A word processor or word processing software is a computer program (software) oriented to the creation, edition, modification and processing of documents in text format. Word processors, unlike text editors, provide a wide range of functionality, be it grammatical, typographical, organizational, semantic, and aesthetic. In general, word processing software incorporates spelling and grammar checkers, they also include multilingual and thesaurus dictionaries. All these features have the sole objective of facilitating the writing of documents for the users of these tools. In this article, we show you a summary of the best free word processing software that you can use as an alternative to Microsoft Word.
Word Process Software are applications that help you to write and manage stories, emails, ideas, social media posts, articles, and more.
Post Contents :-
best free word processing software as alternatives to MS Word
Indeed, Microsoft Word is the most popular word processor in the world today. This computer program is integrated into the Microsoft Office suite created by the multinational technology company Microsoft Corporation.
The Microsoft Office suite has proprietary commercial software licenses, therefore, to use Word it is necessary to pay for its license. On the other hand, there are a large number of free word processing software that can serve as an alternative to Microsoft Word. All of them have features similar to those offered by Microsoft Word, such as creating, editing, printing, spell checking, grammar checking, choosing templates, adding tables and many more.
The most known word processing software is Microsoft Word, and chances are high you’ve used it at least on one occasion to process or create text documents.
Below, we show you a list of the best free word processing software, as well as their main advantages and disadvantages. A series of characteristics are also listed that make them differ from one another. As a result, you will be able to choose the one that best suits your work needs. All of them are 100 percent freeware tools, which means you never have to pay to use the tool and they are available to download free of charge.
WPS Office Writer
Visit Official Website
The good
- It has tabs in its interface for better document management.
- Includes 1 GB of cloud storage.
- Provides free built-in templates.
The bad
- The entire suite has to be downloaded to use Writer.
WPS Office is an office suite created by software developer Kingsoft Office. Also, this suite includes a word processor called Writer, it has an interface with a clean and elegant design.It also has a menu that offers multiple options and divides each document into tabs to make it easier for users to write.
Certainly, we must clarify that this word processor includes automatic revision within its characteristics. In addition, it has a full screen mode that allows you to hide the application menus and allows you to design it on two pages. Certainly, these features provide a seamless and distraction-free typing experience.
WPS Office Writer has a display mode to protect against eye damage, as a result, it turns the background of the page greenish. On the other hand, you can add custom dictionaries, create tables of contents, and document covers. It also allows the encryption of documents and the use of the templates that are integrated in the program.
Finally, a disadvantage of using Writer is that as it is part of WPS Office it is necessary to download the entire suite. However, you will have other useful tools that you can run not only on Windows, Linux, Mac but also on iOS and Android.
FreeOffice TextMaker
Visit Official Website
The good
- Save documents in common file formats.
- It is ideal for making electronic books.
- Includes automatic spell checking.
- It is free for home and business use.
The bad
- The download size is relatively large.
- You must download the entire suite of programs.
- It’s been a while since an update was released.
FreeOffice is an office suite that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet application, and a presentation program. In fact, this is the freeware version of the SoftMaker suite from which SoftMaker FreeOffice gets its composite name.
When the TextMaker is opened for the first time, it offers the option of being able to use two menu options, a classic menu or a slightly more innovative option. In fact, the options available to any of the two variants of the chosen menu will be organized following a logical pattern. Included are, in addition to the normal word processor options, options for e-book creation, PDF and EPUB export, chapter creation, and footnotes.
TextMaker allows you to preview documents without having to open them. Also, you can have control over the changes that have been applied to the document, insert comments, Excel graphics and PowerPoint slides. On the other hand, the Text Maker supports a wide variety of formats including those of Microsoft Word and those of OpenDocument. In addition, it is capable of reading files in WRI, WPD, SXW, PWD format or saving in DOCX, DOTX, HTML and TXT. However, this program’s own formats are TMDX and TMD.
