Hancom Office vs Microsoft Word (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft Word: it is first in our ranking of writing tools, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hancom Office grades higher on value for money. Microsoft Word grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Word
Word processor sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser
Which one is for you
Pick Hancom Office if
- Fits if you work with Hangul or HWP files
- Works for Korean-language offices that want one suite across devices
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a dollar price, because the store pages show won only
- Not for you if you want a Mac or Linux download edition, since the download editions target Windows 11 or later
- Tight if you stay on the free tier, where computers get a viewer rather than an editor
- Watch out: Home licences cover one PC and subscription prices weren't readable on the pages
Pick Microsoft Word if
- Fits if people send you Word files and expect them back looking the same
- Works for contracts and reports that need track changes and version history
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you only write the odd letter, because the free web version or Google Docs will do
- Pricey if Word is the only app you want, since the subscription bundles Excel and PowerPoint too, from $9.99 a month
- Tight if you want track changes or advanced formatting on a phone or tablet, which needs a subscription
- Not for you if you do your real writing on an iPad, going by reviews about crashes and lost pages
- Watch out: Copilot has usage limits and works only for the owner on Family, and Business Basic has no desktop Word
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHancom OfficeGood | 3.4GPAMicrosoft WordVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | Bâ‚©99,000 one-time for Home & Student on one PC, roughly in line with a year or two of a typical subscription, but there is no dollar price and the subscriptions are not shown. Won pricing is a Korean store price. | C$9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year, which works out at $8.33 a month: dead on the middle for writing tools. You do get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and 1 TB of storage for it, but you can't subscribe to Word alone, and Google Docs is free. |
| Free plan and trial | BHancom Docs Free gives web and mobile apps, a Windows and Mac viewer and 2 GB of storage. | BWord for the web is free for one person, with real-time collaboration, basic spelling and grammar, basic templates, dictation and 5 GB of storage. The desktop apps and Copilot aren't in it, track changes on a phone needs a subscription, and the paid trial is a month. |
| Features | CHangul word processor, spreadsheet, slides, PDF and AI add-ons. Gaps: free users get a viewer on computers, and subscription terms aren't readable. | ATrack changes, version history, co-authoring with people who haven't even got an account, thousands of templates. Plus Dictate transcribing a whole audio file into a document, Immersive Reader, an Accessibility Checker for contrast and wording, and Copilot drafting, which has usage limits. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The buying pages are in Korean and in won, which adds friction for most readers. | A4.73 on the App Store from over 3 million ratings, and most people already know their way round it. What you get on the web, a phone and a desktop differs in confusing ways, mind, and phone reviewers report lost work. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Android, iPhone and web, but no API or integrations are listed. | AWindows, Mac, iPhone, Android and the web, with OneDrive, Copilot and Microsoft Designer wired in, so every device type is covered. No Linux app is listed, so there it's the browser version. |
| Best for | Hangul files and a Korean-market office suite | files that others expect in Word format |
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: Hancom Office and Microsoft Word. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hancom Office can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Hancom Office also covers spreadsheets, presentations and pDF editing.
- Microsoft Word also covers dictation, templates and grammar & style.
At a glance
| Hancom Office | Microsoft Word | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | â‚©99,000 one-time (Home & Student, Windows, Korean store) | $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal) |
| Free plan | Hancom Docs Free: Hancom Office Viewer for Windows and Mac, web and mobile Hancom Office, and 2 GB of storage. | Word for the web is free for 1 person: real-time collaboration, basic spelling and grammar, basic templates, dictation and 5 GB of cloud storage. The mobile apps cover basic editing without a subscription. |
| Free trial | None listed | 1-month free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Hancom Inc. | Microsoft |
| Price read from | hancom.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hancom Office
- The store pages that carry the prices are in Korean and priced in won; no US dollar price was readable.
- Subscription prices for Hancom Docs Personal and Business are not shown on the pages that could be read.
- The download editions listed target Windows 11 or later, and the store page says one PC per home license.
- Hancom Docs Free stops at web and mobile apps and a viewer on Windows and Mac.
