Top 5 Alternatives to Microsoft Office (Word) for Photographers

In a world where computers rule our lives, we can not ignore the new trends in document creation. Where once we only had microsoft office, there are now a ton of alternatives.

As a photographer, we have to use a plethora of computer programs and the services they offer to get our work done. One of the essential professional programs has always been Microsoft Office, which contains a document creation program called Word. In the past, it was expensive, but now there are a lot of new programs you could use.

While it can be daunting to explore options and find a suitable replacement, the market does offer us some great free alternatives to Microsoft Office. If you’re searching for a great alternative to MS Word to get the job done, you’re in luck because we’ve compiled a list of the best MS Word replacement options on the market.

Use this list to find the best Microsoft Office alternative for you!

Google Docs

Google Docs is generally ranked as the best Microsoft Office alternative because of how similar it is to MS Word. Most people believe that Google Docs based their format upon Microsoft Office itself, which is great because it can then serve as an excellent replacement. This service offers the option to edit and save your papers and documents online. 

It has many useful features and can be further improved with custom add-ons. You can also invite a new writer to join and co-author your papers on Google Docs. This proves to be a useful feature for college students because it helps them get the work done in a group or team with minimal hassle. 

However, some students simply don’t have the time to write their research paper because of the severe demands of college life, which is why they may find an online research paper writer service instead. They can use Google Docs to regularly check up on how the writer is doing and edit the work if necessary.

If you are a photographer, pay attention to this MS alternative. Being in a hurry, you can forget about scheduled photoshoots or a sequence of orders. This tool has the function of setting notifications about the event date, which is very convenient for busy people.

WPS Office

WPS Office (Writer, Presentation, Spreadsheet Office) is another one of the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office. WPS Office is a product of Chinese company Kingsoft and is available on Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux in multiple languages, including English, French, and Russian. In fact, the stable launch for the Windows version was in late 2019. However, the application has been around much longer on Android and showed more than enough positive reviews for the company and developers to create a Windows version of the app. 

While the basic service is free, users can pay for access to “premium” services, too. This costs $29.99 a year–not bad for a powerful software like this. A bonus that comes with using the paid version of this app to write your papers is that you can permanently get rid of the annoying advertisements that tend to pop-up on the free version.

The application is more common in its home country, China, than in other parts of the world because of the general availability of MS Word, but still makes for an excellent MS Office replacement option, nonetheless. Students and learners often use it because of its accessible user interface that is fast and easy to use. For those who are new to the application, you can use several paper writing tips available online to help you. These tips will help you with research paper writing as well as other types of literature. 

iWork

For all the MacBook users, out there who don’t have access to Microsoft Office, iWork is perfect. The application was developed by none other than Apple itself and is the company’s alternative to MS Word. However, it is only available for Apple users. Still, there are lite versions that can be used on an online cloud by non-Mac users. iWork is free across Apple devices, unlike Microsoft Word, and can be downloaded from the App Store.

A lot of photographers use it to make notes when they are going on a trip. As a professional photo maker, you can use PhotoPills app that goes for iOS devices, which is a great fit for iWork. It helps you to find out when the sunset is coming. Symbiosis of PhotoPills and iWork will save you when you need a fresh look and new locations for taking pictures.

Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is a smart, convenient way to get your work done, which is why it is also ranked as an excellent MS Office replacement service. It is free to use and saves documents online in a virtual cloud. You will need to create a Dropbox account to use it, but once you do, you will gain full access to the variety of tools, options, and services the platform has to offer. 

The app also allows you to embed handy additions like Trello cards, SlideShare decks, and YouTube videos, which is brilliant. Apart from creating a purely textual document filled with writing, you can add audio, video, and image files into the document. 

Furthermore, you can create checklists and share direct editing links with the writer(s) you want to collaborate with when working on your papers, allowing them to work on the document and keep you up-to-date with what’s going on.

Zoho

Another free alternative to Microsoft Office is Zoho. Zoho, too, is an online, cloud-sharing network that can be used to edit and share documents with a format remarkably similar to Microsoft Word. Zoho Writer is the alternative for Word, but there are around 20 other free applications you can use for other MS Office-related work, too. 

Your Zoho account can be linked to your Google and Yahoo accounts, too, allowing access to your online written papers. The interface is relatively simple but advanced enough to provide excellence in service. Zoho automatically backs up your documents online, so you don’t have to worry about misplacing it due to a hardware malfunction. 

It also has some brilliant new tools like two-way desktop sync, encryption, large file transfer, in-app chat, and two-step authentication, which is especially useful for college students and those who write for professional clients. A lot of photographers use it for their notes – it is easy to use and understand, especially when you have a lack of time to write down some important information and reminders. These custom extensions offer for one of the best writing experiences out there.


All in all, there is an impressive number of free alternatives to Microsoft Office, making MS Office replacement easier than you initially thought. Now you can access free or paid versions of all these apps on most devices and can use their custom services to work the way you want!

Written by Austin Crane

Austin is the principle web director for Untamed Science and Stone Age Man. He is also the web-director of the series for the High School biology, Middle Grades Science and Elementary Science content. When Austin isn't making amazing content for the web, he's out on his mountain bike or in a canoe.

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