In the same way as the previous processor, TextMaker is part of a suite, in this case, FreeOffice. Therefore, it is necessary to download the suite with all its programs, but during the installation, you can choose to install the entire suite or just the word processor.
OpenOffice Writer
Visit Official Website
The Good
- It works with many file formats.
- Supports extensions and external templates.
- Check for spelling errors automatically.
- Includes advanced and basic formatting options.
- There is a portable option available.
The bad
- You have to download the entire program suite even to use just Writer.
- It may take a while to download on slow internet connections.
- The interface and menus are boring and cluttered.
OpenOffice Writer is a cross-platform word processor that integrates the suite of applications from the Apache OpenOffice suite. In addition to the standard formats used by word processors, Open Office Writer can open and save in .doc format.
This processor includes automatic spell checking, it also includes numerous features that make it compete with the best current text editors. It also has a portable version that can be used from a USB drive. It supports a wide variety of popular file formats, plus it allows you to add comments to the side of the document.
It features a side panel that allows its users to easily edit page properties. It also allows you to add images from a gallery and remove some of the menus that are not used frequently to have more space when writing.
Like WPS Office at the top of this list, the entire OpenOffice suite must be downloaded to your computer in order to use Writer. With the portable option, you have to extract the entire suite even if you only want to use the Writer tool.
WordGraph
Visit Official Website
The Good
- Includes unique advanced features.
- It has spell check.
- You can download it separately from its entire suite.
- Download and install quickly.
The bad
- Spell check does not work automatically.
- The interface can be distracting.
Certainly, the WordGraph application includes the vast majority of features that are included in most common word processors. But it also has some tools that make it unique, for example, it allows you to include graphics, tables and illustrations in a document. In addition, you can open PDF files, and create tables of contents and dynamic indexes. On the other hand, you can access files hosted on cloud storage services such as OneDrive and Dropbox.
WordGraph has a built-in automatic spell checking utility but it doesn’t work very well. Therefore, you have to run it manually to make sure there are no misspellings left in the document. Unlike the other free word processing softwares explained above, WordGraph can be downloaded separately without having to also download the SSuite Office software that it belongs to. WordGraph works on computers running the Windows operating system, but can also be used on a Mac or Linux machine using additional software.
AbleWord
Visit Official Website
The good
- Easy to use with a clean and uncluttered user interface.
- Allows you to find misspellings in your writing.
- They support popular formatting options.
The bad
- It has not been updated since long time.
- Spell checking is not automatic.
- Limited opening and saving file format options.
AbleWord allows the opening of documents with extraordinary speed, it also has a simple and minimalist design that makes this an easy-to-use tool. It also supports editing and saving in the most popular file formats.
AbleWord allows you to open texts with PDF formats, and its features do not stand out from other editors. However, it is not cluttered with unnecessary buttons or confusing features and settings.
It has built-in spell checking, but in this case, it is not automatic, so you have to run it manually to find the errors.
Certainly, the program hasn’t been updated since a long time, so it probably won’t be updated anymore, however, it is still fully usable today as a free word processor.
You can use AbleWord if you have a Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP computer.
AbiWord
Visit Official Website
The good
- Spell checking is automatic.
- It allows you to collaborate with others in real-time.
- It works with many types of files.
- Supports plugins.
The bad
- Print preview is not as easy to use as similar programs.
- It does not have a modern interface.
- It is no longer updated.
Another one of the best free word processing softwares on this list is AbiWord. This has automatic spell checking, it is also compatible with the most common formatting options. Its menus and settings are well managed and organized making this tool easy to use.
With AbiWord, it is possible to collaborate in the creation or editing of documents. In other words, it allows you to share the documents with other users who will be able to edit and modify them, the changes made will be reflected automatically. The types of formats that can be associated with AbiWord are ODT, DOCM, DOCX and RTF.
