Don’t forget about free Microsoft Office

I was recently having a chat with a friend who had allowed the Office 365 subscription to expire. We were discussing a Word alternative like Google Docs or downloading LibreOffice when I asked her if she was aware that you can use Microsoft Office for free online. This service has been around for a long time, but there are still lots of folks who have never heard about it.

You can use it with any browser and with any type of computer be it Windows, Mac, Linux, or even a Chromebook. All you need is an Outlook account. If you have an Outlook.com, Hotmail, Livemail, or MSN.com email address, you’re already set.  if not, it’s super-easy to get an Outlook email.  Go to Outlook.com and click on Create free account.

Or log in with your Microsoft account. Once the Outlook inbox is open, look on the left side.

Click on the square of squares.

You’ll see a list of Office apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

These are all free to use online and you can edit Office documents saved to your computer or OneDrive or create new ones. These free online versions are very similar to the paid version, though there are fewer features. However, for most users these should do fine.