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How to Get Microsoft 365 for Free in 2026

Microsoft 365’s free web apps provide Word, Excel and PowerPoint with a Microsoft account. Learn what students may get through school and how the paid trial works.
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You can use Microsoft 365’s web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free with a Microsoft account. This is ongoing free access to online apps—not a free license for the full desktop suite. Students and educators may also qualify for free web-based Office 365 Education through an eligible school. A Microsoft 365 Family trial is temporary and automatically becomes paid unless you turn off recurring billing.

Free Microsoft 365 options at a glance

Option What you get Who can use it Cost and limits
Microsoft 365 for the web Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the web; Microsoft also lists web and mobile access to OneDrive and Outlook. Anyone with a Microsoft account. Free ongoing access; Microsoft lists 5 GB of OneDrive storage. The web apps may lack advanced desktop features.
Office 365 Education A1 Web-based core Office apps. Students and educators at eligible institutions, subject to the school’s eligibility and account provisioning. No cost to eligible institutions; a school must provide access. A1 is web-based, not a promise of free desktop apps.
Microsoft 365 Family trial Temporary access to the Family subscription. People who start the trial and provide a supported payment method. One month; it automatically bills at the end unless recurring billing is turned off.
Office 2024 A separate Office product sold as a one-time purchase. People who buy it. Paid; it is not a free Microsoft 365 plan.

Microsoft’s free-app page describes free access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint through Microsoft 365 for the web: Microsoft 365 for the web. Details on benefits and availability can change; the page was checked on October 7, 2026.

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How to use Microsoft 365 for free on the web

  1. Open Microsoft’s free Microsoft 365 web page.
  2. Sign in with your Microsoft account. If you do not have one, create an account from the page.
  3. Choose Word, Excel or PowerPoint to open the web app and create or edit a file online.

Microsoft lists 5 GB of OneDrive storage with its free account benefits, so treat that as a storage allowance rather than unlimited space. The offer also lists web and mobile access to OneDrive and Outlook. The exact features available in a browser or mobile app may differ from the desktop apps.

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What the free web apps do—and do not—include

The free option gives you browser-based Word, Excel and PowerPoint, not an unrestricted license to every Microsoft 365 desktop app or feature. Microsoft notes that some advanced features may require Microsoft 365 or Office desktop apps. If you rely on a particular feature, check whether it is available in the web app before changing plans; do not assume that a desktop-only capability is included in the free offer. See Microsoft’s Microsoft 365 plans and product information for the current distinction between free access and paid options.

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Check for free Office 365 Education through your school

Microsoft says eligible educational institutions can receive Office 365 A1 at no cost for educators and students. A1 is web-based. Whether you personally can sign in depends on the institution’s eligibility and how it provisions accounts; being a student or educator by itself does not guarantee a free desktop-app license.

  1. Ask your school’s IT office or technology support whether it provides Office 365 Education and how accounts are assigned.
  2. If your school directs you to Microsoft’s education eligibility page, check eligibility using your school account: Office 365 Education.
  3. Confirm which plan and apps your school has assigned. Do not infer desktop-app access from an A1 account, which is web-based.

Microsoft’s student page also advertises free web access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint: Microsoft 365 for students.

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Understand the Microsoft 365 Family trial before starting it

The Family trial is not an ongoing free plan. Microsoft describes it as a one-month trial that requires a credit card or another supported payment method and automatically charges at the end unless you turn off recurring billing. Microsoft says a web signup can be stopped by turning recurring billing off in your Microsoft account before the trial ends. Read Microsoft’s current trial and purchase FAQ for the signup and billing terms before you start. The FAQ also says the trial may be shared with up to five other people, for six users total; that sharing applies to the temporary trial, not a permanent free license.

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When a paid option may be necessary

If a specific advanced feature is missing from the web apps, compare that requirement with Microsoft’s current paid desktop options before starting a trial. Office 2024 is another paid alternative: it is a one-time purchase, not free Microsoft 365 access. Check Microsoft’s current product details because plans and features can change.

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