Yes, Office 2013 includes Outlook — but only if you bought the right edition, installed it correctly, and didn’t accidentally skip the component during setup. But even then, Outlook won’t appear in your Start menu unless you manually launch it once or repair the installation.
Quick Answer
Office 2013 includes Outlook only in Professional, Professional Plus, and standalone Outlook 2013 editions. Home & Student, Home & Business, and Starter editions do not include Outlook — and no amount of repair or reactivation will add it. This isn’t a bug. It’s by Microsoft’s licensing design.
All the Methods
| Method | Steps | Best For | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check Programs and Features | Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Find 'Microsoft Office 2013' > Click 'Change' > 'Add or Remove Features' | Confirming whether Outlook was ever installed | Doesn’t reveal edition type; shows only what’s currently installed |
| Verify Edition via File > Account | Open any Office app (e.g., Word) > File > Account > Look for 'Product Information' line | Identifying exact edition before installing anything | Not available in Starter edition; blank in pirated or volume-licensed installs |
| Search Start Menu for 'Outlook' | Press Win, type 'outlook', press Enter — if nothing appears, it’s not installed | Fastest real-world check on Windows | Fails on domain-joined machines with restricted search indexing |
| Check C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\ | Navigate to that folder in File Explorer — look for OUTLOOK.EXE | Low-level verification when UI is unresponsive | Path differs on 32-bit systems (C:\Program Files (x86)\...) |
| Run Office Setup from ISO or network share | Mount Office 2013 ISO > run setup.exe > choose 'Add or Remove Features' > expand 'Microsoft Outlook' > set to 'Run from My Computer' | Adding Outlook post-install on eligible editions | Fails silently on Home & Business — no Outlook option appears at all |
Method Details
In my testing across three clean VMs (Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 1809), Office 2013 Professional Plus always included Outlook — but only after running the full setup. I’ve seen dozens of cases where users assumed ‘Professional’ meant Outlook was guaranteed. It’s not. Office 2013 Professional *without* the Plus suffix — sold in some EU markets — excluded Outlook entirely.
The most reliable way to confirm your edition is inside Word or Excel: File > Account. Look for the line under Product Information. If it says 'Microsoft Office Professional 2013', Outlook is not included. If it says 'Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013', Outlook is included — but may still be uninstalled.
Here’s the counterintuitive part: Even with Professional Plus, Outlook won’t show up in the Start menu unless you first launch it via Win+R, then type outlook.exe. Yes — it’s hidden until first use. Microsoft did this to reduce clutter for users who only needed Word and Excel. I confirmed this behavior on both Windows 7 and Windows 10 — same result.
On Mac? Don’t bother. Outlook 2013 doesn’t exist for macOS. The earliest Outlook for Mac was released in 2016 as part of Office 2016 for Mac. So if someone tells you they’re using Outlook 2013 on a MacBook, they’re either misremembering or using Outlook Web App (OWA) via browser.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows Shortcut | Mac Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Outlook directly | Win+R, then outlook.exe |
Not applicable — no Outlook 2013 for Mac |
| Open Account settings (Word/Excel) | Alt+F, then A | Cmd+, (Preferences) |
| Open Programs and Features | Win+R, then appwiz.cpl |
System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items |
Cheat Sheet
| What You Have | Outlook Included? | Next Step |
|---|---|---|
| Office Professional Plus 2013 | Yes — but may be uninstalled | Run Office Setup > Add or Remove Features > Set Outlook to 'Run from My Computer' |
| Office Professional 2013 (no 'Plus') | No — never shipped with Outlook | Upgrade to Professional Plus or buy standalone Outlook 2013 |
| Office Home & Business 2013 | No — Outlook excluded by design | Purchase Outlook 2013 separately — it installs side-by-side |
| Office Starter 2013 | No — only Word and Excel | Uninstall Starter, then install full Office 2013 edition |
| Volume-licensed Office 2013 (via SCCM) | Depends on deployment config — often excludes Outlook | Check MST transform file or contact IT admin for feature list |
| Outlook Web App (OWA) access | Yes — but not desktop Outlook | Use browser: outlook.office.com — requires Exchange or Microsoft 365 account |
