WPS Office 2019

Pros

• Fully compatible with files generated by Microsoft Office
• Only free office suite to come close to Microsoft Office
• Comes with free cloud storage

Cons

• Contains advertisements unless "Premium" access is purchased
• Does not have equivalents to the more specialized Office products

WPS Office 2019 is a full office suite that rivals Microsoft office.

WPS (formerly known as "Kingsoft") is a software development company that specializes in office suites. Before WPS, there were few rivals to Microsoft's office suite. While OpenOffice gained traction for awhile, it was always slow and didn't interface well with Microsoft's file formats.

WPS is the only company to develop a full and free office suite for personal or commercial use that is fully compatible with Microsoft's file formats. The suite comes with three programs: "Writer" (a Microsoft Word alternative), "Spreadsheets" (a Microsoft Excel alternative), and "Presentation" (a Microsoft PowerPoint alternative). It also has an optional premium feature that allows users to create and edit PDF files.

During installation, users are given a choice between using an "all in one" approach or a separate application approach. The "all in one" option allows users to access any of these applications simply by opening WPS Office and then selecting the type of file they want to create. The suite also operates using tabs so users can easily have multiple files open in the same window. It also uses the same "ribbon" interface that Microsoft Office does.

"Writer" has general word processing features that would be expected. It also allows users to edit photos within documents. "Spreadsheets" has the same ability to create "Books" and "Sheets" just as Excel does. It also supports more advanced operations, such as performing mathematical functions and running filters. "Presentation" comes with over 100 themes to choose from (and a free, online library of themes). It supports advanced animations and transitions, similarly to Microsoft PowerPoint.

The most notable feature of WPS Office 2019 is its ability to run in tandem with Microsoft Office. That means that users may create a document in Microsoft Word, then open it up in WPS Office with no compatibility issues. It also works the other way; if a user creates a "Spreadsheets" book with a few sheets and then opens the file in Microsoft Excel, the formatting and functions will be identical. Essentially, everything (minus a few small items) from Microsoft Office can be viewed on WPS Office and vice-versa.

Users can optionally sign up when they install WPS Office 2019. This grants them 1 GB of free cloud storage for all of their documents, similar to what Microsoft Office does with OneDrive. For more storage and PDF editing ability along with complete advertisement removal, users may purchase an annual subscription for "WPS Office 2019 Premium" for $29.99/year.

Pros

• Fully compatible with files generated by Microsoft Office
• Only free office suite to come close to Microsoft Office
• Comes with free cloud storage

Cons

• Contains advertisements unless "Premium" access is purchased
• Does not have equivalents to the more specialized Office products