Best Free Microsoft Word Alternatives

Opening and editing text documents is a daily task for the majority of computer users. Without doubt, the first word processing software that comes to mind is Microsoft Word. Indeed, this text editor is definitely one of a kind and millions of people all over the world use it on a regular basis. However, it’s not a secret that this program requires a monthly fee or a one-time fee that covers the price of almost two years of monthly payments. Worries aside, with fast and progressive software development there are plenty of freeware and open source Microsoft Word alternatives that work perfectly with DOC format that’ll let you use a full range of features to work with text documents at a zero cost. Continue on reading to see our review of the best free Microsoft Word alternatives to pick the best word processing software to edit DOC files and files of other formats.

1. Apache OpenOffice Writer
OpenOffice Writer is a great full-featured Microsoft Word alternative that offers all the needed options for quality text editing and formatting. The interface of OpenOffice Writer is quite similar to the one of Word, so for regular Word users there will be no difficulty in switching to use this program. This text editor contains all of the most necessary features, such as text editing, formatting, the possibility to change the layout and styles, add lists, make changes to files for successful mutual work, and plenty of other great and handy functions. It supports plenty of languages of the UI as well.

Pros: Easy-to-use, full-featured, has a portable version, supports multiple UI languages
Cons: None
Rating by Icecream Tech Digest: 10/10

2. Kingsoft Writer Free 2013
Kingsoft Writer Free 2013 is a text editing software with a modern and nice-looking interface that offers a full set of features even for advanced word processing. Users can not only work with the text formatting and styles, but also add tables, pictures and shapes, add page numbers, watermarks, headers and footers, rotate and adjust the sizes of the pages, and plenty more. It’s also possible to add, reject, and accept comments and track the changes of the files. This Word alternative has a tabbed interface, meaning each opened file is opened in a separate tab, which is great for switching between files.

Pros: Full-featured, files are opened in separate tabs, modern interface
Cons: None
Rating by Icecream Tech Digest: 10/10

3. LibreOffice Writer
LibreOffice Writer is a word processing software with a great and really easy-to-navigate interface with graphic and vivid icons. LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice were previously the same project, however now they are split into two different suites. The program supports insertion of images, comments, frames, special characters, footnotes, page numbers, bookmarks, and hyperlinks. The full list of settings for quality text and style formatting is available along with options to customize the document’s layout. The program has a built-in spell-checker and supports macros.

Pros: Graphic and easy-to-use interface, supports 110 UI languages, full-featured
Cons: You can’t download and install only the Writer, you get the full suite of LibreOffice
Rating by Icecream Tech Digest: 10/10

4. AbiWord
AbiWord is a quite compact (21MB) text editor offering a decent list of features for word processing. The interface is very neat, not overloaded, and rather easy to navigate. This Microsoft Word alternative offers the most essential features, such as formatting text and the layout, styles, working with tables, adding contents and bookmarks, creating lists, and much more. If you wish, you can additionally install the dictionaries for the spell-checker. There’s also a feature to collaborate with others while working on a document, which can be done through the AbiWord account.

Pros: Easy-to-use, compact in size, offers essential text editing features
Cons: Not that many advanced features
Rating by Icecream Tech Digest: 8/10

5. SoftMaker FreeOffice TextMaker
SoftMaker FreeOffice TextMaker is a full-featured Microsoft Word alternative that offers a decent set of features and options for quality text editing and formatting. This text editor supports various layout modes of the documents to work with, plenty of formatting settings for the text, insertion fields, dates and time stamps, symbols, documents and bookmarks, and inserting objects and tables. In addition to that, this word processing software offers commenting, tracking of changes, and spell-checking of the text. The only inconvenience is that you need to provide your email to which you receive a license to use this free text editor.

Pros: Full-featured, clean interface, supports 16 UI languages
Cons: Registrationware
Rating by Icecream Tech Digest: 7/10

There are plenty of free Microsoft Word alternatives available today, and some of them offer even more features than Word itself. If you are looking not only for a text editor but for a PDF editor as well, read our post where we pick the best PDF editor for Windows.