The best free office software makes it simple and easy to use office documents and spreadsheets without needing paid-for Microsoft apps such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
For most users, Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Microsoft Office and Office 365) remains the original and best office suite. Microsoft Word (opens in new tab), Excel (opens in new tab), Publisher (opens in new tab), Access (opens in new tab), PowerPoint (opens in new tab), and Outlook (opens in new tab) still remain key office apps.
However, over the years other companies have released rival office suites to help with productivity (opens in new tab), some of which is paid-for and some of which is free — sometimes with the same company offering both.
All of these alternatives to Microsoft Office (opens in new tab) offer a similar range of software applications, mainly based on creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations (opens in new tab).
However, while most offer the ability to work with traditional Microsoft Office documents, do be aware that not all will preserve formatting when exporting from or into Microsoft Office, which can be a problem when sending documents between different programs.
Even still, for home users and new businesses, the idea of being able to create, edit, manage, and organize office documents without incurring immediate subscription costs can be very welcome.
Here then are the best free office software apps currently available.
We’ve also featured the best free software for SMB’s.
The best free office software of 2023 in full:
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Slimmed-down versions of office, available to use free online
Reasons to buy
+
Fully compatible with desktop apps
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Works with OneDrive
Reasons to avoid
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Lacks some advanced tools
Thought you had to pay to use Microsoft Office? Yes, you do, if you want all the full features. But noting the threat from free rivals, especially Google Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) Microsoft has created its own set of free Microsoft Office online apps.
Microsoft 365 Online looks and works just like its desktop equivalent, and although advanced tools like pivot tables aren’t available, though they aren’t offered by Google either.
If you generally use Microsoft document formats, Office Online is a brilliant choice. Unlike Google’s free office suite, it doesn’t need to convert your files before you can work on them, and you can share them easily through your Microsoft OneDrive account. Just log in using your Microsoft account (the same one you use to log into Windows 10) and you’re ready to go.
There’s a version of Office Online for Chrome, plus mobile editions of Office for iOS and Android.
Read our full Microsoft Office 365 review.
A genuinely exciting alternative to Google Docs
Reasons to buy
+
Well-presented
+
Better than rivals
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Site creation tool
Reasons to avoid
—
Some tools are too simple
Zoho Workplace is very good in its own right. It’s certainly closer to a desktop office package, and it’s strong enough to have attracted businesses like the BBC and Nike as regular users.
Zoho’s new-look word processor (which ditches the classic Word-style interface in favor of a formatting sidebar) is very well-presented and capable of producing professional-looking docs, and it has a sterling spreadsheet and reasonable presentation package alongside it.
They’re just the tip of the iceberg, however – Zoho Workplace includes a powerful site creation tool, a file management solution and many collaborative tools. Some are on the simplistic side, so they’ll likely not replace anything you might already have in place, but if you’re starting out as a small business Zoho is probably a good jumping-off point.
If you want to signup for the free version of Zoho Workplace you need to search the pricing page for the «Forever free» plan. However, there’s no one-click set up or access, and instead you have to go through a sign up process that begins by providing details of an existing business domain.
Read our full Zoho Workplace review.
A cross-platform office suite that keeps your work in the cloud
Reasons to buy
+
Available for desktop and mobile
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Includes 1GB cloud storage
Reasons to avoid
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Bundled extra software
If you own a Samsung phone, you might already be familiar with the mobile version of Polaris Office. This cross-platform free office software is available for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, and comes pre-installed on some Samsung handsets. It’s compatible with all Microsoft document formats, and offers a slick ribbon-based interface with some basic customization options.
Take care if you choose to install Windows version, you’ll see various additional pieces of bundled software, which could potentially include a browser extension from McAfee called WebAdvisor, a market research tool called PremierOpinion, and antivirus software (opens in new tab). You can decline all of these – just keep an eye out.
You’ll then need to sign in with Facebook or Google, or create an account. This is necessary because Polaris Office is a cloud-based service. Your free Polaris account comes with 60MB monthly data transfer, 1GB cloud storage, and can be used across three devices (one desktop and two mobile). If that’s not enough space, you can connect Polaris Office to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive and Amazon Cloud Drive – or save work locally to your device.
Upgrading to a premium Polaris account gives you access to extra features including a PDF editor, removes ads, and the ability to search within a document.
Read our full Polaris Office review.
Everything you could want from an office suite, fully compatible with Microsoft formats and totally free to use – even commercially
Reasons to buy
+
Huge software suite
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Full MS Office compatibility
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Completely free
LibreOffice is compatible with all Microsoft document formats, and has almost every feature you’ll find in the latest versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
The suite contains six programs to cover every common office task: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base. The last three are tools you won’t find in many other free office suites, and are designed for vector diagrams, mathematical functions and databases, respectively. The latter is particularly useful; free alternatives to Microsoft Access are hard to find.
LibreOffice is an open source project maintained by a huge and enthusiastic community of volunteers constantly working to improve stability and add new features. There’s a great selection of extensions and templates to make it even more flexible, and it’s free for businesses as well as home users.
LibreOffice is a fork of Apache OpenOffice, and the two are extremely similar, but LibreOffice is the better overall product and properly supports file conversion that preserves existing formatting — so your Word .doc files should look the same in LibreOffice as they do in Word, and vice versa.
LibreOffice is available for Windows, Mac and Linux, but there are no official mobile versions available except for a document viewer for Android. It has some editing features, but they’re experimental and we wouldn’t advise relying on them.
Read our full LibreOffice review.
A feature-packed free office suite for Windows, Linux and Android
Reasons to buy
+
Supports Microsoft file formats
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Cross-platform
Reasons to avoid
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Contains some ads
WPS Office Free is a slimmed down version of a premium office suite, but you’d hardly know it. Each of its three programs looks just as slick as the latest versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and is packed with just as many features.
File format support is excellent, and you can save your work in native Microsoft formats for easy sharing with Office users. There’s no database software, but WPS Office comes with an excellent free PDF reader that’s a great replacement for Windows’ built-in app.
There’s the occasional ad, but these are few and far between. They certainly won’t get in the way of your work, and you’ll easily forget that everything in this suite is completely free.
There are versions of WPS Office Free for Windows and Linux systems, as well as apps for Android devices, but Apple device users will need to look elsewhere.
Read our full WPS Office Free review.
A free version of a premium suite, with most pro features intact
Reasons to buy
+
Supports Microsoft formats
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Includes PDF reader
Reasons to avoid
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No thesaurus
Like WPS Office Free, SoftMaker FreeOffice provides analogs for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint (TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations respectively).
As with all the free office suites in this roundup, there’s support for Microsoft file formats from 1997 onwards. It also offers effortless conversion to both PDF and Epub formats, which is a welcome addition.
Unfortunately, some key features are exclusive to the premium version of the software. Some of these (like tabbed browsing) are nice to have but non-essential, but the lack of a thesaurus is a real drawback for anyone who writes on a regular basis.
FreeOffice doesn’t look quite as smart as WPS Office, but if you dislike the Microsoft ribbon and find it unintuitive then you’ll prefer the slightly more old fashioned approach to navigation.
Read our full FreeOffice review.
