Microsoft Word vs Typst

Microsoft Word

• People who want a full desktop word processor on Windows or Mac
• Households: Microsoft 365 Family covers 1 to 6 people
• Occasional writers who only need the free browser version
• Buyers who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription

Typst

• Students and researchers who want an alternative to LaTeX
• Co-authors editing a technical document together in a browser
• Teams that generate reports or invoices from data
• Organizations that need the editor hosted on their own servers

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.

Typst

• The Free plan is limited to 200 MB of storage and 100 files per project, and leaves out comments, folders and reference-manager sync.
• Only the compiler is open source; the web app is closed source, and hosting it yourself needs the custom-priced On-Premises plan.
• Documents use Typst's own markup language. The web app converts files from LaTeX, Word and Markdown.
• GitHub and GitLab sync and private packages are labeled experimental on the pricing page.

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.

Typst

Markup with automatic formatting

Documents are written as structured markup and laid out automatically, then exported as a PDF, an image or, in preview, a website.

Collaborative web app

The browser editor adds shared editing, autocomplete and a live preview. Sharing and collaboration are part of the Free plan; comment threads need Pro.

Templates and packages

Projects can start from community templates and import community packages. Pro adds private packages and templates limited to a workspace.

Math, tables and bibliographies

Equations are built into the markup, tables can be filled from CSV or JSON, and citations are formatted automatically, with Zotero and Mendeley sync on Pro.

Scripting and data loading

Conditionals, loops and functions are embedded in the language, so a document or a batch of invoices can be generated from a JSON file.

Open-source compiler

The command-line compiler is a free download for Windows, macOS and Linux, can run on a server, and can be embedded in other apps as a library.

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, each with 1 TB of storage. 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.

Typst

• Free$0

  Create, share and collaborate on projects with community packages and templates, 200 MB of storage and up to 100 files per project.

• Pro$7.99

  per month, billed monthly; $79.99 per year billed yearly

  Adds comments, private packages and templates, GitHub and GitLab sync, Zotero and Mendeley sync, slide presenting, folders and 2 GB of storage.

• On-PremisesCustom

  The web app run in your own data center with LDAP access control and priority support. Starts at 5 organization members.

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.

Typst

• Annual discount

  Lower price with yearly payment

  The pricing page marks yearly payment as 14% off. In US dollars Pro is $79.99 for a year against $7.99 a month, which is $95.88 over twelve months.