How To Use MS Word For Free On Your MacBook

Microsoft Word has been the leading writing software program since the 80s and that still hasn’t changed 40 years later. Whether it be for business, school or personal use, it’s the internationally preferred form of document exchange, so chances are if you are receiving a document online, it’s likely coming in a .doc or .docx format. And while pages is a suitable alternative, it can be quite frustrating having o constantly convert the documents to Word format over and over again.

However, the problem with Microsoft Word is that it’s not free. If you go to the Microsoft Store, the price for the software ranges between $9.99 for the family plan or $12.50 per month for each user. The other alternative is to purchase the full software at once for $140. However, there are those of you who just need Word for it’s basic features and would rather not spend any money getting it.

Which brings us to the question of whether there is a free Office version available for Mac? So, we decided to answer this question while also suggesting some handy alternatives at the same time.

Is It Really Possible To Use It For Free On Mac?

If someone send over a Microsoft Word file and you don’t have it installed, you can either open it with Preview or Pages, however, sometime the styling and/or features you need aren’t available. So, if you end up browsing for a free version to download online, it’s no secret there will be hundreds of videos and websites suggesting how you can download it illegally by using a code cracking app for a licence key. However, the problem with this, beside being illegal, is that it can also potentially damage your Mac and any other external devices you have connected using a usb c hub with usb c ports with malware.

However, there are other ways you can use Microsoft Word safely:

Use Microsoft Word Online

Now, we’ve made it clear that MS Word is not free. But luckily, the online version is! It’s not that popular known, but you can actually use MS Word for free online and all that is required is for you to sign up for a Microsoft account. The only problem with it is that it isn’t as advanced as the desktop version but it’s still offers all the basic features you need on the go. You can access MS Word Online by going to the MS Word online page, signing up for free and either creating a new document or simply dragging and dropping an existing file on the webpage.

Download the MS Word Free Trial

In the event you urgently need to access all the professional features that Microsoft Word has to offer, then you can easily subscribe for a trial version through Microsoft Office 365. You will have one month to finish whatever work you need and have access to any other Microsoft Office apps you need in the process such as; Excel, PowerPoint, etc. You can sign up for the free MS Word trial by going to the Microsoft 365 page, and selecting the trial version. After which you can either sign in with your current MS account or sign up for a new one, if you don’t already have an account.

Use MS Word Using An iPad

If you weren’t aware, a particular trick to using Microsoft Word without paying for the full version is to use it on your iPad. This is because this version won’t cost you anything and since most of the latest iPads feature bluetooth keyboard support, you can make use of a standing usb c dock for easy display as well!

Other Free Alternatives Like MS Word

If you need to use the Word program for an extended period of time and using the Online version isn’t appealing to you then the only option left for you to use, is an alternative app that is compatible with MS Word. The options available to you include:

• Google Docs, with has been continuously updated and now supports a wide variety of features, allowing you to edit any .doc file while keeping the format intact in the process.

• Pages comes basic with any Mac machine out there and has several useful features to get things done. While it may not be as extensive as Microsoft Word, it’s still a very useful editing and writing tool.

• LibreOffice Writer is another alternative text-editing software that is free for use by anybody. It’s MS Word compatible and it comes with several of the features that the paid MS Word app has.

Make Use of Third-party Apps

The benefit of owning a Mac is having constant access to the App store, which comes loaded with a wide variety of word-processing app that can help get the jo done just as well and some of which include:

• Ulyssesis an extremely well known writing app that lets you compose and edit notes to documents, providing you with a variety of features such s grammar and style checkers, as well as direct publishing tools to blog sites like WordPress or Medium.

• Focused is an excellent writing app that focuses on giving you the right writing atmosphere to tackle any task at hand. It comes loaded with unique writing typography, different writing layouts to suit different times of day, even ambient soundtracks to fully immerse you in your workflow.

• MarsEdit is a powerful weblog editor whose biggest feature is that it lets users compose their blogging content even while offline. Whether it’s plain text or content that comes loaded with images or infographics, the benefit of this app is that you don’t have to worry about losing any data due to a poor internet connection.

Conclusion

While you may not be fully able to get full permanent access to MS Word for free, this wide list of alternative options and solutions should essentially help you complete any task or project you are undertaking, just as well.