For working across platforms and sharing documents
Reasons to buy
+
Cross-platform
+
Integrates with Google Drive
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Mobile apps available
Reasons to avoid
—
Formatting issues
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Quirky
If you work collaboratively, or switch between a PC and a Mac, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides could be your first port of call.
For anyone who’s already deep into the Android/Google ecosystem, this suite will be a natural choice. The three key tools run happily in any web browser, and are available as mobile apps for Apple and Android devices.
Google’s free office suite doesn’t offer the advanced tools you’ll find in desktop software like LibreOffice (there are no pivot tables, for example, and there’s no database tool) but everything is laid out in a clear, logical way and all your files will be saved and synced automatically so you don’t have to worry about transfers and backups.
The chief disadvantage of Docs, Sheets and Slides is that opening files created using other office software is a cumbersome process and file formatting isn’t is always converted properly. This is partly because Google’s office tools use web fonts rather than ones stored locally on your device, and partly because Google doesn’t support some of the features built into Microsoft software.
Additionally, there are some quirks with Google Docs that make it less user-friendly than other office software. As free software it does the job fine, but as a paid product it still lags far behind the features and functionality of Microsoft 365.
Read our full Google Docs review.
We’ve also featured the best document editing and management software.
Which free office software is best for you?
When deciding which free office software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms will only give you access to a basic set of tools, so you may find a paid subscription is much more worthwhile. Additionally, budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may need.
How we tested the best free office software
To test for the best free office software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the office software could be used for different purposes and in different situations, such as syncing between devices and backing up to the cloud. We also looked at import/export features, as well as different user tools that might be expected in any office software platform, from basic to advanced, to see how well they functioned.
Read more on how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar (opens in new tab).
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Brian has over 30 years publishing experience as a writer and editor across a range of computing, technology, and marketing titles. He has been interviewed multiple times for the BBC and been a speaker at international conferences. His specialty on techradar is Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, covering everything from office suites to IT service tools. He is also a science fiction and fantasy author, published as Brian G Turner.
Most Popular
In this article, we discuss some of the best writing apps available today. As you know, copywriting and professional authorship are quite in demand niches these days. These require experts to demonstrate extensive creativity and be able to spell out information in a logical order without spending too much time at it. Time is money, and would it not be great if we could save time on this laborious process of editing and formatting. Don’t you agree?
Usually, the speed of one’s copy composition is inversely proportional to the quality of a finished piece. Often, a higher speed of composition compromises the quality of writing in terms of grammar, structure, and important SEO key figures like the keyword density and uniqueness. Thanks to the wide array of modern specialized software solutions developed by leading web and mobile app development companies – writers can be aided to accelerate their writing process, organize their thoughts, and to make their editing task quicker without impacting the quality of writing. Below, we discuss some of the most prominent writing apps available today.
What Are Some Good Writing Tools? Have a look At Our Exclusive List
Currently, there are several hundred solutions available for checking grammar and spelling. But let us explore which of these writing tools can be noted as the best and most popular ones? We will first explore ten free-of-charge tools on the market:
- Grammarly
- Prowritingaid
- Ginger
- Scrivener (Free Trial)
- MS Notepad and Mac TextEdit
- Hemingway Editor
- Portent’s Idea Generator
- Canva
- OneLook
- Evernote
Let’s consider these writing apps with all of their pros and cons in a bit more detail.
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is arguably one of the most talked-about writing apps for MAC and Windows. It can help you check the spelling, grammar, punctuation, and even give pieces of advice on the tone of your copy. Grammarly’s “Tone” feature allows you to set customizable goals regarding the intent, audience, style, and the emotion of the text. It then measures a score of how well the text meets the goals that were set.
Grammarly is not only an excellent solution to quickly edit your copy, but it is also an extremely useful educational tool for students, the regular use of which will help you perfect your grammar and writing skills.
Itis a great solution for accelerating a copywriter’s workflow that, if used to its full potential, can almost replace the need of a professional staff editor.
Want to create an app like Grammarly?
Or have an even better writing software idea? – We are a bespoke web and mobile app development company that can help develop a top-class writing app for you!
Write to us
2. Prowritingaid
Prowritingaid is another prominent application that tops the list of best free writing apps. It helps to shift focus towards a major objective in writing commercial text – the creation of unique, helpful, and interesting content. With this solution, you don’t have to manually check for redundant words and other errors throughout your copy, instead, this checker does all that for you by looking through your entire document in a matter of seconds.
With the use of Prowritingaid, you can enhance the tone of your writing and compose a better copy for better results.
3. Ginger
Ginger – an app based on natural language processing algorithms, is also among the most striking writing apps today. Ginger’s algorithms allow it to recognize context and discover errors in the most complicated areas of a text making its text-recognizing efficiency superior to most other editing writing apps. Since the service is also available in the form of a cross-platform mobile application, it makes it a top choice among the writing apps for Android and iOS as well.
A major advantage of Ginger is its feature to link with your social media profiles and Gmail inbox. This lets you write up your social media posts and emails accurately, checking everything in real-time with the help of a conveniently embedded service, without the need to copy and paste the text.
4. Scrivener (Free Trial)
This is yet another prominent software among the leading writing tools software, which has everything to help you compose a voluminous copy with a complex structure. With it, you can subdivide your piece by chapters, create drafts, put down comments and thoughts to return to later on – all in all, everything you could have been doing on a paper notebook but with faster, more accessible and efficient capabilities.
If used efficiently, Scrivener can assist you with complex writing, including composing unique studies, course work, Ph.D. dissertations or even writing entire books.
5. EditPad
Editpad is one of the most well-rounded writing toolkits available on the internet. It provides its users with a number of free and freemium tools to write and optimize their content.
Its text editor is a great choice for writing on the go. It provides a cloud save feature, so users can access their documents from anywhere (as long as they are logged in). Users can also utilize the paraphraser of Editpad to improve the quality of their writeup in a variety of ways.
The paraphraser can help reduce the repetition of words, follow a certain content tone, and otherwise touch up the content to make it easy to read. Aside from that, the summarizer can help reduce the fluff in your write-up and make it concise and to the point.
All of these features make Editpad a versatile toolkit for writing efficiently.
6. MS Notepad & Mac TextEdit
MS Notepad along with Mac TextEdit is another writing tool that will come in handy for those who prefer simple and concise text editor software over complex and confusing programs. This software works autonomously supports an offline mode and does not take too much space on one’s hard drive. MS Notepad and Mac TextEdit are both practically identical solutions that are compatible with both Windows and macOS (the latter version allows working with both native-format documents and MS Word or OpenOffice files).
The main purpose of both the products is to help you with typing, editing, and storing text. However, with Mac TextEdit, you can also open and make changes to images, as well as add audio and video files. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
7. Hemingway Editor
Hemingway is an interactive editor you should try if you wish to make your writing simpler and more accessible to the reader. By simply copying and pasting your work into the Hemingway editor, you can view all the areas of improvement and optimization in your text, such as: which sentences can be shortened, which words can be replaced with other more fitting words or phrases, where passive voice can be removed, etc.
