Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office (Excel and Word)

Some courses require tools such as Microsoft Excel.

Enlightium does not provide these resources for students, so families have a few options:

Order Microsoft Office and look for student discounts. Student ID cards are available from Enlightium, which may aid in students receiving a discount.

Use free and legal alternatives such as:

Google Sheets and Docs, which are available with a Gmail account

• Pros:

  • Easy to use.

  • Works with all computers, laptops, and tablets

  • Offline access is available.

  • Document modifications are tracked and can be reverted back to an older version.

• Cons

  • Printing is difficult.

  • No advanced formatting options.
    

Apache OpenOffice

• Pros

  • Easy for beginners.

• Cons

  • No built-in grammar-checking tool.

• Pros: 

  • Free access to Word Online, Excel Online, and Powerpoint Online Collaborative editing Works will all computers, laptops, and tablets.

• Cons:
  • Limited editing features.
  • Can only be used with an Internet connection.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact one of our teachers.