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Microsoft Word alternatives: free, online, or European

Since January 2025, Microsoft 365 Personal costs €99 a year in France (up from €69), Copilot included. Many people want to write their .docx files without a subscription. Here are the real options, free ones first, and what each does well.

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A single .docx file, opened by each tool: each has its cursor in it.

In short Which one should you choose?

You want Word, for free

Word for the web: free with a Microsoft account, faithful to the format, but online only and less complete than Word desktop.

You work alone, offline

LibreOffice: free, open source, complete (with spreadsheet and slides), on Windows, macOS and Linux. No real-time co-editing.

You want the best .docx fidelity outside Microsoft

ONLYOFFICE: built around Word’s format, co-editing, free desktop apps.

You write with others, including outsiders

Paginel: your .docx files stay .docx, guests join with a code, the desktop app works offline. As long as you do not rely on tables or track changes (not yet).

In detail What really changes

Word for the web: Word, for free

The first alternative to Word is… Word. With a plain Microsoft account, Word for the web is free, with 5 GB on OneDrive. The format is respected and co-editing works. But it needs a connection, and part of Word desktop is missing (macros, mail merge, some referencing and table features).

LibreOffice: the open-source classic, on your computer

Published by The Document Foundation, a German foundation, LibreOffice is free, open source and complete: word processor, spreadsheet, slides. It opens and saves .docx files, with known layout differences on complex documents. It does not let several people write at once on the desktop; that is the job of Collabora Online, its online version.

Google Docs: writing together, in the browser

Free with a Google account, Google Docs made co-editing popular. It opens .docx files without converting them, but with its own layout: a complex Word document does not always come out the same. Offline, you need Chrome or Edge and an extension. See Word vs Google Docs.

ONLYOFFICE and Collabora: open-source online suites

ONLYOFFICE (Latvia) and Collabora Online (United Kingdom) are open-source suites you can install on your servers, with co-editing. ONLYOFFICE is known for its fidelity to Word’s format. See ONLYOFFICE, Collabora, LibreOffice or Paginel.

Paginel: your .docx files, together, without a Microsoft subscription

Paginel reads and writes .docx files itself: you need neither Word nor a Microsoft licence. Open a file, invite anyone with a code or a link, and everyone writes together; the file stays a .docx, and what Paginel does not change stays as it was. On your computer, the desktop app works without a network and merges your changes when you reconnect.

It also offers three views of the same document (Markdown to write fast, Edit to polish, PDF to check the pages), sections with an owner, and AI agents you connect yourself, within limits you set.

Honestly What Paginel does not do (yet)

  • Paginel is in beta, open to everyone and free. It is a young product.
  • Tables cannot be edited yet: tables in a .docx show as plain lines (cells separated by tabs), on screen and in the PDF. Saving into the original file keeps them intact. A document full of tables is not for Paginel yet.
  • No track changes and no suggestion mode. Comments exist in Paginel, but are not yet written into the .docx.
  • No columns, no editable equations, no generated table of contents, no mail merge.
  • Without Microsoft’s fonts, Paginel uses free fonts with the same metrics (Calibri becomes Carlito, Arial becomes Liberation Sans), unless the document embeds its own: the layout is close to Word, not guaranteed identical.
  • Desktop app for macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux; Windows is planned, with no date. On phones and tablets: the browser only.
  • A word processor, nothing else: no spreadsheet, no slides, no email.

The table Word alternatives side by side

Word alternatives side by side
Paginel Word for the web LibreOffice Google Docs
Price Free in beta; planned: free or €20 a year. Free (Microsoft account). Free. Free (Google account).
.docx fidelity Partly Good; tables not editable yet. Yes (lead) The native format. Partly Good, with known layout differences. Partly Approximate.
Real-time co-editing Yes Yes Yes (OneDrive). No Not on the desktop. Yes
Offline Yes Desktop app. No Yes Partly Chrome or Edge extension.
Linux Yes Desktop app. Partly Browser. Yes Partly Browser.
Spreadsheet, slides No No: text only. Yes Excel, PowerPoint for the web. Yes Calc, Impress. Yes Sheets, Slides.
Open source No No Yes (lead) Yes (MPL 2.0). No

Yes : the highlighted word marks the lead on that point.

. Our rule: say when another tool will suit you better, and what Paginel does not do yet. Spotted a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free version of Word?

Yes: Word for the web, free with a Microsoft account, online only. Word desktop needs a Microsoft 365 subscription or buying Office 2024 (€149 in France).

What is the best free alternative to Word?

To work alone and offline, LibreOffice. To write together in the browser, Google Docs or Word for the web. For .docx files shared with outsiders, without a subscription and with an offline desktop app, Paginel (in beta).

Does Paginel open my Word files?

Yes, .docx files and .dotx templates. Paginel reads and writes them itself; what it cannot edit yet (tables, tracked changes, charts) is kept in the file as long as you do not rewrite the paragraph that holds it.

Will my documents look exactly as in Word?

Very close, with no guarantee: without Microsoft’s fonts, Paginel uses free fonts with the same metrics. The PDF view shows the pages exactly as they will be exported.

Try Paginel

The beta is open and free: create your account in a minute.

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Other comparisons

Sources

Prices and features of other products checked on the date above, on their official pages. They change often: check before you decide.