I just got a new laptop that doesn’t include Microsoft Word—what are my options?
You’ve got plenty of ways to open, create, and edit Word documents without paying full price for Microsoft Office — some free, some paid, some in between.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Microsoft’s own free options
- Microsoft 365 Online (Free)
- Go to office.com and sign in with a free Microsoft account.
- You can use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., in your browser — no install needed.
- Works well for basic editing and collaboration, but offline use is limited.
- Microsoft 365 Personal or Family (Paid)
- Subscription includes desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint, 1 TB OneDrive storage.
- Costs around $69/year (personal) or $99/year (family for up to 6 users).
- Best choice if you need full features and offline access.
- Free alternatives that open Word files
- Google Docs (Free, online)
- Works in your browser; saves to Google Drive.
- Can open .docx files directly and export back to Word format.
- LibreOffice Writer (Free, offline)
- Open-source Office suite for Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Opens and saves Word files; interface is more “classic Office” style.
- WPS Office Writer (Free & paid)
- Very similar look to Word; free tier has ads, premium removes them.
- Other paid Microsoft alternatives
- SoftMaker Office — Word-compatible editor with one-time purchase or subscription.
- OnlyOffice — Business-focused but works for home use too.
- One-time purchase Microsoft Office
- Office Home & Student 2021
- One payment (~$150) gets you Word, Excel, PowerPoint for one PC or Mac.
- No subscription, but fewer updates compared to Microsoft 365.