Numbers vs Microsoft Word
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Numbers
Design impressive spreadsheets with a flexible canvas, interactive charts, and powerful functions. Collaborate with others and access your work across devices. Includes tools for data analysis and text composition.
- Apple-designed templates
- Flexible canvas for layout
- Interactive charts and pivot tables
- Hundreds of powerful functions
- Cross-device compatibility via iCloud
- Collaboration and real-time editing
- Import/export Excel and CSV files
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Numbers is now part of Apple Creator Studio, an amazing collection of Apple’s most powerful creative apps designed to help you bring your ideas to life. The suite includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage — plus premium content and intelligence features in Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform, all in one simple plan. Creating, viewing, and editing spreadsheets in Numbers, as well as collaborating in real time, does not require a subscription. Create gorgeous spreadsheets with Numbers on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Get started with Apple-designed templates for everything from a home budget to an invoice. Add tables, charts, text, and images anywhere on the flexible canvas. Animate your data with interactive charts, find patterns with pivot tables, and use hundreds of powerful functions. Get Started Quickly • Work from iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even a PC with iCloud.com • Select from a wide variety of Apple-designed templates • Add from a library of shapes, tables, and charts with pre-defined styles • Import and edit Microsoft Excel and CSV files Create Beautiful Spreadsheets • Place tables, charts, text, and images anywhere on the flexible canvas • Create a form on iPhone or iPad to quickly enter data on the go • Draw or write with Apple Pencil on iPad Formulas for Everyone • Choose from hundreds of powerful functions, including XLOOKUP and RegEx • Search the integrated function browser for built-in help and sample formulas • Easily add stock information to spreadsheets • See results from a single formula across multiple cells using spilling arrays Everything Adds Up Beautifully • Use pivot tables and categories to see your data in a whole new way • Quickly organize and summarize tables to gain new insights • Insert gorgeous 2D and 3D charts, including bar, column, line, area, pie, donut, and radar charts • Animate data with interactive column, bar, scatter, and bubble charts • Easily filter through large tables for specific values, text, or duplicate entries • Change values in cells using sliders, steppers, checkboxes, pop-ups, and star ratings Share with Anyone • Share your spreadsheet publicly or collaborate with specific people using iCloud or Box • Make changes from any device and see a list of changes from others in real-time • Export your spreadsheet in CSV, TSV, PDF, and Microsoft Excel Apple Intelligence • Use Writing Tools to proofread, rewrite, summarize, and compose text • Create your own fun images with Image Playground based on a description Some features of Apple Creator Studio require an Apple Intelligence–capable device. For full system requirements and usage limits for Apple Creator Studio intelligence features, see Apple Support article 125029.
Microsoft Word
Create, edit, and share documents on your mobile device. This powerful word processor offers templates, formatting tools, and collaborative features to help you write impactful text documents, resumes, and more. Your office moves with you, allowing for seamless editing and sharing from anywhere.
- Create and edit documents
- Modern templates
- Rich formatting and layout options
- Reading view
- Collaborate with comments
- Version history
- Simplified sharing
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Send, open and edit Office files from your mobile with the full power of Microsoft’s word-processing tools. Whether you're a writer, freelancer, student or project manager, Word moves with you. Enhance your writing with Copilot in Word when signed in with your Microsoft 365 subscription.* Draft, edit, collaborate, and share with confidence – anytime, anywhere. Create impactful blogs, proposals, CVs, branding materials and more. Customise every document with rich formatting options and professionally designed templates. Create Documents • Kick-start projects with templates for letters, CVs, scripts, proposals, invoices and more • Use robust formatting and layout tools to express ideas clearly • Maintain a polished look across all your devices Read, Write and Edit Anywhere • Edit long documents, letters and scripts on your device with familiar writing tools • Open attachments with the built in viewer • Convert PDFs to Word for quick editing Collaborate and Share • Leave comments directly next to relevant text • Work with others in real time and track layout or formatting changes • Use version history to view and restore previous drafts Simplified Sharing • Invite others to edit or view in just a few taps • Manage permissions and see who’s active in the document • Copy formatted content into emails or attach your files instantly AI Assistance with Copilot* • Draft CVs, polish proposals and organise ideas in seconds • Summarise, refine and format content instantly • Get intelligent suggestions to make your writing clear and compelling *Unlock the full Microsoft 365 experience with a qualifying subscription on phone, tablet, PC or Mac. Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased in app will be charged to your App Store account and automatically renew unless auto renew is turned off 24 hours before the billing period ends. Manage your subscription in your App Store account settings. Subscriptions cannot be cancelled during the active period. This app may be provided by Microsoft or a third party publisher and is subject to its own privacy statement and terms. Data may be transferred to, stored and processed in the United States or other regions where Microsoft or its affiliates operate. EULA: http://aka.ms/eula
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Numbers at none against Microsoft Word's 13. Numbers also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 37%). Microsoft Word's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (3M vs 215K). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Microsoft Word sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Numbers asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Numbers against 4.7 for Microsoft Word. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Word has 3M ratings behind it against 215K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Numbers's written reviews are positive against 37% of Microsoft Word's.
Numbers ships an update every 3 months, Microsoft Word weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Numbers | Microsoft Word |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (215K ratings) | 4.7 (3M ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.1% of reviews — better | 37.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 215K | 3M — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #14 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 620 MB | 527 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Apple | Microsoft Corporation |
Customer experience
Numbers
Microsoft Word
User reviews
Numbers
From 215K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 🚀 Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem
- 🚀 Great for basic spreadsheet needs
- 🚀 Visually appealing charts and formatting
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 🐛 Compatibility problems with Excel files
- 🐛 Limited functionality compared to Excel
- 🐛 Frustrating editing experience on mobile
- 🐛 Disappearing spreadsheets after updates
Microsoft Word
From 3M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Seamless sync between devices
- 📝 Great for writing and editing
- 🔒 Secure document storage
- 💡 Helpful for school and work
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss
- ⏱️ Laggy and slow performance
- 💰 Expensive subscription required
- 🤔 Limited functionality compared to desktop
Bugs and requests
Numbers
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frozen headers issue
- Keyboard and text editing problems
- Spreadsheet data loss after updates
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Slow performance and loading times
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to lock individual cells
- More advanced formula and function support
- Improved collaboration and sharing options
- Better mobile interface and keyboard integration
- Customizable templates and formatting options
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- Pivot table and data analysis features
Microsoft Word
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inconsistent saving and syncing between devices
- Cursor positioning issues when editing text
- Formatting problems when importing documents
- Unreliable text selection and highlighting
Requested features
4 requests- Improved mouse/trackpad support
- Built-in citation and bibliography tools
- More customization options for formatting
- Ability to edit documents offline
In-app purchases
Numbers
No in-app purchases
Microsoft Word
- Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$5.991 Month
- Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
- Office 365 Home1 Month trial$9.991 Month
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- Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Microsoft 365 Personal Student1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$12.991 Month
- Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Microsoft Copilot Pro$20.001 Month
- Office 365 Personal$69.991 Year
- Office 365 Home$99.991 Year
- Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$99.991 Year
- Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$129.991 Year