Hemingway offers another great feature called “readability grade levels” that helps with writing efficiently. This feature analyzes your text to measure how easy-to-read the text is, based on the choice of words and sentence structure, and suggests improvements. This efficient tool may as well eliminate the need for an expert editor for you.
8. Canva
Canva is a great editor to help you make your process of editing and formatting time-efficient. Need to compose a CV? No big deal – select from dozens of readymade templates and writing tools for students and professionals. The myriad of templates of business cards, banners, advertising forms, and logos available at Canva lets you present your copy in whichever form you wish, with an accessible user interface that is easy to use.
Although the service is not free, it certainly is worth its cost. It is worth paying a few bucks for an advanced and efficient tool like Canva once, then hiring an expensive graphic designer.
If you want to create qualitative text for a landing page (to tell about new products), your blog (to educate your audience), or guest posting (to grow ranks & increase brand awareness, article writing tools can be the perfect solution for you. So, let’s consider these writing apps with all of their pros and cons in a bit more detail.
9. Portent’s Content Idea Generator
Portent’s Content Idea Generator will be of great help during one’s creativity crisis – when you are unable to generate fresh ideas and create interesting, unique, and viral content. Its easy-to-use interface asks you to define the main subject of your article (even one word is enough), and in return generates an intriguing headline with content suggestions in an instant. The ideas that are suggested are adequate for you to come up with a few thousand words for a long read.
Try it and you will never fail at creating unique and interesting content again.
10. OneLook
OneLook is another accessible web service that can be a great assistant for professional writers. It is a complete online collection of dictionaries, where you can simply search for the meaning of words and get results from over 30 orthographic, linguistic, explanatory, and other anthologies. OneLook’s reverse dictionary feature is also an efficient tool for writers to look up exact words and synonyms by describing their definition. You should try it out if you want to enhance your vocabulary and knowledge of words.
11. Evernote
Evernote is another top contender among the best writing apps for Windows and MAC Apps, which is used to create notes. From the perspective of a professional writer, this piece of software can come in handy as a storage place for useful links, plans for future articles, and random thoughts to be elaborated later on. In general, you can make good use of Evernote if you need to note down ideas and useful information about your content.
This way you can simplify your workflow and produce a well thought out and structured copy.
Not Found An App Of Your Choice Yet? Here are a Few Additional Free Writing Software Options
If you still haven’t found anything that fits your requirements among the above-mentioned writing software variants, look through these ten additional solutions for professional writers:
- Google Docs
- Libre Office
- AbiWord
- Calmly Writer
- Zoho Writer
- Apple Pages for Mac Users
- WPS Office
- SoftMaker Free Office
- iA Writer
- Focus Writer
Let’s take a brief look at each of them individually:
12. Google Docs
Google Docs is globally-renowned online writing software that lets you unload your local storage and work with a copy in your browser, using various useful gadgets for writers. The standout features of Google Docs include collective editing and autonomous editing mode, which allows users to save changes made in offline mode on reconnection to the Internet.
Google Docs is an efficient tool if you don’t want to store important data locally on your devices’ hardware. The more documents there are, the more memory they take and create a CPU stress load. This is why Google Docs is preferred by users because it transfers all their copy to the cloud and even if a device shuts down unexpectedly, all the info is synchronized and saved on the cloud in real-time and can be processed further on via integrated writing apps.
13. Libre Office
LibreOffice is a complete package of free writing tools that allow users to work with various text and graphics formats. It is available in both desktop and web versions, and contains writing apps for Windows as LibreOffice Writer (for text files’ editing with additional visual HTML editor available), LibreOffice Calc (for digital sheets and tables’ editing), LibreOffice Draw (for the vector graphics creation), LibreOffice Impress (for presentations), LibreOffice Base (for connection with external DBMSs and HSQLDBs), and LibreOffice Math (for mathematical formula’s editing).
If you frequently include data consisting of irregular letters and symbols in your copy, this software will make your life easier. With LibreOffice, you won’t have to switch between tabs and windows to copy and paste symbols anymore.
14. AbiWord
AbiWord is a free writing software similar to Microsoft Word and is compatible with MS Word, RTF, OpenOffice, and WordPerfect files. This piece of the book writing software can serve as a great replacement for the MS Word while offering additional capabilities and features.
We recommend trying out AbiWord if you are not satisfied with everything MS Word has to offer.
15. Calmly Writer
Calmly Writer is a web service with an intuitive interface dedicated to real-time text editing. It is professional writing software, basically equivalent to Google Docs, that is more focused on features adapted closely to the requirements of professional writers.
Calmly Writer is a must-have writing tool if you work on large writing tasks regularly. This writing software provides better and extensive text formatting capabilities than other alternatives like Google Docs and even features a Dark Mode option which provides a comfortable reading experience. We believe that this is one of the best writing apps for Windows to use if you write content regularly.
16. Zoho Writer
This book writing software is a handy app for mobile users, that allows you to access the editor from your smartphone or tablet if it is connected to the Internet. With Zoho Writer, new content can be written offline with all the changes automatically synced up once the internet connection is restored.
This piece of software can also be easily linked with other Zoho services, as well as with Dropbox and Google Apps. Moreover, it has a document merging feature, which can be useful for writers that work with several sources of information at the same time. You should try this alternative if you have had issues with MS Office’s built-in writing tools.
17. WPS Office
Created by a software development company based in China, WPS Office is among the most competitive alternatives to a regular MS Office software package. Its basic version is freeware and saves documents in formats as diverse as *.docx and *.xlsx (however, you will have to purchase a paid version for such features). It also allows you to work with multiple tabs simultaneously, save documents in PDF, use a built-in Google search bar, and queue several documents for printing. Additionally, WPS Office also supports the OLE technology and encrypts data upon saving a document.
Altogether, the interface of this software is pretty similar to that of Microsoft Office and you will not have many issues in figuring out how to work with it.
18. SoftMaker Free Office
SoftMaker FreeOffice is a freeware solution from German developers that contains a text editor, digital sheets editor, and a separate app for presentations. It is an ideal option both for professional and common use. It is not only an alternative to Microsoft Office, but it can also be integrated with it. This software provides a proprietary file format and also supports the commonly used .doc, .xslx, and others.
Another great feature of SoftMaker FreeOffice is that it can be launched straight from your flash drive, which means that you can use it on certain portable devices as well. You should try SoftMaker FreeOffice if you are looking for a multipurpose solution.
19. iA Writer
iA Writer is available in two versions – a full-scale product for Mac OS X and a compact application for iPhone and iPad. It is inspired by the minimalistic visual design of Apple iOS and is one of the best text editors for journalists, bloggers, and everyone who works regularly with text. If you want to get extensive text formatting capabilities, you should probably go for other, more functionality-focused writing tools (e.g., Pages, which we discuss below). However, if convenience, accessibility, and interface conciseness are the main features you are looking for, then this solution will be a great choice for you.
When working with iA Writer, you can employ convenient hotkeys and change color schemes of the whole editor. The available skins look visually appealing and all the formatting options are conveniently available to use.
20. Apple Pages for Mac Users
Pages are one of the professional text editors from the category of writing apps for Mac. The interface design of this book-writing software is what makes it a professional editor, where despite the extensiveness of all the features, the interface is easy-to-use, intuitive, well-structured, and customizable.
