How to Open .docx Files on Mac Without Microsoft Word

Someone sends you a .docx file. You double-click it on your Mac. Nothing useful happens. You don’t have Microsoft Word. You’re not about to pay $70 a year just to read one document.

Good news. You don’t have to.

There are six ways to open .docx files on Mac without giving Microsoft your credit card. I built one of them, so yes, I’m going to mention it first, because of course I am. I’m on my own website. But I’m not going to pretend the other options don’t exist. Some of them are genuinely great.

1. Verso

You’re on my website. You knew this was coming.

I built Verso because the options below kept almost getting it right. Almost. Verso is a Mac word processor that opens .docx files natively, keeps your formatting intact, and weighs 8 MB. That’s not a typo.

Download it, install, double-click your .docx. That’s it.

It’s free right now during early access. After launch it’ll be $14.99, one time, no subscription. It’s also brand new, which means the feature set is smaller than a full office suite. No spreadsheets. No presentations. Just documents. If that’s a dealbreaker, keep reading. If not, give it a try.

Bias disclosed. Here’s the rest of the field.

2. Apple Pages

Pages is already on your Mac. You don’t need to download anything. For a simple .docx, it works. Right-click the file, “Open With,” Pages. Done.

The catch: complex Word files can lose formatting on the way in. Tables get weird. Charts get mangled. Comments don’t always survive. If someone sends you a heavily formatted document and expects it back looking the same, Pages might let you down.

For simple stuff though? Pages is genuinely good. And free is hard to argue with.

3. LibreOffice

If you need serious .docx editing and don’t want to pay anyone anything, LibreOffice is the answer. It understands Office formats better than most paid alternatives. Full suite. Spreadsheets. Presentations. Free. Open source.

The interface looks like it was designed by a committee that had strong feelings about toolbars. It’s about 300 MB. It’s not pretty. But it works, and the .docx fidelity is solid.

If formatting accuracy is what you care about most and money is what you care about least (spending it, I mean), LibreOffice delivers.

4. Google Docs

Upload your .docx to Google Drive. Open it in Docs. Nothing to install. Works from any browser.

You need internet. You need a Google account. Some formatting converts strangely. Some formatting might not match the original. But for collaboration, Google Docs is hard to beat. If someone else needs to look at the document with you, this is probably the easiest path.

5. Microsoft Word Online

Plot twist. Microsoft lets you use Word for free in the browser. Go to office.com, sign in with a free account, upload your file.

It’s actual Word. The formatting preservation is as good as it gets. If the person who sent you the file made it in Word, this is the safest bet for zero surprises.

You need internet and a Microsoft account. The irony of going back to Microsoft to avoid paying Microsoft is not lost on me.

6. TextEdit

TextEdit can technically open .docx files. I mention this because it’s technically true, in the same way you can technically eat soup with a fork.

You’ll lose most formatting, images, and structure. It extracts the text and hopes for the best. Use it in emergencies. Or don’t.

So Which One?

If it’s a one-off simple document, use Pages. It’s already there.

If the formatting is complex and matters, use LibreOffice. It handles Office files better than anything else that’s free.

If you need to collaborate with someone, Google Docs or Word Online. Both free. Both built for sharing.

If you deal with .docx files all the time and want something fast, native, and quiet, well. You know what I’m going to say. Try Verso. It’s free right now. 8 MB. If you don’t like it, the other five options aren’t going anywhere.

You don’t need Microsoft Word. You never did.