Comparison of word processors

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This is a comparison of word processing software.

General information

This table provides general information about selected word processors.

Word processor Screenshot Creator Latest stable version First release License
AbiWord AbiWord SourceGear Corporation 3.0.1 (23 December 2014; 9 years ago (2014-12-23)) [±][1] 1999 (May 19) (1999 (May 19)) Free Software (GPL)
AppleWorks Appleworks-6.0-wordproc-mac.png Apple Inc. 6.2.9 January 4, 2004; 20 years ago (2004-01-04) 1984 (1984) Commercial, Proprietary
Applix Word Vistasource Inc. 6.0 1992 (1992) Commercial, Proprietary
Atlantis Nova Rising Sun Solutions, Inc 1.0.0.70 2000 (Earliest copyright date in the About Window) Freeware
Atlantis Word Processor Rising Sun Solutions, Inc 1.6.5.13 May 29, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-05-29) 2000 (Earliest copyright date in the About Window) Commercial, Proprietary
Bean Bean Screenshot.png James Hoover 3.2.5 (March 15, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-15)) [±] 2007 (May 1) (2007 (May 1)) Freeware since 3.0
Calligra Words (formerly KWord) Calligra Words 2.4 screenshot.png KDE 2.9.11 (3 February 2016; 8 years ago (2016-02-03)[2]) [±] 1998 (1998) Free Software (LGPL)
Cassiopeia Smartsoft GmbH (Advanced Science) Version 2.2.0 2015 Freeware
CopyDesk Quark, Inc. 7 (2007) 1991 Commercial, Proprietary
EZ Word Andrew Project 7.5 (1996) 1985 Free Software (BSD license)
FrameMaker Adobe Systems Incorporated 12.0 (January 14, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-01-14)) 1986 Commercial, Proprietary
Gobe Productive Gobe Software 3 Aug 1998 Commercial, Proprietary
Han/Gul (HWP) http://www.hancom.com/office/product01_02.jsp Haansoft Han/Gul 2014 (October 9, 2014) 1989 Commercial, Proprietary
Ichitaro JustSystems 20 / Ichitaro 2010 1983 Commercial, Proprietary
InCopy Adobe Systems Incorporated CC

June 17, 2013

1999 Commercial, Proprietary
Jarte (Free and Pro) Jarte Carolina Road Software, LLC 5.3 (February 12, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-02-12)) [±] 2001 (July) (2001 (July)) Freeware or Commercial, Proprietary
Kingsoft Writer (Free and Pro) Kingsoft 2012 8.1.0.3016(November 9, 2011; 12 years ago (2011-11-09)) 1989 (1989) Freeware or Commercial, Proprietary
LibreOffice Writer LibreOffice Writer 4 4 2 The Document Foundation <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • "Fresh" version:
    5.4.4 (19 December 2017; 6 years ago (2017-12-19)[3]) [±]
  • "Still" version:
    5.3.7 (2 November 2017; 6 years ago (2017-11-02)[3]) [±]
2011 (January 25) (2011 (January 25)) Free Software (LGPL)
Lotus Symphony Lotus Software 3.0 2008 Freeware (Registerware)
Lotus Word Pro Lotus Software 9.8.5 (2007) 1989 (Originally Samna Ami Pro) Commercial, Proprietary
LyX LyX The LyX Project 2.1.3 (February 10, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-02-10)) 1995 Free Software (GPL)
Mariner Write Mariner software 3.7.2 1996 Commercial, Proprietary
Mellel RedleX 3.27 (Build 1) as of November 14, 2013 2002 Commercial, Proprietary
Microsoft Word Microsoft Corporation December 11, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-12-11) 1983 (May 2) (1983 (May 2)) Commercial, Proprietary
Microsoft Works Microsoft Corporation 9.0 1987 (October) (MS Works for DOS) Commercial, Proprietary
NeoOffice Writer NeoOffice Writer Planamesa Software 2015.3[4] (December 27, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-12-27)) [±] 2003 (June 22) (2003 (June 22)) Free Software (GPL)
Nisus Writer Nisus Software 7.0 (Express) 1989 Commercial, Proprietary
OpenOffice Writer 300px Apache Software Foundation (2011 – present) 4.1.2 (October 18, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-10-18)) [±] 2002 (April 30) (2002 (April 30)) Free Software (Apache License)
Pages AbiWord Apple Inc. 5.6.1 (November 11, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-11-11)) [±] 2005 (January 11) (2005 (January 11)) Commercial, Proprietary
PolyEdit PolySoft Solutions 5.2 1998 Commercial, Proprietary
StarOffice Sun Microsystems 9 1994 Commercial, Proprietary - LGPL Version is released as Open Office
StarOffice Writer
from Google Pack
Sun Microsystems 8 1994 Commercial, Proprietary - LGPL Version is released as Open Office
TeXmacs TeXmacs Joris van der Hoeven 1.0.7.17 (October 2012) 1996 (1996)? Free Software (GPL)
Ted Ted Mark de Does 2.23 (February 2013) 1999 Free Software (GPL)
TextEdit Apple TextEdit Apple Inc. 1.11 (August 23, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-08-23)) [±] 1993? (approximate date) as part of NeXT's OPENSTEP OS which later became part of Mac OS X Free Software (BSD license)
TextMaker SoftMaker 2012 1987[5][6] Freeware or Commercial, Proprietary
Freeware - SoftMaker FreeOffice (freeoffice.com),
Commercial - SoftMaker Office 2010 and later versions
WordFile4ME Byron Software 4.55.21 1999 (Earliest copyright date in the Readme File) Commercial, Proprietary
WordPad Microsoft Corporation 6.1.7600.16385 1995 Commercial, Proprietary
WordPerfect Corel Corporation X7 (April 8, 2014; 9 years ago (2014-04-08)) [±] 1980 (1980) Commercial, Proprietary
Word processor Screenshot Creator Latest stable version First release License

