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How to download and install Microsoft Word on Mac

Microsoft Word for Mac comes from the Mac App Store or as Microsoft’s own installer, either alone or as part of Office. Here is what you need to edit documents, how to install Word both ways and how to activate it.

Microsoft Word

  • macOS 14 or later
  • One file for Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Editing needs Microsoft 365 or Office 2024
Official Microsoft Word websitemicrosoft.com ↗

Or the installer straight from the developer’s server:

For any Mac.pkg

The links go to the developer’s website (microsoft.com, go.microsoft.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.

Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

brew install --cask microsoft-word

Homebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.

No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.

Before you download

Word installs for free, but to create and edit documents it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription with the desktop apps or a one-time Office 2024 license. Without one, Word only opens and prints files. For occasional editing, Word for the web at microsoft365.com is free with a Microsoft account.

  • One file for every Mac. Word works on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
  • macOS 14 Sonoma or later. On older macOS, Word already installed keeps working but gets no more updates.
  • The Mac App Store or Microsoft. Both give the same Word. The App Store version is meant for Microsoft 365 subscribers.

Microsoft’s installer is a .pkg that runs with administrator rights, so download it only from microsoft.com. Need Excel and PowerPoint too? Install the whole suite instead: see how to install Microsoft Office.

How to install Word

From the Mac App Store:

  1. Open the App Store and search for Microsoft Word.
The first screen of the Word installer
  1. Click Get, then Install, and confirm with your Apple Account password or Touch ID.
  2. When the download finishes, open Word from Applications or Launchpad.

With Microsoft’s installer, the file on this page:

  1. Open Microsoft_Word_…_Installer.pkg in your Downloads folder.
  2. Click Continue, then Continue and Agree for the license, then Install.
  3. Enter your Mac password, click Install Software and then Close when it is done.

What to set up after the first launch

  • Activation. Click Sign In in Word and use the Microsoft account with your subscription or license. Until then, Word opens documents for reading only.
  • Where documents are saved. Signed in, Word offers to save new documents to OneDrive. To keep a file on your Mac, click On My Mac in the save window.
  • Updates. The App Store version updates through the App Store. The version from Microsoft updates with Microsoft AutoUpdate, which you can run from Help › Check for Updates.
  • The installer. If you used Microsoft’s .pkg, move it from Downloads to the Trash once Word runs: it takes well over a gigabyte.

If Word won’t install or open

  • The installer stops with an error. Download the .pkg again from Microsoft and make sure you are signed in to macOS as an administrator.
  • Word says it can’t edit documents. It isn’t activated. Choose Word › Sign Out, sign in again with the account that has the subscription and check that the subscription is active.
  • Word won’t start on an older Mac. Check your macOS in About This Mac: current versions need macOS 14 or later.
  • Nothing helps. Remove Word completely, with its license and settings files, and install it again: see how to uninstall Microsoft Office on Mac.

Alternatives to Microsoft Word

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Questions and answers

Is Microsoft Word free on Mac?

Installing it is free, and without a subscription Word opens and prints documents. Creating and editing need Microsoft 365 or a one-time Office 2024 license. Word for the web is free in a browser with a Microsoft account.

Should I get Word from the App Store or from Microsoft?

With a Microsoft 365 subscription, either works: the App Store is the simplest. With a one-time Office 2024 license, install Word from your Microsoft account, not the App Store.

Can I install Word without the rest of Office?

Yes. The App Store and Microsoft’s Word installer both put only Word on your Mac, plus Microsoft AutoUpdate in the second case.