Microsoft Word
- The Windows and Mac apps need a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time Office purchase; only the web version is free.
- Copilot requires a paid subscription, has usage limits, and on shared plans works for the subscription owner only.
- On phones and tablets, advanced formatting and track changes need a Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7.00 per user / month paid yearly, or $5.40 without Teams) includes only the web and mobile versions of Word.
Key features
Hancom Office
- Hangul word processor
- Writes and edits documents on Windows; the newest version adds multiple windows for one file, multi-selection editing and LaTeX equation input.
- Spreadsheet, slides and PDF
- Hancell handles calculation and data, Hanshow handles presentations, and the PDF app views PDFs and converts them to Office documents or images.
- Hancom Docs AI
- The Personal and Business subscription plans include Hancom Docs AI for document work.
- Cross-platform apps
- Hancom Docs runs the suite on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and the web, with 13 languages including Korean.
- Subscription storage and devices
- Personal gives 10 GB and five computers; Business gives 100 GB per person, five computers per person and organization management.
- Add-ons
- Addons add services inside Hancom Office such as meeting notes, paper search, proofreading, plagiarism detection and contract review.
Microsoft Word
- Copilot in Word
- Drafts, rewrites and summarizes documents and answers questions about them. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription, and usage limits apply.
- Editor
- A built-in checker for spelling, grammar and writing style. The free web version includes basic spelling and grammar checks.
- Real-time co-authoring
- Share a document with anyone, including people without an account, and edit it together, with track changes and version history. Shared files are stored in OneDrive.
- Templates
- Thousands of customizable templates are available at no charge, and the free web version includes a basic set of templates, fonts and icons.
- Dictate
- Speech-to-text for writing by voice, plus transcription of audio files into a document. Dictation and voice commands are part of the free web version.
- Immersive Reader and Accessibility Checker
- Immersive Reader gives a pared-back reading view, and the Accessibility Checker recommends fixes to formatting, color contrast and word choice.
Plans
Hancom Office
Hancom Docs Free$0
Web and mobile Hancom Office plus a Windows and Mac viewer, with 2 GB of storage.
Home & Student (download)â‚©99,000
one-time purchase, 1 PC, Windows 11 or later
Download edition for home and student use on one PC; a bundle with Hancom Assistant is listed at â‚©110,000.
Business (download)â‚©566,500
one-time purchase, per license
Download edition of the suite for business use; a bundle with Hancom Assistant is listed at â‚©572,000.
Microsoft Word
Free$0
Word for the web for 1 person, with real-time collaboration, basic spelling and grammar, basic templates, dictation and 5 GB of storage.
Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99
per month, or $99.99 per year
1 person signed in on up to 5 devices, 1 TB of cloud storage, and the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps with Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Apps for business$10.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook for up to 300 employees, with 1 TB of cloud storage per user.
Microsoft 365 Family$12.99
per month, or $129.99 per year
Everything in Personal for 1 to 6 people, who share 2 TB of cloud storage between them. AI features are for the subscription owner only.
Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year
Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features such as advanced research and analytics.
Office Home 2024$179.99
one-time purchase for 1 PC or Mac
Classic 2024 desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, with no upgrade path to later releases.
Ways to pay less
Hancom Office
No public discounts listed.
Microsoft Word
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% by paying yearly
Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month, Family $129.99 against $12.99 and Premium $199.99 against $19.99.
- Education
Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal
Verified college and university students pay $4.99 a month for Microsoft 365 Personal. Student status has to be re-verified each year to keep the price.
- Education
Office 365 A1 free for eligible schools
Educators and students with an eligible school email address get Office 365 A1 at no cost, which includes the web versions of Word and the other core apps.
- Lifetime license
Office Home 2024 one-time purchase
$179.99 buys the classic 2024 desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for 1 PC or Mac, with no subscription.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hancom Office or Microsoft Word?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hancom Office starts at â‚©99,000 one-time (Home & Student, Windows, Korean store), and Microsoft Word starts at $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal).
Which has a free plan, Hancom Office or Microsoft Word?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Hancom Office and Microsoft Word have a free plan.
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.