This is one of those writing apps that will be a trusty companion for professional copywriters, journalists or anyone wishing to write a copy that doesn’t require much formatting and can be passed on to editorial right away.
21. Focuswriter
A Focuswriter is a distraction-free text-editor with efficient features like an autonomous spell check, focusing function (highlight fragments of text you are currently working on), a selection of visual themes, convenient text navigation, and extensive support for major operating systems. Another key feature of a Focuswriter is its ability to launch the app right from a flash drive, while you can also launch it on your pocket devices without any problems.
This book writing software looks original and different from most text editors out there which makes it a go-to software for writers.
Best Tips To Use Specialized Software To Create High-Quality Content
All of the aforementioned software solutions would allow striving writers to achieve their ultimate goal – enhancing their professional writing skills. Here are some tips to help you create the highest-quality content with the help of these book writing software:
- Minimize your mistakes. You should always analyze recommendations provided by the writing apps to minimize the number of common errors you make over time;
- Use comments. When you are working on a document collectively, try to define all the changes made using the “comments” feature on the app. The simplest way to do that is to comment on particular chunks of text via writing apps’ built-in features instead of rewriting it at once;
- Unload your thoughts. It can be quite difficult to keep everything in mind when working on a large copy. You can use Evernote or similar software to sort everything out and employ your thoughts gradually.
- Formatting first, text later. For marketing-focused writing such as mottos and the advertising copy or something similar, the most sensible order of things to do would be to work out the visual design of your feature first and then fill it up with text.
- Always compose a plan. This goes for book-writing especially. A basic draft will always help you accelerate the process without losing important thoughts. Writing apps such as Scrivener are of great help at that.
- Integrate apps with your workflow gradually. Don’t try to master all the top writing tools at once. Take it slowly, figure out the pros and cons of each app. Otherwise, you will risk wasting a lot of time without much effect.
Enough about Writing Apps & Software! Let’s Answer Some Common Questions For You
A small FAQ for you to get a better understanding of the professional software and editing tools today.
Do authors use Microsoft Word?
Yes, they do! Despite the innovativeness and diversity of numerous similar yet advanced writing apps, Microsoft Word remains the most popular professional tool for writers. On the other hand, an online version of this renowned writing software – Google Docs – can be a sufficient alternative if you are concerned with the safety of your text. Google Docs can be an irreplaceable writing tool for anybody who needs to access their copy on mobile devices (some people on our team consider it one of the best writing apps for Android) or laptops on a regular basis – even if your device’s battery dies at the most inappropriate moment, all data will be saved in the cloud automatically.
What font do writers use?
Although Microsoft Word’s default font type is Times New Roman, most of the copywriting clients require the use of 11 pt Arial (which is a more plain alternative to Times New Roman). It is considered to be better perceived visually and can be scaled to any text-size. We would recommend you to focus on Arial font to make your work look as professional as possible.
What format should I choose?
For the overall format of your copy it is preferred to use up and down, left and right paragraph indents, which are usually set by default. A single line interval should also be employed, and don’t forget about headlines. Instead of making the text bold and bigger, use proper headline styles in your text to make it look more professional.
Is proofreading necessary?
It surely is. Sometimes it happens that links added to the text lead to either outdated or changed information sources. You should also take time to look through your copy after editing, as this will allow you to find mistakes you might have made while composing and correct them.
Conclusion
With all modern writing software apps we have listed above, it becomes much easier to focus on the task of writing without having to bother about formatting, editing, and proofreading. Try out at least one of the writing apps we have discussed to see for yourself what productivity-boosting opportunities you may be missing out on right now!
These free word processors can be a great alternative to Microsoft Word. Many have very similar characteristics to Word and since they’re free, you’ll be saving hundreds of dollars by using one of them.
All of the free word processors below can create, edit, and print documents. Many of them can open and edit Word documents, automatically check your spelling, use a wide selection of free MS Word templates, create tables and columns, and much more.
Our top picks for a free word processor are the first ones on the list. These have the most features and we suggest checking them out first to see if they’ll fit your word processing needs. You should find that most of them can handle just about everything Microsoft Word can.
Free Word Processors Alternatives to MS Word
If you’re looking for a free word processor that doesn’t require a download, check out this list of free online word processors that you can access from anywhere you have an internet connection.
All of these word processor programs are 100 percent freeware, which means that you won’t ever have to purchase the program, uninstall it after so-many days, donate a small fee, purchase add-ons for basic functionality, etc. The word processor tools below are free to download at no cost.
WPS Office Writer
What We Like
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Features a tabbed interface for better document management.
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Includes 1 GB of cloud storage.
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Free templates built in.
What We Don’t Like
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The whole suite has to be downloaded to use Writer.
Our Review of WPS Office Writer
WPS Office (previously called Kingsoft Office) is a suite that includes a word processor, called Writer, that’s easy to use because of its tabbed interface, clean design, and uncluttered menu.
Spell check is performed automatically as you would expect to be done in a good word processor. You can easily toggle spell check on and off from the menu at the bottom.
Writer supports full-screen mode, dual page layout, and the option to hide the menus, which makes for a perfect distraction-free writing experience. There’s even a viewing mode to protect against eye damage, turning the background of the page into a greenish color.
You can also add custom dictionaries, read/write to popular file types, create a cover page and table of contents, use built-in templates, encrypt documents, and easily view all the pages of a document from a side pane.
Writer is part of the WPS Office software, so you have to download the whole suite to get the Writer portion. It runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Download WPS Office
FreeOffice from SoftMaker
What We Like
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Several neat features.
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Opens and saves to common file formats.
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Great for making eBooks.
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Automatic spell check is included.
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Free for home and business use.
What We Don’t Like
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Relatively large download size.
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Must download the whole suite of programs even if you’ll just install the word processor.
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Hasn’t updated in a while.
Our Review of SoftMaker FreeOffice
SoftMaker FreeOffice is a suite of office programs, and one of the included tools is a free word processor called TextMaker.
Immediately after opening this word processor for the first time, you’re given the option to choose a classic menu style or use a ribbon menu you might already be familiar with. The choice is yours, and there’s even a touch mode option you can turn on.
Menu options are organized logically, and beyond the normal word processor features are ones for eBook-making, like PDF and EPUB exporting, chapter creation, and footnotes.
This free word processor can also preview documents before opening them, track changes, insert comments, add objects such as Excel charts and PowerPoint slides, and use shapes, among many other things.
TextMaker can open a huge variety of document file types, including ones from Microsoft Word, OpenDocument files types, plain text, WRI, WPD, SXW, PWD, and others. When you’re ready to save, this word processor exports to popular formats like DOCX, DOTX, HTML, and TXT, as well as file formats specific to this program (e.g., TMDX and TMD).
TextMaker has to be downloaded as part of FreeOffice, but during installation, you can choose to install the whole suite or just the free word processor program. It runs on Windows 10, 8, 7, or Windows Server 2008. Mac 10.10 and higher is supported, too, as well as Linux and Android.
Download FreeOffice
OpenOffice Writer
What We Like
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Works with lots of file formats.
