Free alternatives to Microsoft Word
5 free programs that can replace Microsoft Word, each pairing checked by Radar's AI reviewer or by Radar.
Microsoft Word is a word processor for writing letters, reports, theses, contracts and books, widely used in schools, offices and law firms. It comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription or, in some versions, as a one-time purchase, and there is also an online version.
Before switching, the biggest question is files. Test your most complex documents in the alternative: fonts, tables, headers, footnotes, tracked changes, comments, styles, equations and page layout can shift when a DOCX file opens in another program. If you share documents with colleagues or clients who use Word, ask them to try a sample. Check the macros, mail merge, reference managers and templates you use, and whether you work together on one file at the same time. Keep the originals, and save in DOCX when other people need to edit.
LibreOffice and ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors are among the options listed below. Both can work with Word files, but how closely the result resembles your documents is something to test yourself.
| Program | Ease | You need | Risk signals | Stars | Downloads this week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordCraftA free word processor that looks and works like Microsoft Word and opens and saves .docx files. | Ease Adownload and open · Windows | Nothing extra | Attention · 1 | 16,864+637 in 5 days | 370,152 |
| ONLYOFFICE Desktop EditorsCreate and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs on your computer, with good Word, Excel and PowerPoint file support. | Ease Adownload and open · Windows | Nothing extra | Few signals | 5,678+45 in 6 days | 372,003 |
| LibreOfficeA complete office suite to write documents, make spreadsheets and build presentations, and to open most common document formats. | Ease Adownload and open · Windows | Nothing extra | Few signals | 4,584+26 in 6 days | — |
| Ely OfficeA family of offline desktop apps for documents, spreadsheets, slides, PDFs, email, Markdown and Git. | Ease Adownload and open · Windows | Nothing extra | Attention · 1 | 1,146+79 in 4 days | 4,566 |
| Agent SkillsAnthropic's official pack of Claude skills, including the ones that make Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel files. | Ease Binstaller plus one simple step · Web | Other tools | Few signals | 185,896+1,905 in 5 days | — |
Frequently asked questions
Which free alternative to Microsoft Word is the easiest to install?
WordCraft has the highest ease rating among the 5 options: A (download and open · Windows).
Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Word for Windows, Mac and Linux?
Windows: WordCraft, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, LibreOffice, Ely Office, Agent Skills. macOS: WordCraft, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, LibreOffice, Ely Office, Agent Skills. Linux: WordCraft, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, LibreOffice, Ely Office, Agent Skills.
Are the alternatives to Microsoft Word really free?
4 of the 5 are completely free; 1 depends on a paid service or key for some features.
How can I tell whether an alternative is trustworthy?
Each card shows the risk signals found, with the evidence. 3 of the 5 have no signal rated attention or high. See also the guide How to find a GitHub project's official repository and avoid fake copies.