Microsoft has started testing a free version of Office for Windows that includes ads. Right now, you have to pay for a monthly Microsoft 365 subscription to get access to the full desktop version of Office, but Microsoft has been quietly testing an ad-supported version in certain countries.

Microsoft is testing a free, ad-supported version of Office for Windows, allowing users to access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint without a 365 subscription.

If you’ve messed around with Microsoft’s “free” Office web app, you’ve quickly discovered that it stinks, for one important reason: You can’t actually create documents. A new, free, ad-supported local version of Office changes all that,

Microsoft Office was free for a while thanks to a new ad-supported version that allowed users to access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Microsoft has introduced a free ad-supported Office app that brings access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint without any subscription fee.

Microsoft broke from a long tradition of only offering paid versions of the native Microsoft Office app (web having been free for some time) and silently introduced a free, ad-supported version of Microsoft Office exclusively for Windows 11 users.

Microsoft is testing a free, ad-supported version of Office, featuring Word, PowerPoint, and Excel — but with several catches.

Microsoft released a free version of Office with ads and limitations. A 15-second video ad is played in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint every few hours, alongside a permanent sidebar ad. It cannot save documents locally,