Free Word Alternative

Microsoft Word has been a reliable computer program for as long as most of us can probably remember—starting way back when computers first came onto the mainstream scene.

Word is a great program, but has it become more of a habit rather than the most efficient software for your personal needs as a writer?

Neat Office is the free office software in 2019 - an alternative to Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint). It is a powerful office app that is fully compatible with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint), PDF, Google Docs, Sheets & Slides, and WPS document format. While the first two free word processors we’ve profiled are built to mimic Microsoft Word in many ways, FocusWriter functions as a true Microsoft Word alternative. FocusWriter isn’t so much about editing as it’s about giving you a distraction-free work environment to knock out the first draft of a key assignment or project. If you are searching for a free alternative to Microsoft Office, then FreeOffice might be the perfect choice for you. The great thing about FreeOffice is that it works on Windows, Linux, and Android devices. FreeOffice is compatible with almost all Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint formats. Free cloud storage space. Excellent collaboration capabilities. Sync files across computers and mobile devices. What We Don't Like.

Word costs $69.99 per year and the software has just about everything an author or writer would need. But it’s not always user friendly. Word is not efficient for formatting, however, as it has to be done manually. So, if you are looking for an all-in-one writing and formatting app then another on the list could be better suited to your needs.

There are tons of Microsoft Word alternatives out there, many of which writers now swear by, and a lot of them have great features that Word does not possess. Maybe it’s time to think about making that daunting switch from Microsoft Word to something more current that will suit your writing routine and offer you the most support.

1. Grammarly

AbiWord – Free Downloadable Microsoft Word Alternative. AbiWord is a free and open-source word processor software, which is very similar to the Microsoft Word. It can be run on Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, and other operating systems. Therefore, we can say that AbiWord is a full cross-platform program.

Grammarly is an app that costs $139.95 per year and is essentially an editing app for writers. This would be what a writer would use before hiring a professional editor in order to catch simple mistakes. Some of the features include comprehensive grammar checks, plagiarism detection, and highlighting various types of mistakes while also offering fixes. Grammarly is also compatible for integration with a multitude of web browsers and computers. If you think you are using a software that isn’t helping with editing, or you simply need a little more attention to detail when it comes to editing then Grammarly is a worthwhile investment.

2. Scrivener

Scrivener is one of the most popular writing apps at the moment aside from Word. It costs $49 for Mac users and $40 for PC. There is a bit of a learning curve with Scrivener, but the capabilities are plentiful once you are familiar. It allows you to view notes, outlines, and manuscripts altogether. It has features such as a visual corkboard for note card organization, a drag and drop outliner, and is compatible with most all devices and even applicable with Word.

3. Freedom

Freedom costs $6.99 per month, $29 per year, or $129 for life. The purpose of this app is to block all distractions while writing. You are able to block apps, social media, and websites across all your devices temporarily while you write (but you may still be reached for emergencies). Freedom doesn’t have tons of features and capabilities other than distraction-blocking but is meant to help you increase your productivity and focus.

4. NovelFactory

NovelFactory costs $39.99 and is an app that will guide you through the process of writing a novel. It is currently unavailable for Mac, available for Windows only. It offers a split-screen view and built-in Word processor. You will be prompted to complete tasks such as making notes, developing characters, writing your story’s premise, and following your hero’s journey outline. This is a great tool for those that need more assistance when it comes to world building and fleshing out their story more fully.

5. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a software that costs $79 per year and its aim is to help writers improve rather than offering a space solely for creativity. It consists of in-depth grammar checking features and editorial reports. The program is compatible with most processors and browsers. Similar to Grammarly, this wouldn’t be an app you would use for the later task of formatting or even for sharing and commenting, but foremost to improve the editorial aspects of your work before reaching the next steps.

