Best Free Word Processor for Windows 11 [Top 5 Ranked]
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Key notes
- Word processors are useful productivity devices or software that allow you to create and format text files.
- Wordpad is the best choice if you need an offline word processor and you do not want to install any additional software on your Windows 11 OS.
- If you would rather have an online word processor, a great alternative is Google Docs.
Windows 11 is a robust operating system, but the OS in itself is not capable of many core functions. Installed software applications bring it to life.
Productivity software like word processors is an essential part of our daily life. They also have become an integral part of a complete workstation. However, with many options to choose from, which word processor should be a must install on Windows 11?
This article introduces you to 5 of the best Windows 11 free word processors. You also learn why they might be the best free options for you.
What is a word processor?
Word processors are devices or software that allow you to create, print, or edit documents. These tools will transform commands given from a keyboard to electronic visual forms.
Several word processors are delivered via cloud services or installations on mobile devices or PCs.
Choosing the one that fits your needs will of course depend on the exact circumstances you find yourself in, and also your personal preference.
Does Windows 11 have a free Word Processor?
MS Word is the more common Windows word processor, but the free Wordpad comes with every recent Windows OS.
Even though Windows 11 upgrade is free on all PCs as long as they meet the minimum requirements for the Windows 11 installation, you need a subscription for apps like Excel, Powerpoint, and Word.
What are the best word processors to use on Windows 11?
WPS Office
If you ever used Microsoft Word, then there would be no learning curve with WPS Office free writer. This app comes as a suite, including WPS Writer, WPS Presentation, and WPS Spreadsheet, but the writer is free.
It feels and behaves like a premium Word installation, and you will have free 1GB of cloud storage. You will find its repertoire of pre-installed templates convenient for creating various documents. It also gives the option for you to create your custom-made templates.
Suppose you work across different platforms or share files among friends and colleagues. In that case, you will find that it is compatible with several text file formats, including legacy editions of MS Word going as far back as Office 97.
The advertisements may be a drawback as you will find them distracting, but purchasing a premium version ensures you can work advert free.
The WPS Office team has now launched a complimentary word to pdf converter. This addition makes WPS Office Writer even more desirable.
WPS Office
Take advantage of the wide range of easy-to-use features that WPS Office has to offer today!LibreOffice
This word processor is an offshoot of Apache’s OpenOffice and has a team of eager coders who are given their talent for free. Libre office writer comes with the Libre office suite that is free. You will find it to be versatile and feature-rich.
In addition to the offline writer, you will find the interoperability among its Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics), Math (mathematical formulae), and Base (databases) services advantageous.
It is excellent for collaborating across teams since you can share documents across Microsoft Word users without any compatibility issues. It also supports DOCX, PPTX, PPT, and other formats.
Compared to Microsoft Office, its template repertoire feels limited, but it makes up for this with a massive reserve of downloadable options on its project online library. Using plugins, you can also expand its features to include more language packs and grammar tools.
This free word processor for Windows 11 allows the liberty of choosing between a traditional toolbar and icon interface and a notebook bar similar to the 2007 MS office.
WordPad
Wordpad unlike the other word processors on this list does not have a suite of applications, but it has the one important advantage of not needing to be installed. It has been part of every Windows operating system since Windows 95.
It is somewhat of a watered-down version of Microsoft Word, but still very effective for creating basic documents as well as opening rich text documents and files that are created using other programs not installed on your computer.
Documents created with Wordpad can be exported in several formats including Rich Text Format (RTF). This format is generic for rich texts including bolds, custom fonts, bullets, etc. It is also compatible with DOCX formats, hence, it is a good alternative if you must work with Microsoft Word documents. It also offers compatibility for files created with Libre office.
Finally, unlike most of the word processors discussed, it has a free version and no paid options.
FreeOffice
This Windows 11 compatible word processor offers a wide range of options for easy editing of Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word files. It is also a handy tool for exporting files in pdf and EPUB.
It comes with a small selection of easy-to-use templates, but you will be able to create additional custom-made templates.
FreeOffice TextMaker packs most features you will expect in a modern word processor including a feature for managing doc changes during collaboration, advanced options for formatting text, a feature for creating databases for managing footnotes and bibliographies.
The most easily noticeable drawback of the free version of FreeOffice TextMaker is an inability to save files in DOCX formats. You will need a paid version for this feature.
FocusWriter
From the name of this free Windows 11 compatible word processor, you can deduce that it is built to help you focus more while writing. It is packed with tools to make you maximize your work productivity without distraction.
By default, it only displays a blank page, and the toolbar options will only appear after you move the mouse to the screen edge. This word processor goes the extra mile of fading all features except for the current paragraph, or sentence.
Users can also set alerts for different goals including word count. It does not have all the great editing features of most word processors discussed, but none come close in productivity.
Are there good online word processor alternatives?
In this article, you’ve been introduced to word processors that work offline, requiring an installation on your operating system. If you prefer not to have app installations, there are several online solutions.
One of the most robust of the lot is Google Docs. It comes as part of a free Google Editors suite that also includes Slides, Sheets, Forms, Keep, and Google Sites.
This list has not been written in any particular order. Let me know in the comments which of these word processors you prefer.