The installation process is highly customizable, allowing you to enable or disable numerous additional features. Speaking of features, the ones that stand out the most in this processor are the equation editor, the grammar checker and the web dictionary. In addition, it includes a Google Search assistant, it has integration with Wikipedia and its translators. Also, it has support for the DocBook, OPML, and ClarisWorks file format, among others.
AbiWord also has disadvantages, which is that the print preview function does not work like most current processors. In this case, you have to open the preview as an image in a photo viewer, which of course is not supplied with AbiWord.
AbiWord no longer has support for the Windows operating system, so it is no longer available for download from its official website. Also, it works on Linux, but can only be downloaded via Flathub.
Jarte: One
Visit Official Website
The good
- Customizable design in several ways.
- It can be set to automatically save every so often.
- Open documents in tabs.
- Supports common document formats.
- Its installation file is small.
- There is a portable option available.
The bad
- Spell checking is done manually.
- It can be difficult to use.
- There is no update since 2018.
Jarte is another word processor on this list, it has a tabbed interface to keep multiple documents open at the same time. This feature makes it easy for users to navigate on the same screen.
This word processor can be configured in its options to automatically save a document in a period of time that goes from one to 20 minutes. It is compatible with most of the formats that exist today. Multiple language dictionaries can be added during the installation process for spell-checking functions.
Jarte allows you to automatically open the last file you were using when you start the program again. This is an option that most of the other software on this list does not allow.
As a disadvantage, it should be noted that the spell check function is not automatic and that the program itself is sometimes confusing to understand.
WriteMonkey
Visit Official Website
The good
- It is completely portable, no installation is required.
- It has a very minimalist interface.
The bad
- No spell check.
- Your download file is large.
Of all the processors presented so far, WriteMonkey is the most portable and the one with the most minimalist interface. This editor provides an interface with as few distractions as possible so that its users can focus only on writing and nothing else.
WriteMonkey allows you to change the language of its interface through packages that can be installed in the application. On the other hand, it shows statistics related to the approximate reading time of a text. It also shows the average number of words per sentence and the number of difficult words in a text.
WriteMonkey’s menu options are only displayed if you right-click on the document. From this menu, you can open a new document, toggle focus mode, copy all text, open developer tools, and much more. WriteMonkey can be used on Windows, Linux and Mac computers.
RoughDraft
The good
- Supports automatic spell checking.
- Tabbed browsing helps organize open documents.
- Allows you to use shortcut keys.
The bad
- It is no longer updated.
- Supports a limited number of file formats.
Continuing with the list of the best free word processing software, it is the turn of RoughDraft. Supports RTF, TXT and DOC file formats from versions prior to 2010. Although it is somewhat old, it provides automatic spell checking. It allows you to set shortcut keys for almost all your commands. It also has several writing modes: Normal, Script, Stage Play and Prose.
It has a file browser on one side of the window that allows you to keep up to 100 files open at the same time.
The most significant drawback of this word processor is that its latest version came out in 2005. Its developer is no longer working on it, so you won’t get any new features or updates in the future.
FocusWriter
Visit Official Website
The good
- It provides several ways to create a distraction-free interface.
- Colors and designs can be customized.
- Goals can be created to stay on task.
- There is a portable option.
The bad
- Can’t open rich text format documents
Like WriteMonkey, FocusWriter excels in its portability and minimal interface. This processor automatically hides the menus and buttons that can be seen, focusing the user’s view only and exclusively on the document. In addition, a full-screen mode can be executed so that no other program windows are visible.
FocusWriter allows you to make modifications to the text, such as bolding, strikethrough and changing the alignment of the text. In addition, it allows you to make changes to page margins, color and line spacing.
It supports popular formats like DOCX, ODT, RTF, and TXT. However, Rich Text Format documents may become unusable when opened with FocusWriter . This editor allows you to set an alarm to set goals regarding your writing. For example, alerting when typing a certain number of words or typing for a certain number of minutes per day.
The most significant advantage this program has over some of the other free word processing software on this list is that it is updated much more frequently than the others. FocusWriter is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.
Also read:
