- Word Application For Mac
- Best Microsoft Word Alternative
- Google Docs
- Free Microsoft Word Alternative For Mac
Microsoft does offer a stripped-down online version of Word free of charge with your OneDrive account, so if you're committed to Office that should be your first stop.If you're looking outside the. Microsoft's free online version of Word is not too shabby. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET But for years many of us have been spoiled by Google Docs, OpenOffice and other free alternatives, to the.
- OpenOffice for Mac is a completely free alternative to Microsoft Office for Mac and the equivalent of Word in OpenOffice for Mac is Writer. OpenOffice was originally created by Oracle but is now developed by Apache and one of the most widely used MS Office alternatives on Mac.
- Alternatives to Microsoft Office Word for Mac with any license LibreOffice - Writer Writer has all the features you need from a modern, full-featured word processing or desktop publishing tool.
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A few years back, I dubbed Kingsoft Office the best free Microsoft Office alternative. Then the developers renamed it WPS Office, built in a bunch of clunky online features and added a watermark to all printed and PDF documents. Talk about ruining a perfectly great freebie! (To be fair, developers gotta eat, and the free version really was almost too good. I'm guessing few users bothered to pay for the pro version.)
So what's the alternative to that alternative? Ladies and gentlemen, the 2016 Cheapskate Award for Best Free Office Suite hereby goes to LibreOffice 5.1.
This is, of course, a decidedly old-school option. For many a user, word processing, spreadsheet management and presentation creation work just fine in a Web browser, thank you. Tools such as Google Docs and Microsoft's own Office Online afford plenty of basic features, without extra software to install or money to spend.
So why bother with a desktop office suite? I can think of any number of reasons: mail-merge, text boxes, change-tracking, custom styles.. shall I go on? Plus, and let's be honest, Google Docs is a really ugly place to spend your time. Interface isn't everything, but it's something.
LibreOffice, for its part, borrows heavily from Microsoft Office circa 2003 -- and that's just fine. (I know plenty of folks who despise the Ribbon interface that's prevalent across newer versions of Office.) I do wish it offered a tabbed view for multiple documents, though, of course, Microsoft Office doesn't, either. Which is ridiculous.
That gripe aside, I like pretty much everything about LibreOffice. It's fully file-format compatible with Microsoft Office (read: it can open and save .docx and all the other 'x' files), and it offers some of the more obscure features (macros, track changes, etc.) not typically found in freebie suites.
If you're a regular Cheapskate reader, you know I'm a bit conflicted about this. I like Microsoft Office, and in fact I rely heavily on Outlook because it's the only desktop mail client worth a damn. (Yep, I said it.) But I still think it's overpriced, and Microsoft shenanigans like this drive me insane.
That's just me. If you're looking for a free (technically, open-source) office suite that can handle the big-three productivity tasks with aplomb, look no further than LibreOffice 5.1. Your thoughts?
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There are so many free Microsoft Office alternatives out there that you won't even miss having the real thing. Plus, with prices running $249.99 (for Microsoft Office Home and Business) to $439.99 (for Office 2019 Professional), your pocketbook won't miss it either.
These Microsoft Office free alternatives will let you download similar versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.
Many of these Microsoft Office free alternatives will let you not only open Office documents but also edit and create them. Check out each program to find out exactly what you can and can't do with them.
It's important to note that these free Office alternatives won't give you all the features of the originals, but in many cases, they'll get you very close. Start from the top of the list and make your way down to try out each replacement. This will make it easy to find the best alternative that will work for your needs.
If you're looking for a free and convenient alternative to Microsoft Word only, there are a number of good free downloadable word processors and free online word processors that will quickly provide you with a nice option. There are also some great free spreadsheet programs as well as free presentation software programs.
If you'd like to give the real Microsoft Office applications a try, a good option is to check out the free trial for Microsoft Office 365, which is a cloud-based subscription service that offers the same apps available with Office 2019, but with additional tools and benefits. You can download and use the suite for a month absolutely free of charge.
LibreOffice
What We Like
- Robust word processor for documents, books, diagrams, and indexes
- Fully compatible with DOCX files
- Forms menu makes it easy to create forms
What We Don't Like
- Must install entire suite of apps, not just Writer
- No integrated cloud storage
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LibreOffice can be used as a replacement for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, while adding a few extra features.
There are six separate programs that are installed with LibreOffice to make up the suite: Writer (Word), Impress (PowerPoint), Calc (Excel), Base (Access), Math (formula editing), and Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts).
Each of the Microsoft Office alternatives can open, edit, and save to the Office 2016/2013/2010/2007 file formats.
OpenOffice
What We Like
- No learning curve for anyone accustomed to using Word
- Software looks and feels familiar
- Mature product that has been in development for 20+ years
What We Don't Like
- No online collaboration
- Default file format is ODF. Must be changed to DOC for best Word compatibility
- No built-in grammar checker
OpenOffice has a word processor, database, spreadsheet, and presentation program that can all act as Microsoft Office application alternatives.
Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Base (Access), and Impress (PowerPoint) are the Microsoft Office free alternatives offered by OpenOffice that can be used in full at absolutely no cost. (The suite also includes Draw and Math.)
Many popular file formats can be opened with OpenOffice, such as DOC, DOCX, XML, XLS, XLW, DBF, PPT, PPS, and POTX.
During installation, you can selectively decide to install some or all of the OpenOffice programs to avoid adding a program you won't use.
Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are supported as well as Linux and Mac operating systems. There's even a portable version of OpenOffice so you don't have to install anything, though the download is almost 40MB larger than the regular installer.
