Microsoft Project 2021 Professional – How to Download, Install & Activate

This guide shows you how to download Microsoft Project 2021 Professional, install only Project 2021 Professional on Windows and activate it with the product key from your Kymakers order. The same steps work on a PC that already has Office 2021 installed.

Microsoft Project 2021 Professional is the perpetual, one-time-purchase desktop version of Microsoft Project for Windows, matched to PCs that already run Office 2021. It installs the full Project application without a Microsoft 365 or Project Plan subscription and includes the Professional features: resource management and leveling, the Team Planner, portfolio and what-if analysis, timeline views, baselines, Gantt charts, task path highlighting and SharePoint task sync or Project Server connectivity. Your Kymakers key is a one-time purchase for one PC; get a genuine Project 2021 Professional product key below if you do not have one.

Microsoft Project 2021 Professional system requirements

What you need before you start

Where your product key is and how delivery works

After checkout, Kymakers emails your 25-character Microsoft Project 2021 Professional product key to the address on your order, normally within a few minutes. The key looks like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Check your spam or promotions folder if you do not see it, and keep the email: you will need the same key again if you ever reinstall on the same machine or move the license to a replacement device as permitted by the license.

Nothing physical is shipped and nothing needs to be downloaded from Kymakers. The software itself comes from Microsoft’s servers using the links in this guide, and your key is what turns the installation into a licensed, activated copy. If your email has not arrived after 30 minutes, contact support with your order number. Do not send the full key or any passwords in that message; the order number is enough.

Step 1: Check for conflicting versions

Project 2021 installs alongside Office 2021 (any edition) and Visio 2021 or an Office 2021 suite without changes. It cannot share a PC with Microsoft 365 or with Office 2016, 2019 or 2024 apps: the installer refuses mixed release years. If one of those is present, either uninstall it (Settings > Apps > Installed apps) or install Project 2021 on a different PC. Match the 32-bit or 64-bit architecture of any existing Office (File > Account > About) in Step 3.

Step 2: Download the Office Deployment Tool

Project 2021 Professional is installed with Microsoft’s free Office Deployment Tool (ODT). The tool is a small setup.exe that reads a configuration file and downloads the official installation files from Microsoft’s servers. It sounds technical; in practice it is two commands.

1. Open the Office Deployment Tool download page on microsoft.com and select Download.
2. Create a folder C:\Project2021Setup.
3. Run the downloaded officedeploymenttool_xxxxx.exe, accept the license terms and extract it into C:\Project2021Setup. You should now see setup.exe and a few sample XML files there.

Step 3: Create the configuration file

The configuration file tells setup.exe which product, language and architecture to install, and can carry your product key so activation happens automatically.

1. Open Notepad and paste the block below.
2. Replace XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX with the key from your Kymakers email. To install another language, change en-us to your language code (for example de-de, fr-fr, es-es).
3. Select File > Save As, go to C:\Project2021Setup, set Save as type to All Files, name it configuration.xml and save.

<Configuration>
  <Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="PerpetualVL2021">
    <Product ID="ProjectPro2021Retail" PIDKEY="XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
    </Product>
  </Add>
  <Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
  <Property Name="AUTOACTIVATE" Value="1" />
</Configuration>

Step 4: Download and install

1. Select Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
2. Run cd C:\Project2021Setup to move into the folder.
3. Run the command below. Project 2021 Professional downloads 2 to 3 GB from Microsoft and installs. With Display Level Full you see a progress window; with None it runs silently and is done when the apps appear in the Start menu.

setup.exe /configure configuration.xml

If you want to download once and install on several PCs or keep an offline copy, run setup.exe /download configuration.xml first. It saves the installation files into an Office subfolder, and the /configure command then installs from there without re-downloading.

Step 5: Activate Project 2021 Professional

With the key in configuration.xml, Project 2021 Professional normally activates on first launch. If File > Account does not show Product Activated, enter the key manually.

1. Open any Office app, for example Word, and create a blank document.
2. Select File > Account. If the app shows an Activate Office or Sign in prompt first, close it with the X; you do not need to sign in.
3. Under Product Information, select Change Product Key (or Activate Product, then Enter a product key instead).
4. Type the 25-character Project 2021 Professional key from your Kymakers email and select Activate Office.
5. The Product Information panel changes to Product Activated with the full product name. All apps in the suite are activated at once.

