Why should you use iWork instead of Microsoft Office? Here are the reasons.

Apple’s iWork suite is often overlooked in favor of Microsoft Office, where Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are industry standards and expected applications for everyone to use. However, this does not necessarily mean that these programs are better than iWork and other powerful alternatives. Let’s see what sets Apple’s office suite apart from other widely used programs.

1. First, iWork is free

This may not be important if you are using a cracked or free version of Office through your university or workplace, but for freelancers, hobbyists, and anyone else regularly using these types of applications, price may be a major factor in choosing simplicity and free software.

Microsoft offers its applications for free, but they often come with limitations. For example, if you download Microsoft Word on a Mac, you can’t edit or create new documents. To unlock everything, you need an active subscription to Office 365, starting at $70 per year!

Of course, an Office 365 subscription also provides access to other applications like Outlook, Publisher, and Access, but most people don’t need these specialized applications anyway. On the other hand, the iWork suite is completely free and unrestricted on any Apple device, with the company also offering free downloads of iWork to owners of older Apple products.

2. iWork has a clean interface

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are powerful tools with interfaces full of options and menus. This is good if you are a power user and need quick access to many settings, but most of us don’t need all those options. Managing references, text elements, and math equations are not common concerns for the average Office user, and all these extra features can lead to a cluttered and distracted user interface. Apple eliminates much of this clutter in favor of a cleaner appearance than Microsoft Office.

Getting rid of all these distractions creates a peaceful environment for productivity and makes the iWork suite as easy to use as anything else on a Mac. In the top window of Pages, for example, there are buttons for insert, table, chart, text, shape, media, and comment. This is essentially all you need for word processing.

Comparatively, the differences between Apple iWork and Microsoft Office are striking in terms of cleanliness and visual appeal. Moreover, many of the same settings are still available in iWork, but they are kept out of sight in the formatting sidebar.

3. iCloud Sync and Handoff to Other Devices

Microsoft has OneDrive, and Apple has iCloud, both offering similar features. Both allow you to sync your Office or iWork documents so that the latest versions are always available online. You can then access them from any device or web browser.

Not only can you keep all your Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents in iCloud, but you can also hand them off from one device to another. This means you can easily send your files from an iPhone to a Mac and then to an iPad without any hassle or need to click save.

This seamless integration is more challenging for Microsoft with duplicate copies, as there is no clear indication of which devices can use or attempt to transfer them. Many of us work across different devices these days, so having the ability to switch between them effortlessly is very beneficial.

4. Collaboration and Shared Editing

Both suites offer real-time collaboration, allowing you to work on a document with others remotely. When it comes to Apple iWork vs. Microsoft Office, it’s hard to determine which app takes the lead because the features are very similar, and you can use this feature in both programs.

This is a valuable feature, and it’s useful to know that you won’t sacrifice it by switching to iWork. However, the person you want to collaborate with needs to use the same app as you. You can’t collaborate from iWork to Office, for example, because iWork is available for free on any Apple product, making it easier to find people to collaborate with in reality.

iWork also has plenty of other built-in sharing features, allowing you to create iCloud links, send documents via messages, or transfer them to another device using AirDrop. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but if you work with many people who use Mac devices, you will definitely use them.

5. iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office

Apple’s iWork apps have come a long way in terms of compatibility. These days, they can open, edit, and save files in standard Office formats. While they still use their basic file extensions by default, you can also save files in Microsoft Office formats and more.