Microsoft Word is one of the most widely used word processors, known for document editing, formatting, collaboration, and AI-assisted writing. Still, many users look for alternatives—often because of cost, licensing, or platform preferences.
On this page, you’ll find Microsoft Word alternatives that cover a wide range of needs. Some focus on being open source, others on strong real-time collaboration, and many work across platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can use the filters to narrow the list based on what matters most to you.
If you prefer a free and open solution, LibreOffice Writer and ONLYOFFICE are popular choices, offering desktop apps and good Microsoft Word file compatibility. For users who mainly work in a browser, Google Docs emphasizes easy sharing and live co-editing without installing anything. Privacy-focused users may want to explore Proton Docs, which stores documents with end-to-end encryption.
Word alternatives generally fall into two groups: offline desktop editors for working without an internet connection, and cloud-based editors designed for teams collaborating in real time. Some tools support self-hosting for full data control, while others prioritize convenience and instant access from any device.
Use the filters above to compare features like PDF export, spell checking, collaboration tools, platform support, and licensing—and find the Word alternative that best fits your workflow.
Vole Office suite includes Vole Word, Vole Excel, Vole Internet Expedition, Vole Windows Expedition, Vole Scheduler, Vole Diagram and Vole 4M Showroom, and is a single EXE portable software, can be used in a USB flash drive. Supports Windows7 and higher OS.
MarkMyWords is the ideal markup-writing tool for authors. By using Markdown, MultiMarkdown, Textile, Wikitext, HTML or BBCode MarkMyWords makes writing articles for the web a breeze and remains platform-independent by using plain text documents.
BCS Author makes in-browser writing simple and easy! Just go to the site (or extension), and start writing!
Fully featured Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Diagram Creator, Calendar and PDF viewer - all in one simple to use application, perfect for those with only basic needs without the cost of buying Microsoft Office.
Webkit Word is a feature-rich text editor built with GTK4/Libadwaita that provides a modern word processing experience. Using the WebKit rendering engine, it offers powerful text editing capabilities in a clean, intuitive interface.
SSuite NoteBook Editor is a free portable text editor that has all the functionality to start you on writing that important novel, short-story or article, with enough bells and whistles to help out. It also includes all the necessary editing short-cut keys for power users and...
A good writing program doesn´t have to be expensive: Create and edit your documents with "Write-a-Document". You can open RTF and Word documents, among others. Print your documents or export them as PDF. Includes templates and wizards for many purposes.
Create, edit and save text documents with ease by using this straightforward text processor application that supports numerous formats
Copywork is a web app designed to help writers improve their skills by practicing a proven writing method: copying the work of great authors. It allows users to upload any text and copy it word-by-word, absorbing the style, structure, and flow of the writing without distractions.
Shy Editor is an online text editor and writing environment that was designed for maximum writer productivity. It is used every day by novelists, non-fiction writers, students, academics, bloggers, content creators, journalists, and more.
iText is an intuitive and refined text editor with word processing completely rewritten in Cocoa (so works with Afloat), and is suitable for both Power PC and Intel Macs. iText provides the simplest way to make gorgeous manuscripts on your Mac!
QJot is a relatively small, completely USB portable, alternative rich text editor with Unicode support that saves text files, inserts images and more.
China
United Kingdom
South Africa
Germany
EU
United States