Although Microsoft Office is unarguably the best office suite for any computer, people look for other free or paid alternatives for two main reasons. Microsoft adopted a subscription model and high-price of Office 2019. In addition to the price point, common users, who want to perform basic tasks, like to use free software packages like Google Docs to create, edit, and share documents. No matter where you stand in this situation, you can always check some of the best Microsoft Office alternatives for Mac.
- The third best alternative to Microsoft Word on our list is LibreOffice Writer. It is included inside the package when you download the LibreOffice. LibreOffice Writer is part of LibreOffice, a free and open source software. Due to its open source nature, Writer receives regular updates from contributing editors.
- For Microsoft Word and Office enthusiasts, Word on the internet is definitely the best alternative to Microsoft word for their document editing needs. Even if the free MS Word web application is not a full version of your paid counterpart, it allows you to open, build, and edit online Word documents.
- SoftMaker FreeOffice is an Office alternative for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. PlanMaker (spreadsheets), Presentations (presentations), and TextMaker (word processing) are included, all of which can open and save files in several popular formats.
1. Google Suite
Alternative free program for Mac.
For the last 13 years, G Suite has been providing business solutions in cloud computing, productivity, and collaboration. Since this package includes Google Drives, Mac users can easily create, store, and share their documents from anywhere.
When your team is spread across the length and breadth of the world, this cloud-based software is one of the best alternatives to Microsoft Office for Mac. Apart from PDF and DOC files, you can share your iWork files with others.
Since G Suite boasts minimalist features, it is popular among enterprises. However, some features are deeply rooted in menus; for this reason, G Suite requires some time to explore its full features. If you are familiar with Chrome or Chrome OS, you won’t face any challenge in using this package.
Price: Start from $6.00 Per Month
Get G Suite
2. LibreOffice
LibreOffice can easily fill the vacuum left by Windows and macOS. And one of the first thing it does is to support nearly all document formats. The best thing about LibreOffice is its Office-like interface.
This open-source suite is free; it is primarily known for its word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software. This software is available in 110 languages.
Unlike Windows Microsoft Office, this does not ask you for frequent updates. A notable feature of this suite is you can export files into PDF format.
Users, however, complained about the change in fonts and formatting when they export documents from LibreOffice to MS Office. With a smaller download size of 228MB, it is quick to install and use on your Mac. The software is a reliable productivity tool if you are looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Office for Mac.
Price: Free
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3. iWork Suite
iWork mainly involves Pages, Numbers, and Keynote – these three will quickly remind you of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint of Microsoft Office. However, Apple’s ecosystem makes the three accessible to all devices that bear this tech giant’s name. Thus, you can work in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
On iPad, you can use Apple Pencil to add illustrations and notations to your documents. iWork is lighter than MS Office, and this is one of the reasons why Mac users avoid using MS Office.
Alternative Word For Macha
Pages is amazing, in so many words. Especially when I create sensational-looking documents and access the same on non-Apple computers. Yes, Apple lets you use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on Windows computer using iCloud.
Price: Free
Get iWork Suite
4. Open Office
Apache Open Office boasts six impressive tools to set up your office in your Mac. This software suite comprises Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math.
While Writer, Calc, and Impress are lookalikes of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the other three have successfully diverged from MS Office. Draw helps you create from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
Word Alternative For Mac
With Base, you can create and edit tables, forms, queries, and reports. And Math allows you to create mathematical calculations with a graphic user interface.
It is your open source software package, and therefore, you can fix bugs and send your suggestions for improvement. Moreover, it has an active online community, which can help you if you are in a fix.
Price: Free
Get Open Office
5. WPS Office
Here’s another great Microsoft Office alternative for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. It’s free to use but has ads, which you can remove by paying $30 a year. It’s got an easy-to-use interface and includes WPS Writers, WPS Spreadsheet, and WPS Presentation.
Moreover, it’s customizable, so you can pick the menu style you like most. Pretty neat! I also appreciate that it supports tabbed document editing, similar to a web browser. Further, you get an integrated cloud with 1 GB of storage!
Price: $30/year
Get FreeOffice
That’s all folks!
Signing off…
LibreOffice is the clear winner for its nearly MS Office-like features and appearance. Users are not supposed to update the software frequently. Moreover, you can send and receive documents on Mac as well as other computers. In case you need more information about Microsoft Office alternatives, please shoot us a question in the comment section below.
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Microsoft Office is one of the most frequently used application suites across the globe. It has been a business staple for decades and is also frequently used in homes and schools. Many Windows users who consider switching to the Mac often cite the need for Office among their biggest hesitations or concerns about making the switch.
While a Mac version of Office has been around as long as Office itself, it’s a costly prospect for many consumers, and the Mac version often lags behind the release cycle of the Windows version. Add to that the fact that an Intel-native version of Office has yet to be released, and it becomes clear why alternative products are something worth exploring for any Mac user—especially when there are some great alternatives available.
iWork
One of the first alternatives that spring to mind for many people is Apple’s iWork, perhaps because a trial version is included with every Mac (along with a demo version of Microsoft Office). iWork consists of a word processing tool called Pages and a presentation tool called Keynote (Apple is rumored to be developing a spreadsheet tool to be included with the next release of iWork).
While Pages can technically be called a word processing application, it’s actually a combination word processor and layout tool. For consumers and small organizations, it can function as both an alternative to Word and as a low-cost alternative to the basic features of InDesign or Quark.
Pages, which features an interface that’s similar to iWeb’s interface, lets users easily add pictures via the iLife Media Browser, develop charts, create pages of text or text boxes, insert tables and columns, and make use of a variety of formatting tools. Like iWeb, it features an Inspector palette that can be used to apply all manner of effects to included text, shapes, charts, tables, and images—making it easy to create visually stunning documents quickly and easily.
Microsoft Word Alternative For Mac
Pages supports importing from and exporting to Word format, although it cannot directly open or save Word documents. Imported documents do maintain Word formatting and styles and if a document is created from a Word template, all style information will be retained. Pages does have a user interface that is a complete departure from that of any office suite. Combined with the fact that it works much like a layout tool, this can make transitioning between Pages and Word a bit of a challenge. Also, it doesn’t offer support for many of Word’s advanced features.
Best Office Apps For Mac
Keynote is, in some ways, more impressive than PowerPoint. It offers a wide variety of templates and transitions that are visually stunning. Like Pages, it offers access to photos and other digital media via the iLife Media Browser and offers a wide range of effects that can be easily rendered to any slide elements. Keynote’s user interface includes many elements similar to iWeb and Pages (including the Inspector). However, its interface remains more standard than that of Pages. Unfortunately, while Keynote is an amazing tool, it offers no compatibility with PowerPoint or other Office file formats—meaning that to play a presentation requires Keynote (although presentations can be exported as QuickTime video files).