Microsoft Office: What free options are available?

Like other software, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are generally not free. However, as part of Microsoft 365, there are a few options for using Microsoft Office apps for free. We present the possibilities to you.

Is it possible to use Microsoft Office for free?

Yes, you can use Microsoft Office for free, now known as Microsoft 365. However, this only applies to Limited web versions of Office services Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Free licenses are also available for charities, teachers, pupils and students. Additionally, Microsoft offers a one-month free trial for Microsoft 365.

What options allow you to use Microsoft Office for free?

Below we present the different possibilities for using Microsoft Office for free, with the corresponding prerequisites and limitations.

Web App

Microsoft 365 is available as a free web application, formerly known as « Office Online. » With a free Microsoft account, you can use apps like Word, Excel Or Power point for free via your browser. However, the following limitations and conditions apply to Microsoft Office Online web applications:

• A personal Microsoft account is required
• Web services can only be used in a browser
• Online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint have limited functionality
• Use is only possible with Internet access
• Files, except images, cannot be saved locally, but only in the Cloud
• Collaboration features, such as editing, editing, and sharing documents together, are severely limited
• It is not possible to enter data via touchscreens or pens on tablets

To access the online and limited version of Microsoft 365 for free, go to Microsoft Office Online.

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Free trial month

For anyone who wants to discover Microsoft 365, Microsoft offers a 30 day free trial. This one-month trial includes premium features, advanced security features, and much more cloud storage than the free 5 GB of a Microsoft account. A personal Microsoft account is required for use.

The benefits of the trial month specifically include:

• Free access to all major Microsoft desktop applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, Defender, Clipchamp, and Microsoft Designer)
• Available for one to six people per subscription
• Use on up to five devices during the one-month free trial
• Compatible with PC, Mac, as well as iOS and Android
• Up to 6TB of cloud storage, with 1TB per person
• At the end of the trial period, the subscription automatically converts to a paid subscription, but can be canceled at any time after the test phase
• Free trials are available for families and businesses as a trial period

On the official Microsoft page you will find the offer for a free month trial of Microsoft 365.

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Microsoft Office 365 Education: for pupils, students and teachers

Under the name ofOffice 365 EducationMicrosoft offers a free pack in the form of Microsoft 365including the latest Microsoft applications and premium features. The following conditions apply to use:

• The Microsoft 365 Free Pack is valid for eligible educational institutions, as well as students, teachers, and education staff
• Condition for application and registration is a valid email address from an eligible educational institution
• Use is valid for up to five PCs and Macs, as well as up to five iPads or tablets running Android or Windows

The free pack includes:

• The latest versions of Office, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Publisher
• An online version of Office
• Additional educational tools
• 1 TB of Cloud storage on OneDrive

The free offer is available on the page Office Education 365.

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Microsoft 365 for nonprofits

Microsoft offers free, discounted, or donation-based full versions of Microsoft 365 to nonprofit and charitable organizations and their employees. Free versions vary depending on the size of the organization:

For small and medium-sized non-profit organizations:

• Free Microsoft Business Basic for up to 300 users, including 1TB OneDrive cloud storage, apps like Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint, Outlook and Exchange, plus reliable data protection
• Heavily discounted versions of Microsoft Business Standard and Premium are also available

For large nonprofit organizations:

• Subscription plans for very large businesses are available at deeply discounted prices for nonprofit organizations and their employees:
  • E3 plan: €9.40 per month instead of €35.70 (annual plan)
  • E5 plan: €23.90 per month instead of €57.70 (annual plan)

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Offers are available on the official Microsoft site for nonprofit organizations. You will find more information on the support provided to associations on the page dedicated to solutions for charitable organizations.

What free alternatives to Microsoft 365 exist?

If you don't want to subscribe to Microsoft 365 or use the free version, there are several high-performance free Office alternatives, such as LibreOffice or OpenOffice.

Moreover, Google Workspaceone of Microsoft's main competitors in the business solutions space, offers a free version of cloud-based productivity applications. You can also explore the benefits of collaboration tools.

Who are the free versions of Office suitable for?

Free online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint offer many benefits, even for non-commercial usedespite limited functionality. After all, Microsoft's Office applications are considered the standard in their field.

For the companiesonline versions of Microsoft Office are not a viable alternative. They lack essential team features for many participants, as is the case in subscription plans with Microsoft Teams or Exchange Server. In addition, web applications require a constant Internet connection, do not offer advantageous Cloud backup in OneDrive, and do not have, unlike professional versions, advanced security features or sufficient GDPR protection.