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Extensions and templates are supported.
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Checks for spelling errors automatically.
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Includes advanced and basic formatting options.
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There’s a portable option available.
What We Don’t Like
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You have to download the whole program suite even to use just Writer.
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Might take a while to download on slow internet connections.
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The interface and menus are dull and cluttered.
Our Review of OpenOffice Writer
OpenOffice Writer has all the necessary features to make it on any list of good word processors. Plus, there’s a portable option so you can use the program on the go with a flash drive.
Automatic spell check is included, as well as support for a huge variety of popular file types, the ability to add notes to the side of any document, and easy-to-use wizards for creating letters, faxes, and agendas.
A side menu pane lets you quickly switch between editing page properties, styles, and formatting to adding images from the gallery. You can even undock these settings so that you can have more room for writing but still have simple access to important tools.
Similar to WPS Office that tops this list, you must download the whole OpenOffice suite to your computer even if you’re just installing Writer. With the portable option, you have to actually extract the entire office suite even if you just want to use the Writer tool.
Download OpenOffice
WordGraph
What We Like
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Includes unique advanced features.
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Has a spell check.
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You can download it apart from its whole suite.
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Downloads and installs quickly.
What We Don’t Like
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Spell check doesn’t work automatically.
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The interface can be distracting.
WordGraph includes most of the standard features you’d find in any word processor, but it also has some unique tools.
In addition to adding things like graphics, charts, tables, and illustrations to a document, WordGraph can also produce PDFs, create a table of contents and index, and access files stored on cloud storage services like Dropbox.
While a spell check utility is included, it doesn’t work in live mode, which means you must manually run it to check for spelling mistakes.
Unlike some of these other word processors, you can download WordGraph on its own without having to also download the SSuite Office software that it belongs to.
WordGraph works on Windows computers but can be used on a Mac or Linux machine with extra software.
Download WordGraph
AbleWord
What We Like
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Easy to use with a clean and uncluttered UI.
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Lets you find spelling errors in your writing.
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Popular formatting options are supported.
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Can open and save to popular file formats.
What We Don’t Like
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Hasn’t been updated since 2015.
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Spell check isn’t automatic.
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Limited open/save file format options.
Our Review of AbleWord
AbleWord opens documents quickly, has a really simple design, and supports editing and saving to popular file types. It’s very easy to use and looks really nice.
There isn’t much that makes AbleWord stand out among similar software except that it’s not bogged down with unnecessary buttons or confusing features and settings, and you can use it to import PDF text into the document.
Spell check is built-in but you have to run it manually because it doesn’t find errors automatically.
This program hasn’t been updated since 2015, so it probably won’t be updated again any time soon, or ever, but it’s still fully usable today as a free word processor.
You can use AbleWord if you have Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP.
Download AbleWord
AbiWord
What We Like
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Spell check is automatic.
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Supports automatic saving.
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Lets you collaborate with others in real time.
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Works with lots of file types.
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Supports plugins.
What We Don’t Like
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Print preview isn’t as easy to use as it is in similar programs.
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Doesn’t have a modern interface.
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No longer gets updated.
AbiWord is a free word processor with automatic spell check and common formatting options. The menus and settings are organized well and aren’t cluttered or confusing to use.
You can share documents with others and have the changes reflected automatically, making live, real-time collaboration possible.
Common file types work with AbiWord, like ODT, DOCM, DOCX, and RTF.
During setup, you can enable or disable all sorts of extra features, like an equation editor, grammar checker, web dictionary, Google Search and Wikipedia integrator, translators, and file format support for DocBook, OPML, ClarisWorks, and others.
One downside to this program is that the print preview feature isn’t like most programs in that you have to open the preview as an image in a photo viewer, which isn’t supplied with AbiWord.
AbiWord works on Windows, but only through the download link below because it’s no longer available for Windows users from their official website. It also works on Linux but only through Flathub.
Download AbiWord
Jarte
What We Like
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Customize the layout a number of ways.
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Can be set up to auto-save every so often.
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Opens documents in tabs.
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Supports common document formats.
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Small setup file.
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There’s a portable option available.
What We Don’t Like
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Must run spell check manually.
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Could be hard to use.
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No update since 2018.
Jarte is another free word processor that has a tabbed interface to keep all open documents easily accessible on one screen.
Common file types are supported, you can set Jarte to automatically save a document from every minute to every 20 minutes, and you can install several spell check dictionaries during setup.
Jarte can be configured to automatically open the last file you were using upon launching the program, which is a nice option that most of the other software from this list doesn’t allow.
Unfortunately, the spell check feature isn’t automatic, and the program itself is sometimes confusing to grasp.
You can download Jarte for Windows 10 down through Windows XP.
Download Jarte
WriteMonkey
What We Like
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Completely portable (no installation necessary).
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Features a very minimal interface.
What We Don’t Like
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No spell check.
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Large download file.
WriteMonkey is a portable word processor that’s centered around providing an interface with the least number of distractions as possible so that you can focus on writing and nothing else.
Every menu option in WriteMonkey is only shown if you right-click the document. From there, you can do everything from open a new document or project to toggle focus mode, copy all the text, open dev tools, and more.
WriteMonkey is a free word processor for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Download WriteMonkey
RoughDraft
What We Like
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Supports automatic spell check.
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Tabbed browsing helps organize open documents.
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Lets you use shortcut keys.
What We Don’t Like
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Very outdated; no longer gets updated.
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Supports a limited number of file formats.
Another free word processor, this one advertised for creative writers, is RoughDraft. It works with RTF, TXT, and DOC (from Word 2010–97) files, provides automatic spell check, allows shortcut keys for nearly every command, and lets you switch between various writing modes—Normal, Screenplay, Stage/Radio Play, and Prose.
It’s simple to open and edit files from your computer because of the file browser that’s open on the side of the program window. New documents appear in their own tab so that you can keep up to 100 files open in RoughDraft at the same time.
One of the downsides to this word processor is that the last version came out in 2005 and the developer is no longer working on it, so it won’t get new features in the future. Also, while the DOC file format is supported, the file has to have been created in Word 2010 or older.
Download RoughDraft
FocusWriter
What We Like
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Provides multiple ways to create a distraction-free interface.
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Colors and layouts can be customized.
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Goals can be created to stay on task.
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There’s a portable option.
What We Don’t Like
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Can’t open documents with rich text formatting.
FocusWriter is similar to WriteMonkey in that it’s portable and has a minimal interface. The program automatically hides the menus and any buttons from being viewed, and you can run it in full-screen mode so that you don’t see any other program windows.
Basic formatting is allowed in FocusWriter, like bold, strikethrough, and aligning text. You can also edit the foreground and background text, page margins, color, and line spacing to produce custom themes.
You can open and save documents to popular formats like DOCX, ODT, RTF, and TXT. However, documents with rich text formatting might import into FocusWriter in plain text and become completely unusable.
FocusWriter includes an alarm and lets you set goals regarding your typing, like to type a particular number of words or to type for a certain number of minutes per day.
Another advantage this program has over some of the other free word processors in this list is that it gets updated far more often, so you can be sure that new features and/or security updates are released as frequently as they need to be.
