Comparison of word processor programs

This is a comparison of word processor programs.

General information

This table provides general information about selected word processor programs.

Program	Developer	Initial release	Platform	Latest release		License	Cost
				Version	Date
AbiWord	AbiWord developer community, originally SourceGear Corporation	1999-05-19	AmigaOS	3.0.6[1]	2024-11-03	GPL-2.0-or-later	No cost
			BeOS
			BSD
			GNU/Linux
			macOS
			MorphOS
			SkyOS
			Unix
			Windows
			Zeta
Apache OpenOffice Writer	Apache Software Foundation[a]	2012-05-08	BSD	4.1.14[2]	2023-02-27	Apache-2.0	No cost
			GNU/Linux
			macOS
			Solaris/Illumos
			Unix
			Windows
AppleWorks	Apple Inc.	1991	macOS	6.2.9[3]	2004-01-14	Proprietary	Cost
			Windows	6.2.2[4]	2004-01-20
Applix Word	Vistasource Inc.		GNU/Linux	6.0		Proprietary	Cost
		1992	Windows
Atlantis Word Processor	The Atlantis Word Processor Team	2000	Windows	4.4.2.1[5]	2024-11-08	Proprietary	No cost and cost
Bean	James Hoover	2007-05-01	macOS	3.7.0[6]	2024-05-16	Proprietary	No cost[b]
Calligra Words	KDE	1998	BSD	4.0.1[7]	2024-09-02	LGPL	No cost
			GNU/Linux
			macOS
			Windows
Collabora Online Writer	Collabora	2019[c]	Android	24.04.11.4[8]	2025-03-03	MPL-2.0	No cost, optional subscriptions with support available
		2021[d]	BSD	Build your own	Build your own
		2019[c]	ChromeOS	24.04.11.4[8]	2025-03-03
		2019[c]	iOS	24.04.12[9]	2025-03-04
		2019[c]	iPadOS	24.04.12[9]	2025-03-04
		2016[e]	Linux	Online server: 24.04.13.3[10]	2025-04-11
		2015[f]		Desktop app: 24.04.12[11]	2025-01-30
		2015[f]	macOS	24.04.12[11]	2025-01-30
		2015[f]	Windows	24.04.12[11]	2025-01-30
CopyDesk	Quark, Inc.	1991	macOS	7	2007	Proprietary	Cost
			Windows
EZ Word	Andrew Project	1985	GNU/Linux	7.5	1996	MIT-CMU	No cost
			Unix
FrameMaker	Adobe Systems Incorporated	1986	macOS	15.0	2019-08-22	Proprietary	Cost
			Unix
			Windows
Gobe Productive	Gobe Software	1998-08	BeOS	2.0.1[12]	2000-02-29	Proprietary	Cost
		2001-12-12[13]	Windows	3.04[14]	2003-07-08
Google Docs	Google	2006[g]	Android[h]	Rolling	Rolling	Proprietary	Cost
			ChromeOS[i]
			iOS[h]
			Linux[i]
			macOS[h]
			Windows[h]
Hangul	Haansoft	1989	Android	2022	2022	Proprietary	Cost
			GNU/Linux
			iOS
			macOS
			Windows
Ichitaro	JustSystems	1983-10	DOS	4.3	1989-12	Proprietary	Cost
		2004-12	GNU/Linux
		1995-07	macOS
		1993-04	OS/2
		1993-04	Windows	2022	2022-02-10
InCopy	Adobe Systems Incorporated	1999	macOS	17.3[15]	2022-05	Proprietary	No cost
			Windows
Jarte[j]	Carolina Road Software, LLC	2001-07	Windows	6.2[16]	2018-04	Proprietary	No cost and cost
KOffice KWord	Reginald Stadlbauer, KDE	1998	GNU/Linux	2.3.3[17]	2011-02-23	GPL LGPL	No cost
			Windows
LibreOffice Writer	The Document Foundation	2011-01-25	BSD			MPL-2.0	No cost
			GNU/Linux
			macOS
			Unix
