It is one of the best free alternative to Microsoft Word. It comes with built-in cloud backup. WPS Office Free looks almost the same as MS Word. It features a ribbon interface and icons, which are identical to MS Word. If you are used to Office 2007 or any later version, the move will be seamless. Here is a list of the best free Microsoft Office alternatives. In this post, we will list out the best offline and online, free alternatives to Microsoft Office. Offline Alternatives (Desktop Apps): 1. OpenOffice.org: OpenOffice needs no introduction, it is one of the popular free word processing software. OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform. The iWork suite of apps comes free and baked-in as of iOS 10 and features Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. There's your word processor, your spreadsheet maker, and presentation app, respectively. You can view and edit documents in each app, thanks to iCloud, and, as of iOS 10, you can actually collaborate with other users on live documents, so you.
Do you need a good quality word processor application for personal or business use?
There is no doubt that Microsoft Word offers one of the best word processors out there. It has a huge range of features (a lot of which you will probably never use) and is accepted as the industry standard by most people.
Microsoft Word has been around for a long time and it has been refined over the years. The biggest problem with Word is the cost. It is expensive to buy the Microsoft Office suite to install on your computer and even the subscription model Microsoft Office 365 will cost you quite a bit over time.
So I have looked into Microsoft Word alternatives that don’t cost you a cent. Yes, you read that right they are completely free. A lot of free things are not really up to scratch but the alternatives I have for you here certainly are.
Best Alternatives to Microsoft Word
If you have to distribute documents to a lot of different people you will probably find that they want them in docx format (Microsoft Word format) so I have taken this into consideration as well. You may have heard of some of these alternatives but even if you haven’t it doesn’t matter.
So let’s take a look at the best Microsoft Word alternatives that do not cost anything.
1. WPS Office
OK, I am going to start with what I believe to be the very best Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office alternative. WPS Office is a great software suite that you can download for free. If you are used to using Microsoft Word you will be delighted with the word processor app called ‘Writer” because it looks very similar.
It uses a ribbon interface as Word does and the icons used are almost the same. There are even features in Writer that you will not find in Word such as tabbed documents which is great when you are working on more than one document at a time. You can easily save any of your documents in the docx format as well.
When you download WPS Office you will also receive 1GB of free cloud storage which is useful for syncing and backup. For writing and editing documents on the go there is an app for iOS and Android devices that work with the different Microsoft formats which is really great.
If you use templates a lot then WPS Office comes with some of these already installed and if you need more you can download them. This is not open-source software. The free version of WPS Office will display ads but these are easy to deal with and should not be too distracting for you. So with WPS Office you get:
- Interface very similar to Word
- Ability to save in docx format
- Good range of templates
- Free 1GB cloud storage
- Apps for iOS and Android
2. Libre Office
Libre Office is an open-source office suite application that is growing in popularity and there is a growing community attached to it. The word processor app is Libre Office Writer and this looks very similar to the older versions of Microsoft Word before they introduced the ribbon-style interface.
Even if you are used to and like the new ribbon-style interface it will not be a problem for you to get started with Libre Office Writer. You will be able to save the documents you create in either the old “doc” format or the newer “docx” format which is good if you need to share your documents with others.
There are a lot of similar functions that you get in Microsoft Office too such as the ability to add a graph from the Charts program. Libre Office has a strong community behind it and people have developed some great extras for this office suite including useful templates and plugins. Take a look at these great features:
Free Word Document
- Save documents in doc or docx format
- Simple interface based on the old Word style
- Great office suite functionality
- Great community support with plugins and templates available
- Regular updates to the software to keep up with new features in Microsoft Word
3. Open Office
You have probably heard of Open Office because it is an open-source office suite that has been around for years. In fact, Libre Office uses the Open Office code base so there are a lot of similarities between the two. With Open Office you get the same compatibility with doc and docx formats.
When you install Open Office you do not get as many templates as you do with Libre Office but this is not a problem at all because you can download thousands of others. The only real difference between Open Office and Libre Office is the updates. There is a strong community behind Libre Office so updates are more frequent for new features and bug fixes.
So with Open Office, you get:
- Save documents in doc or docx format
- Simple interface based on the old Word style
- Thousands of templates available to download
- Great office suite functionality
4. SoftMaker FreeOffice
If you have a Windows, Mac or Linux computer you can install SoftMaker FreeOffice. You will find a clutter-free interface that is intuitive and simple to use. This does not mean that FreeOffice doesn’t have a lot of good features. You may have to find them in sub-menus but they are there.
Creating documents is easy with FreeOffice. The application called TextMaker will let you create documents that contain bookmarks and fields if you want and you can even save your docs as PDF’s. You can actually choose between a ribbon-style or classic interface. There is a small selection of templates but these look great and should satisfy most people’s needs.
