Project is not part of the Office suites. It installs as a separate app, but it shares the Office installation engine on your PC. So two things decide your path: the kind of key in your order, and the Office that is already installed. This guide covers both. Activation has its own guide: Activate Microsoft Project.
What is in your order
Your 25-character product key is in your order confirmation email and in your Lizensa account under My Library. It looks like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
| Your order | Kind of key | Where the software comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Project Professional or Standard 2024 or 2021 MAK | Volume key (MAK) | Installer in your Lizensa account |
| Project Professional or Standard 2024, 2021 or 2019, including ESD | Retail key | Your Microsoft account, after you redeem the key |
| Bundle of Office 2024, Visio 2024 and Project 2024 | Retail keys | Your Microsoft account, after you redeem the keys |
| Project Professional or Standard 2016, Project Professional 2013 | Product key only | No installer in your library at the moment |
Product pages: Project Professional 2024 MAK, Project Standard 2024 MAK, Project 2021 Professional MAK, Project 2024 Professional, Project 2021 Standard, Project 2019 Professional.
Microsoft ended support for Project 2021 on 13 October 2026, and for Project 2019 and 2016 on 14 October 2025. The apps may continue to run, but Microsoft no longer ships security fixes for them.
Check the Office on this PC first
Microsoft sets three rules for Office, Project and Visio on one computer:
- All of them must be 64-bit, or all 32-bit.
- All of them must use the same update channel.
- Two products of the same version cannot use different installation technologies (Click-to-Run and Windows Installer).
Our Project MAK installer is 64-bit and fixed to the volume channel of its year: PerpetualVL2024 or PerpetualVL2021. Volume Office LTSC of the same year uses that channel too. Microsoft 365 and retail Office update through other channels.
To see what is installed, open Word and select File > Account. Product Information shows the Office name. If Update Options appears there, that Office uses Click-to-Run. Then pick the Project that fits:
| Office already installed | The Project that fits |
|---|---|
| No Office | Any Project from the table above |
| Office LTSC Professional Plus or Standard 2024 (volume) | Project 2024 MAK |
| Office LTSC Professional Plus or Standard 2021 (volume) | Project 2021 MAK |
| Microsoft 365, or a retail Office such as Home & Business 2024 | Retail Project |
Office 2024 or 2021 Professional Plus or Standard from your Lizensa library is the volume (LTSC) edition. It goes with the MAK Project of the same year. If you have Microsoft 365, a retail Office or a 32-bit Office, do not run our Project installer. Contact our support first. The same applies to any combination that is not in the table.
Getting the software
Retail Project: redeem the key with Microsoft
We do not send an installer for retail Project. Microsoft provides it once the key is in your Microsoft account.
- Go to office.com/setup.
- Sign in with your Microsoft account, or create one. Keep a note of it. Every later reinstall starts from this account.
- Enter the product key and follow the prompts until Project is added to your account.
With the bundle, redeem every key from your order the same way, with the same Microsoft account.
Project MAK: the installer from your Lizensa account
Your download link is in your order email and in your account.
- Sign in to Lizensa and open My Library.
- Find your Project order and select Download.
- Save the ISO file to a folder you can find again.
The link is created when you select Download and stays valid for up to 15 minutes. If a download breaks off, select Download again for a fresh link.
The file is large: about 3.4 to 3.8 GB for Project 2024 and about 2 to 2.3 GB for Project 2021. Microsoft packs all its volume products into one shared data set, so the Project file is as big as a full Office file. It still installs only Project.
The ISO holds 64-bit Project in one language. We have it in 33 languages, and your library gives you the language of the shop you ordered from. If that language is not among the 33, you get English (en-US). Contact us before you install if you need another language.
Project 2016 and 2013
For these versions your order contains the product key only. Your library has no installer for them at the moment. Contact our support with your order number before you install. Do not use installers from unofficial websites.
Installing Project
Retail Project
- Sign in at account.microsoft.com with the account from office.com/setup and open Services & subscriptions.
- Find Project and select Install.
- To choose the language or the 32-bit or 64-bit version, select Other options. Choose the same bit version as your Office.
- Open the downloaded setup file. When Windows asks "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?", select Yes.
- When setup has finished, select Start and look for Project in your list of apps.
Project MAK from the ISO
Save your work in Word, Excel and Outlook first. Setup closes running Office apps without asking.
- In File Explorer, right-click the ISO file and select Mount. A new drive appears, for example
E:. - Open the drive. It contains
setup.exe,configuration.xml,install.cmdand anOfficefolder. - Right-click install.cmd and select Run as administrator. Answer the Windows prompt with Yes.
- A Microsoft Office progress window opens. It installs from the ISO, so the PC needs no internet connection.
- When the window reports that setup is complete, close it. Right-click the drive and select Eject.
The installer adds Project only. Word, Excel and your other Office apps stay as they are. Project goes to the system drive, usually C:. Microsoft does not offer another location.
install.cmd starts Microsoft's Office Deployment Tool (setup.exe) with the settings in configuration.xml. To run the same step yourself, open Command Prompt as administrator on the mounted drive and enter:
setup.exe /configure configuration.xml
Activating Project
- Retail: open Project and sign in with the Microsoft account you used at office.com/setup. Accept the licence terms.
- MAK: the installer carries no product key. Project starts with Microsoft's generic key for company activation servers (KMS). Replace it with your own key. In Project, select File > Account > Change Product Key, enter the key and select Activate.
To do this at the command line, open Command Prompt as administrator and run:
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /act
No internet on this PC?
Installing Project MAK from the ISO works offline, but online activation does not. Enter your key with the /inpkey command above, then open Project. In the Activation Wizard, select "I want to activate the software by telephone" and then Next. Select your country or region and call the number shown. Read out the installation ID, enter the confirmation ID you receive and select Next. The command-line way and all error codes are in Activate Microsoft Project.
Check that Project is installed
- Select Start, type
Projectand open the app. - Select File > Account.
- Product Information names your edition, for example Project Professional 2024 or Project Standard 2021.
For Project MAK, also check the licence. In Command Prompt as administrator, run the command below. In the block for Project, the status should read ---LICENSED---.
cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus
If the edition or year differs from your order, uninstall Project and install the matching download. For Project 2016 and 2013, contact our support first.
If something goes wrong
Setup stops and says the products cannot be installed together. The Office on the PC and your Project differ in bit version, update channel or installation technology. Compare them with the table under Check the Office on this PC first. Then contact our support with the Office name from File > Account.
Your Office is 32-bit. The ISO in your library contains 64-bit Project only. Contact our support before you remove or change anything.
Project starts but says it is not activated. Project is installed but not activated yet. Enter your key, or sign in for retail Project, as described under Activating Project. Background: error 0x4004F00C.
Activation reports 0xC004F074. Project MAK still uses Microsoft's KMS key and finds no KMS server. Install your own key with the two commands above. See error 0xC004F074.
Your key is rejected as not valid. The key and the installed edition must match: Professional with Professional, Standard with Standard, MAK with the ISO, retail with the Microsoft account. See error 0xC004F050.
office.com/setup does not accept the retail key. If it says "This product key has already been used", the key is in a Microsoft account already. Sign in with that account and install from Services & subscriptions. If the key is refused for any other reason, do not try other websites. Contact our support with your order number.
Project is missing from Services & subscriptions. Check that you redeemed the key at office.com/setup. Then check that you are signed in with the same Microsoft account. If Project is still missing, contact our support.
Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number and the exact message you see.
