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How to Get Free Microsoft Office in Windows 10
Don’t be fooled, Microsoft Office doesn’t always come free when you buy a laptop, desktop or tablet. That’s why you need to know how to get free Microsoft Office in Windows 10.
There are three ways to get free Microsoft Office in Windows 10. The Microsoft Store, the app store inside Windows 10, has Microsoft Office Mobile apps that can replace its standard versions. Office Online is available to anyone that doesn’t mind working out of their PC’s web browser and is constantly connected to the internet. If neither one of those are great options for you, you can always download a free trial of Microsoft Office 2016 to get you through the next month of work.
Read: Windows 10 Review – A Love Affair
Here’s how to get free Microsoft Office on your Windows 10 laptop, desktop or tablet.
How to Get Free Microsoft Office
- Using Office Mobile to Get Free Microsoft Office
- Using Office Online to Get Free Microsoft Office
- Check Your Computer for a Free Microsoft Office Trial Offer
Using Microsoft Office Mobile to Get Free Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office Mobile provides an easy way to open and read the documents, spreadsheets and presentations that you and others create. And, unlike other versions of Microsoft Office, it doesn’t take up a lot of space on your Windows 10 PC.
Read: What is Office 365
Whether you can truly get away with using the Office Mobile apps as a way to get free Microsoft Office depends on what you need to do with them. If you never create documents, spreadsheets or presentations on your PC, but need a way to read the things other people send you, these apps are great. They will let you open a file and read through it. Download them and avoid paying for a copy of Microsoft Office.
Editing and creating with Office Mobile apps requires an Office 365 subscription on most PCs though. Whether editing is free depends on how big your device’s screen is. It is free to create and edit documents with Office Mobile on devices with screens smaller than 10.1-inches. Users with devices that have screens larger than 10.1-inches need to purchase an Office 365 Personal or Office 365 Business subscription to edit in Office Mobile.
Where to Get Office Mobile for Windows 10
The links below will take you to the Microsoft Store to download each app. If you set up Windows 10 without a Microsoft Account, you will need to create one before you try to download these apps.
- Microsoft Word Mobile for Windows 10
- Microsoft Excel Mobile for Windows 10
- Microsoft PowerPoint Mobile for Windows 10
- Microsoft OneNote for Windows 10
Other parts of Microsoft Office are available on Windows 10 free. Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar are the email and calendar apps that come with your Windows 10 PC. You can download them again from the Microsoft Store here if you deleted them. Microsoft has stopped charging for OneNote. It is available free from OneNote.com.
Read: How to Setup Office 365 Personal
Using Office Online to Get Free Microsoft Office
Office Online is a website with online versions of the most important Office apps. Regardless of your device’s display size, you can use these apps for free. To try these apps, go to OfficeOnline.com and sign in with your Microsoft Account.
Office Online tools include the apps that you’d expect: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. Microsoft has added new tools recently, including story-telling app Sway and upgraded versions of Outlook Mail and Outlook Calendar. These apps don’t have all the features of Office 2016, unfortunately.
Don’t confuse the free Office Online apps with Office Online for Business. Microsoft charges for access to those apps. A subscription to that service unlocks Skype calling, SharePoint access and other business only services.
Check Your Computer for a Free Microsoft Office Trial
Lastly, if you’re looking for free Microsoft Office, be sure to look for the free trial already installed on your PC.
HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and Dell install Office 2016 with the computers they sell. These versions aren’t completely free, but they do give you a month to use them before you’re asked to purchase a copy of Microsoft Office 2016 outright or subscribe to Office 365. There’s also a Get Office app installed on Windows 10 that will let you download a free trial if there isn’t one on your computer.
That’s how to get free Microsoft Office in Windows 10. Being as it’s so popular, you’re going to need Microsoft Office at some point.
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The high cost of Microsoft Office has inspired many open-source companies to create their own alternatives. LibreOffice is one of the most popular Office alternatives that there is. The suite includes replacements for most of what is included in Office 2016. This line-up includes LibreOffice Writer. LibreOffice Writer does the same thing that Microsoft Word does. You can create documents, then use the tools it has available to quickly edit them and add some design flourishes with its built-in tools. It also includes an auto-complete function that’ll finish sentences. That’s in addition to the auto-correct functionality that every serious Microsoft Word Alternative must have. The program saves in an ODF format, meaning what it creates can be opened in any program that supports open source documents. | ||||||
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