If you want to signup for the free version of Zoho Workplace you need to search the pricing page for the 'Forever free' plan. Some are on the simplistic side, so they'll likely not replace anything you might already have in place, but if you're starting out as a small business Zoho is probably a good jumping-off point. They're just the tip of the iceberg, however – Zoho Workplace includes a powerful site creation tool, a file management solution and many collaborative tools. Zoho's new-look word processor (which ditches the classic Word-style interface in favour of a formatting sidebar) is very well-presented and capable of producing professional-looking docs, and it has a sterling spreadsheet and reasonable presentation package alongside it. It's certainly closer to a desktop office package, and it's strong enough to have attracted businesses like the BBC and Nike as regular users. While Google Docs is, thanks to the strength of its brand, probably more widely used, Zoho Workplace is very good in its own right. However, over the years other companies have released rival office suites to help with productivity (opens in new tab), some of which is paid-for and some of which is free - sometimes with the same company offering both.Īll of these alternatives to Microsoft Office (opens in new tab) offer a similar range of software applications, mainly based on creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations (opens in new tab). Microsoft have now extended their 365 brand to Windows, in the form of Windows 365, a way of accessing your files on a majority of devices from the cloud.

Microsoft Word (opens in new tab), Excel (opens in new tab), Publisher (opens in new tab), Access (opens in new tab), Powerpoint (opens in new tab), and Outlook (opens in new tab) still remain key office apps. For most users, Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) remains the original and best office suite, and it takes matters further with an online version that offers cloud backups and mobile use as required.

How to use word and excel for free