WPS Office for Windows

Free alternative to Microsoft Office

WPS Office Free is a productivity application developed by Kingsoft Office. As the name suggests, it is a free alternative to solve your day-to-day office needs. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation creator. It has a user account signup process after installation but you can still use it without any account.

WPS Office Free is compatible with Microsoft Office and can work as a cost-effective alternative. It even manages to mimic pretty much the entire look and basic features of the popular office suite. Moreover, it works well with other well-known packages from the same category, such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Best of all, it uses less space and resources than the rest of its competition.

All the tools you need

WPS Office Free has features that many office suites offer. It can create new documents or edit existing ones. Beyond the typical tools, such as adjusting the font style and size, adding slides, and creating formulas, it also has some advanced features to offer. Among them is the ability to track changes, print using Google Cloud Print, and encrypt files. You can even install extra fonts to add your favorite ones.

The app also further advanced its spreadsheet program by adding built-in formulas and supporting charts. Meanwhile, the presentation suite has a Presenter Mode that plays your slideshows with a laser pointer, which can be used by drawing on the screen. Finally, the Writer App—its version of Microsoft Word—lets you create and edit Word documents. The program also has PDF reader and editor capabilities and allows for file conversion to other formats like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Take note, though, that this application still has limitations to its free use—and that’s because of whether or not you’re signed in to a WPS Office account. If you’re just signed in as a Guest, you can only navigate the interface and view and edit documents. However, if you use an account and sign up via email, Google, or Facebook, the program will also let you use dozens of free templates, convert your files, sync your documents on multiple devices, and access 1 GB of cloud storage for free. 

Familiar and fluid controls

WPS Office Free offers an interface reminiscent of Microsoft Office’s new version. If you ever used one, then using this app will be a breeze. It employs the same ribbon menu with all the most commonly used tools and options displayed prominently. With this, you won’t spend ages looking for the setting menu or the tools you need. 

With it, you can easily generate high-quality content—whether it’s articles or presentations that you need. It has cool features like the ability to summarize and extract text via OCR, chat with PDFs to quickly search information within them, and even analyze complex data sets. What’s great about WPS AI is that it seamlessly integrates with WPS Office Suite, so you just need to click on the chatbot icon on your Word or PDF document and type in your command to use it.

As mentioned, WPS Office Free has a light system requirement, ensuring swift performance. Users must note, though, that WPS Office Free does not work like other free office suites. Certain features have limited access periods. To access them, users will have to watch advertisements. However, it is a small sacrifice to make to enjoy this superb software suite. If you’re interested in getting more out of the program, it also has premium subscription plans: WPS Pro and WPS Business.

Final thoughts

All in all, WPS Office Free is a valuable alternative to MS Office. Not only that its suites come with an exhaustive list of handy features, but it is also versatile and integrates well with similar programs. It also comes with a familiar ribbon interface, allowing you to use it with ease. However, it lacks some features that MS Office offers as some tools are only available after watching ads. Nevertheless, it is still an excellent choice.