5 of the Best Office Apps for Android

When it’s time for serious work on a mobile device, you’ll often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go
5 of the Best Office Apps for Android
Developer James Bruce uses a Nexus 7 at Google's Developers Conference on June 27, 2012 in San Francisco, California. Mathew Sumner/Getty Images
Updated:

When it’s time for serious work on a mobile device, you'll often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go. There are many such apps in the Play Store, but I have saved you the hassle of going through each one of them to determine the best one.

After pouring through the available office suite offerings for Android, I have listed five of the best ones here in no particular order.

1. WPS Office

1android-office-wps

WPS Office is definitely the most advanced office suite on Android, and it’s completely free, too. It has everything you want from a mobile office suite and even a desktop client to go with it. It sports a beautiful material design interface that adapts to your device’s screen size whether a phone or tablet and comes with Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation, each of which has excellent Microsoft Office compatibility (Word, Excel and Powerpoint). WPS office can be used to create simple documents, but it is also packed with advanced options to spruce up your documents such as tables, images, charts, and much more.

Other Key Features:

  • You can access and edit your cloud files (Google Drive, Dropbox, Onedrive, Box)
  • Great Word, Excel, and Powerpoint format compatibility
  • Compatible with USB and Bluetooth Keyboards
  • Support for wireless printing
  • Auto-save and Document Encryption
  • Share files using WiFi, NFC or DNLA
  • Lightweight and fast

2. Google Drive (and company)

2android-office-sheets

Google’s offering of office apps is great for users who are locked into Google’s ecosystem. You'll need to install a total of four applications (Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets) to get the complete suite, unlike WPS Office above which bundles everything into one app. Nonetheless, it’s still an excellent choice and offers several useful advantages along with compatibility with Microsoft Office formats.

Other key features:

  • Clean, straight-forward interface
  • Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint format compatibility
  • Keep files offline for editing without an internet connection and sync later
  • Export to PDF and built-in PDF reader
  • Excellent for collaboration with several participants
  • Offers 15GB of free storage
  • Can store files other than documents (such as pictures, videos, etc.)

3. Polaris Office

3android-office-polaris

Polaris Office is an excellent office suite that has been around for a long time. Like all the other apps on this list, it supports Microsoft Office formats and comes with a built-in PDF viewer. The interface is very clean and not riddled with distractions so you can focus on your work. It also offers its own cloud drive (Polaris Drive) where you sync all your documents, or if you prefer you can use your existing cloud storage provider (Google Drive, Dropbox, Onedrive, Amazon Cloud Drive etc.).

Related Topics