The Office Deployment Tool is Microsoft’s official, free command-line utility for deploying Click-to-Run versions of Office 2016 (Volume License or Microsoft 365 Apps).

Why it’s better than manual:

Basic example workflow:

Here is the hidden gem of Ninite regarding Office 2016 specifically.

If you install Microsoft Office 2016 via the standard method today, Microsoft forces additional components onto your system. You get:

Ninite strips the fat. When you select "Microsoft Office 2016" in Ninite, you get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. That’s it. No OneDrive forced installation. No Skype. No "Get Office" nagware in the system tray.

For businesses that use Google Drive or Dropbox instead of OneDrive, this alone makes Ninite the better choice.

Ninite aggregates dozens of popular applications (Chrome, 7-Zip, Zoom, etc.) into a single, custom-built installer. You check a box next to "Microsoft Office 2016," download a 2MB .exe file, and run it.

But how is that "better"? Let’s break down the metrics.

No.
Ninite’s catalog includes many free and commercial apps (Chrome, 7-Zip, VLC, .NET runtimes, etc.), but Microsoft Office has never been available through Ninite. The reasons are:

If you try to “add” Office 2016 in Ninite’s builder, you won’t find it. Any website claiming otherwise is misleading.