Stay Private and Protected with the Best Firefox Security Extensions The Best Video Software for Windows The 3 Free Microsoft Office Photo Editor Alternatives Get the. Microsoft's free online version of Word is not too shabby. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET But for years many of us have been spoiled by Google Docs, OpenOffice and other free alternatives, to the.

IWork is capable of word processing (with an emphasis on design), spreadsheets, and presentation software. Some find iWork to be so simple that it makes you feel stupid ( myself included) and it really takes some time to get used to. Despite that, this Microsoft Office replacement for Mac is still a solid suite for a small office. Why Choose Apple iWork? IWork provides many easy to use and popular features. It’s simple to use without any unnecessary fuss. A cloud-based version called iWork for iCloud is also available.

Like OpenOffice, LibreOffice is a free and open-source Office alternative that runs on multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. LibreOffice has had over a hundred million unique downloads since it was first launched in 2010, and it's easy to see why. The app is another great Office alternative for users looking for a powerful, free suite of applications, and anyone looking for a Video replacement won't be disappointed.

Once you've logged into your cloud account to allow Draw.io a place to save your files, you gain access to a number of templates you can use to control the basic design of your diagram. You can also start with a blank diagram if you so wish. Once you've selected your template, using Draw.io is surprisingly simple. The user interface looks nearly identical to Google Drive (as long as you select Drive as your storage utility), and remapping your flowchart or diagram with the built-in tools is super easy.

• Google Docs also includes Google Drawings, an image editor for creating drawings, images, shapes and lines that can be used in any Google Doc, and Google Forms, which creates online forms that can be shared from a link, in an email or embedded on your website. Tip: Google Docs integrates with a number of other Google services, including Gmail, GChat, Google+, Google Calendar and Google Drive, and can be accessed from any device with a browser and Internet connection.

LibreOffice Draw is an excellent choice for users looking to create charts and diagrams without signing up for an Office 365 membership. Draw, not to be confused with the OpenOffice app of the same name, is a vector graphics editor that allows for connectors to form between shapes and other objects, allowing anyone to create diagrams and other images for tracking productivity. The app looks nearly identical to both Visio and OpenOffice Draw, meaning anyone can jump in and, within a few minutes, be working away inside Draw. The app has smart connectors as well, allowing users to set their own 'glue points' for lines, and makes it easy to track points and objects.

If you don't need the higher-end feature packed into Word, Excel and PowerPoint (and I suspect most users don't), you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with free Office Online. Now, your turn. What's your pleasure? Old-standby OpenOffice? Something else entirely? Tell me (and everyone else) what tools you use to handle your everyday office-y tasks. Bonus deal: Calling all Mac users!

PowerPoint remains the presentation software of choice for most people using a Windows machine. And, of course, where would we be without the Microsoft Outlook email client? Publisher (design), Access (database) and OneNote (digital note-taking application) are also present in the program. Unlike previous versions, Office 2010 comes with a lot more image and media editing options and features so that you can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations that will truly amaze your audience. In addition, Microsoft developers have centralized many of the options (such as print, share, save, etc.) into a single backstage view.

But you can go for the paid option if you want additional features. Platforms supported by WPS Office: Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. Apple has always been Microsoft’s biggest competitor in consumer operating systems, but Apple has put generous effort into their office suite called iWork. It’s only available on Mac OS (OS X) but it is free of charge ( though, not free as FOSS). Yes, it lacks many of the features of Microsoft Office, but do you need them?

But what about those who don’t need much out of an office software? The average person, even if technically inclined, doesn’t need much out of a word processor ( I mean, it’s not like it’s a text editor or anything). So, should you pay for something that you don’t need? Probably none of my business, so I’ll just give you the facts to make an informed decision and select the best Microsoft Office alternative: 7 Best Microsoft Office Alternatives For Free 1. Google is known for its omnipresence in all things technology, there are few places Google hasn’t touched, and the office isn’t one of them. Google’s own set of web apps can be used as the best alternative to Microsoft Office apps as they are available for free and their cloud-based nature doesn’t need you to go through a tedious installation process.

Draw can also be used as a PDF editor. If there's one major drawback to LibreOffice Draw, it's that the app looks a bit dated, even compared to OpenOffice Draw.

Google’s office suite apps can be accessed without any cost from any location on the globe, all you need is a Google account and an active internet connection. However, the biggest advantage can be a deal breaker for the users having a scarcity of internet.

