Sometimes, you just want to write a quick letter, but you don’t want to pay for Microsoft Word, and LibreOffice is overkill for that task.

Try the lightweight Microsoft WordPad!

WordPad comes pre-installed with Windows for free since Windows 95 and it’s still there in Windows 10! It’s lightweight and can handle Microsoft Office documents among other formats. Maybe it’s the free Microsoft Word alternative for simple letters and home use?

It can save and open common formats like DOC, DOCX and ODT. It is very well suited for personal use where you just want to write and print a letter or print to PDF to send as email. As long as you are not in a big corporate environment where you need a very advanced, specific feature, it’s more than adequate. If you need more features, you can download and install LibreOffice for free and try that first, before committing to Microsoft Office.

Considering that most people will just want to write a simple formal letter now and then, WordPad might very well be the go-to Microsoft Word alternative on Windows as it comes pre-installed for free. Ask yourself this: Does your grandma really need Microsoft Word to write a simple letter? Do you need it for that? This is especially true if you are using multiple Windows devices and don’t want to buy a license for every device. If you really need more features, install LibreOffice found in the links below. It’s free.

Are you on Linux and you want a simple word processor like that too? Try AbiWord! It comes pre-installed with Lubuntu but is available in many other distro’s repositories as well. And like with WordPad, if it’s not enough you can always try LibreOffice as alternative for more features.

That’s it for now! Share your thoughts in the comment section!

External Links