Microsoft Office iPhone app
It's easy to get Microsoft Office apps on your iPhone.
Thomas Trutschel/Getty Images
  • There are two ways to get the Microsoft Office Suite on your iPhone — a single Office app, and separate apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.  
  • Office apps are free to download, and can be used without paying, but you’ll need to pay a yearly fee for Microsoft 365 to access all the features.
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Microsoft offers numerous ways to use its flagship productivity suite, Microsoft Office, on your iPhone. Nearly every major Office program has an iPhone app, which can all be downloaded for free.

You can use Office on the iPhone as a part of a Microsoft 365 subscription or on its own, but not all features will be available.

Here’s what you should know. 

How to get Microsoft Office Suite apps on your iPhone

Microsoft recently released a new version of the Office app, so there are two ways to get the suite on your iPhone. You can install a single, integrated app that combines many of the features of the individual Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, or you can choose to install each app individually. 

The advantage of installing the single Office app is that it takes up less space on your phone, and blends the various apps together in a way that you might find more convenient. 

You can install this Office app right from the App Store.

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Make sure you're installing Microsoft Office and not a third-party Office clone.
Dave Johnson/Business Insider

If you prefer, you can still install each Office app individually. This approach offers a few extra features which you won't find in the single Office app, and you might prefer to work in the traditional apps:

No matter which way you choose to use Office apps, if this is your first time using Office on a mobile device like the iPhone, you might be a little confused by how the suite works — or if it's available for free.

Again, all these apps are free to download. And if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can log into that account from any of the Office apps to get access to your Office documents, your OneDrive storage, and more features.

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Even if you don't have a paid Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use many of the editing features in Office on your iPhone.
Dave Johnson/Business Insider

And for some of these apps, you'll really need an account. The standalone Word app won't let you edit or save documents if you don't pay, for example, and Outlook won't let you send emails.

The only app that really works without paying is the complete Office app. However, even here, logging in will grant you advanced features like tracking changes in Word, customizable pivot tables in Excel, and the ability to read speaker notes while presenting in PowerPoint. 

If you have a subscription, you should log in to get the most out of the apps on your iPhone.

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