Microsoft has just made a big move—the desktop version of Microsoft Office is now free. Yes, you read that right. You can now use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on your Windows PC without paying a subscription fee. However, there’s a catch—it’s ad-supported and comes with some feature limitations.
Previously, once your Microsoft Office license expired, you could only view documents. But now, with this new free tier, you can create and edit documents without any payment. That said, let’s go over what this free version offers, its limitations, and how you can try it yourself.
How This Ad-Supported Free Microsoft Office Works
Since this is an ad-supported version, you will see advertisements inside Office apps. Here’s how they work:
- A persistent ad banner appears on the right side of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This cannot be removed unless you subscribe.
- A 15-second video ad will play (muted) every few hours while you use Office.
These ads are actually non-intrusive but are designed to push users toward the paid version of Office. Also, this version comes with some missing features. For example, it does not support local saving, you can only save files in OneDrive which has 5GB limit. However, after saving, you can open OneDrive and save the file to your PC. Also, there are many missing advanced features like real-time collaboration, add-ins, macros, pivot tables, drawing tools, etc.
If you don’t mind these ads and missing features, the free desktop Office can be a great option for document, excel, or PowerPoint editing.
How to Get the Free Microsoft Office Desktop Version
If you want to try this new free version of Microsoft Office on your Windows PC, follow these steps:
- Download the official Office installer from Microsoft’s website.
- Run the setup file and let it install Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Open any Office app (e.g., Word) and log in with your Microsoft account or you can also choose to Skip for now.
- On the next page, you will get the option to choose the free or the paid subscription. Click Continue for free.
- Now you can start editing the document, excel sheet, or PowerPoint for free on a desktop app.
That’s it! You can now use Microsoft Office for free, though with ads and limited features.
Free Ad-Supported Desktop vs Free Web Office Version: Features Comparison
Microsoft already offers a free cloud version of Office at Office.com. Now, with the new free desktop version, users have two free choices. While both versions share many limitations, some restrictions differ between the two. Here’s how they compare:
| Feature | Free Desktop Office (Ad-Supported) | Free Web Office (Office.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Ads | ✅ Yes (Persistent banner & video ads) | ❌ No Ads |
| Offline Access | ✅ Yes (Apps run offline) | ❌ No (Internet required) |
| Saving to Local Drive | ❌ No (OneDrive-only saving) | ❌ No (OneDrive-only saving) |
| Saving to OneDrive | ✅ Yes (Only option available) | ✅ Yes (Only option available) |
| Advanced Formatting (Themes, Styles, Fonts) | ❌ Limited (Basic only) | ❌ Limited (Basic only) |
| AI Features (Copilot, Smart Lookup, Dictate) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Real-Time Collaboration | ❌ Limited (Basic editing only) | ✅ Yes (Better real-time editing) |
| Macros & Automation | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Add-ins & Plugins | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Mail Merge (Word) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| PivotTables & Conditional Formatting (Excel) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| SmartArt, Charts, Power BI (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Draw & Design Tools | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Equation & Symbol Support | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Custom Slide Show & Animations (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Advanced Security (Password Protection, IRM) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Integration with Outlook & Microsoft Services | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| File Recovery & Version History | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Performance (Speed & Responsiveness) | ✅ Faster (Runs locally) | ❌ Slower (Depends on internet speed) |
| Shortcut Key Support | ✅ Yes | ❌ Limited |
| UI Customization (Ribbon, Quick Access Toolbar) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Dictate | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Line spacing, Shading, Borders | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Cover Page, Tables, Shapes, Icons, SmartArt, Chart, Online Videos | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Bookmark, Cross-reference, Header, Footer | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Text Box, Quick Parts, WordArt, Signature Line | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Date & Time, Object, Equation, and Symbol | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Columns, Line Numbers, Hyphenation, Wrap Text | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Position, Align, Bring Forward/Backward | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| All References and Mailing tools | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Analyze Data, Fill (Excel) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Recommended Charts, PivotChart, Line, Column, Win/Loss | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Slicer, Timeline (Excel) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Breaks, Background, Print Titles (Excel) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Defined Names, Formula Auditing, Watch Window | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Macros, Custom Views, Workbook Statistics (Excel) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Screenshot, Photo Album, Cameo (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Date and Time, Slide Number, Object (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Format Background (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Rehearse Timings, Play Narrations, Use Timings (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Show Media Controls (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Slide Master, Notes Master (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| All Animations and Record Tools (PowerPoint) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
With this release, Microsoft now offers two free versions of Office: one for the cloud and one for the desktop. Both have ads and limitations, but they provide a great alternative for casual users who don’t want to pay for Microsoft 365.
If you need offline access, the ad-supported desktop version is your best bet. If you prefer collaboration tools, the cloud version might be better. Either way, users now have more ways to access Office for free.
As of now, this version is only available on Windows, the Mac support may be in the pipeline, but there is no official confirmation. Would you try the free desktop version of Microsoft Office? Let us know your thoughts.
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