Damn you, Bill Gates.

September 10, 2010 5:21 PM

Is there a way to get a free or very cheap copy of Microsoft Word (just Word, and not the whole Office suite)?

I generally don't like/use Word (I have Open Office). However, I'm taking an online computers class (as a requirement for graduation), and Open Office just isn't cutting it.

So it looks like I'll need to get Microsoft Word--just Word. I've tried looking online for it, but I can't seem to find Word by itself. I'd prefer not to pay for it, since I'm an impoverished college student (is there any other kind?), but if I can find it cheap (under $20), I'd be willing to buy it.

Thanks in advance!

posted by too bad you're not me to Technology (20 answers total)

Your college should have student licenses available.
posted by dfriedman at 5:23 PM on September 10, 2010

You might also check out eBay. A bit risky, but you might find something cheaply.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:26 PM on September 10, 2010

Unfortunately, the usual academic price for Word 2010 is $50. Seconding dfriedman you should see if your school has it available for cheaper or even free.
posted by jedicus at 5:39 PM on September 10, 2010

Do you know someone who works for Microsoft? It's $25 in the employee store.
posted by GaelFC at 6:08 PM on September 10, 2010

My school basically gives Office to students for free. (It costs $0.01 in the student store. Seriously.) The school I attended in undergrad sold Office to students for, I think, ten dollars. Definitely see if your school sells Office at a discount. I don't know if they'd sell you Word alone at a super-discount, but buying Office for $10 beats buying Word for $50.
posted by pemberkins at 6:13 PM on September 10, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips so far!

One thing I should add is that I'm taking online classes right now, and living about two hours away from the main campus. If I can avoid going to the student store, that would rock. I did browse the online bookstore, and can't seem to find a way to purchase it via internet. Also, it's still around $80, which is a bit more than I'd like to spend.

So, please keep the ideas and links coming!
posted by too bad you're not me at 6:22 PM on September 10, 2010

It looks like you can try Office 2010 for a period of time (30 days?). If you need it longer, install it on a Virtual Machine, then when the trial expires, wipe it and start a new VM.
posted by Simon Barclay at 6:25 PM on September 10, 2010

You can download a fully functional trial of the Office suite from Microsoft's site. At the end of the trial period you can "rearm" it for another trial period, and you can do this up to 5 times. The functionality is official; instructions for rearming the trial manually are online. This should give you more than enough time for your course, and there is nothing different about files created using the trial.

If you do some searching you should be able to find a slew of utilities to make the rearm process easier.
posted by truex at 6:30 PM on September 10, 2010 [2 favorites]

Many schools have downloadable Offices.
posted by k8t at 6:37 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Try googling "Microsoft licensing agreement + insert name of your campus here."

If that doesn't help, talk to your department secretary. Send an email, even if you are an undergrad, and they will probably bend over backwards to help you.
posted by mmmbacon at 6:51 PM on September 10, 2010

Could you call the student bookstore and see if they can help you order online, or failing that, if they would be willing to ship you a copy if you mail a check?
posted by pemberkins at 6:54 PM on September 10, 2010

One thing I should add is that I'm taking online classes right now, and living about two hours away from the main campus. If I can avoid going to the student store, that would rock. I did browse the online bookstore, and can't seem to find a way to purchase it via internet. Also, it's still around $80, which is a bit more than I'd like to spend.

Are you sure? Have you tried calling the bookstore and asking? At my last institution, copies of Word were $7--however, this wasn't advertised on the website or even anywhere in the bookstore (where they had boxed copies of it available on the shelves for something like $80). You had to ask at the counter.

I understand not wanting to make a 2 hour drive, but if you can get it for sub-$10, it might be worth it.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:56 PM on September 10, 2010

What do you need Word for? Is the class learning how to use Word and you need to do a few hands on things? Or do you just need to type papers? In which case, if you need something more powerful than OOo, there's TeX.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:32 PM on September 10, 2010

This isn't a direct answer to your question, but before feeding the beast, you may want to give Zoho writer or Google docs a try. Whether these work for you or not for you likely depends on why OO wasn't cutting it. Both of these export to PDF and make a reasonable attempt to be compatible with MS Word.
posted by Loudmax at 8:58 PM on September 10, 2010

If Dell offers student rates for your school, you can buy it online and download it. No idea what their current rates are.
posted by yohko at 10:00 PM on September 10, 2010

I think you can download a trial version for free. All you need is a Hotmail/Live email address. The license should last you for the length of your course.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:03 AM on September 11, 2010

Seconding WCityMike. I got Office 2010 Professional Plus and the latest Office for Mac for AUS$15 each.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:18 AM on September 11, 2010

My school sells all the computer stuff at the Campus Computer Store NOT the bookstore. Does your school have a separate computer store? They also have online ordering and will ship. Oddly though, while Office Professional is $33, just Word is $49.99.
posted by magnetsphere at 8:38 AM on September 11, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I think I'll try getting the Trial version, since I only need it for a short amount of time!
posted by too bad you're not me at 5:00 PM on September 11, 2010

I strongly third WCityMike's suggestion. Office is not worth whatever they're charging, but it was totally worth ten bucks.
posted by wierdo at 9:25 PM on September 11, 2010