			Windows
Lotus Symphony	Lotus Software	2008	GNU/Linux	3.0.1 FP2[18][19]	2012-11-29	Proprietary	?
			macOS
			Windows
Lotus Word Pro	Lotus Software	1989[k]	Windows	9.8.6.1[20]	2009-02-05	Proprietary	Cost
LyX	The LyX Project	1995	GNU/Linux	2.4.3[21]	2025-01-16	GPL-2.0-or-later	No cost
Mariner Write	Mariner software	1996	macOS	3.7.2		Proprietary	Cost
Mellel	RedleX	2002	macOS	5.1.2[22]	2022-05-27	Proprietary	Cost
Microsoft Word	Microsoft Corporation		Android	16	2021	Proprietary	Cost
		1985	AT&T Unix PC
		1986	Atari ST	1.05	1986
		1983	DOS	6.0	1993
			iOS	2.56	2021-12-12
		1985	macOS	16	2021
		1989	OS/2	5.5	1991
		1990	SCO Unix	5.1	1991
		1989	Windows	16	2021
		1983-10-25	Xenix
Microsoft Works	Microsoft Corporation	1987-09-14	DOS	3.0b	1993	Proprietary	Cost
		1988	macOS	4.0b	1994
		1991	Windows	9[23]	2007-09-28
MonsterWriter	MonsterWriter	2020		1.4		Proprietary	Cost
NeoOffice Writer	Planamesa Software	2003-06-22	macOS	2022[24]	2022-05-13	GPL	No cost
Nisus Writer	Nisus Software	1989	macOS	6.5[25]	2001	Proprietary	Cost
		2003	macOS	4.3 (Express)[26]	2022-09-01
		2007	macOS	3.3 (Pro)[27]	2022-09-01
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	Ascensio System SIA	2016	GNU/Linux	8.3.2[28]	2025-03-20	AGPL-3.0-only	No cost
			macOS
			Windows
OpenOffice.org Writer	Sun Microsystems[l] Oracle Corporation[m]	2002-05	BSD	3.3.0[29]	2011-01-17	Apache-2.0	No cost
			GNU/Linux
			macOS
			Solaris/Illumos
			Unix
			Windows
Pages	Apple Inc.	2005-01-11	iOS	13.0	2023-03-30	Proprietary	Cost
			macOS	13.0	2023-03-30
PolyEdit	PolySoft Solutions	1998	Windows	5.4[30]	2010-04-07	Proprietary	Cost
StarOffice	Sun Microsystems	1994	GNU/Linux	9.0U3[31][32][33]	2009-09-09	Proprietary	Cost
			macOS
			Windows
TeXmacs	Joris van der Hoeven	1996?	GNU/Linux	2.1.4[34]	2024-03-11	GPL-3.0-or-later	No cost
			macOS
			Windows
Ted	Mark de Does	1999	Atari ST	2.23[35]	2013-02-01	GPL-2.0-only	No cost
			BSD
			GNU/Linux
			Unix
TextEdit	Apple Inc.	1993?[n]	macOS	1.18	2022-10-24	BSD-3-Clause	No cost
TextMaker	SoftMaker	2012-08	Android			Proprietary	?
		1987	DOS
		2002	FreeBSD
		2003-05?	GNU/Linux	2024.1224[36]	2025-03-18
		2022-06-08	iOS
		2018?	macOS
		1994-04?	Windows	2024.1224[36]	2025-03-18
WPS Office	Kingsoft	2012-03-23	Android	16.3.7	2022-07-22	Proprietary	Cost
		1988	DOS		Dropped
		2014	GNU/Linux	11.1.0.11664	2022-06-08
		2014	iOS	11.24.1	2022-07-14
		2019	macOS	4.2.1	2022-07-15
		1995?	Windows	11.2.0.11191	2022-07-05
WordPad	Microsoft Corporation	1995	Windows			Proprietary	Cost
WordPerfect	Corel Corporation	1980	OpenVMS	5.1		Proprietary	Cost
			Windows	2021[37]	2021-05
Word processor	Developer	Initial release	Platform	Latest release		License	Cost
				Version	Date

Characteristics

This table gives characteristics of each word processor program.

