Why is word so expensive

Office is not supported on Windows 7 or Windows 8. Windows 7 without ESU is supported through January Around since , the website has largely flown under the radar, overshadowed by the desktop versions of Office. All you need to use it is a free Microsoft account, which you get here. A lot of people commonly share desktop Office documents via email. While this is fine in moderation, it becomes cumbersome to constantly send a document back and forth. In Office Online, you can easily click Share on a file to send a link to anyone.

As long as they have a Microsoft account, they can edit it if you give them permission to do so. Office Online also makes collaborating on documents a cinch.

Whether you want to edit a large paper together or both work in a spreadsheet, doing so only requires both parties to have the document open. While a similar function is available in desktop Office with OneDrive, it's not quite as simple to set up. The Online versions of these apps aren't as full-featured as their desktop counterparts.

They don't include the most powerful tools, such as Word's advanced formatting and Excel's detailed graphs or Macros. This makes Office Online unsuitable for professional use, but they're still more than capable for personal use.

However, Office Online lacking power user features can actually be a benefit for some people. You might feel overwhelmed by the number of tools on the Ribbon and options to tweak in desktop Office.

If that's you, perhaps you'll love the slimmed-down approach of Office Online. While the desktop Office apps are fairly bulky, the web app doesn't put such a strain on your system. Office Online also provides organizational benefits. Because it keeps all your files in OneDrive, they won't take up storage space on your machine.

Storing all Office files in OneDrive also means they aren't mixed in with everything else on your system. Each app shows recently edited and pinned files of their type spreadsheets, presentations, etc. Because so many people use Office, this is important for computability with others. Many Microsoft Office alternatives don't work perfectly with these formats, which scores another point for Office Online.

We've looked at several reasons why Office Online is a great service you should take advantage of, particularly compared to desktop Office. However, it's of course not perfect. There are some situations where you're better off with another solution.

Not bad considering you're getting Microsoft Word for free. It will work as if you were using a tablet. The app works fine with a keyboard, and you can keep using the regular keyboard shortcuts you are accustomed to.

But in the end, that's a mobile version of Word, not the proper desktop one. For something closer to the desktop Word experience on a Chromebook, you're better off using Office Online. If you have an active internet connection, you can use the free Office Online instead in your browser.

All you need is a Microsoft account, which you can register for free, and then choose the Word app. We can think of a few reasons why you should use Office Online instead of paying Microsoft to use Word. For starters, you can access documents anywhere through the 5GB of free OneDrive storage you get with a Microsoft account. It also accurately retains Microsoft Word formatting, unlike other apps.

And it autosaves your work, so you don't lose it. Office Online also makes it easier to share documents and work with others. Like with Google Docs, you and your friends can collaborate on the same document in this free Microsoft Word online app. It's an easy step to cloud computing for anyone who is already hooked into the Microsoft Office ecosystem.

However, you can't use Office Online without an internet connection. When you need an offline office suite, fully installed on your own PC, then the good old Office is still your best bet. If you temporarily need the full version of Microsoft Word for free on your PC or Mac, get a trial subscription to Microsoft Until a few years ago, buying Microsoft Office was a one-time cost, but a hefty one. Now, Microsoft has embraced the subscription model, which actually increases the price but makes a lot of sense if you are using Office on multiple computers for your whole family.

Plus, there are some cool freebies packaged with it. Once you have finished your trial period, you need to make a decision whether to stick with one of the aforementioned Microsoft Word free versions or pay for the full version.

If you plan on sharing your Office with members of your family, this is the best value-for-money deal you can get.