office for mac free - cover
Source: Microsoft

5 Ways To Get Office For Mac & Microsoft 365 Free in 2025

Nick Mead
How To
11
Last updated:

Want to run Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Teams on your Mac without paying a subscription?

While Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) isn’t completely free on macOS, there are several legal ways to use it for little or no cost – even on the latest Apple Silicon Macs.

Below are the best options, plus key updates you should know about in 2025.

Is Microsoft 365 Free for Mac?

There’s no unlimited, completely free version of Microsoft 365 for Mac.

However, you can still access the core Office apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, and more – through a variety of free or low-cost methods.

Microsoft 365 Branding in 2025

  • Microsoft rebranded Office 365 to Microsoft 365 in 2020, and the name change is now mainly complete across most consumer and education products.
  • Microsoft’s AI features are branded as Copilot, which is included in certain paid plans but not in the free tiers.

Is There A Free Version of Microsoft Office 365 For Mac?

There is no 100% free version of Microsoft Office 365 for Mac although these are the best legal workarounds to use it without paying on macOS.

Note that Microsoft is currently rebranding Microsoft 365 as Microsoft 365 Copilot and a subscription costs $99/year for individuals or $129.99/year for a family subscription.

This follows-on from the initial rebranding in 2022 of Office for Mac to Microsoft 365.

One-Time Purchase Option

If you don’t like subscriptions, you can buy Microsoft Office 2024 for Mac as a one-time purchase.

  • This gives you classic desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • It does not include Copilot AI features, OneDrive cloud storage, or continuous feature updates.
  • You pay once, but it’s more limited than Microsoft 365.

Are There Free Alternatives To Microsoft Office 365 For Mac?

There are some very good free alternatives to Microsoft 365 for Mac that allow you to upload and export Microsoft Office files for free.

However, nothing beats the real thing though so here are the best legal methods to access Microsoft apps without paying for a personal subscription:

1. Microsoft Office 365 Education Edition

microsoft office 365 education site
Source: MacHow2

If you’re a student or educator, you may qualify for a free Office 365 Education plan. Note that Microsoft has not completely rebranded it to Microsoft 365 yet but it’s the same thing.

  • Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, OneDrive (1 TB), and more.
  • Available worldwide to anyone with a valid school email address from an eligible institution.
  • You’ll need to verify your school email to activate the account.

Tip: Some schools also include free desktop downloads. Others provide only the web-based apps – availability depends on your school’s licensing.

More Info: Sign-up for Office 365 Education.

2. Microsoft 365 Online (Free For Everyone)

microsoft 365 free version
Source: MacHow2

Anyone can use the web-based version of Microsoft 365 for free – no student status required.

  • Apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote run entirely in your browser.
  • Works on any Mac, with documents saved to OneDrive.
  • No installation required.

Limitations:

  • Offline use is not supported.
  • Some advanced features are missing compared to the desktop apps.

More Info: Use Microsoft 365 for free online

3. Microsoft 365 Free Trial

microsoft 365 free trial
Source: MacHow2

You can sign up for a one-month free trial of Microsoft 365 Family or Personal.

  • Full desktop apps for Mac with all premium features and 1 TB of OneDrive storage.
  • Requires a credit card, but you can cancel anytime to avoid charges.
  • Great if you only need Microsoft 365 for a short-term project.

More Info: Start a 1-month free trial

4. Use a Microsoft Family Plan Invite

microsoft 365 family
Source: MacHow2

Microsoft 365 Family covers up to six users.

  • If a friend or relative already has a subscription, they can invite you to share their plan at no extra cost.
  • Or, split the cost with others – at $129.99/£104.99 per year, that’s about $21.66/£17.50 per person for full desktop apps and 1 TB of OneDrive storage each.

More Info: Sign-up For Microsoft Family

5. Use Microsoft Office On iOS For Free

microsoft 365 app store
Source: MacHow2

Microsoft offers free iOS/iPadOS apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

  • You can create, edit, and print documents for personal use without a subscription.
  • Requires a free Microsoft account.

Limitations:

On larger iPads (like iPad Pro), a Microsoft 365 subscription is required for editing.

Free editing works on screens 10.1 inches or smaller.

