There are two types of students: the ones who swear by Google Docs and the ones who only use Microsoft Word. Both platforms have their strengths, but between the two, one is simply better. 

The biggest difference between the two apps is cost. Google Docs is completely free, while Microsoft is not. All DCPS students have a Microsoft 365 account paid for by the District, but once they graduate, their accounts and previous work will no longer be available to them. Although there is a free version of Microsoft, students would need to purchase a Microsoft Word Subscription of $69.99 a year to access all the features that DCPS students get for seemingly free. 

Google Docs, on the other hand, is completely free with your Google account (also free). That alone makes a huge difference. Nobody wants to be dropping $70 a year just to write essays or complete assignments. On top of that, Docs connects directly to your Google Drive, which, as any Google user knows, makes saving, organizing, and accessing work from any device extremely easy.

Collaboration is also way more efficient on Google Docs. Since the platform is tied to Gmail, sharing documents takes seconds, and multiple people can work on the same file at once, making the process seamless from start to finish. It also automatically backs up your work! Microsoft documents require you to hit the autosave button in the app each time. If you forget to do that, you could lose all your work when your computer inevitably dies on you. 

Docs is also objectively more user-friendly. The layout is clean, and everything is very straightforward, while Word feels more complicated to use. The Word Toolbar is cluttered with a million things that you rarely use on a daily basis, making it harder to find the controls you need quickly. Speaking of quickly, by the time Word loads in the app, you could’ve pulled up Docs and started writing your essay. This makes Docs ideal for quick note taking, even more so with the new tab feature allowing you to organize multiple thoughts into one document without the clutter that comes from the one-page option Word provides. 

That said, Microsoft Word still has its advantages. When it comes to advanced formatting, it easily takes the win. Dragging images around on Google Docs has to be one of the most frustrating things, and Word makes it feel simple. The same goes when trying to add footnotes and headings; Word takes the prize every time. Still, these functions can be done on Docs without the cost of a Word subscription. 

Ultimately, it’s never too late to start using Docs. If you don’t want to lose all of your hard work once you graduate, you can convert all of the school work given to you on Word into Docs by just dragging and dropping the file into your OneDrive. It only takes a few clicks to make the switch to the better platform! In the end, it really comes down to what makes student life easier, and for most students, Google Docs does exactly that. •