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Indie alternatives to Microsoft Word

6 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Microsoft Word does, 3 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
LibreOffice	Free	Yes	–	Mac, Windows, Linux
Zettlr	Free	Yes	–	Windows, Mac, Linux
WPS Office	Free plan	–	–	Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
iA Writer	Paid	–	–	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
Scrivener	Paid	–	–	Mac, Windows, iOS
Typora	Paid	–	–	Windows, Mac, Linux

The alternatives

1. LibreOffice

Free, open-source office suite

A free office suite with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, drawing and database tools that opens Microsoft Office formats. For anyone wanting an offline Office alternative.

Free · Mac, Windows, Linux · Website ↗

2. Zettlr

Open-source Markdown editor for academic writing and notes

Zettlr is a free Markdown editor for researchers and writers, with Zettelkasten-style linking, citations via Zotero and export through Pandoc.

Free · Windows, Mac, Linux · Website ↗

3. WPS Office

Office suite for documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDFs

An office suite with Writer, Spreadsheet, Presentation and PDF tools compatible with Microsoft Office formats, plus cloud storage and AI features.

Free plan · Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗

4. iA Writer

Focused Markdown writing app

iA Writer is a distraction-free Markdown editor with focus mode, syntax highlighting for style and publishing to WordPress and other platforms.

Paid · Mac, Windows, iOS, Android · Website ↗

5. Scrivener

Writing app for long-form projects like novels and theses

Scrivener by Literature & Latte helps writers draft, structure and research long documents, with a corkboard, outliner and flexible compile options.

Paid · Mac, Windows, iOS · Website ↗

6. Typora

Seamless WYSIWYG Markdown editor

Typora is a Markdown editor and reader that renders formatting live as you type, with export to PDF, Word and HTML.

Paid · Windows, Mac, Linux · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Word?

Yes. 3 of the 6 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: LibreOffice, Zettlr and WPS Office.

Is there an open-source alternative to Microsoft Word?

LibreOffice and Zettlr are open source.

Which Microsoft Word alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Linux: LibreOffice, Zettlr, WPS Office and 1 more. On iPhone and iPad: WPS Office, iA Writer and Scrivener. On Android: WPS Office and iA Writer.

What makes these alternatives to Microsoft Word “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Microsoft Word.

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