Office applications have been a valuable productivity hub for many years. We use them for a variety of purposes, including writing documents, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and keeping track of what's going on. No productivity suite is complete without them and virtually everyone uses them, even kids. The atmosphere of the office suite has changed very little in recent years. However, the apps themselves are better than they were before. Here are the best office apps for Android.
Docs To Go
Docs to Go is an old app that has been around for a while. However, it is still getting new features and updates. It has the basics, such as word processing, spreadsheet editing, and presentation editing. It does a great job of letting you do these things without too much configuration. The paid version unlocks password-locked files, saving to cloud storage sites (and loading from them), and syncing files with your desktop computer. It's not great in all situations, but it's one of the more solid office apps.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a favorite among our readers and many others. It offers a whole range of office applications, including a PDF viewer, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides and, of course, Google Drive. Drive services as a hub. It is really just a cloud storage application where you can view your files or create new ones. Opening any document in your Google Drive will automatically open the appropriate application. It's all completely free, unless you need to expand your Google Drive space. It's a great all-in-one solution for the simplest use cases.
Microsoft Office
Microsoft has taken its sweet time releasing its office apps on mobile. They instantly became some of the best once they were. You can download Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free. Most of their features are available without paying a dime. You will be able to open and save files, use most editing tools, etc. These files can be synced to your desktop via OneDrive. You can get an Office 365 subscription which will unlock some additional features. However, it is not necessary for the basics.
Microsoft Remote Desktop
Microsoft Remote Desktop is basically what the name suggests. It allows you to remotely control your Microsoft PC from your mobile device. It takes a bit to set up. You need to prepare your PC for remote access and then connect it with this application. However, after that you can do whatever you want. This includes access to your desktop software on your current computer. It's weird work, but totally legitimate. Chrome Remote Desktop is another great app that basically does the same thing. Microsoft Remote Desktop doesn't work very well on Chromebooks yet, but keep an eye out for future updates that may add this feature.
OfficeSuite
OfficeSuite has been a longtime favorite for many people. The app has changed a lot since its debut. Currently, the developers seem to be turning the suite into something closer to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. This way they have a cloud storage solution on top of the desktop environment. Most of the basic features are available in the free version, which is good news. The paid version offers PDF scanning, a Microsoft-compatible font pack, spell checker, and additional document support. It is one of the best ordinary office applications.
Polaris Office
Polaris Office is very similar to OfficeSuite. It was a good simple office suite. The application is no longer simple or small. It has a host of features, including the basics, note taking, document search, encrypted files, and support for various formats. This includes PDF and Microsoft documents. The free version is usable if you can stand the annoying ads. You can also get monthly subscriptions. This gives you additional features such as the ability to use it on more than three devices with additional cloud storage. The subscription models aren't great, but the free version is still fine for simple things, as long as you don't mind the ads.
Quip
Quip is one of the newer office apps on the list. It is also one of the few free ones. It has a small, but decent feature set. This includes the ability to collaborate on documents with other people. It comes in the form of a chat that you can use to talk to people while editing documents. You also get support for spreadsheets, cross-device synchronization, offline support, and various export options. It also supports cloud storage. Quip hasn't been around as long as other desktop apps, but it's better than many of them.
Smartoffice
SmartOffice is another of the few free office applications. The app cost money. However, at some point they decided to let it go for free. It has all the basic features you would expect, including support for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. It also supports Microsoft Office documents from 2013. You can also use it to view (and save) PDFs, image files, and WMF and EMF file types. The interface is clean and simple. It's a good option for those who don't need a lot.
SoftMaker
Softmaker has a lot of desktop apps. This includes a suite of free office applications. They also have a suite of paid office applications. Both are very good. The suite includes three apps, including TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations, which are just fun names for word processing, spreadsheet, and, of course, presentations. Unlike most apps, the apps are completely free. Their features include PDF support, TrueType and OpenType fonts, and support for most Microsoft file types.
WPS Office
WPS Office used to be called Kingsoft Office. Despite the name change, it remains one of the most popular office apps on Android. Some of the features include viewing and converting PDFs, performing basic tasks (documents, spreadsheets, presentations), etc. It also supports wireless printing, Microsoft file types, and 46 languages.
Conclusion
Here are the 10 best office apps for Android. Some of them are developed by industry giants such as Google and Microsoft. Most of these apps are also totally free, but some are also paid. We recommend you to use Google Drive or Microsoft Office because these apps are really good and free. However, you can't go wrong with any of these apps. Let us know your favorite desktop apps in the comments section below. You can also check out the best apps to read ebooks on Android.
