When I recently tried to get Microsoft Office for my new laptop, I was shocked by the price:
- You can buy Microsoft Office for $150 as a one-time purchase.
- Or, you can subscribe to Microsoft 365 for $100 a year (Office + cloud storage, and other Microsoft products like Defender, Editor, Teams, and Outlook)
I did not want to pay for a subscription to a word processor in 2025. However, I needed to do a lot of work offline and so an in-browser alternative like Google Docs wasn't an option (it might be for you, more on that later).
Here is how I was able to buy Microsoft Office for free: I used Freecash to earn $30, which took me a Sunday afternoon, and then bought the program from a third-party seller at a heavily discounted price.
But there are other ways to get Microsoft Office for free or cheaply, especially for vets, educators, and government employees.
How to get Microsoft Office for free
There are multiple ways to get Microsoft Office without spending money, either for a limited time, through your institution, or by getting the funds online.
1-Month Trial
You can access Microsoft Office 365 for free with the 1-month trial. Naturally, this suggestion will not be relevant to most of you, who will need the programs for longer than a month.
Office 365 Education
If you are in education, as a student or educator, you may be to access Office 365 Education with your school or college email (contact your IT department if you do not have access, Microsoft donate Office 365 to eligible institutions).
This version of Microsoft Office is identical to the paid version, but be warned: Your institution has full access to your data when using Office 365 Education.
Use Office.com
There is a free, official version of Office that can be used through your browser on Office.com. It lacks a lot of the functionality of the paid, downloadable version of Microsoft Office, but it provides enough for a casual user.
Earn Office with Freecash
Freecash is a platform that connects individuals with paid market research opportunities, like answering surveys, testing products, and trying new games. It's simple; Sign up (or log in with Google or Facebook), pick tasks to complete, and get paid.
The average user earns $35+ daily, with top earners making it to $5000 each month. Whenever you want to withdraw your money, you can use a direct bank transfer or PayPal.
I made $30 on Freecash in an afternoon by completing in-game tasks as a player-tester, which I then used to buy a cheap copy of Microsoft Office from a third-party seller (more on that later).
