There is of course Google Docs, which is completely free to use and runs inside a web browser as well as on mobile in app form. That means you don't miss out if the rest of your colleagues use Word and you don't. docx file format that Word does, and anyone you're sending to or getting files from doesn't have to know you're not using Word. It may seem like cheating to tell you to use an alternative in a guide to how to use Microsoft Word for free, but bear in mind that a lot of these alternatives are now perfectly comfortable handling the same. Google Docs can save documents in Word format.