It offers a wide variety of templates and transitions that are visually stunning. Like Pages, it offers access to photos and other digital media via the iLife Media Browser and offers a wide range of effects that can be easily rendered to any slide elements. Keynote’s user interface includes many elements similar to iWeb and Pages (including the Inspector). However, its interface remains more standard than that of Pages. Unfortunately, while Keynote is an amazing tool, it offers no compatibility with PowerPoint or other Office file formats—meaning that to play a presentation requires Keynote (although presentations can be exported as QuickTime video files).

In response to the popularity of Google Docs, Microsoft launched an online version of Microsoft Office in 2010. The service is free to use and includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. As you would expect, Microsoft does not offer all the features that are included in the premium version of their products, though you may be surprised at what features and tools are available. Dropbox Paper is a useful document collaboration tool.

CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our., and with it the Microsoft adopted a couple years back: $69 per year for the single-user Personal Edition, $99 per year for the five-user Home Edition or $149.99 to buy the suite outright. Make no mistake, I like Office. Word, Excel and PowerPoint have been refined and polished to a fine shine, and Outlook is arguably the best desktop mail client currently available, especially for business users. Microsoft's free online version of Word is not too shabby.

Microsoft Office provides industrial-strength productivity tools across a variety of platforms, including Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, and the Web. The Office suite is available for download as part of an as a one-time purchase, or as a free trial. You can also use Office Online for free. If you are part of a group, or if you hop between devices as you work on documents, Office is invaluable.

It won’t be surprising if Microsoft cuts down some features from these cloud-based Office apps. Why use Office Online?

Final Thoughts I hope you have enjoyed this list of free Microsoft Office alternatives. As you have seen, there are a lot of free office applications and hosted services that will allow you to be productive without spending a penny. As a big Google user, I love how versatile Google Docs is, though I highly recommend trying if you are used to the Microsoft Office user interface. For fully functional office suites, I recommend trying.

You can also add a number of add-ons built by Google or third parties which extend the functionality of Google Docs. The freely available Microsoft Office alternative can be beneficial to home users and students searching for a cost-effective set of office apps, you’re only paying for the internet. However, for commercial users, Google also sells these apps in the form of a subscription called G Suite (here’s the) which also includes Google’s other cloud-based solutions. G Suite comprises of Gmail, Calendar, Google+, Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, etc.

The application features automatic economic or scientific formula creation. • Showcase is a presentation application that supports elements such as graphics, text, charts and images. Features include support for layouts, transitions and notes.

Gliffy does a really great job at making your work look both clean, professional, and fun, without ever appearing overly boring or ugly. And since the app supports Google Drive integration, you can save your work on the go and present it anyway. As mentioned, Gliffy is a fully operating HTML5 web app, which means nothing to download and no annoying updates. Unfortunately, Gliffy isn't free forever; there is a 14-day free trial, but after that the app costs $7.99 per month, a costly app considering the price of Office 365 per month is a full dollar less and gives you access to the whole Microsoft Office Suite. Professionals or teams might want to consider using the more expensive premium tiers, but otherwise, consider Gliffy is one of the best alternatives to Visio on the web, especially in general appearance. Creately, like Gliffy, is another web app focused directly at Visio's utility, designed to create a fun-looking, clean flowchart or diagram for businesses and classrooms alike. Unlike some of the other programs on this list, Creately does its best to keep things easy and simple while making good-looking diagrams and charts to present at your next conference.

It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation making applications. Regarding look and feel, WPS Office is similar to MS Office. Why use WPS Office?

Your files are saved and loaded into a custom XML file format, and all Dia projects can be exported to a multitude of file formats, including.SVG,.JPEG, and.VDX, the file format Microsoft Visio uses to save and open files. Overall, Dia represents a great alternative to Visio for anyone looking for a free download, with clients available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It's not a perfect tool, but for the creative on a budget, it might be all you need to get your work organized. Stop us if you've heard this one before: Pencil Project is a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft Visio that allows you to map and create diagrams and charts.

It even lets you embed fonts in your documents, and has a (in beta) for Android. Platform Availability: Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista, Mac OS X 10.8 and later, Linux Price: Free 3. If your requirements are basic and you don’t need a full office suite, WPS Office is exactly what you need.

For some, this gives it an edge over other programs, particularly because it supports web-only platforms like Chrome OS, a popular choice for some business users. Draw.io doesn't feature the same amount of complexity or depth as a dedicated application like Visio, but it does feature full cloud support, with the option to sync into Google Drive, Dropbox, and even Github.