The biggest problem with the SoftMaker FreeOffice suite is that you cannot save your documents in Microsoft Word format. But there is a way around this. For around $60 you can go for the premium version which will allow you to save in docx format. So the features include:
- Choice of either ribbon or classic interface (similar to new and older Word versions)
- Good looking templates
- Lots of features and office functionality
So which Microsoft Word Alternative should you choose?
Free Word Alternative Programs
There is no doubt in my mind that the WPS Office suite is the best alternative to Word. It looks almost the same and you can save docs in the commonly used docx format. You also get 1GB of free cloud storage with it too. The only drawback is the ads but they are not very distracting.
If you don’t like the idea of ads then the open-source offerings of Libre Office and Open Office are a good choice. You might as well go for Libre Office here because they are basically the same but there are more updates with Libre Office and the community is great.
For those people that do not need to worry about the docx format and sharing documents, the SoftMaker FreeOffice is a very good choice. This works really well and the list of features is impressive.
You have probably heard of Google Docs. I did not include this in the article as I do not consider it to be a true alternative to Microsoft Word. It is a great tool for collaboration but importing Word documents can be tricky at best.
While many people believe that they are 'locked' into using Microsoft Word for all their document creation needs, it simply isn't true. Over the past few years, there have been many Microsoft Word and Office alternatives that were released and that have gained traction. Now, there are alternatives to the costly application from Microsoft, many of which are free.
Today we're going to explore ten alternatives to Microsoft Word that you can quickly and easily start using today. Some will be online and some will be downloadable applications that can be installed on your local computer, but all will enable you to wean yourself off of Microsoft Word and still be productive.
This is because they can all work in conjunction with the applications you already use with MS Word. Take your everyday PDF converter tool, for instance. Working with PDF documents is difficult and you may think it even harder if you swap out an application in your usual software lineup. This simply isn't true, though. Able2Extract Professional, for instance, lets you work easily with any MS Word alternative there is. Simply convert your PDF to Word and then import or upload your converted results into any one of the Word processors in this list. You won't miss a single beat!
So if you need a good list of free alternatives to MS Word, look no further. Let's get started on our tour of ten free alternatives to Microsoft Word. Templates for microsoft word.
Online Microsoft Word Alternatives
Sometimes it's easier to create and collaborate online in real-time than by editing and managing multiple versions on your local hard drive and sending the files via email. The web-based word processing applications below will not only let you create the documents online but also quickly and easily share them with others.
Dropbox Paper
Dropbox Paper is a free online word processor offered by the online cloud storage provider. To start using it, you will need a Dropbox account. Once logged in, you get full access to the online suite. The minimalist interface is very intuitive and its simplicity allows you to focus on your content. You can also do a number of things that go beyond creating a textual document. You can add rich media, such as audio, video and images. Dropbox Paper also allows you to access apps that let you embed Trello cards, Youtube videos or SlideShare decks. Other collaborative features include document link-sharing, creating and assigning checklist items to members or embedding one of your Dropbox documents. Dropbox Paper, overall, does an excellent job at creating dynamic documents you can share and access online.
Office Online
For Microsoft Word and Office aficionados, the best possible free online alternative for their document editing needs is definitely Word online, which comes as part of the Office Online suite. Although free MS Word web app is not a full-fledged version of its paid counterpart, it allows you to open, create and edit Word documents online. Also, it offers some additional benefits of online software tools. For example, the ability to access and see updates from co-authors to your docs literally from anywhere in real time with only an Internet connection and the latest 2016 version. You can share and collaborate on documents. An equally alluring feature of Office Online is its cross-platform compatibility. So, if you're a Chromebook or Linux OS user, MS Word web app is the most elegant way to get access to Microsoft's document editing features - for free!
Google Docs
Google Docs allows you to create, collaborate and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and even forms. Google Docs is packed with features, which can be further extended with various add-ons. While it will automatically save the file online and store it there, you can also have the documents published as a web page, downloaded or emailed as an attachment in Word, ODT, PDF, plain text or RTF formats. You can invite collaborators to work on the document with you or only allow others to view it without the ability to edit. And if you are apprehensive of having to depend on the Internet connection for document processing, don't worry. You can enable Google Docs offline access and keep editing your documents even when you are disconnected from Internet. All it takes is a free Google account.
Etherpad
Etherpad is an online document editor primarily intended for collaborative editing in, as the site claims, 'really real time'. It's an open source, highly customizable tool for online document collaboration with friends, fellow students and classmates, or colleagues at work. One of its advantages, especially appealing to users who are reluctant to use services which require email registration, is that there is no sign up with Etherpad. All you need to do is start a new pad and share the link to it with your collaborators. You can also invite them by email if you prefer. After that, you can start working on the planned writing project together, in real-time, even if you are miles apart.
