How To Get a Microsoft Office License for Free
Getting a Microsoft Office License for Free
Microsoft Office licenses are the gold standard of office applications, but they cost a fortune. Microsoft Office 2019 Home & Business currently retails for $249 for a single PC license. If that makes your wallet weep, check out these methods to use Microsoft Office for free.
1. Use Microsoft Office Online
Microsoft itself offers a substantial collection of free Microsoft Office utilities. Office Online is essentially a browser-based version of the latest Microsoft Office suite.
There is a catch, however: The online versions of Microsoft Office apps only provide a limited Microsoft Office experience.
Word Online, for example, does not include text boxes, WordArt, equations, charts, and more. You can still write a term paper, but you won’t be able to compile a company report. Similarly, you’ll be able to open and view your Excel spreadsheet, but your custom macros won’t load.
While Office Online does lack some functionality, it is a versatile free alternative to a fully paid license. The free versions will happily open your files, allow editing, and importantly, keep your document formatting in place at all times.
2. Microsoft Office Mobile Apps
Office Mobile is exactly as it sounds: Microsoft Office, in mobile form. It is an extremely similar experience to Office Online. The functionality is there, and editing and creating documents on the go is easy but it is extremely screen size-dependent.
For instance, editing a Word document on my Samsung Galaxy S8 is reasonable, but attempting to navigate an Excel spreadsheet is fiddly and frustrating. Conversely, editing a Word or Excel document on a larger, tablet-sized screen is actually quite enjoyable.
I’m still not convinced you’ll be running your company accounts from Office Mobile, but it’ll certainly do in a pinch.
Android
Microsoft offers individual mobile apps for Android 4.4 (KitKat) and onwards. For a long time, Microsoft offered users of Android 4.3 or lower the older Microsoft Office Mobile app. However, this all-in-one Office app is no longer available.
Android users post-4.4 should download the newer, individual apps:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- OneDrive
- Outlook
- OneNote
- SharePoint
- iOS
Microsoft phased out the iOS Microsoft Office Mobile app long before the Android version. Like Android, there is no legacy version of the app. Note: iPad Pro users need a qualifying Office 365 subscription to create and edit documents.
I’m not going to list the individual apps like I have done for Android as there are differences between iPad and iPhone versions.
3. Sign Up for the Office 365 Trial
Office 2019 introduced numerous changes across the suite. If you haven’t already signed up to Office 2019 elsewhere, you can give it a try before emptying your pockets.
The trial will grant you access to the full Microsoft Office 2019 suite. Also, you get 1TB OneDrive cloud storage and 60 minutes of Skype credits per month. Of course, there is a “catch.” You must provide a valid credit, debit, or PayPal account during the sign-up process. Microsoft will automatically charge your account once your trial expires.
4. How About the Office 365 ProPlus Trial?
Once your 30-day Microsoft Office 365 trial comes to an end, you’ll either be sold or ready to try something different. Alternatively, why not try another trial? This time using the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus trial.
You get another 30 days to test Microsoft Office 2019, and access to the same range of Microsoft Office programs as before.
