Microsoft Word vs Pages: Difference and Comparison

Many companies come up with many different features. And all are in demand like we take examples of Apple and Microsoft companies.

Both have the same feature but with different styles and are styled uniquely. We create the document, edit the document and share the document in a very simple way. But Mac has apple pages and Microsoft has MS word.

Key Takeaways

1. Microsoft Word is a widely used word processing application, part of the Microsoft Office suite, compatible with various operating systems and devices.
2. Pages is Apple’s word processing software, designed exclusively for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, offering seamless integration with other Apple applications.
3. Although both applications provide comprehensive word processing features, Microsoft Word is more universally compatible, while Pages offer greater integration with Apple devices and software.

Microsoft Word vs Pages

Microsoft Word is a part of the Microsoft Office suite and is available for Windows and Mac. It is a comprehensive and powerful word processing application that offers a wide range of features. Pages is a word processing application developed by Apple for Mac and iOS devices. It is a user-friendly and intuitive application that offers a range of features.

Microsoft Word is the only one that is gonna cost you to use the desktop version of the word. Microsoft also has a monthly subscription.

This subscription also gives you free one drive-cloud storage around 1 terabyte. It is free of cost with the various features but it depends on the person for taking a subscription.

Apple Pages is also a free program in Mac and iOS which is also good. But Apple takes charge of its software. It’s also a bummer because you have to pay when you buy versions. It also provides you with free cloud storage which you need in it.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Microsoft Word	Pages
Features	Have many features.	Have fewer features.
Compatibility	Have full compatibility with files.	Have less compatibility with files.
Work with drive	Word works with Dropbox.	Pages work with iCloud.
Costs	Word costs according to month.	Pages cost according to year.
Works in	It works in Windows or Mac	It works on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iCloud.

What is Microsoft Word?

Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi to develop a word processing application in 1981. And by 1983 they released the first version.

At that time MSword was not popular and not many people liked its look and feature, however, Microsoft improved their word and added more features in it which also run on mac.

then many new versions come of MSword with different functionalities. Like in 1987 they added a very good feature, the rich text format, into it. In 1995 Microsoft increased its market share in the word processor simply by promoting its new feature.

And people like its one feature very much i.e. what-you-see-is-what-you-get(WYSIWYG) display. This means what they see on display gets printed the same.

There are a lot of features in a word like it has a built-in dictionary for spell checking, misspelled words, and the mistakes are marked by a red squiggly line.

Many new language formats are there in words such as Calibri, times new roman, Arial, and much more design format. Text format design features it has like bold, italic, and strikethrough.

It has many features such as page-level, indentation, paragraphing, and justification words are less to define each one. It is good to use it practically.

What are Pages?

Apple Inc. developed a word processor called Pages. It is the part of the iWork productivity suite that works on the macOS, iPad, and iOS operating systems. Also available on iCloud.

Pages were first launched in 2005 marketed by Apple to allow users to quickly create documents on their devices.

It has many templates for all other jobs such as themes for letters, resumes, posters, CVs, and many more posters. Recently three months ago an updated version of pages was released for users of macOS and iOS.

Apple released Pages with new versions year after year. Adding new features to the year like documents in the cloud, a component of iWork, better compatibility, etc.

As earlier, it is paid but in 2013 Apple released its free version for all iOS devices but the advanced feature was not updated for accessing it people have to take a subscription.

It has all the free features that we need to create the perfect document. When users open pages they have to select a template or there also have an option for a blank page.

If the user wants to add images and any other thing in the template they can simply do it by dragging photos from the media browser. 

Main Differences Between Microsoft Word And Pages

1. the toolbox in Microsoft word is at the top with relevant sections whereas the toolbox of pages is on the right side, and features to add a table, chart, and media are at the top.
2. In Microsoft Word, you can save documents to Dropbox and Box to whereas Apple pages save files default in an iCloud folder.
3. Microsoft Word gives three options for sharing whereas In Apple pages you can directly share the document via email and iMessage.
4. Microsoft Word remains an industry heavyweight whereas Apple pages have little traction in the business world.
5. Microsoft Word has excellent review file features and has the feature to style the document whereas pages have less compatibility and enable you to create a stylish document.

References

1. https://academic.oup.com/iwc/article-abstract/13/5/513/729005
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389128699000134