Program	Grammar checker	Cross referencing	Bibliography	Graphic editing	Mail merging	Spell checker	Smartfont typography[o]	Math support	Conditional text	LTR/RTL
AbiWord	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
AppleWorks		?	?		Yes	Yes				?
Atlantis Word Processor	No	Yes	?	Yes	No	Yes	?	No	?	No
Apache OpenOffice Writer	Yes[p]	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[q]	Yes[38]	Yes[39]	Yes
Bean	No	?	?	No	No	Yes				?
Collabora Online Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[r]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CopyDesk	No	?	?		No	Yes				?
FrameMaker	No	Yes[40]	?	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes[41]	Yes[42]	?
GNU TeXmacs	No	Yes	Yes	Yes[s]	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Google Docs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Han/Gul	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes		?
Ichitaro	Yes[t]	?	?			Yes[t]	No			?
InCopy	No	?	?		No	Yes			Yes[43]	?
Jarte	No	?	?	No	No	Yes			?	?
KWord	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No			?
LibreOffice Writer	Yes[u]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[44]	Yes[45]	Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No			?
Lotus Word Pro	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No			?
LyX	Yes[46]	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mariner Write	No	?	?	No	Yes	Yes	No		?	?
Mathematica	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		?
Mellel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes			Yes
Microsoft Word	Yes[v]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No[w]	Yes[x]	No	Yes
Microsoft Works	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?
MonsterWriter	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	Yes	No	?
NeoOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes				Yes
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
OpenOffice.org Writer	Yes[p]	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[q]	Yes[47]	Yes[48]	Yes
Pages	Yes	No	Yes[y]	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes[z]		?
StarOffice Writer	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[q]			?
Ted	No	?	?	No	No	Yes				?
TextEdit	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes			?
TextMaker	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes
WordPad	No					No				Yes
WPS Office	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
WordPerfect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	?
Word processor	Grammar checker	Cross referencing	Bibliography	Graphic editing	Mail merging	Spell checker	Smartfont typography[o]	Math support	Conditional text	LTR/RTL

Operating system compatibility

This table shows the operating systems supported by the latest program version

Program	Windows	macOS	GNU/Linux	BSD	BeOS/Zeta	AmigaOS/MorphOS	UNIX	Other
AbiWord	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	QNX, Solaris
AppleWorks	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Applix Word	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Atlantis Word Processor	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Apache OpenOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	OpenVMS
Bean	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Collabora Online Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Android ChromeOS iOS iPadOS
CopyDesk	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
EZ Word	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
FrameMaker	Yes	Yes[aa]	No	No	No	No	Yes[ab]	No
Gobe Productive	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Google Docs	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Android ChromeOS iOS iPadOS
GNU TeXmacs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Groff	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Han/Gul	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Ichitaro	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
InCopy	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Jarte	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
KWord	Yes[ac]	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
LibreOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
IBM Lotus Symphony	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Lotus Word Pro	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
LyX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	OS/2 Haiku ChromeOS
Mariner Write	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mathematica	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
Mellel	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Microsoft Word	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Microsoft Works	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
NeoOffice Writer	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nisus Writer	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
OpenOffice.org Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	OpenVMS
Pages	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	iOS
PolyEdit	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
StarOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Ted	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Atari ST
TextEdit	No	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No
TextMaker	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Android
WPS Office	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Android
WordPad	Included	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
WordPerfect	Yes	No	No[ad]	No	No	No[ae]	No[af]	OpenVMS[ag]
Word processor	Windows	Mac OS X	GNU/Linux	BSD	BeOS/Zeta	AmigaOS/MorphOS	UNIX	Other

Import or open capabilities

This table gives a comparison of the file formats each program can import or open.

