Microsoft Word vs Polaris Office (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 2.8.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft Word grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. Polaris Office grades higher on value for money.
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
Polaris Office
Word, sheet, slide and PDF editor with an AI agent called NOVA
Which one is for you
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
Pick Polaris Office if
- Fits if you want Word, sheet and slide files on a phone and a laptop for a few dollars
- Works for people who open HWP files as well as DOCX
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want the full editor free, because the web version has limited features
- Pricey if you want AI: $10.83 a month, or $33.33 for AI Pro
- Watch out: the 50% AI discounts last the first year only
- Not for you if you need PDF editing on the cheapest plan, since it starts on Pro at $5
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAMicrosoft WordVery good | 2.8GPAPolaris OfficeGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | A$3.33 a month billed annually for Smart, under 60% of the category's $5.75 cheaper-quarter mark. PDF editing sits on Pro at $5. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free web version edits DOCX, PPTX, XLSX and HWP files, but with limited features, and AI needs a login. |
| Features | 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. | BWord, sheet, slide and PDF editing, cloud storage, link sharing and a perpetual licence option. The listing names no gap in the core work. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. Plans, devices and a login to sort out, and the free web version is limited. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWindows, Mac, Android, iPhone and web, but no API or integrations are listed. |
| Best for | files that others expect in Word format | cheap document editing on every device |
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: Microsoft Word and Polaris Office. How we grade
Price against what you get
Microsoft Word starts at $8.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 4.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Polaris Office starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7.
Microsoft Word scores higher, and starts $5 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other writing tools on the chart, none scores higher than Microsoft Word for less, and 3 score higher than Polaris Office for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Polaris Office can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Microsoft Word also covers dictation, templates and grammar & style.
- Polaris Office also covers spreadsheets, presentations and pDF editing.
At a glance
| Microsoft Word | Polaris Office | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $3.33 per month, billed annually (Smart) |
| Free plan | 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. | Polaris Web Office: basic document editing in the browser for free; AI features need a login. |
| Free trial | 1-month free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Polaris Office Corp. |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | polarisoffice.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Polaris Office
- The free web version has limited features; AI features there need a login.
- Prices were read from the annual view of the plan table; monthly-billed prices were not readable.
- AI plans show a 50% first-year discount; the larger figure is the regular annual-billed monthly rate.
- Subscriptions list minimum systems of Windows 10, macOS 11, Android 7.0 and iOS 16.
Key features
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.
Polaris Office
- Word, sheet, slide and PDF editing
- Creates and edits documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDFs, and opens HWP files, on desktop, mobile and in the browser.
- NOVA AI agent
- Chats about your documents, analyzes tables and charts, drafts content and edits files; use is metered in monthly credits on the AI plans.
- Polaris Drive cloud storage
- Syncs documents across devices: 10 GB on Smart, 100 GB on Pro, with document history of 15 or 90 days.
- Link sharing and co-editing
- Share a document with a link and edit it together in real time, according to the subscription page.
- PDF tools
- Smart exports to PDF; Pro adds editing, merging, splitting and filling PDF forms.
- Perpetual license option
- Windows, Mac and iOS editions can be bought once for a single device, with no sign-in and offline use.
Plans
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.
Polaris Office
Web Office$0
Browser editing of DOCX, PPTX, XLSX and HWP files with limited features and no install.
Smart$3.33
per month, billed annually
Edit Word, slide and sheet files, export to PDF, 3 PCs and 6 mobile devices, 10 GB of Polaris Drive.
Pro$5.00
per month, billed annually
Smart plus PDF edit, merge, split and form fill, 5 PCs and 10 mobile devices, 100 GB of Polaris Drive.
AI$10.83
per month, billed annually
Pro plus NOVA with 3,000 AI credits a month and 10 GB of knowledge storage; $5.42 a month for the first year.
AI Pro$33.33
per month, billed annually
AI plan with 15,000 credits a month, 50 GB of knowledge storage and scheduled tasks; $16.67 a month for year one.
Ways to pay less
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.
Polaris Office
- Other savings
50% off the first year of AI plans
The AI and AI Pro plans show half price for the first year when billed annually, at $5.42 and $16.67 a month.
- Annual discount
Up to 16% off with annual billing
The plan table says annual billing saves up to 16% compared with monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Word or Polaris Office?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Polaris Office is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month, against $8.33 a month when paid by the year for Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word starts at $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal), and Polaris Office starts at $3.33 per month, billed annually (Smart).
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Word or Polaris Office?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Microsoft Word and Polaris Office 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.