Microsoft Office is great, but it’s not free. (Well, not usually.) If you need Office capabilities such as word processing or spreadsheets, but don’t want to spend any money (or don’t have the money to spend), here are some workarounds:

• I Need Free Microsoft Word

• If you’re a student or teacher, check with your school’s IT department. Many schools have site licenses that allow faculty and students to get free copies of Microsoft Office.

• If you have a job, check with your employer. Depending on the way Office is licensed in your workplace, you may be eligible for a copy to use on your home computer.

• Check out the web-based free productivity apps from Microsoft. They are simplified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and all you have to do to get access to them is create a free Microsoft account (which you might have already if you have a Windows 8 system). Go to the Microsoft site to get started. These applications work only while you are online.

• If you want a free Office alternative that is available when you are offline, consider OpenOffice. This suite of applications has many of the same features as the corresponding Microsoft Office applications but is totally free. The programs can save and open files in the same file formats as Office applications, so you can share files with others who use Office.

• Check out Google Apps, a competitor to the Microsoft online apps. Google Apps has some advantages that you may find useful, such as the ability to easily share calendars and spreadsheets online and allow others to edit them.

I Need Free Microsoft Word

If you’re a student or teacher, check with your school’s IT department. Many schools have site. Many companies and schools can offer either a free or extremely low-cost Microsoft Office license for one reason: the people working or studying there need it. Businesses will have to pay, but bulk licenses may mean your employer can provide a free or cheap option. Word lets you work without even needing to connect to the internet. So choose Google Docs if you don't need lots of whizz-bang features, don't mind working online, or need to be able to easily collaborate with others; choose Word for more professional tools or if you need to be able to work offline. You can buy Office 2019 as a single purchase. The home version costs about 150 € in Finland whereas the subscription model costs 69 € a month. It’s an awesome program and is a staple in most office, home, and school environments, but it normally costs each year you want to use it. But you actually don’t have to pay for Microsoft Word when there are several ways to use it for free.