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FreeOffice is a complete Office suite with a word processor, a spreadsheet application and a presentation program – all seamlessly compatible with their counterparts in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Find out more. Free download. "Best Microsoft Office alternative overall".
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FreeOffice, the best free alternative to Microsoft Word,...
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WPS Writer is a free Word editor to help you create, edit, save and share documents with ease. It is fully compatible with Microsoft Office, offering a seamsless Word document processing on PC Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and cross-platform supported. Free Download.
- Overview
- The best free word processor of 2024 in full:
- 1. LibreOffice Writer
- 2. WPS Office Free Writer
- 3. Google Docs
- 4. FocusWriter
- 5. FreeOffice TextMaker
- 6. Writemonkey
- Which free word processor is best for you?
Best
By Cat Ellis
last updated 6 February 2024
Alternatives to Microsoft Word
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•Best overall
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Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux Today's Best Deals VISIT WEBSITE
Reasons to buy
+ Excellent format compatibility + Document template galleries + Support for plugins + No ads or paywalls LibreOffice is a fork of Apache OpenOffice, and the two offer very similar word processing apps, but LibreOffice receives more frequent updates and has a more lively userbase, so we're inclined to lean in its favor. The word processor, Writer, is a feature-packed analog of Microsoft Word, packed with all the tools you could need for any text-based work. The two versions of Writer include wizards and templates for common document types, such as invoices and letters, and it’s easy to create your own templates for future use as well. The word processors also work together with the other office software in their respective suites – so you can use Base to create a bibliography, for example. Both word processors support all the most popular file formats, and can export documents to PDF without the need for additional software. If you’re looking for a word processor that can stand in for Microsoft Word, either of these two will be a perfect candidate. Read our full LibreOffice review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux Today's Best Deals WPS Office Free Visit Siteat KINGSOFT Office Software
Reasons to buy
+ Interface almost identical to Word + Excellent file format support + Free cloud storage
Reasons to avoid
- Contains some ads If you’ve used a modern version of Microsoft Word, there’ll be no learning curve when you switch to Writer – the word processing component of WPS Office Free. This free word processor looks and behaves almost exactly like its premium counterpart, and even has its own equivalent of OneDrive, offering 1GB free cloud storage. Its selection of pre-installed templates gives you everything you need for common document types, and you can easily create your own for bespoke tasks. It’s compatible with every text file format you can think of, including current and legacy versions of Microsoft Word dating back to Office 97. WPS Office Writer is supported by discrete ads, which can be removed by upgrading to the premium version, but they’re barely noticeable and no features are locked behind a paywall. Overall, WPS Writer is very impressive, and in our opinion it’s the best free word processor available to download today. WPS recently launched a free PDF to Word converter as well, which is a great companion to its word processor. Read our full WPS Office Free review. •^ Back to the top
Reasons to buy
+ Convenient sharing and editing through Google Drive + Excellent support options + 15 GB of free storage
Reasons to avoid
- Mobile app lacks a few features - Formatting issues - Not as good as Microsoft Word When it comes to free word processing, Google Docs may seem like one of the most obvious choices, and has the advantage of saving your work automatically so you don’t have to worry if your connection fails. It’s also a good choice for collaborative working, and means you don’t have to upload work to a separate cloud storage service. However, it has a limited selection of templates, there’s no way to import content from other Google applications, it suffers from the formatting issues when importing mentioned above, and any online tool is going to be surrounded by distractions like social media. Read our full Google Docs review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux Today's Best Deals VISIT WEBSITE
Reasons to buy
+ Blocks out distractions + Timers and alarms + Auto-save function
Reasons to avoid
- Not ideal for editing If you simply want to hammer out some words without worrying about formatting, you could just use Windows’ built-in Notepad app, but FocusWriter is full of clever tools that will help you maximize productivity without ever getting in the way. As the name implies, FocusWriter blocks out all distractions so you can give that all-important first draft your full attention. In normal use, all you see is a blank page – toolbars are only visible if you move your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen – but there’s a killer feature in Focused Text, which fades everything into the background except the current paragraph or sentence. FocusWriter also features alerts that are triggered at certain times, or when you’ve reached a predefined word count, so you don’t need to worry about watching a counter (as you would in Microsoft Word). This also makes FocusWriter a good tool to use in tandem with the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working hard for a period of time that’s long enough for you to work productively, but not so long that you become fatigued. It’s not great for editing, but for productivity, FocusWriter is hard to beat. Read our full FocusWriter review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, Mac, Linux Today's Best Deals VISIT WEBSITE
Reasons to buy
+ Can export to EPUB format + Prints multiple pages per sheet + Opens password-protected files
Reasons to avoid
- Doesn't support DOCX files TextMaker – the word processing element of SoftMaker FreeOffice – is good looking, and comes with several handy templates for creating letters and other everyday documents. The selection isn’t as extensive as some of its rivals’, but you can also make new designs for future use and save them in TMV format. All the features you’d expect from a modern word processor are present and correct, including advanced formatting options, the ability to create databases for managing bibliographies and footnotes, and a function for tracking changes to collaborative projects. The only real drawback of TextMaker is its inability to save your work in DOCX format (though you can open and edit these files with no difficulty). This feature is limited to the premium version of SoftMaker Office. Read our full FreeOffice review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Operating system: Windows Today's Best Deals VISIT WEBSITE
Reasons to buy
+ Distraction-free interface + Supports markup + Handy keyboard shortcuts
Reasons to avoid
- Only works with TXT files WriteMonkey is another no-frills word processor designed to help you maximize your output without fussing with editing and formatting. It’s not intended for documents like letters or CVs, but is great for committing early ideas to paper (or screen) so you have the raw material to develop later. Unlike FocusWriter, which is compatible with all the most common text formats (including Microsoft’s DOC and DOCX), WriteMonkey only works with TXT files, so you’ll have to convert any works in progress before opening them. WriteMonkey’s hidden controls are trickier to navigate, too – everything is accessed via a large right-click menu, or a vast collection of keyboard shortcuts. That said, if you’re happy to commit those shortcuts to memory, you’ll find WriteMonkey faster to use than toolbar-based alternatives. We also like the ability to look words up in Wikipedia, Google Images, Poetry.com, Answers.com, and many others without opening a browser winder manually and leaving yourself open to the temptations of Twitter and Facebook. WriteMonkey is a portable app, so there’s no need to install it – just extract all the downloaded files to a removable drive or cloud storage service and fire it up by running the file WriteMonkey.exe. Read our full Writemonkey review. •^ Back to the top We've also featured the best free cloud apps for business.
When deciding which free word processor to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options. That means if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it come...
- 2 min
- WPS Office Writer. Features a tabbed interface for better document management. Includes 1 GB of cloud storage. Free templates built in. What We Don't Like.
- FreeOffice from SoftMaker. Several neat features. Opens and saves to common file formats. Great for making eBooks. Automatic spell check is included.
- OpenOffice Writer. Works with lots of file formats. Extensions and templates are supported. Checks for spelling errors automatically. Includes advanced and basic formatting options.
- WordGraph. Includes unique advanced features. Has a spell check. You can download it apart from its whole suite. Downloads and installs quickly.
Download free office suite for Windows, macOS and Linux. Microsoft compatible, based on OpenOffice, and updated regularly.
Apr 15, 2024 · LibreOffice Writer. This is the gold standard of free word processors, released under an open-source license, and made available for Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD. It’s based on the now discontinued original version of OpenOffice.
LibreOffice is a free and powerful office suite, and a successor to OpenOffice.org (commonly known as OpenOffice). Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity.
