What To Know
- The simplest method is to visit www.office.com and create a free Microsoft account to start using Office apps on your Mac for free.
- You can also save files from your Mac to Microsoft OneDrive by uploading them to Office.com.
Limited Offer: Get a 68% discount on Microsoft Office For Mac Home and Business Lifetime License for $69.99 (usually $219.99), or get 81% off 2 Lifetime Licenses for $79.99 (usually $439.98 — in stock) for a limited time.
Microsoft Word has dominated all writing software worldwide since the 1980s.
If you received a résumé, document, report, or memo today, it is most likely in .doc or .docx format. It is the de facto international standard for corporate communications.
Microsoft Word, predictably, is not free. Word for Mac would cost $6.99 per month per person ($9.99 for up to 6 family members).
For a business user, it would cost $12.50 per month as part of the Microsoft 365 suite.
For $159.99, you can also buy a standalone version of Microsoft Word. But, if you only need to use the basic formatting features, you probably don’t want to spend any money.
Is there a free version of Word for Mac? Is there a free version of Microsoft Office for Mac? Let’s answer these and other questions about how to get Word for free on Mac. Also, suggest some better alternatives.
Note: This article will teach you how to get Microsoft Word for free on Mac.
How to download Microsoft Word for free on Mac?
What do you do when someone sends you a .docx file, and you don’t have Microsoft Word for Mac installed? Of course, you can open the file with Quick Look or Preview, but the styling may be off, and you won’t be able to edit it.
If you Google “Microsoft Word free download,” you’ll find dozens of YouTube tutorials and written guides/articles.
These tutorials teach you how to get free Word on Mac by downloading a trial version. Or you’re using a code-cracking app to get the license key. It is not only illegal, but it also risks infecting your Mac with malware.
The good news is that there are a few other ways to get Microsoft Word for free on Mac.
Microsoft Office for Mac 2021
For those who prefer one-time purchases to subscriptions, October 2021 brought good news.
Microsoft has announced the availability of Microsoft Office 2021 for Mac. A one-time purchase of standalone Office for Mac apps. Such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, on one computer.
Office 2021, unlike Microsoft 365, is not a subscription. That means it does not cover future upgrades. According to Microsoft, the latest features will require an upgrade.
Users of Office 2021 will, however, receive security updates. The majority of the pack’s configurations are available for PCs and macOS. But you can only install it on one Mac or PC at once.
Office 2021 prices range from:
- $149.99 for Office Home & Student 2021 (1 PC or Mac).
- $249.99 for Office Home & Business 2021 (1 PC or Mac).
- $439.99 for Office Professional 2021 (1 PC only).
Details and pricing are available on the product’s official Microsoft page.
How to get Microsoft Word for free on Mac
There are five different ways to get Word for free on Mac. Let’s discuss each method in detail below:
1. Use Word Online
Is Word for Mac free? No. Is Microsoft Word Online free? Yes! It’s not widely known, but you can use Word for the web for free. All you need is a Microsoft 365 account, which is entirely free.
There’s a catch: Word Online free Mac isn’t as advanced as its desktop version. But it’s still adequate for creating and writing your documents.
Here’s how to get Word Online for free:
- Go to the MS Word online page.
- Select Sign up for free.
- Create your free account. Use an email address (Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook) and verify it.
- Once signed in, start a blank document or upload an existing one onto the web app.
With Word Online (Word on the web), you can share, edit, or convert a Word document to PDF.
Note: You can also sign up using a phone number or get a new email from Microsoft (like Outlook or Hotmail).
Tip: You might be eligible to sign up for free Office 365 if you’re a student.
2. Get a Free Microsoft 365 Trial
Suppose you have a complex project that requires more features than are available in Word Online. If that is the case, you can access all the features of the paid version of Microsoft Word.
To access or use these paid features, sign up for a Word free trial for Mac through Microsoft 365.
You have one month to complete your project. You can use all the apps available in Microsoft 365 for free. Apps included are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, etc.
Here’s how to sign up for the Microsoft Word free trial:
- Visit the Microsoft 365 free trial page.
- Click the “Try 1-month free” button.
- Sign in with your existing Microsoft account or create a new one.
- Get your Word free download.
RELATED: Microsoft Office Free Trial
3. Microsoft Word Alternative for Mac
Suppose you need to use Microsoft Word for an extended time; a one-month trial isn’t enough. In that case, you can try substituting another free app that’s fully compatible with MS Word for Mac.
Google Docs, a part of G Suite, has evolved significantly over time. It supports custom styles, tables, in-line images, and other great features.
Although it is an online app, it feels native. It can edit and export .docx files while preserving all formatting. You can also learn more about Notepad++ for Mac M1.
LibreOffice (also known as OpenOffice) is free and powerful text-editing software. It is available for anyone to use.
