We’ve redesigned Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to work even better with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Now, more features are supported, including commenting, conditional formatting, and bubble charts. And each update adds greater compatibility. It’s never been easier to take a Microsoft Office document from your Mac or PC and import it into Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. So you can keep the workflow flowing.
See all the ways our productivity apps support popular Microsoft Office features.
| Microsoft Word Format (.docx) | Pages for Mac | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Bidirectional Text | Supported for Arabic and Hebrew | ||
| Column Formats | |||
| Font Types | Fonts available for download are imported. Unsupported fonts are substituted. | ||
| Ligatures | |||
| Line Spacing | |||
| Subscript | |||
| Superscript | |||
| Tab Setting | Some tab settings may look different | ||
| Text Boxes | |||
| Linked Text Boxes | |||
| Text Colors | |||
| Text Effects | |||
| Text Highlighting | |||
| Text Wrap | |||
| Vertical Text | |||
| WordArt | Text is preserved, but formatting may not be maintained | ||
| Lists | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Image Bulleted Lists | |||
| Numbered Lists | |||
| Text Bulleted Lists | Stylized bullets replaced with plain bullets | ||
| Tiered Numbered Lists | Some lists may look different | ||
| Paragraphs | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Background Shading | |||
| Formatting | |||
| Paragraph Styles | |||
| Illustrations | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| ClipArt | |||
| Floating Objects | |||
| Images | Most image formats are preserved | ||
| Shapes | |||
| SmartArt Graphics | Imported as shape | ||
| Charts | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| 2D Column | |||
| 2D Stacked Column | |||
| 2D 100% Stacked Column | |||
| 2D Bar | |||
| 2D Stacked Bar | |||
| 2D 100% Stacked Bar | |||
| 2D Line | |||
| 2D Stacked Line | Imported as Line chart | ||
| 2D Marked Line | |||
| 2D Stacked Marked Line | |||
| 2D 100% Stacked Marked Line | |||
| 2D 100% Stacked Line | Imported as Line chart | ||
| 2D Area | |||
| 2D Stacked Area | |||
| 2D 100% Stacked Area | |||
| 2D Smooth Marked Scatter | |||
| 2D Smooth Lined Scatter | |||
| 2D Straight Marked Scatter | |||
| 2D Straight Lined Scatter | |||
| 2D Pie | |||
| 2D Exploded Pie | |||
| 2D Pie of Pie | Imported as Pie chart | ||
| 2D Bar of Pie | Imported as Pie chart | ||
| 2D Marked Scatter | |||
| 3D Column | |||
| 3D Stacked Column | |||
| 3D 100% Stacked Column | |||
| 3D Bar | |||
| 3D Stacked Bar | |||
| 3D 100% Stacked Bar | |||
| 3D Line | |||
| 3D Area | |||
| 3D Pie | |||
| 3D Exploded Pie | |||
| 3D Stacked Area | |||
| 3D 100% Stacked Area | |||
| Bubble Charts | |||
| Doughnut | Imported as single tier doughnut chart | ||
| Exploded Doughnut | Imported as Pie chart | ||
| Surface Charts | |||
| Radar Charts | |||
| High-Low-Close Stock | Imported as Line chart | ||
| Open-High-Low-Close Stock | Imported as Line chart | ||
| Volume-High-Low-Close Stock | Imported as Bar chart | ||
| Volume-Open-High-Low-Close Stock | Imported as Bar chart | ||
| Column Cylinder | |||
| Stacked Column Cylinder | |||
| 100% Stacked Column Cylinder | |||
| 3D Column Cylinder | |||
| Column Cone | Imported as 3D Column Cylinder chart | ||
| Stacked Column Cone | Imported as 3D Column Cylinder chart | ||
| 100% Stacked Column Cone | Imported as 3D Column Cylinder chart | ||
| 3D Column Cone | Imported as 3D Column Cylinder chart | ||
| Column Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Column chart | ||
| Stacked Column Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Column chart | ||
| 100% Stacked Column Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Column chart | ||
| 3D Column Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Column chart | ||
| Bar Cylinder | |||
| Stacked Bar Cylinder | |||
| 100% Stacked Column Cylinder | |||
| Bar Cone | Imported as Bar Cylinder chart | ||
| Stacked Bar Cone | Imported as Bar Cylinder chart | ||
| 100% Stacked Bar Cone | Imported as Bar Cylinder chart | ||
| Bar Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Bar chart | ||
| Stacked Bar Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Bar chart | ||
| 100% Stacked Bar Pyramid | Imported as 3D Rectangle Bar chart | ||
| Header and Footer | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Footers | Tables in footers are not supported | ||
| Headers | Tables in headers are not supported | ||
| Page Numbering | |||
