Microsoft Quietly Launched A Free Ad Supported Office App And No One Noticed

Previously, you could only view documents once your Office license expired, but now, you can edit and create Office documents as well. Having said that, there are some caveats to this free desktop version of Microsoft Office. So, let’s explore the limitations and learn how to download the official Microsoft Office app for free.

Limitations of Free Microsoft Office Desktop App

First and foremost, the free desktop version of Microsoft Office is ad-supported, and it’s available on Windows only. Strangely, Microsoft has not officially documented this ad-supported tier of Office anywhere on its support pages. The last time the company considered introducing an ad-supported version of MS Office was back in 2009.
So, what does this ad-supported tier mean for users? Well, in all three apps, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you will see a persistent ad banner on the right side. You can’t remove it unless you buy the premium subscription. Moreover, a 15-second video ad will play (muted) in the Office app every few hours.
Apart from that, you can’t save documents locally. You will have to use OneDrive to save files. Of course, you can open the OneDrive app on your PC or go to its website to download these docs easily. Free users get 5GB of OneDrive storage. Moreover, most of the advanced features are not available on the ad-supported version of Microsoft Office. Notably, you can’t install add-ins, add a watermark, analyze data, etc. I have compiled all the features that are greyed out in the free MS Office app at the bottom of this guide. You can check them out.

How to Install the Official Desktop Microsoft Office for Free

As I have mentioned above, the free version of desktop MS Office is only available on Windows. I tested it on my Windows 11 PC, a virtual machine, and another system running Windows 11. In all three instances, Microsoft Office offered a free, ad-supported version out of the box. Here is how you can download and install the official desktop Microsoft Office app for free.

Go ahead and download the desktop version of Microsoft Office from the official website. Once the Office setup file is downloaded, run it and let it download the whole suite of apps. Now, open any Office app. For example, I launched Microsoft Word. A pop-up dialog will appear. Click on “Skip for now”.

Now, you should see the “Welcome to free Word, Excel, and PowerPoint” dialog. Here, click on “Continue for free”.

On the next page, click on “Save to OneDrive” as that’s the only option to save documents on the free version of MS Office.

You are done. Now, you can use the ad-supported Microsoft Office for free, with the ability to create, edit, view, and save documents.

Features Missing in Free Ad-Supported Microsoft Office

In the ad-supported free version of desktop Microsoft Word, these are the missing features. That said, most of the basic and some key features are available.

Dictate, Add-ins Line spacing, Shading, Borders Cover Page, Tables, Shapes, Icons, SmartArt, Chart, Online Videos Bookmark, Cross-reference, Header, Footer Text Box, Quick Parts, WordArt, Signature Line Date & Time, Object, Equation, and Symbol Columns, Line Numbers, Hyphenation, Wrap Text Position, Align, Bring Forward/Backward All Draw and Design tools All References and Mailing tools

In Microsoft Excel, these are the missing features:

Add-ins, Analyze Data, Fill Conditional Formatting Pivot Table, Recommended PivotTables Icons, SmartArt, Screenshot Recommended Charts PivotChart, Line, Column, Win/Loss Slicer, Timeline Header and Footer, WordArt, Signature Line Object, Equation, Symbol Themes, Colors, Fonts, and Effects Breaks, Background, Print Titles Defined Names, Formula Auditing, Watch Window Macros, Custom Views, Workbook Statistics All Data tools

In Microsoft PowerPoint, these are the missing features:

Dictate, Add-ins, Designer, and SmartArt Screenshot, Photo Album, Cameo Icons, SmartArt, Chart, Power BI, Action Header and Footer Date and Time, Slide Number, Object Equation, Symbol, and Screen Recording Format Background Custom Slide Show, Set Up Slide Show, Record Rehearse Timings, Play Narrations, Use Timings Show media controls Macros, Slide Master, Notes Master All Draw, Animations, and Record tools

So this is how you can install the official Microsoft Office app for free and access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint without paying any subscription fee. I understand that most of the advanced features, and even some basic ones are locked, but the ad-supported version can still be useful for those who use the Office suite for light editing and everyday tasks. In case, you are still looking for a Microsoft Office alternative, you can check out our curated list.
[Update] In a statement to PCWorld, Microsoft representative said, “Microsoft has been conducting some limited testing. Currently, there are no plans to launch a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office desktop apps.”