Program	HTML	LaTeX	ODF .odt	RTF	Word .doc	WordPerfect	OOXML .docx	SXW	UOF
AbiWord	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Atlantis Word Processor	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Apache OpenOffice Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bean	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Collabora Online Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CopyDesk	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
FrameMaker	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
GNU TeXmacs	Yes[ah]	Yes[ai]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Google Docs	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Ichitaro	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
InCopy	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Jarte	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes[49]
KWord	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes[50]	Yes	No
LibreOffice Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Lotus Word Pro	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
LyX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Depends[aj]	No	No	No	No
Mariner Write	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Mathematica	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Microsoft Word	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Microsoft Works	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
NeoOffice Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
OpenOffice.org Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pages	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
PolyEdit	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
StarOffice Writer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ted	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
TextEdit	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
TextMaker	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
WPS Office	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
WordPad	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
WordPerfect	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Word processor	HTML	LaTeX	ODF .odt	RTF	Word .doc	WordPerfect	OOXML .docx	SXW	UOF

Export or save capabilities

This table gives a comparison of the file formats each program can export or save. In some cases, omitting an export format (Microsoft Word's omission of WordPerfect export is the best known example) was a sales rather than a technical measure.

Program	HTML	LaTeX	ODF .odt	PDF	RTF	Word .doc	WordPerfect	OOXML .docx	UOF
AbiWord	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial[ak][51]	Yes	Yes	No[al]	Yes[53]	No
Atlantis Word Processor	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Apache OpenOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Bean	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Collabora Online Writer	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
CopyDesk	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FrameMaker	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
GNU TeXmacs	Yes[am]	Yes[an]	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Google Docs	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
Ichitaro	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
InCopy	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Jarte	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
KWord	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
LibreOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Lotus Word Pro	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
LyX	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Mariner Write	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mathematica	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Microsoft Word	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Microsoft Works	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
NeoOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
OpenOffice.org Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Pages	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
PolyEdit	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
StarOffice Writer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Ted	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
TextEdit	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
TextMaker	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
WPS Office	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
WordPad	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
WordPerfect	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Word processor	HTML	LaTeX	ODF .odt	PDF	RTF	Word .doc	WordPerfect	OOXML .docx	UOF

See also

• List of word processor programs
• Comparison of spreadsheet software
• Comparison of text editors
• Comparison of TeX editors
• Comparison of office suites
• Office suite
• Online office suite

Notes

1. 2011 – present.
2. No cost since 3.0.
3. The app uses LibreOffice kit technology and is based on Collabora Online for which development started in 2013.
4. Version 21.11. Using LibreOffice kit technology, development started in 2013.
5. Version 1.0. Using LibreOffice kit technology, development started in 2013.
6. Version 4.4.
7. Development started 2006.
8. Offline editing when used with Chrome or Edge web browser.
9. Offline editing when used with Chrome web browser.
10. Free and Pro
11. Originally Samna Ami Pro.
12. 1999 – 2009.
13. 2010 – 2011
14. Approximate date. As part of NeXT's OPENSTEP which later became part of Mac OS X.
15. Advanced typography refers to either support for Apple Advanced Typography or advanced OpenType typography features and all OpenType layout tables or Graphite font technology.
16. Via extensions.
17. Support for Graphite Font Technology from version 3.2.
18. Supported in Linux, macOS and Windows client applications, but not in Online or the Android, ChromeOS, iOS or iPadOS client applications
19. Only own graphics.
20. For Japanese.
21. 4 languages on default installation and over 30 languages via extensions.
22. Support for additional languages available via language packs.
23. Partial support for some OpenType features in MS Word 2010, ie. ligatures, old-style figures, but not true small caps.
24. LaTeX, MS Equation and MathType.
25. End notes/bibliography supported with EndNote X2 (third party)
26. With third party add-ons: LaTeX or MathType.
27. Version 7.1 and earlier.
28. Version 8 and earlier.
29. Alpha.
30. Since 2000.
31. Last: AOS up to WP4.1 in 1987.
32. Since 1994.
33. Can run unsupported Version 5.1.
34. With MathML support.
35. With BibTeX support.
36. With external program.
37. Linux ver.
38. Disabled.^[52]
39. With MathML equations.
40. With BibTeX bibliography.