3 Ways to Get Microsoft Office for Free

I'll show you three ways to get Microsoft Office for free. Not everyone can use all options, but almost everyone will be able to use one of them.

How to Use Microsoft Office for Free on the Web

This version is called Office.com and includes all of the Office apps—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNotes, OneDrive. All in your web browser (just like Google Workspace and Apple iCloud). Here's how to sign for and use Office.com for free:

1. Go to Office.com and click Sign In.

2. If you already have a Microsoft account, sign into it and skip to step 5 below. If you don't, click Create One to create an account.

3. To create a Microsoft account, enter your email address, create a password, and enter your birthday.

4. Microsoft will send a verification code to your email address. Enter it and solve the puzzle to prove you're human to complete signing up.

5. Once you've logged into Office.com, you see the main screen. Here, you can access all Microsoft Office apps via the left-hand menu, along with templates for common types of documents. Once you have some documents saved, they'll show up in the middle of the screen.

6. Click the app you want to start using.

How Students and Teachers Can Get Microsoft Office for Free

There's one other way to get Microsoft Office for free. If you're a student or teacher and have an email address from your educational institution, you can get Office 365 Education edition for free. You can use this free version if you're a student or are employed as a teacher.

To get this free version of Microsoft Office, go to Microsoft's education website, enter your school email address, create your account, and start using Office.

How to Get a Microsoft Office Free Trial

The only way to get the full version of Microsoft Office is to pay for it. There is a free trial of Microsoft Office that will let you use them without paying for 30 days. You can sign up for that, but you'll need to remember to cancel before the 30 days are up. Here's what to do:

1. In your web browser, go to Microsoft365.com.

   For a deeper look at Microsoft 365, check out A Complete Guide to Microsoft 365.

2. Select a Microsoft Office subscription plan and click Buy Now.

   Microsoft will charge your payment method when you sign up, but the cost will be refunded when you cancel.

3. If you don't have a Microsoft account, you must create one (see the steps in the previous section). You'll move to the confirmation screen if you already have a Microsoft account. Click Next.

4. Choose a payment method (PayPal or card) and enter the details, along with your name and email address.

5. Once all details are correct on the Confirm subscription screen, click Subscribe.

6. Your Microsoft Office subscription starts, and the clock on your 30-day free trial begins. From the main screen, you can download mobile and desktop apps, set up OneDrive, or use Microsoft Office online.

7. To avoid paying, cancel before the 30 days run out. To do that, click your user account icon in the top right and click My Microsoft account.

8. Under Microsoft 365, click Manage.

9. Click Cancel subscription.

10. Scroll to the bottom of the screen, past all of the ways Microsoft tries to convince you to keep your subscription, and click I don't want my subscription.

11. In the pop-up, click Today to cancel right away and then Cancel subscription. After this, the confirmation screen will let you know you've canceled and won't be charged.