FocusWriter runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Download FocusWriter
Judoom
What We Like
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Supports tabbed browsing.
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Makes project tracking easy.
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Works with the two most popular MS Word file formats.
What We Don’t Like
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It’s missing several features common in a Word processor.
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Word counter doesn’t update automatically as you type.
Judoom has a similar look and feel to Microsoft Word, and you can even use some of the same file types, like DOC and DOCX.
It’s easy to keep track of projects because you can add up to two at a time and easily browse through local files and folders from a side menu. Any new documents that are opened are kept in their own tabs to keep everything closely together but organized at the same time.
While it’s easy to use and has a clean look to it, Judoom doesn’t include common features that you’ll normally find in a word processor, like spell check, headers/footers, and page numbers.
You can download Judoom on Windows only.
Download Judoom
AEdit
What We Like
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Protect documents with a password.
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Spell check is included.
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Lets you edit unique document file formats.
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Installs in seconds.
What We Don’t Like
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Doesn’t open DOCX files.
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Saves to just a few basic file formats.
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Spell check isn’t automatic.
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Very outdated.
AEdit has a bit of an outdated interface since the development team abandoned the software and haven’t released an update since 2001, but it still works just fine for a word processor.
AEdit lets you password protect documents and provides a spell check function, though it doesn’t check for errors automatically.
The free AEdit word processor works with files in Microsoft’s popular DOC format but not their newer DOCX format. You can also open 123, BAT, ECO, HTML, RTF, TXT, and XLS files.
However, when you save a document with AEdit, your options are limited to ECO, RTF, TXT, and BAT.
AEdit is for Windows computers.
Download AEdit
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Microsoft Word is without a doubt among the most used software in the entire world, used to write simple letters, create contracts, write academic papers or reports and many other uses. As other Office applications, Word is open to third-party tools adding features to it to make the Word experience easier and more complete. Here is a list of 60+ add-ins, plugins and apps that will save you time and effort when working on Word documents.
1. Power-user l Our add-in for Word, PowerPoint and Excel will give you some great superpowers to save countless hours. Here are some of the main features it offers:
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1+ million high-quality pictures and company logos
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7,000 icons and flags
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Hundreds of templates
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350 maps
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Advanced charts: Waterfall, Mekko, Sankey, Tornado and Gantt charts
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Smart diagrams like value chains, relationship, pyramids
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Harmonize fonts and colors
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Automate basic formating
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Create Agenda pages in PowerPoint
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Advanced Excel functions like SumColor, CountColor, CountVisible, CAGR, etc.
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… and more
2. Grammarly — Free but subscription may be required l Grammarly is one of the most famous solution for helping you improve your writing process. It will check your text’s grammar, spelling but also suggest alternatives to improve the style, clarity and precision of your speech. It works with Word on Windows, Mac iOS or the web.
3. ProWritingAid — $0 to $140 l ProWritingAid is an interesting tool that lets Word users improve their writing. The add-in needs an Internet connection to work, and highlights overused words, displays a grammar report and sentence length report, analyzes your writing style, and other useful feedback for you to improve your writing. Starting with $40 a year (or $140 for a lifetime license), the premium version will let you also improve on writing with Gmail, WordPress, Google Documents, etc. and will work faster. This add-in is not available on Mac.
4. Link Checker — €7.95 l This add-in helps you manage internal and external links within your documents. It provides you with a tree view of those links, can find suspicious links, and let you edit or remove them. Link Checker works with Word 2003 to 2013 on Windows, but is not available for Mac.
5. QuillBot — Free but subscription may be required l This add-in helps write faster thanks to the AI’s capability to rewrite sentences and paraphrase in order to improve your writing style and clarity, find synonyms, improve your vocabulary and more. QuillBot works on Windows 2013 and above on PC, Mac and Word online.
6. Proposal Pack Wizard — $69 l This add-in works as a contract and proposals assistant for Word. It helps you manage business documents such as proposals, quotes, bids, contracts, etc. It also provides some features to help you manage multiple proposals. The software works on Word for Windows 2003 to 2019, but is not available on Mac computers.
7. NXPowerLite Desktop 8 — $50 l This tool works with Word as well as PowerPoint, Excel, and and JPEG or PDF files. NXPowerLite compresses files and optimize them for screen, print or mobile devices. You can also enable it to automatically compress your email’s attachment files. NXPowerLite works on Windows but not on Mac iOS.
8. Selection Diff Tool — €3.99 l How often do you need to compare several Word documents, or multiple versions of a document? Well, this add-in lets you compares two strings of text and will show you what the differences are. If you are working on a document where someone did not use Track Change, you will still be able to avoid the terrible pain of manually identifying the differences. Selection Diff Tool works on Word and Excel 2013 and later. It is not supported by Mac computers.
9. Pro Word Cloud — Free l Use this tool for Word and PowerPoint to create word cloud images in your document or presentation. Word clouds are a great solution to introduce a word into a conversation by showing how it is related to other ideas. The more frequent a word is, the more prominent it will be on the image. There are multiple size, fonts, layouts and colors you can use. Word cloud are based on your own text, and can be used and shared freely. Pro Word Cloud works on Word and PowerPoint 2013 and later for Windows. It does not work on Mac computers.
10. IconScout — Free but subscription required l This app gives you access to millions of icons, graphics, illustrations etc. to insert in your Word documents. It runs on Word and PowerPoint 2013 and later on PC, Mac or Online.
11. Office Tabs — Free l If you are tired of moving between your Office windows this add-in is made for you. Office tabs creates a simple interface to switch between open windows of a Microsoft Office application. It creates a tab bar on your standard Word, Excel or PowerPoint window, with all the currently open documents of the same kind. You can click on a document’s title and it will switch the window to this document. Also, you can save all currently open documents with just 1 click, instead of saving them one by one. Office Tabs works on Office 365 and all versions of Office from 2003 to 2019, but does not work on Mac.
Nota Bene: this is comparable to the Tab Explorer feature included in the Power-user add-in alongside dozens of other tools for PowerPoint, Excel and Word.
12. Microsoft Dynamics — Free l Microsoft Dynamic is a great CRM solution provided by Microsoft. You can use this add-in to work on Word templates that will be updated with data directly coming from Microsoft Dynamics. You can also connect your Excel spreadsheet to your Microsoft Dynamics data, read it, analyze it or feed your dashboard, and publish data changes back into Microsoft Dynamics. If your company uses Dynamics, you will probably enjoy this app. It works for Word and Excel 2016 and later, on Windows computers only.
13. Epsillion — $400 | Epsillion helps you create reports with a professional design in very little time. Upload some unformatted text with Epsillion, define a few parameters like the number of columns, do the same with some charts and get a great-looking PDF or HTML. This tool also lets you sync figures with Excel to save time refreshing your reports. It integrates with Word and Excel.
14. vIcons — $99 l Insert icons directly into your documents with this add-in. It provides 600 icons for you to illustrate your words. Icons can be searched using keywords you can just pick them up from the library. vIcons works with Word, PowerPoint and Excel 2007, 2010 and 2013 for Windows. It is not available on Mac.