More Info: Microsoft 365 for iOS

Comparison Table: Your Free Microsoft 365 Options

MethodCostApps IncludedWorks Offline?Who Can Use It
Microsoft 365 EducationFreeWord, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDriveYes (if school provides desktop apps)Students & Teachers
Microsoft 365 OnlineFreeWord, Excel, PowerPoint (web only)❌ NoEveryone
Free TrialFree (1 mo)Full desktop suite + 1 TB OneDrive✅ YesEveryone
Family Plan Share$21.66/yr split between 6 usersFull desktop suite + 1 TB OneDrive✅ YesInvited users
iPhone/iPad AppsFreeWord, Excel, PowerPoint (mobile)✅ Yes (on supported devices)Everyone

Summary

To sum it up:

  • Truly free desktop apps are only available if you qualify for Microsoft 365 Education or use a Family Plan share.
  • Anyone can use Microsoft 365 for the web free of charge, but it requires an internet connection.
  • Paid plans now include Copilot AI, but it isn’t part of any free option.

With these options, you can run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more on your Mac legally – without paying for an individual Microsoft 365 subscription.

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Nick Mead
Nick founded MacHow2 in 2013 and has a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Nick started life as a tech journalist and created MacHow2 mainly to help users like himself that had switched from Windows to macOS (and never looked back). Since then the site has evolved into one of the biggest independent online resources for Mac users new and old. You can follow him on X or get in touch via email below or the contact form at the top of the site.

11 Responses

  1. I have been using a free Microsoft Office on my Toshiba laptop for many years. I now own a MacBook Air(Ventura). I really would like to use this great program on my Mac. Is there a way, to use it on my MacBook,please.

    Reply

  2. Hi currently running Office 2008 on my Mac Pro OS 10.14. If I update OS and purchase Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License will I be able to convert old Excel and Word docs to view / copy and edit in new version?? Tx Paul

    Reply

    1. Yes you will be able to open documents created in older versions of Office in Office 2021 but you may need to access the Trust Center File Block settings in Office to enable it to open them.

      Reply

  3. Hi there everyone. Well here we go. I purchased this product a few months ago. I had recently switched to MAC from Windows and was looking to use Microsoft office programs on my new MAC. Any way I contacted the supplier and asked if the product was going to work on my new MAC M1 Ultra with Monterey. They said sure no problem. So I went ahead and purchased it and got the code and downloaded the package. Well, right away after downloading the program I realized that something was wrong. The download was an executable. Being new to Mac, I was not sure but realized that MAC did not use “.exe” files but “.dmg” files. I tried and there was no way to run it. It was obviously designed for MAC’s with intel chips not the M1 brand Apple Silicon. I contacted the company and told them the problem. Being sales people they did not have a clue. I talked to the next level people and even tech help and finally got the idea across about the issue and finally was able to get a full refund but took a few days. So be aware.. I just looked at the link and it still does not say anything about M1 and M2 apple silicon chips.

    Reply

  4. Hi I recently got my old Mac out of storage and have set it up in my house for the first time in years; it is running OS Sierra; I want to upgrade to Catalina as that is the latest edition it is capable of running. I will then lose Microsoft Office 2011; what is the best way to be able to access Excel and Word thereafter? Part of the reason I want to upgrade is that my MacBook is running a later OS and the Mac cannot open the later versions of Numbers or Pages

    Reply

    1. Your could consider creating a partition on your Mac to run both Sierra when you want for Microsoft Office and Catalina. You can do this using a virtual machine like Parallels so you can switch between them instantly. Otherwise, your only other option is to use one of the suggestions featured above.

      Reply

  5. So I purchased a refurbished Mac from Mac of all Trades. I did not get an original Mac drive…when I called Mac they helped me change the drive name to a Macintosh. The reasons why I am telling you this is when I tried to upgrade to Monterey from the MacOS 10.14.6 it would not allow me to do it. My question is, can I get the Microsoft (really only want word, excel and powerpoint) with the 10.14.6?

    Reply

    1. Microsoft Office works with macOS 10.14.6 but you won’t be able to receive updates to it unless you’re running the latest version of macOS.

      Reply

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