Characteristics

This table gives characteristics of each word processor.

Word processor Grammar checker Cross referencing Bibliography Graphic editing Mail merging Spell checker Smartfont typography[7] Math support Conditional text LTR/RTL Reveal Codes
AbiWord Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes
AppleWorks ? ? Yes Yes ?
Applix Word ? ? ?
Atlantis Word Processor ? ? Yes
Bean No ? ? No No Yes ?
Cassiopeia No Yes Yes  ? No No  ? Yes  ?  ?
CopyDesk No ? ? No Yes ?
EZ Word ? ? ?
FrameMaker No Yes[8] ? Yes No Yes No Yes[9] Yes[10] ?
Gobe Productive ? ? ?
GNU TeXmacs No Yes Yes Yes (only own graphics) No Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Groff ? ? ?
Han/Gul Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No ?
Ichitaro Yes (for Japanese) ? ? Yes (for Japanese) No ?
InCopy No ? ? No Yes Yes[11] ?
Jarte No ? ? No No Yes No ?
KWord Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No ?
LibreOffice Writer Yes (4 languages on default installation and over 30 languages via extensions) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[12] Yes[13] Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony No ? ? Yes Yes Yes No ?
Lotus Word Pro Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes No ?
LyX Yes[14] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mariner Write No ? ? No Yes Yes No ? ?
Mathematica No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
Mellel Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft Word Yes (Support for additional languages available via language packs) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No[15] Yes[16] No Yes
Microsoft Works Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No ? ?
NeoOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nisus Writer ? ? ?
OpenOffice Writer Yes (Via extensions) Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes[17] Yes[18] Yes[19] Yes
Pages Yes No Yes[20] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[21] ?
PolyEdit ? ? Yes ?
StarOffice Writer No ? ? Yes Yes Yes Yes[17] ?
Ted No ? ? No No Yes ?
TextEdit Yes ? ? Yes No Yes Yes ?
TextMaker Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
WordFile4ME ? ? ?
WordPerfect Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No ? Yes
Word processor Grammar checker Cross referencing Bibliography Graphic editing Mail merging Spell checker Smartfont typography[7] Math support Conditional text LTR/RTL Reveal Codes

Operating system compatibility

This table gives a comparison of what operating systems are compatible with each word processor in their last version.

Word processor Windows Mac OS X GNU/Linux BSD BeOS/Zeta AmigaOS/MorphOS UNIX Other
AbiWord Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (AOS: through X11 engine) Yes SkyOS
AppleWorks Yes Yes No No No No No No
Applix Word Yes No Yes No No No No No
Atlantis Word Processor Yes No No No No No No No
Bean No Yes No No No No No No
Cassiopeia No Yes No No No No No No
CopyDesk Yes Yes No No No No No No
EZ Word No No Yes No No No Yes No
FrameMaker Yes Version 7.1 and earlier No No No No Version 8 and earlier No
Gobe Productive Yes No No No No No No No
GNU TeXmacs Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Groff Yes No Yes Yes No No No No
Han/Gul Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Ichitaro Yes No Yes No No No No No
InCopy Yes Yes No No No No No No
Jarte Yes No No No No No No No
KWord Yes (Alpha) No Yes Yes No No Yes No
LibreOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
IBM Lotus Symphony Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Lotus Word Pro Yes No No No No No No No
LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes OS/2
Mariner Write No Yes No No No No No No
Mathematica Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No
Mellel No Yes No No No No No No
Microsoft Word Yes Yes No No No No No No
Microsoft Works Yes No No No No No No No
NeoOffice Writer No Yes No No No No No No
Nisus Writer No Yes No No No No No No
OpenOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes OpenVMS
Pages No Yes No No No No No No
PolyEdit Yes No No No No No No No
StarOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Ted No No Yes Yes No No Yes Atari ST
TextEdit No Yes No No No No No No
TextMaker Yes No Yes No No No No Android
WordFile4ME Yes No No No No No No No
WordPerfect Yes No No (since 2000) No No No (last : AOS up to WP4.1 in 1987) No (since 1994) OpenVMS1
Word processor Windows Mac OS X GNU/Linux BSD BeOS/Zeta AmigaOS/MorphOS UNIX Other

