Microsoft Secretly Dropped A Free, Ad-Supported Version Of Office, But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up Yet
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Microsoft has quietly released a free, ad-supported version of Office (rebranded as Microsoft 365).
- The free version includes ads and restrictions like saving files only to OneDrive but still allows file editing.
- Currently, the free version is being tested with a limited group of users, and Microsoft has no official plans to roll it out more widely.
Microsoft surprised us by discreetly rolling out a free version of Office (now rebranded as Microsoft 365), including some of its most powerful tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. What is usually a subscription service costing $99.99 per year or more is now available for free, though with ads. Honestly, I’d take the offer, considering how valuable these Office tools are. Unfortunately, it looks like I, along with everyone else, will need to temper our excitement.
First spotted by Beebom, this free version of Office seemed too good to be true. Sure, it features video ads and a persistent ad banner inside Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but at least you can edit files, unlike the view-only option that non-subscribers get. Another annoyance discovered by Beebom was that files could only be saved and downloaded from OneDrive rather than local storage. Even so, for many users, the benefits of Microsoft’s tools would outweigh these inconveniences.
It turns out, however, that Microsoft is only testing this free, ad-supported version with a limited group of users. The company shared this statement with PC World:
Microsoft has been conducting some limited testing. Currently, there are no plans to launch a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop apps.
While Microsoft claims it has “no plans” to launch an ad-supported version of Office, a test like this suggests they might be considering it. It’s unlikely that Microsoft would confirm something so big without careful consideration, but the company may be assessing the viability of an ad-supported option. If it decides to move forward, the ad-laden Office could either be free or available at a reduced price, following a model similar to other subscription services.
Would you use a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office?
3 votes
If you’d like to try the free, ad-supported version of Office, you can attempt to download it from Microsoft’s website. After installing, skip the sign-in step, and you should see a “Welcome to free Word, Excel, and PowerPoint” dialog.
Since Microsoft has stated that this is a limited test, it’s unclear if the free version will be available to everyone, but it’s worth trying your luck.
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