6. WriteRoom

This app costs $9.99 and is only compatible with Mac computers, so Windows users will not be able to utilize this word alternative. WriteRoom fills the entire screen so you cannot look at anything other than your book when working. There are some customizable backgrounds as well as estimated reading time features, but there aren’t many further features as the app is meant to make the writing process less complicated.

7. Frost

Frost is a very unique free web service that helps writers get into the needed mindset for working on their project. You can choose different settings, sounds, and music to help jumpstart your motivation and get you into the right headspace to write. There are no collaboration features and Frost does not work as a formatting service, but if you need a little assistance finding motivation and inspiration, Frost has you covered.

8. Draft

This is a free to use app that is basically designed for a writer to simply write freely and without editing. It is similar to Microsoft Word in many ways but made even simpler. There is a cursor to plainly get those thoughts down. The Hemingway Mode can be put into use to prohibit writers from going back and editing their work. There are a few more advanced features for collaborative edits and comments, but if you’re simply looking to get the words down without continuing to go back to previous sections of the manuscript then this is a useful software.

9. Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is free to use on the website and costs $19.99 to purchase your own version. It is an easy-to-use software that focuses on writing style, less on grammar and spelling. It will highlight sentences to be edited if they are lengthy, complex, passive, and so on. It will also highlight overused words and make suggestions for replacements. The app also teaches more straightforward writing and offers overall tips to improve upon writing style. There are some formatting features, but the main purpose is to improve upon writing and utilize editing.

10. Pages

This is a free to use software that comes pre-installed on all Apple devices. Mac users will be especially familiar with Pages, and it has way more capabilities than most everyday users will utilize. The app can be used for much more than writing a book, including handwriting-to-text on mobile, and formatting templates.

11. yWriter

This is a free to use software that is only designed to write books. The unique layout allows writers to divide their novels into scenes, making it easier to organize your work. There are also progress tracking features and a storyboard view. If you are a writer who likes to look at your book scene by scene in an easy-to-use layout then yWriter will have you covered.

12. Google Docs

Google Docs is a free to use program and is available to everyone with a Google account. This is a web-based service and is not meant for the specific needs of a writer, so it may be lacking in some of the other perks that programs on this list utilize but is certainly fully functional for writing and editing. Google Docs also makes sharing documents with editors and beta readers easy to do with the ability to see comments in real time.

13. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is free to use. The software is similar to that of Google Docs, but can be used offline, and of course going through Google isn’t necessary if you ever want a Google break. LibreOffice can do everything that Google Docs and Microsoft Office can and is compatible with just about every computer. It can be used across platforms and has formatting options, but they will need to be done manually similar to Google. It is likely not the best formatting option out there and using a different service for formatting after the writing has been completed could be worthwhile.

Hopefully now with more information about all the various apps and services out there for writers you will be able to decide on one—or multiple—that works best for you. Of course, these services are not designed to fully write or edit your work as that would be impossible, but they should be able to make the sometimes daunting task a little less so, contributing to more enjoyment.

Do you use any of these Microsoft Word alternatives already? What do you like most and least about them? Do you still find Microsoft Word the most trustworthy or are you moving away from it to something a little more specific and personalized?

Why do we need to use Microsoft Word alternatives?

It is very important to know why we need to search for MS Word alternatives. Since the need of introducing more tools and features results in the era of MS Office 365. Hence, we know most of the tools of this package are paid. Which turns the users to search for the MS Word alternatives so that, use free Word application. It brings a new era of using free word processing software.

Currently, we live in the age of Grammarly and Hemingway where one can check all their written content for mistakes, whether it be for work or school, without having to spend a dime. Hence, if we were expected to pay for a service like that it would have to be delivered quite similarly to professional companies such as EssayPro who write academic papers on demand.

10 Best MS Word Alternatives

So here’s the full list of Microsoft Word Alternatives that you can start using to edit your documents online as well as offline.

