Technologies

How to Get MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Free Today

You can skip the subscription and save up to $100 a year with one small catch.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

The most recent version of the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft 365, includes tools that you probably use at home, school or on the job. The most popular way to access these apps is by buying a Microsoft 365 membership, but those fees mount over time and can discourage you from using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or other products. Fortunately, you can snag Microsoft 365 at no cost.

Microsoft’s suite of productivity software consists of classics like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, as well as newer apps like Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. The Microsoft 365 collection typically costs between $70 and $100 every year for subscription access across devices and family members. Microsoft also released a new stand-alone version of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac, called Office Home and Student 2021, for a flat $150 — no subscription required.

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Here are the versions of Office 365, Microsoft 365 and their apps that you can find online for free right now.

Get Microsoft Office 365 free if you’re a student or a teacher

If you’re a student, teacher or faculty member with an active school email address, you’re likely eligible to get access to Office 365 for free through Microsoft, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams and additional classroom tools.

All you have to do is enter your school email address on this page on Microsoft’s website: Get started with Office 365 for free. In many cases, you’ll be instantly granted access thanks to an automated verification process. If you attend an institution that needs to be verified, it might take up to a month to confirm your eligibility.

Recent graduates who want to stick with Office 365 can also get Microsoft 365 Personal for $12 for 12 months, with a valid school email address.

How to get Microsoft Office suite free if you’re anyone else

Anyone can get a one-month free trial of Microsoft 365. However, it does require you to enter a credit card number, and if you don’t cancel before the month is up, you’ll be charged $100 for a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365 Family (formerly called Office 365 Home).

The good news is if you don’t need the full suite of Microsoft 365 tools, you can access a number of its apps online for free — including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Calendar and Skype. Here’s how to get them:

1. Go to Office.com.

2. Click Sign up for the free version of Office under the «Sign in» button.

3. Log in to your Microsoft account or create one for free. If you already have a Windows, Skype or Xbox Live login, you have an active Microsoft account.

4. Select the app you want to use, and save your work in the cloud with OneDrive.

So what’s the catch for the free version?

You may be saying, «Wait a minute, if I can get all of those apps for free, why pay for Microsoft 365 in the first place?» Well, the functionality of the free apps is limited: They only run in your web browser and you can only use them while you’re actively connected to the internet. They also have fewer features than the full Microsoft 365 versions.

There are still a number of benefits, however, including the ability to share links to your work and collaborate in real time, similar to what G Suite tools allow. If you’re looking for basic versions of each of these apps, the free version should work well for you.

For more productivity coverage, check out all of the best features in Windows 11, how to take screenshots in Windows 10 or 11 and the best resume-building apps. You can also take a look at CNET’s list of the best Windows laptops.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.