Clean uninstall of Office 365 on macOS: Easy guide

I’ve been using Microsoft products for as long as I can remember. From school essays to spreadsheets at work, Office was always there. But over time, things changed. New tools appeared, and with AI stepping in, I realized I no longer need the full Office 365 (or, as it’s now called, Microsoft 365) subscription on my Mac.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to completely remove Office 365 from your Mac, including every related app and hidden file. It’s a surprisingly long list, so brew some coffee and let’s get started.

When to uninstall Office (Microsoft) 365

There are many reasons why users may decide to remove or reinstall Office 365 from their Mac. Some are technical, others are about convenience or simply moving on. Here are the most common scenarios:

• You used to combine work and personal accounts in one Office setup but don’t need to anymore. Separating your environments and starting fresh helps avoid syncing issues, permission conflicts, and accidental mix-ups. This is a popular case since over 2 million companies use Microsoft 365 (OneCloud stats, 2024).
• You want a newer version, but there’s no smooth upgrade path. Microsoft sometimes offers updates through AutoUpdate, but in some cases, the only way to move to a newer version is by removing the old one first.
• You’re switching to another toolset. Whether it’s Google Docs, LibreOffice, Apple’s apps, or other modern alternatives, you simply don’t need the full Office suite taking up space anymore.
• Office apps won’t open or crash immediately. This is often due to corrupted Office components or macOS system libraries. Reinstalling restores the missing or damaged files.
• You can’t activate your Office license. This could be caused by a broken link between Office and the Apple Keychain, or a mismatch in your Microsoft account. A full reset that includes clearing license data helps resolve this.
• Excel formulas, macros, or plugins don’t work. Broken Excel modules or clashing third-party extensions can be hard to diagnose. A clean installation without add-ons often brings stability back.
• Office apps slow down your Mac. Performance issues like freezing, high CPU usage, or sluggish response might be caused by bloated caches or graphics bugs. Clearing caches during reinstallation can noticeably improve speed.

Ways to remove Microsoft Office 365 from Mac: Comparison table

There’s no official uninstaller that completely removes all Office components from your Mac. To make a complete uninstallation, consider the following two methods, each with its own pros and cons.

	Manual removal	Using App Cleaner & Uninstaller
Description	Step-by-step clean removal of Office apps, support files, licenses, update agents, and caches. Ideal if you want to control every file removed.	Automatic detection and cleanup of Office apps and hidden files in a few clicks. The Office apps appear together as Microsoft Group. Perfect for quick, hassle-free removal.
Pros	Pros: Removes all Office 365 components completely Fixes stubborn bugs and activation issues Full control over what stays or goes	Pros: Finds all apps + hidden leftovers automatically Removes the whole Microsoft Group at once Resets single Office apps and finds old leftovers
Cons	Cons: Time-consuming - requires searching through multiple folders Older macOS or legacy Office installs may have leftover traces Best suited for experienced users	Cons: Needs a separate (trusted) app installed
Ease of use	Moderate effort	Very easy

How to manually delete Microsoft 365 and all related files

If you want to fully uninstall Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) apps from your Mac, this section is for you.

We created this guide by carefully tracking all the files Microsoft Office apps generate during installation and use. Unlike Microsoft’s official instructions, our list covers not just the essential files, but every associated file we found.

We’ve grouped the Office-related leftover files into logical categories:

• Common Microsoft service files – shared libraries, update agents, caches, etc.
• App-specific files – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Defender, and even Microsoft Edge.

How to use this section:

• If you’re removing all Microsoft apps, go through every subsection below. Start with the Common Microsoft Service Files
• If you only want to remove a specific app (say, Excel or Outlook), skip directly to the relevant subsection and delete only those files. This will help avoid breaking other Office apps still in use.

Part 1. Remove Microsoft 365 apps

Go to the Applications folder and drag Microsoft 365 apps to the Trash.

Part 2. Remove common Microsoft service files

These files include system-wide services, shared containers, update helpers, background agents, preferences, licensing data, logs, and more.

Step 1. Remove the following files and folders from

~/Library

Copy

How to use path

1. In Finder, open the Go menu from the top bar and select Go to Folder.
2. Type ~/Library into the box, then press Return to access the folder.

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.office.plist

  Copy

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.shared.plist

  Copy

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.msa-login-hint.plist

  Copy

• ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.rdc

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.oneauth

  Copy

• ~/Library/Caches/Microsoft

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Update Assistant

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.rdc

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/UBF8T346G9.Office

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/UBF8T346G9.ms

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost

  Copy

• ~/Library/Logs/Microsoft

  Copy

Step 2. Now proceed to the system’s

/Library

Copy

How to use path

1. In Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G to bring up the Go to Folder dialog.
2. Type /Library and hit Enter to proceed.

 and delete the following files and folders:

• /Library/Application Support/Microsoft

  Copy

• /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper

  Copy

• /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Office.definition

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Set Document Settings.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Add New Sheet to Workbooks.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Get Parent Workbooks.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Create List from Data in Workbook.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Create Table from Data in Workbook.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Set Word Document Properties.action

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/Get Parent Presentations of Slides.action

  Copy

• /Library/Fonts/Microsoft

  Copy

• /Library/Logs/Microsoft

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.fresno.uninstall.plist

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.fresno.plist

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.dlp.install_monitor.plist

  Copy

• /Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.SyncReporter.plist

  Copy

Step 3. The last destination is the

/private

Copy

folder

How to use path

1. In Finder, press Command + Shift + G to open the Go to Folder popup.
2. Type /private and press Return to navigate to the folder.

