Polaris Office vs WPS Writer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, WPS Writer grades higher than Polaris Office: 3.2 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
WPS Writer grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Polaris Office
Word, sheet, slide and PDF editor with an AI agent called NOVA
WPS Writer
Word-compatible word processor in the WPS Office suite
Which one is for you
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
Pick WPS Writer if
- Fits if you want a free word processor that opens and saves Word files
- Works for a family or small group of 2 or more splitting Pro+ at $41.99 a person a year
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you only want a word processor, as Writer comes with the whole WPS Office suite and isn't sold alone
- Tight if you stay free: 1 GB of cloud space, limited template downloads, basic PDF tools, and going ad-free takes Pro+
- Not for you if you lean on AI all day, because the Pro+ tools pause once the daily limit is reached
- Watch out: prices are given for PC and Android only, none for Mac or iOS, and the 3-day trial is on the Sharing Plan only
- Skip it if you need it to talk to other apps, as the listing shows no integrations and no API
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPolaris OfficeGood | 3.2GPAWPS WriterVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AThe whole suite, Writer included, is a free download for Windows, Mac, Linux, phones and the web, so the job gets done without paying anything. Pro+ is $69.99 a year, $5.83 a month, for the whole suite, and two or more people can split a Sharing Plan at $41.99 each a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free web version edits DOCX, PPTX, XLSX and HWP files, but with limited features, and AI needs a login. | BWPS Standard is the free suite with Writer in it, basic PDF features, a PDF reader and 1 GB of cloud space. Template downloads are limited, and no advertising is something only Pro+ lists. |
| Features | BWord, sheet, slide and PDF editing, cloud storage, link sharing and a perpetual licence option. The listing names no gap in the core work. | BOpens and saves .docx, .doc and .rtf with styles, tables and macros kept, the vendor says. Real-time co-editing with comments and version history, WPS AI to draft, rewrite, summarize and translate, and PDF to Word conversion. Full PDF editing is Pro+ only. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Plans, devices and a login to sort out, and the free web version is limited. | BNo store rating on record, so we go on the listing: it's a free download that opens the Word files you already have, with nothing to set up. The AI tools on Pro+ do pause for the day once you reach their daily limit. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Android, iPhone and web, but no API or integrations are listed. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and the web. But the listing shows no integrations and no API, which is what an A needs. The pricing page also gives prices for PC and Android only, not Mac or iOS. |
| Best for | cheap document editing on every device | a free stand-in for Microsoft Word |
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: Polaris Office and WPS Writer. How we grade
Price against what you get
Polaris Office starts at $3.33 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WPS Writer starts at $5.83 a month and scores 3.0.
WPS Writer scores higher, and starts $2.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other writing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Polaris Office for less, and 1 scores higher than WPS Writer 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.
- Polaris Office also covers spreadsheets, presentations and pDF editing.
- WPS Writer also covers templates and grammar & style.
At a glance
| Polaris Office | WPS Writer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3.33 per month, billed annually (Smart) | $5.83 per month, billed $69.99 per year (WPS Pro+) |
| Free plan | Polaris Web Office: basic document editing in the browser for free; AI features need a login. | WPS Standard: the free WPS Office suite, Writer included, with basic PDF features, a PDF reader, limited template downloads and 1 GB of cloud space. |
| Free trial | None listed | 3-day free trial on the WPS Pro+ Sharing Plan. Purchases carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Polaris Office Corp. | Kingsoft Office Software |
| Price read from | polarisoffice.com | wps.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
WPS Writer
- WPS Writer is not sold on its own: it comes with the WPS Office suite, and every plan covers the whole suite.
- The free plan is limited to 1 GB of cloud space and restricted template downloads, and no advertising is listed as a Pro+ benefit.
- AI tools on Pro+ have a daily usage limit; once it is reached they pause until the next day.
- The pricing page says its prices apply to PC and Android, and it gives no prices for Mac or iOS.
Key features
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.
WPS Writer
- Word-compatible editing
- Opens and saves .docx, .doc and .rtf files, and the vendor says styles, headers and footers, tables, images and macros are preserved.
- AI writing and rewriting
- WPS AI drafts reports, proposals and letters from a prompt, and can polish wording, change tone, or expand and shorten selected text.
- AI summary, translation and spell check
- Summarizes long documents and answers questions about them, translates whole documents, and lists spelling and grammar suggestions to review one by one or in batches.
- Real-time co-editing
- Documents can be shared with view, comment or edit permissions and edited together across desktop and web, with comments, mentions and version history.
- Templates and design resources
- Templates, fonts, icons, covers and table styles for reports, resumes and letters. Template downloads are limited on the free plan and unlimited on Pro+.
- PDF conversion
- Converts PDF files into editable Word documents. The free plan has basic PDF features; full PDF editing and conversion tools are part of Pro+.
Plans
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.
WPS Writer
WPS Standard$0
The free WPS Office suite, including Writer, with basic PDF features, limited template downloads and 1 GB of cloud space.
WPS Pro+$69.99
per year ($5.83 / month); or $20.99 per 3 months
Suite-wide plan for one user: full PDF editing and conversion, unlimited template downloads, 20 GB of cloud storage, no advertising and AI tools with daily limits.
WPS Pro+ Sharing Plan$41.99
per user / year, 2 users minimum; or $4.99 per user / month
Suite-wide Pro+ benefits for each member of a family or small group, with a private 20 GB of cloud storage per member. Members can be added or removed.
Ways to pay less
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.
WPS Writer
- Other savings
Sharing Plan cuts the per-user price by 40%
With at least 2 users, the WPS Pro+ Sharing Plan costs $41.99 per user a year against $69.99 for a single Pro+ subscription. The pricing page labels this as saving 40%.
- Annual discount
Lower monthly cost on the 1-year plan
WPS Pro+ for a year is $69.99, which the page shows as $5.83 a month, against $20.99 for the 3-month plan, shown as $6.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Polaris Office or WPS Writer?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Polaris Office is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month, against $5.83 a month for WPS Writer. Polaris Office starts at $3.33 per month, billed annually (Smart), and WPS Writer starts at $5.83 per month, billed $69.99 per year (WPS Pro+).
Which has a free plan, Polaris Office or WPS Writer?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Polaris Office and WPS Writer have a free plan.
Which platforms do Polaris Office and WPS Writer run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only WPS Writer lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows, iOS and Android 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.