Comparison

Microsoft Word vs Polaris Viewer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Microsoft Word

Create, edit, and share documents with powerful word-processing tools. Enhance your writing with AI assistance, collaborate in real-time, and access your files anywhere. Offers templates and formatting options for various document types.

Highlights
  • Create and edit documents
  • AI writing assistance (Copilot)
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Document templates
  • PDF to Word conversion
  • Version history
Read full description

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

About

Polaris Viewer

This app offers a mobile-optimized experience for viewing various document types, including Microsoft Office files, PDFs, and TXT. It provides smart document management features and supports cloud integration for easy access to your files.

Highlights
  • Mobile optimized document viewer
  • Supports Microsoft Office, PDF, TXT, Zip, CSV
  • Cloud storage integration (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
  • Smart document management
  • App lock with fingerprint, face, or password
  • Night mode and paper texture background options
Read full description

Polaris Office, selected by 100 million users across the world, provides mobile optimized document viewer at the requests of numerous users. Using compact and stable Polaris Office Viewer which takes some edit functions out and strengthens view function, quickly and easily manage all the document files such as Microsoft Office, TXT, Zip file, as well as Adobe PDF! ■ Supporting Languages ■ • English, Korean, Japanese, German, Russian, Indonesian, Brazilian Portuguese ■ Supported formats ■ • (NEW) Now we support CSV format. • Microsoft Word : DOC, DOCX • Microsoft Excel : XLS, XLSX • Microsoft Powerpoint : PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX • Other documents and files : PDF, TXT, ODT, Zip ■ Main functions ■ Mobile optimized document viewer : Supporting must-have functions to easily view the documents in Mobile. • Landscape mode / Portrait mode / Multi window mode • View per page, View in a row • Able to dim the screen and choose background (Providing Night mode and Paper texture) • Supporting text copy function in document Smart document managing : Supporting the functions for managing various documents more efficiently. • Able to check all the documents in My device storage & other cloud service (Supporting iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, WebDAV, FTP) • Able to manage main documents separately through bookmark settings. • Support various sorting methods. (Name order / Date order / Size order etc) • Support view function per document format. • Able to search document you need through search function. • Able to use App lock function (via fingerprint, face, password) ■ Note ■ • Homepage : Polarisoffice.com • Facebook : facebook.com/polarisoffice • Youtube : youtube.com/user/infrawareinc • Inquiry : support@polarisoffice.com • Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy : www.polarisoffice.com/privacy

Screenshots

Microsoft Word4 screens
Polaris Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Microsoft Word at none against Polaris Viewer's shown. Microsoft Word also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (3M vs 74). Polaris Viewer's advantage is review sentiment (56% vs 37%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Microsoft Word sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Polaris Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Microsoft Word holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Word has 3M ratings behind it against 74, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Microsoft Word's written reviews are positive against 56% of Polaris Viewer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Microsoft Word ships an update weekly, Polaris Viewer every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Microsoft Word versus Polaris Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft WordPolaris Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3M ratings) — better4.6 (74 ratings)
Positive reviews36.9% of reviews56.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3M — better74
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size535 MB177 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationPolaris Office Corp.

Customer experience

Microsoft Word

All ratings3,035,818 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews5,169 reviews
Positive36.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative56.0%

Polaris Viewer

All ratings74 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive56.4%
Neutral10.9%
Negative32.7%

Bugs and requests

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

Polaris Viewer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Microsoft Word

Subscriptions9
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Office 365 Home1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial2 variants$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 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
1 purchases

Polaris Viewer

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$10.99

Questions

Is Microsoft Word free?
Microsoft Word is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Polaris Viewer free?
Polaris Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Word or Polaris Viewer?
Microsoft Word is rated higher. Microsoft Word averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3M ratings, while Polaris Viewer averages 4.6 from 74 ratings.
Do Microsoft Word or Polaris Viewer have ads?
Polaris Viewer shows ads; Microsoft Word does not.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Word or Polaris Viewer?
Microsoft Word ships an update weekly, and Polaris Viewer every 3 months. Most recently, Microsoft Word was updated on November 6, 2026 and Polaris Viewer on November 2, 2026.

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