LibreOffice Writer is its Microsoft Word substitute. It has many desktop publishing compatibilities as its paid competitor and is also entirely compatible.
4. Use Microsoft Word on an iPad
Loading a fully working version of Microsoft Word on your iPad is a surprisingly little-known trick to getting it for free.
Yes, the iPad version of Microsoft Word is free. With the release of iPads that support Bluetooth keyboards, it is now as capable as its macOS counterpart.
5. Embrace third-party apps for Mac
While Microsoft Word retains its dominance, it is not the ideal app for today’s word-processing needs.
With the introduction of the Mac App Store, we’ve seen a surge in several niche text editors, journals, desktop publishers, and other applications. Each of these is most effective at solving a specific problem.
Let’s look at some of the most efficient word-processing apps available today.
Collabio Spaces is a text editor with ad-hoc collaboration capabilities. This app does more than create and format text (although you can do it too).
Collabio converts your device into a server and sends your documents to others. All you have to do is share a password with them and begin real-time co-editing without uploading your documents to the cloud.
You can create text documents and spreadsheets or import them from your Mac device.
On a single dashboard, you can instantly access everything. Work with document formats such as OOXML (DOCX, XLSX), ODF (ODT, ODS), and TXT.
Ulysses is a popular writing app for Mac, iPad, and iPhone that has gained popularity recently.
Its distraction-free environment lets you get things done, from small notes to manuscripts.
The app includes Markdown support as well as grammar and style checkers. You can export your results as a PDF or publish them directly to WordPress or Medium once finished.
It has a built-in proofreader and editing assistant. You can also use it to create eBooks, DOCX, PDFs, and HTML.
Focused is another writing app for purists that does everything to help you focus on the words that flow from your keyboard. The app includes:
- Beautiful typography.
- With ambient soundtracks, you can fully immerse yourself in the environment.
- Different themes for different times of the day.
MarsEdit enables you to take your entire blogging setup offline.
It allows you to edit HTML, rich or plain text, to write and design blog posts with images, infographics, and videos without an internet connection.
Then, when you’re back online, upload your updated blog post on time to the blog. Because MarsEdit saves everything as you work on your Mac, you’ll never lose data due to WiFi issues.
Manuscripts enable you to tackle even the most challenging writing projects: research papers, textbooks, novels, screenplays, etc.
Rather than attempting to adapt Microsoft Word to your needs, let Manuscripts take care of your needs.
The app can handle various formats, including multi-level outlines, templates, tables, graphs, LaTex, document versioning, and citation editing.
You can think freely with Diarly.
The app encourages daily journaling and makes writing habits simple and straightforward.
You can organize your notes, create lists, add calendar events, sync across devices, and do other things.
Diarly is also concerned with your security, so it encrypts all entries on the fly.
So, is Microsoft Word for Mac available for free? No, not exactly.
However, you can get many of the same features from Microsoft Word online. Sign up for a free trial of Microsoft Word.
Look into Google Docs or LibreOffice Writer, and use Microsoft Word free on iPad.
Even better, experiment with a plethora of more specialized apps.
Sketch notes in Ulysses, and focus on your writing in Focused. Or complete your blog post in MarsEdit, create your life’s work in Manuscripts, and keep a journal in Diarly.
Collabio Spaces, Ulysses, Focused, MarsEdit, Manuscripts, and Diarly are free with a seven-day trial.
Try them out today and learn about the latest and most remarkable feats of Mac engineering for free.
Do you have to pay for Microsoft Word on Mac? Yes! You should have a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time purchase of Office 2021. Or Office 2019 to use Microsoft Word on your Mac.
Microsoft 365 subscription costs $99.99/year for a Family and $69.99/year for the Personal use version. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is currently $5/month per user. Since Microsoft 365 subscriptions are available in family and business plans, you can ask your family members and employer if you can join their subscription plan. Joining their subscription plan won’t cost them anything extra.
Office 2021 and Office 2019 one-time costs start at $149.99.
More information is available on Microsoft’s official support page for these products.
You’re probably wondering how to get Word on your Mac now that you know how to use Word on a Mac. You can do so by visiting the official Microsoft website — but first, consider all your options.
Here’s a price comparison on Microsoft’s official website for various Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 plans, including Microsoft Word. Check them all out and choose the one that best meets your requirements.
To checkout, click the Buy Now button under your preferred plan.
Tip: To make the purchase, you need to sign in to your Microsoft account or create one if you don’t already have one.
If you’ve decided to postpone your search for “How do I get Word on my Mac?” here are a few better alternatives you can consider. LibreOffice Writer and Notepad++ are word processors commonly compared to and regarded as substitutes for Microsoft Word.
Google Docs is an online tool that comes with your Google account. Microsoft also provides the free Microsoft Office Online service, which includes Word.
You can also try Collabio Spaces, Ulysses, Focused, MarsEdit, Manuscripts, and Diarly apps for writing and working with text.