The next version of Office 2013, which is currently available as a public beta, has now reached the 'release to manufacture' (RTM) milestone. This means that the programming and testing phase is over. Pricing for Office 2013 was announced a while ago, with both DVD copies and a subscription model available. Microsoft are using pricing and added bonues to make the subscriptilon model more attractive to consumers and small busnesses. For example, Home Premium subscribers will receive 60 Skype minutes a month and 20 GB of extra SkyDrive storage - both fo which will benefit Windows Phone users.

While the subscription model limits accounts to installing Office on 5 PCs, a source of Paul Thurrott says that this will also include "5 devices", which was alluding to the rumoured release of Microsoft Office for iOS and Android devices. That limitation puts Windows Phone and Surface users at an advantage as these devices will not count toward the device limitation.

Office 2010 provided support for sharing documents to SkyDrive, Office 2013 now supports native saving files to SkyDrive, rather than locally. Therefore, with Office 2013 and Windows Phone devices, you keep your work completely in the cloud without using any local storage, if that is your preference.

The announcement on the Office blog stated:

General availability is planned for the first quarter of 2013. Starting October 19, customers purchasing Office 2010 from local retailers or resellers will receive the new Office for free upon availability. Customers will also see a preview version of the new Office on Windows RT devices, beginning with the Windows 8 launch on October 26. 

Additionally, we have a number of programs that provide business customers with early access so they can begin testing, piloting and adopting Office within their organizations:

• We will begin rolling out new capabilities to Office 365 Enterprise customers in our next service update, starting in November through general availability.
• Volume Licensing customers with Software Assurance will be able to download the Office 2013 applications as well as other Office products including SharePoint 2013, Lync 2013 and Exchange 2013 through the Volume Licensing Service Center by mid-November. These products will be available on the Volume Licensing price list on December 1.
• IT professionals and developers will be able to download the final version via their TechNet or MSDN subscriptions by mid-November.

According to ZDNet, the pricing for the physical media versions of Office 2013 will be as follows:

• Office Home & Student, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, will cost $140, up 17% from the current $120.
• Office Home & Business, which includes the above apps plus Outlook, will go for $220, up 10% from the current price of $200.
• Office Professional, which includes the above apps plus Access and Publisher, goes up to $400, a 14% bump from the current sticker price of $350.

The per-PC licensing model is stricter in this release. If you want to install the traditional versions of Office 2013 on multiple PCs, you’ll need to buy separate licenses for each one. Office 2013 offers no multi-copy discounts for traditional packaged software as Office 2010 does.

Meanwhile, according to the Office blog, the subscription models will be as follows:

Office 365 Home Premium

A single subscription to Office 365 Home Premium covers the entire household.  While you use a laptop, your daughter can use the PC in the den, and your son can use a tablet.  You can each sign-in with your individual Microsoft accounts using your settings and accessing your documents, but you still need just one subscription to get:

• All the Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher.*
• Ability to use Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs shared among all users in the home. Subscribers also have flexibility to change their 5 devices at any time, and full featured Office applications are available for temporary use on any PC.
• Nearly 3 times the amount of SkyDrive storage with an additional 20GB over the 7GB you get for free.
• 60 minutes of Skype^TM world calling per month to keep in touch with family anywhere.**
• Premium licenses that are always up-to-date with latest new features and services released regularly. With the new Office, new capabilities will be added multiple times per year.

Office 365 Home Premium, a single subscription for up to 5 users, will be available in both physical and online stores across 227 markets worldwide for $8.33 per month ($99.99 billed annually).  A free 30 day trial will also be available online.

Office 365 Small Business Premium

In addition to Office 365 Small Business, the new Office 365 Small Business Premium is designed for organizations with 1-10 employees, and each user gets the following benefits:

• All the Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher plus Lync.*
• Ability to use Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs for a single user. Users also have flexibility to change their 5 devices at any time, and full featured Office applications are available for temporary use on any PC.
• A 25 GB Outlook mailbox, shared calendar, contact manager, scheduling and task-list tools, and 10 GBprofessional-grade cloud storage for the organization plus 500 MB per user.
• Ability to host online meetings with audio and video using one-click screen sharing and HD video conferencing (HD video camera required)
• Set up, build, and maintain a public-facing website with no additional hosting fees.
• Premium licenses that are always up-to-date with latest new features and services released regularly. With the new Office, new capabilities will be added multiple times per year.
• No IT expertise needed. Simple setup to get started quickly and customize the service with ease.

Office 365 Small Business Premium will be available in both physical and online stores, including small business resellers, across 86 markets worldwide for $12.50 per user per month ($149.99 billed annually).  A free 30 day trial will also be available online.