| Symbols | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Equation | |||
| Symbol | |||
| Page Setup Options | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Borders | |||
| Margin Presets | |||
| Orientation | |||
| Page Sizes | |||
| Page Background | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Page Color | |||
| Watermark | |||
| References | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Bibliography | EndNote bibliographies are supported. In Word Citation Manager bibliographies, text is preserved but cannot be managed. | ||
| Citations | EndNote bibliographies are supported. In Word Citation Manager bibliographies, text is preserved but cannot be managed. | ||
| Footnotes | |||
| Table of Contents | Not all styling is preserved | ||
| Reviewing Tools | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Comments | Text comments are supported | ||
| Ink Annotations | Imported as shapes | ||
| Track Changes | Changes to body text continue to be tracked. All other changes are accepted on import. | ||
| Miscellaneous | Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported |
| Breaks | |||
| Hyperlinks | Web, email and bookmark hyperlinks are supported. File hyperlinks are removed. | ||
| Macros | |||
| OLE Objects | |||
| Tables | |||
| Themes | |||
A writer is only as good as his or her tools. And when it comes to writing tools, Mac often leads the way. A Macbook is the dream system if your work involves anything to do with graphics and images. It is often the goal for anyone with a creative streak, but Apple Pages isn’t a one-size fit all tool for writers.
- The Microsoft Office software bundle, including Word, is available for Mac OS X. Microsoft Office for Mac OS X 2011 includes all of the same features as Microsoft Word for Windows. All documents created with Microsoft Word for Mac OS X 2011 are compatible with all versions of Microsoft Word, regardless of whether the computer is running Mac OS.
- LibreOffice is a free open source software tool available for Mac OS, Windows and Linux operating systems. It has full support for.doc and.docx files, enabling users to access these types of.
- Mac Software Features. Best Mac word processor 2019. 2019 and doesn't have the same features to allow you to easily work on documents on an iOS device as well as your Mac. But as a free tool.
- With PDF, Cloud, OCR, file repair, and other powerful tools, WPS Office is quickly becoming more and more people’s first choice in office software. Powerful PDF PDF editing, PDF to word, PDF comment, PDF sign, PDF compress, etc.
- Ultra Office for Free: Word, Spreadsheet, Slide & PDF Compatible privacy policy Terms of transaction Ultra Office for Free: Word, Spreadsheet, Slide & PDF Compatible licence terms End User License Agreement This SOFTWARE is being provided to You by CompuClever Systems.
Trio Office is the free office software in 2019 and offers an alternative to Word, Excel & PowerPoint. It's compatible with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint & Txt), Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and OpenOffice format for Windows. Trio Office can open & edit many kinds of files. Microsoft 365 includes premium Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, 1 TB cloud storage in OneDrive, advanced security, and more, all in one convenient subscription. With Microsoft 365, you get features as soon as they are released ensuring you’re always working with the latest. Create, edit, collaborate, and share documents using Word for Mac.
As a result, many Mac owners end up using third-party word processors. MS Word in particular is a popular choice. It has long dominated the field of word processors and what they’re good at, which is producing documents.
The expensive licensing fees and the almost annual new versions, bugs, and fixes means a lot of MS Word writers are trapped in a love/hate relationship. Our stories, our writing, our creative results—they’re like our babies.
Better Time for Writers
In recent years the pendulum is swinging. Writers have made an impact on the world, or maybe it’s just that technology and software developers have finally reached beyond a one size fit all approach to software. Distraction-free software and customizing your experience when writing, whether it’s a text editor or a free word processor for Mac, is trending. And since we all know the story of the struggling writer, it doesn’t hurt to cut out those fees either.
So, if you’ve been waiting for the day when you’d have a choice between more than just two or three tools for your writing, or the day that you could cut the purse strings between you and recurring licensing fees, this could be it.