1. can run unsupported Version 5.1

Import or open capabilities

This table gives a comparison of the file formats each word processor can import or open.

Word processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx SXW UOF
AbiWord Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Atlantis Word Processor No No Yes[22] Yes Yes No Yes
Bean Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No
CopyDesk Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
FrameMaker No No No Yes Yes No
GNU TeXmacs yes, with MathML support yes, with BibTeX support No No No No No No No
Ichitaro Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No
InCopy No No No Yes Yes No
Jarte No No No Yes Yes No Yes[23]
KWord Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[24] Yes No
LibreOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No
Lotus Word Pro Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes with external program No No No No
Mariner Write No No No Yes No No
Mathematica Yes Yes No Yes No No
Microsoft Word Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Microsoft Works Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
NeoOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
OpenOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pages No No No Yes Yes No Yes No
PolyEdit No No No Yes Yes Yes
RedOffice Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
StarOffice Writer Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ted No No No Yes No No No No No
TextEdit Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
TextMaker Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
WordPerfect Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Word processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx SXW UOF

Export or save capabilities

This table gives a comparison of the file formats each word processor can export or save. It should be noted that in some cases, omitting an Export format (Microsoft Word's omission of WordPerfect export is the best known example) was a sales rather than a technical measure.

Word processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt PDF RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx UOF
AbiWord Yes Yes Yes Partial (Linux ver.)[25] Yes Yes disabled[26] Yes[27] No
Atlantis Word Processor Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes
Bean Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Cassiopeia Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No
CopyDesk Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
FrameMaker Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No
GNU TeXmacs yes, with MathML equations yes, with BibTeX bibliography No Yes No No No No No
Ichitaro Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No No
InCopy No No No Yes Yes No No
Jarte Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No
KWord Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
LibreOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
IBM Lotus Symphony Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Lotus Word Pro Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No
LyX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Mariner Write No No No Yes Yes No No
Mathematica Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Microsoft Word Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Microsoft Works Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No No
NeoOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
OpenOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Pages No No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
PolyEdit Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes
RedOffice Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
StarOffice Writer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Ted Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No
TextEdit Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
TextMaker Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
WordPerfect Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Word processor HTML LaTeX ODF .odt PDF RTF Word .doc WordPerfect OOXML .docx UOF

See also

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Advanced typography refers to either support for Apple Advanced Typography or advanced OpenType typography features and all OpenType layout tables or Graphite font technology
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Adobe Systems, "Edit equations," <http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FrameMaker/9.0/Using/WSF12494BC-2ECA-4d4d-8BA8-2CC2CB9B9E1A.html>, [retrieved January 21, 2012]
  10. Adobe Systems, "About conditional text," <http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FrameMaker/9.0/Using/WSF778A159-48A7-4f26-B04E-79509DDB38E8.html>, [retrieved January 21, 2012]
  11. Adobe Systems, "Use conditional text," <http://help.adobe.com/en_US/InCopy/6.0/WS745C7188-1C17-4eae-8680-2F7C80DE6849.html>, [Retrieved January 21, 2012]
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. LibreOffice, "Defining Conditions" <https://help.libreoffice.org/Writer/Defining_Conditions>, [Retrieved March 8, 2013]
  14. LyX wiki | Tools / LyX Grammar Checker
  15. Partial support for some OpenType features in MS Word 2010, ie. ligatures, old-style figures, but not true small caps.
  16. MS Equation and MathType
  17. 17.0 17.1 Support for Graphite Font Technology from version 3.2
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. End notes/bibliography supported with EndNote X2 (third party)
  21. With third party add-ons: LaTeX or MathType.
  22. Atlantis Word Processor supported file formats
  23. Requires Microsoft's free Office Compatibility Pack
  24. [1][dead link]
  25. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. http://www.abisource.com/wiki/PluginMatrix
  27. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links