running but does not cancel your subscription — you must do that separately through your Microsoft account.
  • For a deeper removal that deletes cached files and settings, use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool on Windows or manually delete preference files on Mac.

Uninstalling Office on Windows 10 and 11

Open Settings by pressing the Windows key and typing "Settings," then click the app that appears. Go to Apps in the left sidebar, then click Apps & features. Scroll down or search for "Microsoft Office" — you may see it listed as "Microsoft Office 365," "Office," or individual app names like "Microsoft Word."

Click the Office entry, then click Uninstall. A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm. Click Uninstall again. Windows will remove Office and all its core files. The process usually takes two to five minutes. When it finishes, you can close Settings.

If you see multiple Office entries — for example, separate listings for Word, Excel, and Outlook — you can uninstall them one at a time using the same method, or uninstall the main Office package and Windows will remove the individual apps together.

Uninstalling Office on Mac

Open Finder and click Applications in the sidebar. Look for a folder named Microsoft Office or individual app icons for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. If you see a Microsoft Office folder, open it and select all the Office applications inside, then drag them to Trash. If the apps are loose in Applications, select them and drag them to Trash the same way.

After moving the apps to Trash, empty Trash by right-clicking the Trash icon in the Dock and selecting Empty Trash, or by opening Trash and clicking Empty in the top right. Once Trash is empty, Office is removed from your Mac.

On newer Macs with Apple Silicon chips, the process is identical — just make sure you're looking in the Applications folder, not in a subfolder.

What happens to your documents when you uninstall

Uninstalling Office does not delete any documents you created. Word files, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Outlook emails all stay on your computer in the folders where you saved them. You can still open and read them with other programs — Google Docs, LibreOffice, or online viewers — even after Office is gone.

If you want to keep your documents but remove Office, uninstall normally and your files remain untouched. If you want to delete documents as well, you must do that separately by finding the files and moving them to Trash yourself.

Canceling a Microsoft 365 subscription after uninstalling

Uninstalling the Office software does not cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription. If you pay monthly or yearly for Microsoft 365, you will continue to be charged even after you remove the apps from your computer. You must cancel the subscription separately through your Microsoft account.

Go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, and look for Subscriptions or Services & subscriptions in the left menu. Find Microsoft 365, click Manage, and look for a Cancel subscription button. Microsoft will ask why you're canceling and may offer a discount to stay, but you can proceed with cancellation. After you cancel, you will not be charged again, though you may keep access until your current billing period ends.

Removing leftover files and settings

The standard uninstall removes Office and most related files, but some cached data and preferences may remain on your hard drive. If you want a completely clean removal — useful if you're troubleshooting a broken installation or selling your computer — you can remove these leftovers.

On Windows, read the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant from microsoft.com/en-us/read/details.aspx?id=100607. Run the tool, select "I want to uninstall Office," and follow the prompts. This tool removes Office more thoroughly than Settings does, including temporary files and registry entries.

On Mac, open Finder, press Command+Shift+G to open Go to Folder, and paste ~/Library/Preferences. Look for files starting with "com.microsoft" and move them to Trash. Then go to ~/Library/Caches and delete any Microsoft-related folders. Empty Trash when done. This removes preferences and cached data but is optional for a standard uninstall.

Reinstalling Office after uninstalling

If you uninstall Office and later want to use it again, you can reinstall it the same way you installed it originally. If you own a copy of Office, go to microsoft.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and read it. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription that's still active, sign in and install from your account page. If you have a product key from a boxed copy, enter it during installation.

A clean uninstall followed by a fresh reinstall can fix problems with Office that won't go away otherwise. Make sure you have your product key or subscription details before you uninstall if you think you might need to reinstall later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will uninstalling Office delete my files?

No. Uninstalling removes only the Office programs themselves. Your Word documents, Excel files, emails, and other data stay on your computer in the folders where you saved them. You can open them with other programs or reinstall Office later and they will still be there.

Do I need to uninstall each Office app separately?

No. On Windows, uninstalling the main Microsoft Office entry removes all the apps together. On Mac, you can select multiple apps at once and drag them all to Trash in one action. You do not have to uninstall Word, then Excel, then Outlook individually.

What if the uninstall button is grayed out?

This usually means Office is running. Close all Office programs — Word, Excel, Outlook, and any others — and try again. If it's still grayed out on Windows, restart your computer and try uninstalling from Settings again. On Mac, force-quit any Office apps by opening Activity Monitor, selecting them, and clicking the X button.

Will uninstalling Office cancel my Microsoft 365 subscription?

No. Uninstalling the software does not cancel your subscription. You will continue to be charged until you manually cancel through your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com. Go to Subscriptions and select Cancel subscription next to Microsoft 365.

Can I uninstall just one Office app like Word?

On Windows, you can uninstall individual apps from Settings > Apps & features if they appear as separate entries. On Mac, you can delete just Word or just Excel by dragging only those apps to Trash. However, most Office installations come as a package, so uninstalling one may uninstall all of them together.