Word is Microsoft‘s word processor , one of the main programs that shape the MS Office suite. This is the most used word processor, the most compatible and, surely, the most complete we can find. But it has two serious problems: the first is that it is only compatible with Windows (and macOS, although a different version), and the second is that it is paid. And not exactly cheap. Therefore, users who encounter any of these problems may choose to either go through the hoop and adapt to these limitations, or choose an alternative to Word with which to work more comfortably.
Today we can find a large number of alternative tools to Word capable of adapting to our needs, be they hardware or operating system as economical. These alternatives are going to offer us practically the same features and benefits as Word, but we can make use of them for free. And most of them can even be used independently of our operating system.
The best free alternatives to Word
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is the best alternative to Office that we can find today. Writer is the word processor offered by LibreOffice to replace Word. This office suite is completely free, open source and compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux.
Writer offers us a powerful word processor full of options and features to customize the text we write. It has a large number of templates that allow us to save work, a very comfortable system to add images to documents and a powerful spelling, although not as powerful as Word.
Of course, we must bear in mind that this word processor is not perfect, and has some limitations. For example, the interface seems somewhat old when compared to Office 2019, and it lacks real-time collaboration and cloud integration features. Despite this, it is an excellent word processor that we must consider if we want an alternative to Word.
Apache OpenOffice
OpenOffice was born as an independent and totally free alternative to Microsoft Office, developed and maintained by the community. However, Oracle decided to take the project on the heels of the book, something that the community did not like, who cloned the code and began to develop what we now know as LibreOffice. And in the end it was LibreOffice, and not Oracle OpenOffice (currently in the hands of Apache) who has succeeded.
Despite this, OpenOffice continues with an active development and, although being able to choose we would always choose LibreOffice, this office suite also allows us to replace Microsoft Word with a powerful word processor.
DownloadWPS Office
Beyond LibreOffice and OpenOffice, another interesting word processor to replace Word is WPS. Like the other office suites, it has a word processor, a spreadsheet and a tool to create slides.
WPS Writer is the word processor of this office suite. This is characterized by offering a modern interface, quite similar to that of Word, and excellent compatibility with all types of formats, including Word and PDF formats. It has a great variety of tools that will help us to better write our documents and a great variety of extras of all kinds that will allow us to be even more productive.
We can download this office suite from the following link. This suite can be used for free, although some of its features (advanced and for companies) require a subscription.
DownloadAbiWord
It is not the prettiest. Not the most complete. But undoubtedly AbiWord is one of the most veteran text processors, totally free and open source, which has been among us since 1998. And with more than 20 years of life, continues to receive updates.
This is one of the simplest and lightest word processors we can find. It is compatible with all types of formats and documents, including Word docx and LibreOffice odt, in addition to having a complete plugin engine that allows us to add functions to the word processor, such as a search system within from Wikipedia.
We can download this word processor from the following link . Although the version for Windows we will have to look for it in other sources since it is not available on the main website.
DownloadWordpad
Although it does not reach the level of Word, nor of any of the previous alternatives, this word processor should also be mentioned in this list. WordPad is one of the Microsoft programs that is included in all versions of the operating system since Windows 95.
This word processor is a bit more advanced than Word, but far inferior in functions and possibilities to any other alternative. Since Windows 7, it also has a Ribbon interface (similar to Word) and is compatible with Word doc documents. Therefore, if we know of its existence, we may ever get out of trouble.
We do not have to download this word processor from any site, it is installed by default in all versions of Windows.
The best alternatives to Word in the cloud
Google Docs
Google Docs , also known as Google Drive, is the office suite in the cloud of Google, one of the most popular online and also pioneers in the sector.
Google Docs is probably the most complete cloud alternative to Word. This has a very attractive, simple and tidy interface that allows us to easily find everything we need. It has all the functions and tools that we may need in a word processor, is compatible with MS Word formats and has integration with other services and a complete history of changes.
The main problem with Google Docs is that we depend 100% on the Internet. In case of not having an Internet connection, we will not be able to use the word processor or access our files. And although we have configured it to access offline, this does not always work.
We can access Google Docs from the following link .
Word Online
To stand up to Google Docs, Microsoft also wanted to take its office suite to the cloud. And incidentally, try to empower Office 365 with it. Within the Microsoft cloud we can find the main programs of this suite.
Office programs in the cloud, such as Excel, PowerPoint and, of course, Word, have virtually the same functions and features as their desktop versions. For many, Office Online is the best way to use Word for free without paying a subscription or a license.
In addition to having the same tools, a more than familiar interface and the main features of Word, such as compatibility with formats, design and formatting tools and its complete spelling checker, using Word online also allows us to make the most of the cloud and make use of the collaborative functions offered by the suite.
We can access Word Online from the following link .
AccessDropbox Paper
Another online alternative that we can use to replace Word is Dropbox Paper . This word processor probably has the clearest, cleanest and most organized interface we can find. In addition to allowing users to write without distractions, it is also focused on collaboration.
In addition to its minimalist interface, Paper has all kinds of access controls to choose who can see or edit our documents and who can not, as well as functions such as a word counter, comment history and a versioning system to check previous versions of papers. This word processor also integrates with many websites to display our publications, and is integrated into third-party apps, such as Google Drive, Trello and Spotify, among others.
We can access Dropbox Paper from the following link .
AccessiCloud Pages
Finally, let’s talk about Apple‘s office suite. Pages is Apple’s online alternative to Word that is part of the iCloud suite. This word processor is available for macOS and iOS in the form of a normal application, and for all other users through the web.
Everyone who tries Pages agrees that it is the easiest word processor to use. All your options, functions and tools are perfectly distributed and ordered to be found intuitively. In addition, it has a wide variety of templates that help us save time in our work.
We can access the Apple word processor from the following link . It is not necessary to have a Mac to use it, just have an iCloud account, which we can get for free.
Access