WPS Office is a free suite from Chinese developer Kingsoft that deliberately mirrors Microsoft Office's ribbon interface, icon style and file format handling. For anyone switching from Word, Excel and PowerPoint, that familiarity is its biggest selling point: menus sit roughly where you expect, and .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files open with formatting that generally looks right the first time.
Key takeaway: WPS Office is fast, lightweight and closely mimics Microsoft Office's interface, but the free version shows ads and its privacy track record deserves a careful look before storing sensitive documents.
What the free version includes
WPS Office bundles a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet tool (Spreadsheets) and presentation tool (Presentation) in a single lightweight download that installs and opens noticeably faster than Microsoft Office on older, budget hardware. It supports Microsoft's file formats natively, includes a built-in PDF reader and basic PDF-to-Word conversion, and offers cloud storage through a WPS account, similar to OneDrive.
The catches
- Adverts: The free version displays banner ads and occasional pop-ups promoting premium features, which some users find intrusive during regular use.
- Premium templates: Many document and presentation templates are locked behind WPS Premium, so the free tier's design options are more limited than they first appear.
- Privacy history: WPS Office has previously faced scrutiny over data collection practices and was flagged in some enterprise and government security reviews. It's not necessarily unsafe for casual personal use, but it's worth reading the current privacy policy and avoiding it for highly sensitive or confidential documents.
Before you start: Download WPS Office only from wps.com or an official app store listing, and review its data collection settings during setup — you can opt out of some usage tracking there.
How it compares with LibreOffice
LibreOffice remains the more privacy-respecting choice: it's fully open source, collects no telemetry by default, and has no ads at all. WPS Office's advantage is closer visual and behavioural compatibility with Microsoft Office, which shortens the learning curve for people who have used Word and Excel for years and find LibreOffice's interface takes some getting used to.
Tip: If you like WPS Office's interface but want to avoid ads, its Kdocs mobile companion app is separate and can be used instead of always working inside the ad-supported desktop version.
Performance on older PCs
WPS Office is genuinely light on system resources. It launches quickly even on machines with modest RAM and older processors, making it a sensible pick for anyone running a budget laptop who finds Microsoft Office or even LibreOffice feels sluggish to open.
| Factor | WPS Office (free) | LibreOffice | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, with ads | Free, no ads | Paid subscription |
| Interface familiarity | Very close to MS Office | Different layout | Native |
| Resource use | Light | Moderate | Heavier |
| Data privacy | Mixed track record | Strong, open source | Standard Microsoft terms |
Frequently asked questions
- Is WPS Office safe to install?
- The official installer from wps.com is not malicious, but the software's data collection practices have drawn criticism in the past, so it's sensible caution rather than downloading it and giving it every permission by default.
- Does WPS Office open Excel macros correctly?
- Basic formulas and formatting transfer well, but complex VBA macros are not fully supported and may not run as expected.
- Can I remove the ads without paying?
- Not entirely within the standard desktop app. Some users reduce ad exposure through settings, but a fully ad-free experience requires WPS Premium.