In 2025, word processors are fighting stronger than ever. You will see that WPS Writer and Microsoft Word have added great new features. Word remains the preferred word processor of choice, but WPS Writer has improved greatly in terms of price, AI integration, and use across a number of platforms, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, and Linux. Many people are looking for free options for commercial software. WPS Writer stands out for its lifetime license and strong free version, making it a compelling alternative for those looking to download Word for commercial use. This comparison is a detailed look at price, features, compatibility, AI tools, and performance, to help you find the best word processor for your needs in 2025, whether you want the best features or the best value for your money.
1. Market position & user base
Microsoft Word: It is still the most popular word processing program in the world as of 2025. Businesses, universities, and government organisations all trust it. It works well with Microsoft 365 products like Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive, which makes it the best choice for working together on a wide scale and writing professional documents.
WPS Writer: At the same time, Kingsoft’s WPS Writer has grown a lot. By the end of 2024, it had more than 632 million active devices each month, including 291 million on PCs and 341 million on mobile devices. It has over 100 million daily active users in China alone, which shows how far it can go around the world and how many more people trust it.
Winner: It’s a close tie; Microsoft Word dominates in enterprise use, while WPS Writer impresses with its massive global user base and cross-platform reach.
2. Pricing & availability
Microsoft Word: As of 2025, Microsoft Word offers basic document editing features for free through its web-based version, which users can access with a Microsoft account. However, for access to advanced tools like AI-powered writing assistance, real-time collaboration, and offline desktop apps, users need a Microsoft 365 subscription. Business plans include Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $6.00/user/month, Business Standard at $12.50/user/month, Business Premium at $22.00/user/month, and Microsoft 365 Apps for Business at $8.25/user/month, all billed annually.
WPS Writer: On the other hand, WPS Writer continues to be a cost-effective alternative. It provides a free edition with lots of features and basic text processing capabilities, and for advanced features like PDF tools, OCR, and cloud storage, users need to take the subscription plans, which are divided into three different categories. WPS Pro costs $2.99/month, WPS Pro + WPS AI costs $10.83/month, and WPS AI $9.99/month. These low-cost levels make WPS Writer a great deal for people who require robust offline features and full document management without having to pay a lot of money over and over.
Winner: WPS Writer is the winner, due to its flexible pricing and a valuable lifetime plan, and also for offering professional-grade tools at a fraction of the cost.
3. User interface & ease of use
Microsoft Word: This tool still has its characteristic Ribbon-style interface in 2025, but it has been improved to include smart suggestions from AI and Copilot. The interface will be familiar and useful to experienced users, but the addition of new AI-powered capabilities may make it harder for some to grasp. Word also has a fully working dark mode and a toolbar that users may change to make their workspace just right.
WPS Writer: WPS Writer, on the other hand, is easier to use since it has both Classic and Modern UI modes that are meant to look like older versions of Microsoft Word. This makes it easy for people who have used it for a long time to get used to it. Its simple design, quick-access toolbar, and tabbed document browsing (like a web browser) make it easy and quick to move between files, especially for people who don’t use it often or are new to it.
Winner: It’s a tie. As Microsoft Word is great for power users and experts, WPS Writer is better since it’s easier to use, faster, and has a design that is easy to understand. It strikes a good mix between familiarity and function.
4. Core and AI features
Microsoft Word: As of 2025, Microsoft Word still offers a wide range of essential functions that professionals depend on, like mail merge, citation tools, accurate formatting, and smooth integration with Excel and Outlook. Users may now leverage AI prompts to write, summarise, and reword content thanks to Microsoft Copilot. But you have to pay for a Microsoft 365 membership to use these AI features, and they can be hard to understand for people who aren’t really familiar with the ecosystem.
WPS Writer: In the meantime, WPS Writer has some unexpectedly strong built-in innovative capabilities. In addition to regular word processing, it has a wide range of editable templates, a built-in AI writing assistant that lets users edit, polish, extend, or summarize content with only one click. It also offers parallel translation in more than 100 languages and has features like OCR for scanned documents, converting pictures to words, and screenshots that use AI. WPS Writer also makes it easy to work with PDFs. You may export Word files as PDFs, modify the text of PDFs directly, and add comments or combine documents without leaving the platform. Even with the free or low-cost premium edition, you can access all of these functions through a straightforward interface.
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Core and AI features of WPS Writer
Winner: The winner is WPS Writer. Although Microsoft Word is great for making regular documents, WPS Writer is better because it has a flexible AI toolkit, built-in PDF processing, and smart features, all in a more user-friendly, all-in-one space.
5. Performance & system requirements
Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word, as part of the larger Microsoft 365 suite, is more resource-intensive. While it offers rich features and tight integration with other Microsoft tools, it can be noticeably heavier on system memory and CPU usage. On older or less powerful machines, users may experience slower load times and occasional lag, especially when working with large or media-rich documents.
WPS Writer: When it comes to performance, WPS Writer earns praise for being remarkably lightweight, installing at just around 214 MB. It launches quickly, runs smoothly, and remains responsive even on older or low-spec machines, making it a reliable choice for users with modest hardware. Feedback from users on platforms like Reddit and FingerLakes1 consistently highlights its speed and stability across various operating systems.
Winner: WPS Writer emerges as the winner, thanks to its lightweight build and efficient performance across devices. It takes the lead for users seeking speed, stability, and smooth operation, even on aging hardware.
6. Collaboration & real-time editing
Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word is still the best program for working together on documents and in teams since it has so many strong, well-integrated features. It lets many people collaborate on the same document at the same time through OneDrive, which is called real-time co-editing. Its extensive comment system and track changes feature make it easy to evaluate and update, which is excellent for professional or academic teams. Even with a free Microsoft account, users can see a 30-day version history, which makes it easy to see what has changed and go back to an earlier version.
WPS Writer: WPS Cloud gives WPS Writer its own capabilities for working together, including real-time co-authoring, comment threads, and basic change tracking. These features work fine for casual or small-team use, but they don’t have the depth and polish of Microsoft’s. The free plan also has a restricted version history, which could make it harder to restore documents and work with a team over time.
Winner: Microsoft Word is definitely the winner and best choice for real-time editing and working together since it has better tools, better version control, and infrastructure that is suitable for businesses.
Let’s conclude
Of course, Microsoft Word will still provide the most business-level collaboration and integration, but WPS Writer is a more modern, cost-effective, and flexible alternative moving into 2025. WPS Writer has a straightforward and easy-to-use interface with solid core capabilities, a whole range of very sophisticated AI tools, and even an easy way to edit PDFs. Not to mention, it will work across just about any device. WPS Writer is a great value because it will work across all platforms, it allows for real-time editing, and it has very inexpensive alternatives. WPS Writer is the best word processor for a modern user because it contains everything you need on one easy-to-use platform. If you are a student, freelancer, or small business entrepreneur, this product has everything you need. If you are ready for a new writing experience, try out WPS Writer today!