, get rid of the following files:

• /private/tmp/Microsoft Office 20

  Copy

  *

• /private/var/db/receipts/com.microsoft.office.

  Copy

  *

• /private/var/db/receipts/com.microsoft.package.

  Copy

  *

• /private/var/db/receipts/com.microsoft.pkg.

  Copy

  *

• /private/var/db/receipts/com.microsoft.dlp.

  Copy

  *

Once these files are gone, your system will no longer carry any shared Microsoft Office components. If you plan to reinstall Office in the future, this clean state may actually help avoid conflicts or licensing errors.

Part 3. Remove separately Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Edge, OneNote, or Defender

Step 1. If you want to uninstall only some of the Microsoft apps, you’ll need to visit the following folders and search for Microsoft’s files mentioning those apps (e.g. “Excel”, “Edge”, etc.). Here is the list of such folders:

• ~/Library/Preferences/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Containers/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Caches/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Scripts/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Application Support/

  Copy

• /private/var/db/receipts/

  Copy

• /Library/Automator/

  Copy

Step 2. Check these folders too if you’re uninstalling Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Defender (search not only for ‘defender’, but ‘microsoft’ as well in the case with Defender):

• ~/Library/HTTPStorages/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Saved Application State/

  Copy

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

  Copy

• ~/Library/WebKit/

  Copy

• ~/Library/Microsoft/

  Copy

• /private/tmp/

  Copy

• /Library/Logs/Microsoft/

  Copy

• /Library/SystemExtensions/

  Copy

Step 3. Restart your Mac.

How to get rid of Microsoft 365 apps using App Cleaner & Uninstaller

If you want a faster and safer way to uninstall Microsoft 365 apps from your Mac, App Cleaner & Uninstaller by Nektony is your best choice. It scans your system for all files related to each app, including those that are hard to find manually. It also lists the Office apps together as Microsoft Group, so you can remove the whole suite at once or pick a single app.

To uninstall Office apps completely:

1. Download and open App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
   Download

   for macOS 11 and above

   App Cleaner & Uninstaller
2. In the Applications section, find Microsoft Group. It holds the Microsoft 365 apps installed on your Mac. On my Mac, it held five apps: Microsoft AutoUpdate, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word. Together they took 9 GB in 8,118 items.
3. Select Microsoft Group to remove the whole suite. To remove one app only, such as Word or Excel, click the arrow next to the group and select that app.

   

4. Click the Uninstall button.

   Note:

   To review or exclude certain files before deletion, turn on Expert Mode at the top of the right panel. It lists the group’s apps and service files by type, such as Executables and Application Support, each with a checkbox. Tick the items you want to delete and click Remove.

   

5. Check the list in the Review and confirm removal of selected items window and click Remove. The list shows the Office apps plus Microsoft folders in Application Support and Application Scripts.

   

6. Empty the Trash. App Cleaner & Uninstaller moves the removed files there, so you can restore them until you empty it.

Clean up remaining files after manually removing Office

If you’ve already dragged a Microsoft 365 app to the Trash, some files may still be left behind. Here’s how to get rid of them:

1. Open App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
2. In the Applications section, switch to Remains at the top of the list.
3. Click the search icon and type Microsoft to find leftovers related to Microsoft Office or Microsoft Defender. On my Mac, the search found leftovers of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote.

   

4. Tick the leftovers and click Remove to clean up your system.

This helps ensure no service files are left behind to cause conflicts or consume disk space.

How to reset an Office app without deleting it

If an Office app is acting up and you’d rather not uninstall it completely, you can reset it instead:

1. In the Applications section, click the arrow next to Microsoft Group to expand it.
2. Right-click the Office app you want to reset, for example, Microsoft Word.
3. Choose Reset Application from the menu.

   

This will clear all support files, preferences, and caches, restoring the app to its default state without removing the actual application.

Resetting is a great way to try to fix bugs or account mix-ups before uninstalling and reinstalling the software.

Final thoughts

Unfortunately, uninstalling Microsoft Office apps manually is a long process that requires careful review of the files you find. Although the number of folders where residual files sit isn’t very large, you still need to make sure every file you remove actually belongs to a Microsoft folder and is safe to delete. It’s hard to enjoy such a tedious process.

Luckily, Macs and apps are designed to make things easier, not harder. And there’s indeed an app that makes Office 365 uninstallation smooth and effortless. Give App Cleaner & Uninstaller a try if you value peace of mind and prefer to spend your time on more meaningful tasks than hunting down dozens of pesky Microsoft files bloating your Mac.