Zoho
Zoho offers around 20 free online applications including Writer for word processing. You can link your Zoho account to your Google and Yahoo accounts, as well. The Writer's interface shouldn't cause anyone problems as it is comfortably familiar. When working online there's always the risk of losing data due to a lost network connection, accidentally closing your browser or having your browser crash. Luckily Zoho automatically saves your documents for you, as you finish typing. Zoho Writer is well-equipped with features that allow you to work easily online: two-way desktop sync, large file transfer, encryption, file recovery, two-step authentication, in-app chat, and more. You can import and work with MS Word documents, allowing you to insert images, and edit content as needed. Zoho Writer offers all the standard text formatting and document creation features and can export to DOCX, ODF, PDF, Latex, RTF, TXT and even HTML. It can plug into Echosign for digital signatures, publish the document to a blog or make it public for all to see. Zoho Docs is completely free to use.
Downloadable Microsoft Word Alternatives
Some people are reluctant to cut the ties to their local computer and put all their work and business documents online. If you're one of them and don't want to rely on an Internet connection, here are several free word processing applications to round out our list. These you can download and install on your local computer. Take advantage of all the desktop features of MS Word without the hefty price tag!
Apache OpenOffice
The Apache OpenOffice package actually includes six programs that all use the same engine making them inherently the same and extremely easy to learn and use. The 6 applications included in the Apache OpenOffice suite are: Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (diagrams and illustrations) and Base (database manipulation) and Math (mathematical equations). Writer can even natively do some things that Word cannot, like open PDF files without the addition of a plug-in or commercial add-on. As the software is open source it is maintained by a large community meaning help and bug fixes are freely available and quickly created. The downside to Writer is that it can only open DOCX files without the ability to edit and save them. You can install this suite on Windows XP to Windows 10, macOS and Linux.
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is another open source Microsoft Office alternative and a successor of the OpenOffice.org project (in 2010, Oracle/Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice projects went separate ways). LibreOffice is distributed as a “monolithic software” consisting of seven components: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, Math, and Charts. LibreOffice Writer is a free and powerful word processor available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. This Microsoft Word alternative can edit and save DOCX file format meaning that if you often collaborate on documents with Microsoft Office users, LibreOffice Writer is your best choice. It offers multi-language support, a spelling and grammar checker, ability to export in PDF and EPUB ebook format, AutoCorrect and AutoComplete features, a lot of extensions and document templates, and more regular updates and major and minor releases than Apache OpenOffice.
Jarte
Jarte is based on Microsoft WordPad Engine, but is still free. There is a paid version of the software that adds on some extra functionality, but the free version is more than adequate and fully compatible with Word and WordPad documents. Features include an ergonomic tabbed interface, small resource requirements, portability, support for touchscreens, and quick loading time. It also has built-in spell checking and can export to HTML and PDF files. Jarte allows you to insert images, tables, hyperlinks and everything else that you have come to expect from Word. Jarte contains no ads, trial periods or crippled features and is funded through user purchases of the Jarte Plus version.
WPS Office
WPS Office is a free document processing suite whose WPS Writer app will serve you well as a Microsoft Word alternative. WPS Office 2016 Free can open and save to a long list of popular file formats native to those applications like docx, doc, and more. You can get the application in languages other than English: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Russian. The suite has the same familiar look and feel of MS Office with one exception--it has a tabbed viewing window, so you can open more than one document at a time. And also worth mentioning is WPS Cloud, the company's cloud document storage service that offers up to 1GB of free storage that you can use. This is perfect if you're trying to find a free Word alternative that's not only scalable for teams, but can also be as collaborative and seamless as its Microsoft counterpart.
SoftMaker FreeOffice
SoftMaker FreeOffice is another great free suite that offers a full featured Microsoft Word alternative. The suite's TextMaker application allows you to focus on creating documents just as you would in MS Word. This suite offers up essential editing features and even a handful of basic templates for creating and editing documents. Tables, charts, shapes and graphics are available along with standard text formatting options. This application provides you with everything you need. The entire suite is available for Windows, Linux, and Android, so you can keep your document processing tasks going even while away from your desktop.
Whether you are looking for a free locally installed Microsoft Word alternative or an online one for easier collaboration and online file storage, there are many available. The ten that are covered in this article are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but should give you a good starting point. The obvious giants in the arena are Google Docs and Openoffice.org which are probably also the most popular, though Zoho does offer a wider selection of applications. In the end, the one that best suits you will be the one that offers the features you need the most.
No matter which one you pick, you're guaranteed a fully functional, robust word processor at zero cost. If you also want a completely free PDF viewer with powerful features for Windows, Mac, or Linux, give Slim PDF Reader 2 a chance today!
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