FreeOffice TextMaker vs Mellel (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, FreeOffice TextMaker grades higher than Mellel: 3.4 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
FreeOffice TextMaker grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FreeOffice TextMaker
Free word processor that opens and saves Microsoft Word files
Mellel
Mac word processor for long academic and technical documents
Which one is for you
Pick FreeOffice TextMaker if
- Fits if you want a free word processor that opens Word files
- Works for a household or a small office on one or three computers
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: free products have no email support, only the user forum
- Watch out: the license allows 3 computers in a household or 1 in an organization
- Skip it if you want a browser-based editor, since none is listed
- Watch out: SoftMaker Office, the paid version, has email support and prices we did not check
Pick Mellel if
- Fits if you're writing a thesis or a book on a Mac, with notes and cross-references throughout
- Works for mixing Hebrew, Arabic or Syriac with other languages in one document
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows, Android or the web, as it's Mac and iPad only
- Pricey if you need citations and don't own Bookends, since the bundle with it is $114.99
- Not for you if you'd work mostly on an iPad, because Mellel Mobile lacks some of the Mac's editing options and charges for bibliography scanning
- Watch out: a license covers two years of free updates, and later versions are a paid upgrade listed at $44
- Watch out: the iPad in-app purchases are $29.99 and $9.99, and the App Store doesn't say how they're billed
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAFreeOffice TextMakerVery good | 2.4GPAMellelFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for personal and business use. Writing tools charge $5.83 to $12.50 a month. | A$69.99 once, for a licence that never expires on up to 5 computers. A year of this category's middle price is about $100, so one payment buys you more than that and keeps going. Updates are free for two years, then an upgrade is listed at $44. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree with no caps listed, for home or work use. | CNo free plan for the Mac app, so you get 30 days unrestricted and then it's pay or stop. The iPad app is a free download, but bibliography scanning sits behind an in-app purchase. |
| Features | BA word processor with Office file compatibility, ribbon or classic menus and a touch mode. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | CAutomatic headings with a rearrangeable outline, as many streams of footnotes and endnotes as you want, reusable style sets, right-to-left Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac, Word in and ePUB out. But the listing says citations and bibliographies need Bookends, a separate app. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but it's a program you install and start typing in. Menus can look like Office's. | CNo store rating on record, and this is not a tool you open and understand. The listing points to a quick-start guide, style sets are something you build and reuse, and notes come in streams you have to arrange. The unrestricted 30-day trial at least lets you learn on a real chapter. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, and it opens Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. No web editor is listed. | COne family of devices: a Mac app and an iPad app that opens the same files, with iCloud and Bookends joined on. No Windows, no Android, no web, and Mellel Mobile is missing some of the Mac's editing options. |
| Best for | a free word processor for any system | long academic documents on a Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FreeOffice TextMaker and Mellel. How we grade
Where they differ
- Mellel can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Mellel also covers citations.
At a glance
| FreeOffice TextMaker | Mellel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $69.99 one-time for Mellel for Mac; iPad in-app purchases from $9.99 |
| Free plan | FreeOffice is free for personal and business use; there is no email support for free products. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Mellel for Mac, without restrictions |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SoftMaker Software GmbH | Mellel Software |
| Price read from | freeoffice.com | sites.fastspring.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FreeOffice TextMaker
- There is no email support for free products; help comes from the user forum.
- The license allows 3 computers in one household or 1 computer in an organization.
- SoftMaker also sells commercial SoftMaker Office editions with email support; their prices were not checked here.
- There is no web or browser-based editor listed.
Mellel
- Mac and iPad only: there is no Windows, Android or web version.
- A license covers two years of free updates; later versions need a paid upgrade, listed at $44 on the store page.
- Mellel Mobile runs on iPad only, lacks some editing options of the Mac version, and needs Premium for bibliography scanning.
- Citations and bibliographies rely on Bookends, a separate reference manager that is sold with Mellel as a $114.99 bundle.
Key features
FreeOffice TextMaker
- Word processor
- A full word processor, part of a suite with the PlanMaker spreadsheet and the Presentations program.
- Microsoft Office compatibility
- The vendor says the suite is compatible with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
- Ribbon or classic menus
- FreeOffice 2024 can switch between a ribbon interface and classic menus and toolbars.
- Touch mode
- A touch mode with larger icons and more spacing is available with both interface styles.
- Mobile apps
- The vendor offers TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations for iOS and Android free of charge.
- Business use allowed
- The site states the suite is free for business as well as personal use.
Mellel
- Auto-titles and outline
- Automatically formatted headings and captions define a document's structure on several levels. The outline gives an overview for jumping to any part and rearranging it.
- Footnotes and endnotes
- Supports an unlimited number of footnote and endnote streams, with endnotes placed at the end of the document, chapter, section or any combination of these.
- Bibliography with Bookends
- Integration with the Bookends reference manager updates citations and the bibliography as you write, with one bibliography for the document, one per chapter, or both.
- Styles and style sets
- Styles apply to characters, paragraphs, pages, notes, sections, tables and lists, and are grouped into style sets that can be reused in other documents.
- Multilingual and right-to-left text
- Mixes languages, scripts and writing directions within one document, paragraph or sentence, with right-to-left support for Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac.
- Import and export
- Opens Word (docx), RTF, OPML and plain-text files, and exports to PDF, Word (docx), RTF, OPML and ePUB.
Plans
FreeOffice TextMaker
FreeOffice$0
TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations; the license covers 3 household computers or 1 organization computer.
Mellel
Mellel Mobile$0
Free iPad app with in-app purchases: Standard at $29.99 and Premium at $9.99 on the US App Store, which does not show their billing basis.
Mellel for Mac$69.99
one-time license
Personal license for up to 5 computers that never expires, with two years of free updates. The vendor's store page rounds the price to $69.
Mellel + Bookends Bundle$114.99
one-time purchase
Mellel for Mac together with the Bookends reference manager, against $144.98 when the two are bought separately.
Ways to pay less
FreeOffice TextMaker
No public discounts listed.
Mellel
- Other savings
Upgrade from any older license for $44
The store lists a $44 upgrade to the latest version for holders of any Mellel license, however old, with two more years of free updates.
- Other savings
Mellel + Bookends bundle
A license for both Mellel and the Bookends reference manager costs $114.99, instead of $144.98 when each is bought separately.
- Other savings
Crossgrade price for Nisus users
Nisus users are offered a Mellel for Mac license at a discounted $51.75, with two years of free updates.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FreeOffice TextMaker or Mellel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, FreeOffice TextMaker is free, and Mellel starts at $69.99 one-time for Mellel for Mac; iPad in-app purchases from $9.99.
Which has a free plan, FreeOffice TextMaker or Mellel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only FreeOffice TextMaker has a free plan. Mellel does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do FreeOffice TextMaker and Mellel run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only FreeOffice TextMaker lists Windows, Linux and Android apps. Both list macOS and iOS apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.