15. Excel-to-Word Document Automation — Free | This great plugin for Word allows you to update content from Excel in Word and PowerPoint, such as text, tables, charts, pictures and lists. It can save you a considerable amount of time, sparing you the effort of manually copy-pasting your content in Word every time you need to update. It works with Word 2016 and later on Windows, Mac and Online.
16. Vertex42 Templates Gallery — Free l Access the Vertex42 library of over 150 professionally designed templates for Word and Excel. Those templates include calendar, planners, budgeting, inventory, invoices or financial statements. The Vertex add-in works on Word and Excel versions 2013 and later for Windows. It is not available for Mac.
17. Decisions Meeting Documents Manager — Free but subscription required l Everyone in an organization has been in one of those countless meetings and needed to write minutes. This tool actually offers a solution to generate minutes from the meeting agenda, access minutes templates, create and assign tasks synced with Planner, To Do or Excel and share minutes for review. It works on Word 2013 and later on PC, Mac and Online.
18. QR4Office — Free l Create QR codes on your documents or slides with this app. The QR code will open a url of your choice. You can use QR4Office to make more engaging and interactive documents or presentation, have your audience use their smartphone to check a website or vote for a poll, for instance. QR4Office is available for versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel later than 2013 on Windows. It is also available on Mac starting with version 2016.
19. Template Chooser — €20.28/y l This add-in for the Office suite provides a cloud template management solution for organizations. Templates are stored online on a SharePoint website. Template Chooser requires an Office 365 subscription and works with Word, PowerPoint and Excel for Windows. It is not available on Mac iOS.
20. Handy Calculator — Free l If you often need to make some quick calculation aside from your work, you might love this add-in. It provides a calculator next to your Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents. It even makes it easy for you to directly insert the the results in your documents with a Select button. Handy Calculator is available on Office applications starting from version 2013. It also works on the Mac 2016 version.
21. Sticky Text — Free l This Office plugin lets save words, sentences or paragraphs that you believe you will use frequecalcuntly. It also enables web searches without opening a browser, directly from your document. Sticky Text is available with Word and PowerPoint 2013, 2016 and 2019for Windows and 2016 on Mac.
22. Intento Translator — Free but subscription required l This tool lets you translate documents in Microsoft Word or Excel. You can select words and sentences, and then use it to understand content from another language or insert the translation in your document. This app can integrate with DeepL, Google, Baidu and other services so you can choose the best translation. It works with Word 2013 or higher, as well as Word on Mac, iPad or Online.
23. Translation by Text United — Variable l This is an interesting add-in that allows you to send files to a network platform of freelance translators to review or translate your documents. Once your account is created, you just need to select a language and level for the translation, and copy-paste your text. Professionals will make the translation at a given price. You can then ask them to make changes if you need before validating the order. The plugin allows you is available directly from SharePoint so you can send any file directly.
24. Spreadsheet123 — Free l Although initially designed for Excel, Spreadsheet123 is now a Word add-in as well. Instead of starting a document from scratch, pick up a template in their library. The templates include financial statements, budgeting, payroll, invoicing, time sheets, checklists or inventory management templates. Spreadsheet123 works with Word and Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 or later as well as Word and Excel online. This add-in is however not supported on Mac computers.
25. Document Wizard — $4.99/mo l This Word add-in lets you update information such as author, brand name, organizational unit or legal disclaimer of a document with just a click. Documents need first to be configured for working with the Document Wizard. This tool works only on Word 2016 and later versions, for Windows and for Mac., as well as Word online.
26. DocuSign for Word — OnQuote l DocuSign lets you send documents for eSignature. You can securely sign yourself documents, or send it for a colleague or client to sign it. You can also store all your signed documents in a dedicated OneDrive folder. DocuSign meets legal standards. Although DocuSign claims to be an Office App Award 2015 Winner of the Most Business Value, the reviews for this app are really negative and people complain about errors when trying to connect. DocuSign is compatible with Word 2013 and later on Windows, Word 2016 on Mac, Word for iPad and Word Online.
27. Mendeley Citation Plugin — Free l As the name suggests, this add-in lets you search for citations without leaving your Word document. If you are writing academic documents such as thesis or publications, you will love this tool. Just type your keywords and the add-in will search in your Mendeley Library. This tool works with Word and LibreOffice on Windows, Mac and Linux.
28. ImageVault Connect for Office — $2.99/mo l The Image Vault Connect for Office add-in lets you search or browse in your existing media library with ImageVault. You can then insert your resources in your document with a single click. You need an existing ImageVault server and credentials before you can use it. This app works with Word and PowerPoint 2013 and later on Windows, as well as Word Online.
29. Wikipedia — Free l This app for Office lets you quickly access Wikipedia content for your Office documents. It also makes it simpler to reference text and images. Search results will appear in a task pane, and you can choose to show text and images, or just images. The Wikipedia app works with Word and Excel 2013 or later, on Word and Excel 2016 for Mac, on Word and Excel for iPad as well as on Word and Excel Online.
30. RefWorks for Word — £11.99/y l The RefWorks app lets you insert in-text citations directly from your Word documents, move and remove citations and auto-generate or update your bibliography. This is clearly meant for students, academics or researchers who are writing papers with many references. You need to be a subscriber of RefMe Plus and RefMe Institute before you can actually use it. The app is available on Word 2016 on Windows and Word for iPad.
31. CRM Word Interface — Free l This app can be used to generate Word documents from Microsoft CRM. Typically, you can use it to bring customer data from your CRM into a mail or contract template in Word.
32. Adobe Sign — Free but a subscription is required l With this Adobe add-in, you can electronically send Word and PowerPoint documents for electronic signature to colleagues, partners or clients. A subscription is required to use the service. It does not work on Mac and is available for Word and PowerPoint 2013 or later on Windows.
33. Qorus — Free but a subscription is required l The Qorus add-in lets you save time when working on Word documents, with features to automatically generate new documents, searching and inserting existing content from your SharePoint site, ensuring documents are up to date or cleaning them before sending. Qorus requires a subscription to use the service. It is available on Word 2013 or later for Windows. Qorus is not available on Word for Mac.
34. Lexis for Microsoft Office — Free l This add-in from the famous law services firm LexisNexis helps create and review legal documents. You can use this tool to make searches, get cited documents, verify quotes, manage citations format and more. It works with Word 2016 and 2019 on Pc, Mac, iPad and Online.
35. Read my Document — Free l This tool can read your Word documents, using text-to-speach technology so you can hear the content of your file without even looking at it. The app works with Word 2013+, Word Online and Mac iOS.
36. Pickit Presentation Images — Free but a subscription is required for HD images l Pickit Presentation Images is an add-in that lets you browse for images from Word and PowerPoint. Images can be previewed from a task pane, and you can search pictures, icons, 3D or moving images without leaving your application. Although the app is free, you will need a subscription if you want pictures to be in HD. Pickit works with Word and PowerPoint 2013 and later on Windows, as well as Word and PowerPoint 2016 on Mac and Word and PowerPoint Online.
Nota Bene: A feature comparable to this tool also exists within the Power-user suite, allowing you to browse over 100,000+ high-quality pictures and it’s 100% free, without requiring a subscription.
