Did you know that the average person will spend the equivalent of 44 years looking at a screen? For many of us, a good chunk of that time is spent on screens for work. If you want to reduce your screentime without losing productivity, it helps to use the right tools for what you need to do.
For example, when it comes to Google Docs vs Microsoft Word, what exactly are the difference? And which is the better word processing software?
We’re here to break it down for you. Read this quick overview to learn about the features of each and what makes them different so you can decide which one to use.
Basic Functionality
For years, Microsoft Word was the gold standard for word processing systems because of its robust functionality. By default, Microsoft Word has plenty of fonts, templates, and formatting options so you can create virtually any document you can imagine.
Google Docs, by comparison, is very similar. However, Google Docs doesn’t have quite the same amount of formatting options and fonts built-in to the program. There are, however, available add-ons that you can get from the G Suite Marketplace to give you access to what you need.
While Microsoft Word has the slight edge here, Google Docs isn’t far behind.
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Access
These days, more employees are working remotely than ever before. As such, you need to be able to access your documents no matter where you are. With Microsoft Word, you need to have your document saved on your particular device in order to access it. This is not convenient if you’re trying to work on something unexpectedly.
Google Docs, on the other hand, is accessible on any device with the internet. All you have to do is log in to your Google Drive account and you’ll have access to all of your documents in one convenient place. As a business owner, you can set up a Google workflow for businesses that makes it easy for your employees to access what they need no matter where they’re working.
When it comes to accessibility, Google Docs is the clear winner.
Collaboration
Finally, if you rely on collaboration as a team, it helps to be able to work on documents at the same time. With Microsoft Word, you’ll have to save edits and send the updated file to your colleagues to make their own updates. As a result, you have to constantly make sure you’re working on the most recent version.
With Google Docs, up to 100 users can be looking at and editing a document at the same time, making it easy to collaborate in real-time. Plus, all of the changes are tracked in the document so you can see exactly who made what update and when. Since Google Docs also saves automatically, you’ll never have to worry about working on an outdated version of the document.
Once again, Google Docs wins in this aspect.
Choose Between Google Docs vs Microsoft Word
Now that you know more about Google Docs vs Microsoft Word, you have the knowledge you need to make the right choice for your needs.
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