Below are just some of the free word processors for Mac. Pick a couple of these that you like but do some additional in-depth research. Choose the best tool to help you focus on telling your story. You may simply find a better tool to help you release your creative side, or you may find the motivation needed to finally make the big switch from PC to Mac.
Microsoft Word for Mac
Word for Mac is now available. It’s not a free word processor for Mac users, of course, but it’s worth mentioning. So, if you do happen to be an MS Word lover, you can subscribe to Office 365 for a low monthly fee of $9.99 month. Reviewers are raving that MS Word for Mac looks and acts like MS Word for the PC. So, if MS Word is what you’ve been pining for, your wait is over.
For the rest of us, below are some free word processors for Mac that will get the job done for writers:
WPS Writer by Kingsoft
WPS Office by Kingsoft is a free suite of software available for multiple platforms including Windows, iOS, Linux, and Android. Part of the WPS Office 2016 suite is WPS Writer, the word processing component of the Office suite. WPS Writer supports multiple languages in addition to English, including French, Portuguese, Polish, German, and Russian and its mobile apps boast registered users of more than 400 million. It’s free, and you can import and export from a wide range of file formats. However, exported files will include a watermark, and printing is only available to paid subscribers.
LibreOffice Writer
LibreOffice Writer is open source software, which means it’s available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux operating systems. There’s also LibreViewer for Android. LibreOffice Writer supports for over 100 languages. For those who have been using MSWord, you’ll find the interface for MS Word very similar. If you prefer to get a head start, LibreOffice offers a variety of great built-in templates to choose from. One of the things you’ll like about LibreOffice is that it can handle different document types, so you’ll have no trouble at all opening those MS Word files. To learn more about how this stacks up against Word, read our LibreOffice vs MS Word article.
AbiWord
Another pick of free word processors for Mac users is AbiWord. Available for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux users, its easy to use interface is one that former WordPerfect users will love. Some users report that the scrolling is not ideal, so it’s probably better suited for keyboard warriors who are used to scrolling using the arrow keys.
You can edit and save in multiple formats including encoded and rich text, Open document, text files and more. Spellchecker is included, and there are easy to install plugins. Support is via email, so it’s not lightning fast. There is an option to hide menus for writers looking for distraction-free writing sessions.
Google Docs
Google Docs is free and cloud-based, so it works well on any system. It’s become a popular option for many small businesses and consultants who need to work collaboratively on documents. Google Docs saves your changes as you type and you can even look at revision history and see who made changes to your document.
As a writer, the biggest draw to Google Docs is the ability to work collaboratively in real-time with someone else, perhaps a co-author, contributor, or even an editor. You can install a Chrome app that lets you open, edit, and save MS Word files. Personally, I could never get past the panic of not knowing for sure that my changes were saved. But if you can be comfortable with never having to save a document again, or if you have a need to work collaboratively in real-time, then Google Docs may be a good fit.
Lyx
Another free word processor for Mac you may not have heard of is Lyx. It’s available for Windows and Unix/Linux users too, so no one is left out. It’s open source, and you can import and export to other document formats such as HTML, PDF, .doc, and rich text formats. Also, it’s actually a “document” processor rather than a “word” processor. This is mostly down to semantics but it means that Lyx writers can forget about formatting and focus on writing.
There are loads of longer document templates with automatic formatting to help with consistency. If you just want to write without having to figure out things like footnotes, references, or how to do a table of contents, Lyx may work well for your needs.
BEAN
Free Word Compatible Software For Mac Laptop
For the more daring among you, Bean walks the tightrope line between a full-featured word processor for Mac and a bare-bones text editor. It’s free, but there have been some bugs to work out as far as compatibility goes. So, make sure you choose the right download for your OS X system. If you don’t need the formatting capabilities of a word processor but miss the live word counts and other features some text editors don’t have, Bean may be a good fit.
Free Word Program For Mac
Best Free Word Processors for Mac: Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to be transparent about the fact that I’m not yet a Mac user. I still dream of the day when I’ll have the Moxie to make such a transition. The information above has been provided through researching company websites and Mac user reviews. I did my best to be thorough and provide accurate information. But when it comes to choosing one of these free word processors for Mac, please do your research.