• Microsoft Word is Microsoft's legacy word-processing software.
• You can access Microsoft Word for free online, or their are paid versions you can download.
• Microsoft Word has a number of handy features and functions to customize your documents.

Microsoft Word came out during Ronald Reagan's first term in the Oval Office, and in the decades that have passed between then and now, it has become one of Microsoft's most important and successful pieces of software and one of the most-used programs on the planet.

A core program in the Microsoft 365 software suite, along with Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, Word is used in homes, schools, offices, government agencies, and beyond. But while Word used to be included with Microsoft Windows, today you have to acquire it separately.

How much does Word cost?

If you want to buy Microsoft Word on its own, you can do so from Microsoft's website. The purchase price is $159.99 and you will own the program outright.

But many people opt for a Microsoft 365 subscription, instead. This costs just $6.99 per month and gives you access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive. That pricing comes out to $83.88 for the entire year, meaning you will be nearing the two-year mark before you pass the $159.99 price of outright buying Word on its own.

There is a way to get Word for free, but only for use online. It will not be downloaded on your computer. Go to Microsoft365.com and click on the words "Sign up for the free version of Microsoft 365."

You will be prompted to create a Microsoft account which you can then use to log in and access Word online for free. You must be connected to the internet and online to use Word for free.

How do I download Word?

Whether you choose to buy Word on its own or subscribe to Microsoft 365, you can do so at Microsoft's website. Just make sure you get the right plan if you are going with a subscription. There are Home plans and Business plans, as you'll see.

What are the best Word shortcuts and features?

There are the basics that are all but universal across Windows products and platforms, like Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste, Ctrl + S to save, and Ctrl + K to insert a link, but Microsoft Word has many lesser-known but highly useful shortcuts beyond the basics.

Hotkeys

Ctrl + A, for example, selects all of the text in a document, while Ctrl + Z undoes the last action. But moving beyond those simple shortcuts, there are more complicated quick actions you can take in Word.

Insert custom text

You can insert custom text, such as a greeting or a signature line, by creating text then using the Insert feature. Click "Insert" in the top taskbar, click "AutoText," and then enter your desired copy into the window that appears. Going forward, you can click "Insert" then "AutoText" to quickly drop in your pre-written words.

Watermarks

To add a watermark that helps protect your document from being copied, you can click on the "Design" tab at the top of Word, then click "Watermark" on the top right of the application. Then choose an image or add text that will be faintly imprinted behind your copy.

There are many more fun and useful Word features, of course, so explore more yourself.

Microsoft Word vs. Pages vs. Google Docs

These other common word-processing programs have plenty to offer, though if your primary focus is creating and editing crisp, professional written documents, Word is likely the best bet.

Google Docs offers the same basic word processing features as Word, but it has fewer templates, text editing tools, tables, and other enhancements useful for complex documents. That said, Google Docs is far better for collaborative work, especially when a team is remote, and it's free.

Pages is Apple's primary word processing platform and it is free with a Mac, iPad, or iPhone, and it's easier to use than Word, especially for people who are not highly tech savvy. But it's also more limited in features, and the documents created in Pages don't transfer well to other operating systems or platforms, so they usually need to be converted to Word docs anyway if they will be shared.