If you’re sick of paying for microsoft word features you don’t use, here are some free Word alternatives you can try right now. Microsoft Word has its fans, but for everyone who loves it, many despise it. There’s a lot to like in a simple free word processor that Microsoft Word doesn’t offer due to its complexity.
From redesigns that cover regular menu items to unnecessarily complicated and frequently unused features, there’s a lot to like in a simple word processor that Microsoft Word doesn’t deliver due to its complexity. Furthermore, free word processor like Microsoft Word and the rest of Microsoft Office are costly (here is the Microsoft Office home edition for free word processor).
It can be difficult to justify paying that price if you don’t need all Microsoft Word’s features, particularly in a small business setting where you only need a free word processor. Instead of paying for something you won’t use, try one of these free word processor ten free Microsoft Word alternatives.
Free Word Processor Alternatives
FocusWriter
FocusWriter, as the name suggests, blocks out all distractions so you can focus entirely on the crucial first draft. In regular usage, all you see is a blank page – toolbars appear only when you shift your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen – but Focused Text has a killer feature that fades all except the current paragraph or sentence into the background.
FocusWriter also has warnings that go off at specific times, or when you hit a predefined word count, so you don’t have to keep an eye on a counter (as you would in Microsoft Word). FocusWriter is also an excellent method to use in conjunction with the Pomodoro Technique, which entails working intensely for some time long enough for you to be effective but not so long that you become exhausted.
Google Docs
Everyone with a Google account can easily use Google Docs, which is the most common Microsoft Word free word processor alternative on this list. If you’re looking for the basic features of Microsoft Word, Google Docs is the way to go. It handles all of your basic word processing needs and is closely integrated with Google Drive and other Google products.
You don’t have to bother about dropping your job because everything is saved in Google’s cloud—Docs autosaves for every single keystroke, so if you crash, you should be able to choose upright wherever you left off, down to the text. Google Docs also supports the.doc and.docx formats from Microsoft Word, so you shouldn’t have trouble importing and editing them.
Apache OpenOffice Writer
Apache’s OpenOffice Writer is the 2003 throwback you’re looking for if you despise free word processor for inventing the ribbon. It has a traditional interface that, although cluttered at times, closely resembles the menus that Microsoft removed when Office 2007 was launched. It will feel very familiar to Office 2003 users, with the added benefit of receiving updates and security fixes, which is critical for business applications.
OpenOffice Writer has its document format, but it also accepts.doc and.docx files and does an excellent job preserving formatting when importing those formats. Multiple of the advanced features of Microsoft Word are also available in OpenOffice Writer, so you won’t have any trouble editing complex Word documents.
Calmly Writer
Calmly Writer allows you to focus on one thing at a time. All of the annoying options vanish from the interface until you start typing. You see your terms. Calmly also has a focus mode feature. When you turn it on, it just highlights the paragraph you’re currently working on. It might be a good choice for you if you are a writing minimalist who despises distractions when writing.
Calmly Writer is a browser-based software that also comes with a Chrome extension. Real-time collaboration is one of the most vital features for business users. You can both be in the document simultaneously, see the other user’s cursor location, watch what they’re typing, and talk with each other if you share a copy with another Google user. It’s a fantastic communication method that sets itself apart from other word processors.
Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer is a great free word processor replacement. It is jam-packed with features. You can sync your iPhone, Android, or iPad with your PC or Mac. This word processor can do almost everything the Word can do. There are also methods for collaboration. Zia, a writing assistant, is also included to assist with contextual grammar, readability, and style recommendations.
You can start working immediately after importing your current Word documents. There is also a plugin that allows you to connect your Zoho documents to Word documents. For a free online writing app, it’s not a bad deal.
LibreOffice Writer
LibreOffice Writer, like OpenOffice, is an entirely free and open-source word processor that includes word processing, support for the.doc and.docx file formats, and many features that a typical Microsoft Word user would need.
The interface styles, file format support, lack of cloud integration and real-time collaboration, and general word processing features are identical in LibreOffice Writer and OpenOffice Writer. Both are excellent free alternatives to Microsoft Word, and choosing one over the other is primarily a matter of personal preference.
It’s not what’s in the app that makes LibreOffice stand out; it’s the platform’s community-driven existence. On LibreOffice’s website, collaboration with users and developers to enhance the product is front and center. This emphasis has helped LibreOffice grow into a vibrant community of users and coders who keep making it better.
SmartEdit Writer
This isn’t your average free word processor program. It’s a cross between a word processor and a note-taking app. I use it for several purposes myself and assume it has a broader range of users, including bloggers, students taking class notes or researching and writing papers or other written tasks, teachers arranging material for classes, and so on.
If online collaboration or local cloud support is essential to you, an intelligent edit Writer may not be the right choice for you. You can store files in a cloud drive and access them with OpenOffice, but you’ll need the Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Apple iCloud desktop client installed to open your cloud storage like a local computer folder.
WPS Office Writer
Check out WPS Office Writer if you want a free word processor with all of the Word features but do not have to pay a premium price. WPS Office Writer has been lauded by TechRepublic sister site CNET for quite some time, and a good reason: it’s a full-featured application suite that feels premium.
WPS Office Writer is similar to Microsoft Word in several ways, and it provides native cloud support to make storing documents online a breeze; however, it lacks real-time collaboration. In any analysis of WPS Office Writer, you’ll find statements about how similar it is to Word. With more features than other free suites like OpenOffice, this might be the one to choose—mainly because you won’t have to pay for it.
Microsoft Office Word Online
Don’t forget about Office Online, Microsoft’s free word processor alternative to the paid edition of Word. Microsoft Word Online, like Google Docs, is a condensed, cloud-based version of Word. It lacks many of the high-level features of a locally installed Word version, but it’s as related as you can get for a free version of Word.
The guy is similar to Google Docs and Word Online, but with a few tweaks to make it feel extra like the Microsoft ribbon than the drop-down menus that Google Docs users are used to. Word Online documents are stored in Microsoft OneDrive, and real-time collaboration features similar to those found in Google Docs are also available.
Scribus
It is mentioned here because it is, of course, free word processor. But it’s also because it’s a feature-rich cross-platform application. This software can create posters, brochures, and newsletters if you are familiar with text boxes. Scribus is a desktop publishing and page layout software. Linux, FreeBSD, PC-BSD, NetBSD, Solaris, OpenIndiana, Debian GNU/Hurd, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4, eComStation, and Windows are among the supported operating systems.
So, you can use it on every operating system under the sun, right? Professional publishing features such as CMYK colors, spot colors, ICC color control, and PDF development are all supported by Scribus. For most authors and bloggers, it might not be the best option. However, you will need to do some desktop publishing work at some stage.
Conclusion
You do not have to spend any money to get a reliable and fully working free word processor. There are several free Microsoft Word alternatives available. Many of the systems on this list are full-featured free word processor office suites. As a result, you get a bonus for all of the extras. You certainly have a lot of options for free word processor. So, make your decisions and save some money.