If you prefer the command line, or the Account page will not accept the key, open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16"
cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
cscript ospp.vbs /act
cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus

Use C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16 for 32-bit Office. The last command prints LICENSE STATUS: —LICENSED— when activation succeeded.

Step 6: Confirm activation

• File > Account in Project 2021 Professional reads Product Activated and names Microsoft Project 2021 Professional.
• cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus lists a LICENSED entry for the product.
• No activation banner appears after restarting the app.

What you get in Project 2021 Professional

• Gantt charts, task dependencies, critical path, baselines and progress tracking.
• Resource sheet, resource leveling, Team Planner and over-allocation highlighting.
• Timeline view and multiple timelines for stakeholder reports.
• Portfolio analysis, what-if scenarios and inactive tasks for planning alternatives.
• Reports with charts and tables, plus export to Excel, PDF and PowerPoint.
• SharePoint task list sync and Project Server or Project Online connectivity for organizations.

Project 2021 Professional vs Standard vs Project Plan

Professional is the full desktop product. If you also need diagrams, the Office 2021 Pro Plus + Visio + Project bundle installs all three from one configuration file. On a PC with Office 2024, choose Project 2024 Professional instead.

Reinstalling or moving Microsoft Project 2021 Professional to a new PC

A retail key licenses one PC at a time. If you reinstall on the same hardware, simply enter the same key again after setup. If you are replacing the PC, remove the software from the old device first (or wipe it), install on the new one, then activate with your original key. If online activation says the key has already been used, that is the server remembering the old device; phone activation or a short support ticket clears it.

Keep configuration.xml. Reinstalling Project 2021 Professional is the same two commands, and if you ran setup.exe /download the installation files are already in the folder.

Troubleshooting Project 2021 Professional installation and activation

“We can’t install because of a conflicting product” or error 30088, 30015, 30183

Something from an older Office is still on the PC, often OneNote, a language pack or a Microsoft 365 trial. Uninstall it from Settings > Apps, restart, and run setup again. If it persists, use the removal tool on the Kymakers OffScrub guide.

“This product key has already been used” or “Activation limit reached”

The key is active on another PC, or this PC was reinstalled and Microsoft still sees the old installation. Remove Office from the other device if it still exists, then use phone activation. If phone activation refuses as well, contact Kymakers support with your order number for a reset or replacement.

“This product key is for a different edition”

The installed edition does not match the key: for example Home & Business media with a Professional Plus key. Uninstall, download the correct edition from this guide and reinstall. The key cannot change the edition of an already installed Office.

Office keeps asking me to sign in or shows an unlicensed product banner

Activation did not complete. Go to File > Account > Change Product Key and enter the key again, or run cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus to see the real license state. A banner that reads Product Activated in Account but Unlicensed in the title bar is fixed by closing all Office apps and reopening.

Error 0xC004F074, 0xC004C060 or references to KMS

The installed Office is a volume build looking for a company activation server. Make sure you installed the edition from the download in this guide, then run cscript ospp.vbs /inpkey with your key followed by /act. Kymakers has a full page on error 0xC004F074.

Activate by phone

In the activation wizard choose I want to activate the software by telephone, pick your country and call the number shown. Read the Installation ID, type the Confirmation ID back, select Next and Office activates offline. Kymakers has a dedicated page on getting your Microsoft Confirmation ID that walks through this screen by screen. If the wizard does not offer the phone option, run cscript ospp.vbs /dinstid in the Office16 folder to display the Installation ID and cscript ospp.vbs /dstatus to see the activation phone number for your region.

Project 2021 Professional installs but existing Office apps stop opening

The architectures or release years do not match: for example 32-bit Office 2021 with 64-bit Project 2021 Professional. Uninstall the new app, change OfficeClientEdition in configuration.xml to match the existing Office (32 or 64) and run setup again. Mixing release years (for example Office 2019 with 2021 apps) is not supported.

Key did not arrive, or you bought the wrong edition

Check spam first, then contact Kymakers support with your order number. Support is available 24/7, and covered key problems are replaced or refunded under the 180-day money-back guarantee. If you bought the wrong edition, say so in the ticket: mismatched editions are the most common reason a genuine Microsoft Project 2021 Professional key is refused, and it is quick to fix.

Microsoft Project 2021 Professional download, install and activation FAQ

Kymakers is operated by Makers Unity LLC, United States. Kymakers is an independent reseller and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, Office, Windows Server and related marks are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used here to identify the products offered. Download links on this page point to Microsoft’s own servers unless stated otherwise.