WPS Office
What We Like
- Compatible with Microsoft Office file formats
- Can open multiple document tabs
- Eye Protection Mode and Night Mode
What We Don't Like
- Pay an annual fee to suppress ads in free version
- Advanced features require a paid version
- No real-time co-authoring
WPS Office, formerly Kingsoft Office, installs three programs that work as Microsoft Office alternatives: Writer, Presentation, and Spreadsheets.
WPS Office Writer can be used as a replacement for Microsoft Word. It can open common files such as WPS, DOC, and DOCX, as well as Microsoft Word template files such as DOT and DOTM.
The Microsoft PowerPoint alternative, WPS Office Presentation, can open and save files in formats that can be used between Microsoft Office installs or with the free WPS Office. File types such as PPT and PPS are supported.
The Microsoft Excel alternative is called WPS Office Spreadsheets and works with Microsoft Excel 2010 files such as XLSX and XLSM. Functions such as SUM, COUNT, SUMIF, and AVERAGE are supported when building formulas.
WPS Office supports Windows, Mac, Android, Linux and iOS operating systems.
Google Drive
What We Like
- Lots of free cloud storage space
- Excellent collaboration capabilities
- Syncs files across computers and mobile devices
What We Don't Like
- Shared files can't be password protected
- No Linux desktop client
- Not as sophisticated as Microsoft Office
Google Drive is a free storage service offered by Google that also lets you create online documents without downloading any software, making it a perfect Microsoft Office replacement.
Just log in with your Google account to have access instantly to build document, presentation, and spreadsheet files to replace Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, respectively.
Files you create with Google Drive are automatically saved to your Google account, accessible from any browser at any time, and can be shared with anyone, even if they're not a Google user.
Google Drive also supports simultaneous collaboration with other users in real-time and allows add-ons to be used with documents and spreadsheets to extend their functionality.
Existing Microsoft Office documents, such as DOCX and XLSX files, can be opened in Google Docs and then converted to a Google Drive format for easy editing.
Zoho Docs
What We Like
- Excellent collaboration features with built-in chat
- Advanced analytics tracks edits to files and who made them
- Secure encryption and two-factor authentication
What We Don't Like
- Web-based software, has no desktop app
- Can't edit documents online
- Slower than other online office suites
Zoho Docs is another online office suite that includes a presentation maker, word processor, and spreadsheet program, much like Microsoft Office.
Word Application For Mac
You can upload several different popular file types to Zoho Docs from your computer or Google Drive as well as create new ones online. You can then edit these files, share them with others, and even download them again in their original format or a different one.
All the common text formatting tools are included and your files are saved automatically as you work. There's even a mobile app for Android and iOS users.
Microsoft Office Online
What We Like
- No installation necessary
- Real-time collaboration with others
- Familiar, streamlined Office apps accessible in any browser
What We Don't Like
- Lacks many of the advanced features of the desktop apps
- Doesn't support some file formats
If you're looking for a Microsoft Office free edition, this is the closest you'll come.
Though not exactly a Microsoft Office alternative, Microsoft's service, called Microsoft Office Online, lets you use Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and Excel online at no cost.
Files can be edited only if they exist in your OneDrive account, which means you must upload files there first if you wish to edit them with Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.
Any file type that works with Microsoft Office products works with Microsoft Office Online, which means you can edit any file and then save a copy back to your computer or in OneDrive.
ONLYOFFICE Personal
What We Like
- Compatible with Microsoft Office formats
- Sharing and collaboration features
- Personal version is free
What We Don't Like
Best Microsoft Word Alternative
- Add-ons needed to insert images and for other features
- Not as robust as the paid version or its competitors
Similar to the previous few Microsoft Office free alternatives, ONLYOFFICE Personal is a suite of online programs, which means you can use them from any web browser without having to download a single program.
Just log in to ONLYOFFICE Personal with your Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, or ONLYOFFICE account, and you can start creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Files can be uploaded from your computer as well as a few cloud storage services, such as Dropbox.
Also supported in this free MS Office-like program is chat, co-editing, spell check, and sharing with anyone, even if they aren't logged into their own ONLYOFFICE account.
SoftMaker FreeOffice
What We Like
- Free for home and business use
- Saves documents in native Microsoft file formats
- Choice of ribbons or classic menu and toolbars
- Optimized for touch screens
What We Don't Like
- No cloud support
- No auto-save feature
- No thesaurus or U.S. English dictionary
SoftMaker FreeOffice is an Office alternative for Windows and Linux computers.
PlanMaker (Excel), Presentations (PowerPoint), and TextMaker (Word) are included, all of which can open and save files in formats such as DOC, DOCX, ODT, XLS, PPT, PPS, PPTX, POTM, DOTM, and DOT, among others.
All three portions of SoftMaker FreeOffice work with the file types supported in the newest version of Microsoft Office as well as older ones such as 2010 and 2007.
SSuite Office
What We Like
- Small downloads for full-featured apps
- Fast startup
What We Don't Like
- Loads many apps that may never be needed
- The user interface is hard to follow
SSuite Office has seven different Microsoft Office alternatives available, each with a different set of features and each completely free to use.
The two basic versions, Personal and Advanced Edition, don't include the Presentation (PowerPoint) program. However, the other suites do. (You can see a feature comparison table of each edition on the download page.)
Google Docs
Instead of downloading the whole Microsoft Office free alternative suite, you can choose to grab the word processor or spreadsheet program, for instance, as a separate download.
Free Microsoft Word Alternative For Mac
There's also a portable version on the download page called Blade Runner.