Google Docs

One of the MS Word alternatives used widely is Google Docs. As it enhances us to save our documents over cloud storage. Users can write and read as many documents using Google Docs. It provides users as many tools like MS Word. The document can be download and emailed as well, in many formats such as Word, ODT, PDF, plain text, RTF etc. One of the good features of the Google Docs is that it also allows users to save documents offline if one failed to work using the internet. Hence, it can save your work automatically. Therefore, you just need to login into your Google account and can access your documents anytime and anywhere.

Dropbox Paper

It is one of the free lightweight writing tools. You just need to login to your Dropbox account to use it. It is as similar as Google Docs as it also allows us to save our content using cloud storage.

It it is very lightweight with compare to Google Docs. Hence, it enables us to use more media than MS Word. You can export your content with many more formats than MS Word as well as Google Docs. Since it is best to choose among MS Word alternatives.

Related: Microsoft Word has Stopped Working

WPS Writer

It is also one of the best Word alternative. It is best as it is very similar to MS Word. Most of the features are as good as MS Word. It can read and write many formats like docx, doc and more. It also facilitates with a word to pdf and pdf to word converter. It also allows saving file over WPS cloud with up to 1GB of free storage.

Hence, it is the best choice to replace MS Word, having more features than MS Word and also it is free to use.

Libre Office

If you love to use the ribbon version of MS Word, then you will love to use the LibreOffice. It is a full package of the tools and formats used in ribbon version i.e. Office 2007. Hence, it is also one of the best options as the MS Word alternatives.

It supports many formats including docx and doc. You cannot save your documents using cloud storage using LibreOffice but you can sync your documents using Dropbox or drive storage. It is also good to choose because LibreOffice updates features and security with time.

Apache Open Office

Apache OpenOpen Of is also one of the excellent choices if you are searching for MS Word alternatives. It is same as LibreOffice or you can say, it is also one of the alternatives which look same as MS Word’s ribbon version. There is no difference between LibreOffice and Apache Office in features or interface but differs only as Apache is Open Office.

Hence, Apache is preloaded with fewer templates but you can download more using the internet.

AbleWord

It looks similar with appearance to MS Word as it also has Edit, File, View etc in Toolbar. You can download your documents in doc, docx, pdf, html, txt etc.

It also includes pdf file importing, print layouts, draft layouts, word count and many other features. Hence, AbleWord is available free to download with all the features of MS Word. Since one can use it as one of the best MS Word alternatives.

Jarte

It is more similar to MS WordPad than MS Word. Hence, it is a simple tool as it looks very clear. It has fewer functions and tools compare to MS Word but have adequate features to use. It can save and export your document in pdf and html format as well. Jarte allows us to import images, hyperlinks etc which make it more familiar to use. Since it is very portable and also supports touchscreen. Therefore, it also grabs the position under top 10 MS Word alternatives.

SoftMaker Free Office

Free Word Alternatives

SoftMaker Office is also one of the free Microsoft Word alternatives. It includes with basic templates which help the user to create documents easily as similar in MS Word. You can export your documents in doc and pdf formats. It is the only drawback that you cannot save your document with docx format. Rest all the features are good to use. Hence, it also has proven one of the best alternatives.

FocusWriter

We refer FocusWriter to those who like to write in a distraction free environment. Since it is very simple in appearance as if while you open it, appears in the wooden window with no tools on the screen.

You can only use basic features like redo, undo, zoom, cut, copy, paste etc. Hence, it also has proven a good choice for those who want to work with fewer tools and features.

WordGraph

Free Word Processor

It is somehow similar to AbleWord. It has the standard menu bar, formatting toolbar etc. It includes with an online dictionary, word count, spell check, thesaurus and translations. You can also export your document using this tool.

You can also save your content over cloud storage. Hence, it is good among MS alternatives.

Conclusion

There are many more Microsoft Word alternatives but these are the best according to use and demands. These all are using widely and also available for free. These all are similar to MS Word in many respects and hence, can easily handle.