6 free Microsoft Office alternatives

Six free Microsoft Office alternatives

Lynn Wright / 10 February 2016

Avoid the cost of Microsoft Office with six of the best free Office replacements for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

You can get fantastic alternatives to Microsoft Office without spending a penny

If you need to write a letter or work out your finances on a spreadsheet, chances are you’ll have considered paying for Microsoft Office so you can use Word and Excel. But you can get fantastic alternatives to Microsoft Office without spending a penny.

We’ve found six of the best free Microsoft Office alternatives for Windows, Mac and even iOS and Android devices.

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1. FreeOffice

Windows

www.freeoffice.com

A good alternative to Microsoft Office for light use, it’s a basic suite of programs including a word processor, spreadsheet and a presentation program.

FreeOffice TextMaker includes spellchecking, design tools and a comprehensive range of editing tools. FreeOffice PlanMaker is similar to Excel, and includes advanced calculation and tools. FreeOffice Presentations includes animation tools and a series of templates to get you started.

FreeOffice can open and save Microsoft Office file formats.

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2. OpenOffice

Windows, Mac

www.openoffice.org

OpenOffice includes programs for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and graphics, so can be used as an everyday Microsoft Office replacement.

It can open and save Microsoft Office formats, and can be used for business, student and home use. Its word processor Writer can create anything from quick letters to a full-blown novel, while its spreadsheet tool Calc includes intuitive graphics and charting tools.

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3. LibreOffice

Windows, Mac

www.libreoffice.org

LibreOffice is a powerful collection of word processing, spreadsheet, drawing, presentation and mathematics tools.

It’s great for professional work – and its interface makes it simple to create professional-looking documents such as brochures, letters and presentations.

It is fully compatible with Microsoft Office files, and you can download special extensions and templates to extend its features even further.

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4. WPS Office

Windows, iOS, Android

www.wps.com

Fancy editing and creating documents on your iPad or Android tablet? WPS Office is a mobile alternative to Microsoft Office, and it’s free.

It includes word processing, presentation and spreadsheet tools, and allows you to open, edit, create and save both Microsoft Office and Google Doc compatible documents.

It’s a tiny app size, so doesn’t take up much storage, and includes PDF tools to boot.

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5. Google Docs

Windows, Mac

www.google.com/docs

Not a full-fledged alternative to Microsoft Office, this free collection of writing, presentation and spreadsheet tools can be accessed from a web browser from any computer, provided you’ve a free Google account.

The tools are basic, but it supports the ability to save in Microsoft Office formats. You’ll need to be connected to the internet to use Google Docs, however.

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6. iWork

Mac

www.apple.com

Not to be left out, Apple includes a series of powerful Microsoft Office alternative tools with every new Mac. They include word processing (Pages), spreadsheet (Numbers) and presentation (Keynote) applications.

All can open and save Microsoft Office documents, include a great range of tools for even professional use, and you can open and edit documents on your Mac, iPad and iPhone .

For more tips and useful information, browse our technology articles.