37. Symbols and Characters — Free l This Office add-in helps you insert special characters and symbols in your Word documents. Contrary to the native Symbols button in Office, it uses contextual information to suggest relevant symbols based on your selection. It can be very convenient to easily find currency, mathematical, copyright or language-specific symbols. The app works with Word, PowerPoint and Excel 2013+, on PC, Mac and Online.
38. Rhymes.net — Free l If you have the mind and soul of a poet, this app is definitely made for you. It lets you go through a rhyming dictionary to find the rhymes that will sound just right with your words. You can search by senses as well. Rhymes.net works with Word 2013 and later on PC, and 2016 on Mac.
39. Easy Code Formatter — Free l With this app you can easily format your text as code in Word 2013 on PC or Mac iOS.
40. Sciwheel — Free but subscription required l This Word add-in is great for citing easily in research papers. This tool will help you manage references, can suggest citations and will easily format your bibliography. It works for Word 2016 or later on Windows, Mac or Word Online.
41. Microsoft Mathematics — Free l Microsoft Mathematics is an add-in that lets you plot charts, solve equations or inequalities in Word and OneNote. The add-in works with Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010, as well as OneNote 2010 on Windows.
42. Adobe Document Generation — Free l This ADobe add-in lets you easily create templates for documents with consistent branding using Adobe Document Generation API. Such templates can be invoices, contracts, reports and more. It works on Word 2016 and later on Windows, Mac and on the Online version.
43. Word Training and Tips — Free l If you are beginning with Word, this GoSkills add-in will help you learn some tips & tricks to improve your command of the software with Word cheat sheets. Subscribing will give you access to training as well. The plugin works with Word 2013 or later on Windows, as well as the 2016 Mac version and Word Online.
44. Writer — Free but subscription may be required l Writer is meant for companies wanting a
unified style, voice and terminology on all their documents. It can check the usual grammar and, but also approved terms, pronouns, compliance and more. It is compatible with Word 2016 and later on Windows, Mac and Online.
45. PROMT Dictionary and Translator — Fee l Make sure you don’t use an unwise word that will cause some incident, by getting the exact definition with this add-in. The dictionary also provides translations with multiple choices of words, and translations can be inserted in your documents with just a click. The app supports English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. It requires an Internet connection to work, as well as Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Project version 2013 or later, or the 2016 Mac version.
46. vLex — Free but subscription may be required l This add-in is made for legal teams and can help drafting legal advice, identify legal citation and case law validity, get recommendation and more. The app works on Word 2013 and later on Windows, Mac, iPad and Word Online.
47. Easy Code Formatter — Free l If you are developer, this plugin will let you edit your code in a Word document following the properly formatted syntax. Highlight your code and select the coding language, and your code will be formatted to look just like in any code editor. This app works with Word 2013 on Windows, and on the 2016 version for Mac and Online.
48. Pictographr — Free l Insert visual content to your Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook). Use this to add a design layer to your work and illustrate it with vivid visuals. Pictographr works with Office 2016 and later on Windows and Mac.
49. Pixabay Images — Free l The Pixabay add-in lets you search for online pictures available on Pixabay, without leaving Word or PowerPoint. And the best of it is that all pictures are available under Creative Common CC0, i.e. they are in the public domain and you don’t have to pay nor to give attribution to the author. Pixabay Images works with Word and PowerPoint 2013 or later on Windows as well as Word and PowerPoint 2016 on Mac and Online.
Nota Bene: this is comparable to the Pictures library included in the Power-user add-in alongside other tools and which includes over 100,000 pictures.
50. IMG Effector — Free l Once you have inserted images in your document, you might want to rework them a bit to give them nice visual effects. This free tool can apply 15 different effects to images in your documents. It works on Word 2013 or later on Windows only.
51. Spell checker and Grammar checker by Scribens — Free or Premium l This plugin lets you detect and correct 250 types of grammar mistakes within Word documents, but also improve your style by avoiding repetitions for instance. The app works with Word 2016 or later on Windows and on Word 2016 on Mac.
52. PDFfiller — Free l This tool lets you open and edit files stored on OneDrive as printable PDFs. This add-in requires Word 2013 or later on Windows or Word Online. It is not supported by Mac iOS.
53. Resume CV Template Builder & Optimizer — Free l Let this app guide you into designing your resume. Enter your data and let it make the design part for you. You can also import your Linkedin profile to get a CV in a matter of minutes. This Word app requires version 2016 or later on Windows or Word 2016 on Mac.
54. Semrush SEO Writing Assistant — Free but subscription may be required l This app designed by famous SEO website Semrush will help you optimize your Word content for high performance on search engines. It will offer suggestions based on best performing content on Google’s SERPs, based on competitors and defined target audience and keywords. This is a great idea for copywriters and anyone writing on Word content that will end up on a website. This tool works with Word 2013 or later on Windows, Mac and Word Online.
55. Woodpecker — Free l Woodpecker is a Word app made to help small businesses save time by providing a templates creation and management solution. Templates can be shared with a team so that people can collaborate on it and Woodpecker provides automated formatting. Woodpecker works on Microsoft Word version 2013, 2016 and 2019 for PC, Word 2016 on Mac and Word Online.
56. Emoji Keyboard — Free l This funny app lets you insert smileys for various emotions in your word document with a single click. The app works with Word, PowerPoint and Excel 2013 and later on Windows, as well as the 2016 Mac version.
57. 300Editors — Free l This add-in will let you hire professional editors around the globe to proofread your text. You can get your document read in real time. The app requires a Microsoft account attached to OneDrive, and works on Word 2013 or later on Windows or Word Online.
58. Consistency Checker — Free l This add-in scans your document and detects consistency mistakes in your text. It looks into hyphenation (e.g. ‘part time’ and ‘part-time’), spelling (e.g. ‘color’ and ‘colour’), use of numbers in sentences, etc. It’s always good to run a little consistency check before you submit your document! The app works on Word and Excel 2013 or later, the Mac 2016 and the Online versions.
59. Lucidchart Diagrams — Free but requires subscription l This add-in lets you insert HTML5 diagrams, flowcharts, UML, wireframes, Mind maps, org charts, etc. The app works on Word 2013 or later on Windows and on Word 2016 on Mac.
60. Dolphin Compose — Free l Dolphin Compose is a common phrase library. The idea behind it is great: you or your organization often use and reuse the same phrases, contract clauses or commercial arguments. This add-in will let you search, edit or reuse such phrases, ensuring correctness, brand consistency and up to date content. You will need to host your library on SharePoint, OneDrive or Dolphin365, and the app will run on Word 2013 or later on Windows, as well as the Mac 2016 and the Online versions.
Conclusion:
Although not exhaustive, this list of add-ins for Microsoft Word provides a wide range of useful tools that will enhance you experience of working with Word. Add-ins have the potential to save you a tremendous amount of time and give you new perspectives.
If you are interested in PowerPoint add-ins as well, check our list of 40+ add-ins, plugins and apps for Microsoft PowerPoint.
If you are also interested in Excel add-ins, check our list of 75+ add-ins, plugins and apps for Microsoft Excel.