Looking for a Microsoft Word alternatives? We’ve got a few good ones for you!
It’s been 34 years since Microsoft introduced us to Word, it’s a famous word processor that everyone continues to use to this day.
However, a lot has changed in the last three decades, as our workflow becomes more digital, more connected, more collaborative.
Why Do We Need Microsoft Word Alternatives?
You never bothered to update because Word hasn’t fundamentally changed in the last 20 years. That means its core functions are timelessly usable.
That also means the product has ignored the most important two decades in all of computing.
Google Docs offers a lot of the same features for free.
Additionally, over the years a lot of other companies have launched their own versions of office software, covering documents, spreadsheets, and email, to rival Microsoft’s flagship service.
Microsoft Office is not even cheap, even its subscription model Microsoft Office 365, spreads the payment throughout the year.
If you don’t need all the features that Microsoft Word offers, it can be hard to justify paying that price, especially in a small business environment where you just need a word processor.
If you are looking for a modern-day Microsoft Word alternative for your text editor, look no further! We have curated a list of some of the best Microsoft Word alternatives in the market right now.
Let’s explore these tools one by one, shall we?
List Free Microsoft Word Alternatives you can try out right now!
- Bit.ai
- LibreOffice
- Zoho
- OpenOffice
- OnlyOffice
- Google Docs
Let’s go through each one of them in detail and decide the best fit for you!
1. Bit.ai
Bit is a new age, a cloud-based collaboration tool that helps teams create, manage and track documents.
Bit allows teams to collaborate on workplace documents like – project proposals, sales decks, how-to guides, media kits, case studies, e-books, etc.
Bit’s editor allows you to add various types of digital content that can live inside of your documents like:
- Google Spreadsheets
- Typeform
- Twitter tweets
- Airtable databases
- Code blocks
- Math equations and much more!
If you want to send these documents to external partners, clients, customers or prospects, you can even track them to get intelligent engagement insights.
Apart from documents, Bit also provides amazing content management capabilities.
Bit has a content library that automatically saves the images, files and digital content you add to your documents (or workspaces) so that you can access and reuse them easily.
Imagine, all of your digital content and files in one place for easy access and storage!
Bit’s real-time collaboration platform makes it easy for your team to work under one virtual roof, provide feedback, add comments, and discuss work together across geographic locations and timezones!
This is truly the document editor of the future and a perfect Microsoft Word alternative for all types of businesses.
2. LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open-source Microsoft Word alternative, built and supported by millions of community members worldwide.
If you are one of those people who loved Word before its famous ribbon interface, LibreOffice might be the tool for you.
LibreOffice provides a clean and simple user interface. What makes LibreOffice a versatile and worth Microsoft Word alternative is its office suite of productivity apps like Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and Math (formula editing).
LibreOffice is compatible with a wide range of document formats such as Microsoft® Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) and Publisher.
Users can even export their documents in many different formats including PDFs. If you are looking for a clean, open-source Microsoft Word alternative, LibreOffice is the way to go.
3. Zoho
Just like Word, Zoho Docs also provides tools to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, right in the cloud.
Zoho Docs make document creation, storage, editing, sharing, and collaboration a breeze.
Apart from your documents, spreadsheets and presentations, you can even upload your music, movies, and other files to the Zoho cloud and basically take your office wherever you go.
Zoho cloud offers 5Gb free storage space. This Microsoft Word alternative can create folders to organize all your documents more effectively. You can even create team groups and share files privately.
Users can set permissions, password-protect their files, or even set an expiration timer after which everyone loses access to the file or document.
Zoho Docs also provides the ability to chat with collaborators in real-time to make document editing easier.
Integrations with other cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox adds a little more flair, making Zoho an amazing Microsoft Word alternative.
Read more: 10 Best Confluence Alternatives For Project Management
4. OpenOffice
Apache OpenOffice is another open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases, and more.
A true open-source software tool, OpenOffice allows anyone to report bugs, request new features, and enhance the software.
As a result, Apache OpenOffice does everything you want your office software to do, the way you want it to!
This Microsoft Word alternative is completely free to use, just download it on your computer or laptop and you are good to go. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers.
It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages.
OpenOffice supports many popular file formats like such as DOC, XML, DOCX, XLS, and many more.
5. OnlyOffice
OnlyOffice is a feature-rich, cloud-based collaboration tool to Microsoft Office and online document editors like Google Docs.
Like its contemporaries, OnlyOffice offers real-time document, spreadsheet and presentation sharing, and editing.
Thanks to its collaborative nature, OnlyOffice allows users to upload a Word Doc from their computer directly to their web app and co-edit with their teammates.
Users can also chat with one another inside the platform and avoid the dreaded email chain. You can track changes made to the docs, leave comments, and access version history too.
Apart from document editing, OnlyOffice offers a multitude of features that sets it apart from Microsoft.
OnlyOffice offers powerful CRM capabilities, project management tools, calendar and email integrations, blogs, forums, and much more.
OnlyOffice supports various document formats including:
- DOC
- HTML
- CSV
- TXT and more.
Users can connect their OnlyOffice account to various cloud storage services like Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Onedrive so that you can have all your work in one place.
OnlyOffice also supports Android and iOS apps to view and edit documents on the go and stay connected.
OnlyOffice truly aims to be your “Only Office” and is a feature-rich Microsoft Word alternative.
6. Google Docs
We can’t wrap up this list without mentioning the name Google, can we? Another Microsoft Word alternative is Google Docs, Google’s productivity suite for teams as well as individuals.
Google Docs is a free collaboration suite by Google that offers all three office apps for document creation, spreadsheets, and presentations.
A free Microsoft Word alternative, Google Docs offers free 15GB of cloud storage to store all your documents, spreadsheets, and media files but you can always upgrade in case you need more.
Apart from the cloud-based apps, Google offers quite robust and handy smartphone apps for their entire office suite so that you can work from anywhere, anytime.
Google Doc’s intuitive, simple and user-friendly design makes it easy to access, edit and share your documents, spreadsheets, or presentations on the go.
Google aims to cater to the needs of not only individuals but also teams. This is why Google allows its users to work on a document, presentation, or spreadsheet with their teammates simultaneously over the cloud.
Users can give team members the access to edit or make it a “view only” doc, see changes made by their co-workers, and leave comments and suggestions in real-time.
Even though Google Docs is not a very robust or powerful Microsoft Word alternative, it is still a pretty great tool for the average user and can easily get the job done.
Read more: 17 Google Docs Tips You’d Wish You Knew Earlier
Here’s an infographic for you. Save it for future reference!
Conclusion
Microsoft Word has been a veteran in the productivity space for quite a while. It has been the standard for document creation as there weren’t many options available.
Unfortunately, Microsoft Word hasn’t evolved to meet today’s needs with the changing digital landscape of today.
You cannot really go wrong with any one of the above-mentioned Microsoft Word alternatives as all of them are pretty great at what they offer.
It’s only a matter of personal choice and preference. Here’s hoping you find the right tool for your team, cheers!
Further reads:
- Top 6 Google Docs Alternatives for Businesses
- Top 6 Best Process Documentation Tools For Small Businesses
- Top Content Management Systems To Try In 2021
Don’t want to forget this information?
elink it for future reference!
