Can you write a novel in Word?

Yes, and it is the format that publishers expect. Heading styles and the Navigation pane make a novel fit in a single file. Word has no character sheets, however, no scene board, no timeline and no EPUB export (surveyed on 17 October 2026).

How much does Word cost?

Word on the web is free with a Microsoft account. On the computer, Microsoft 365 Personal costs €99 per year or €10 per month, Microsoft 365 Family €129 per year for six people, and Office Home 2024 €149 once for one computer, with no upgrade.

Can you turn off Copilot in Word?

On Windows and Mac, yes, in Word's options, in recent versions. On the web, on iPhone, on iPad and on Android, no, according to Microsoft's help, and turning it off does not lower the subscription price. In Extypis, the no-AI mode removes AI from the screen on every device.

What is the difference with Extypis?

Word is a word processor, the publishers' format, strong for correcting with other people. Extypis is made for a book: sheets found in the text, relationship map, timeline, scene board, writing in the pages and EPUB export; it is free up to 15,000 words per project, then costs 9 € per month.

My publisher asks for a Word file: is that a problem?

No: Extypis exports your book to Word (.docx), as well as PDF, EPUB, Markdown and HTML. You write in Extypis, and you send a Word file to your publisher.

How do I move from Word to Extypis?

Import your Word file into Extypis: it is split into chapters and scenes, and the characters who come back often already have their sheet. The free account imports a manuscript of at most 15,000 words; beyond that, importing requires a subscription.

Surveyed on 17 October 2026

Word or Extypis: which is better for writing a novel?

Microsoft Word is the word processor that publishers expect, free on the web and paid on the computer; Extypis is a workshop made for writing a book, with a free account, then a monthly subscription. Here is how each one answers the questions people ask when they write a novel, what its users say about it, and the rounds Word wins are on the board.

How this page was made

Every line about Word was read on 17 October 2026 on Microsoft's plan page for France, in its help and documentation, and on the listings of its apps, always from the angle of writing a book. User reviews come from the US, UK and French App Stores, writers' forums and authors' blogs, each with its link; those from the stores are mostly about the phone apps. Extypis prices and limits are read live from our pricing page. On the free side, Word is compared in its web version; on the paid side, with Microsoft 365 Personal.

Word in figures

The store ratings are for the phone and tablet apps; Microsoft publishes no rating for Word on the computer.

€99 per year
Microsoft 365 Personal, or €10 per month, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Copilot and 1 TB
Microsoft 365, the plans (France)
€149
Office Home 2024, paid once for one computer, with no upgrade to later versions
Microsoft 365, the plans (France)
€0
Word on the web, with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive, with no offline use
Word for free on the web
25 versions
can be recovered with a personal account, only for files kept in OneDrive
Help: previous versions
4.6 out of 5
the rating of its app on the French App Store, from 349,570 ratings
Microsoft Word on the App Store (France)
10.1 inches
the screen size above which editing a document on a tablet requires a subscription
Help: the mobile apps

Word on Windows: the Review ribbon with track changes and comments, above a page in Print Layout view with its ruler, photos and a heading. — Word on Windows, in Print Layout view, with the Review ribbon where track changes and comments are found. Screenshot: Microsoft

What matters to you

Take out what does not concern you: the board and the score keep only your criteria.

Show only the differences

Free: the free Extypis account (1 project, at most 15,000 words per project, 2 exports per month) against Word on the web, free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of storage.

What do I pay?

ExtypisWord

How much do I pay, and for how long?
Extypis
You pay nothing, with no time limit, with 1 project and at most 15,000 words per project
Word
Nothing for Word on the web, with a Microsoft account; the computer app requires a subscription or a purchase
How many books can I write, and how long?
Extypis
You get 1 project, and a project holds up to 15,000 words in 10 sheets
Better answer
Word
As many documents as your 5 GB of OneDrive hold

How do I write and organise my novel?

ExtypisWord

While I write, do I see the pages of my book?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes, on a computer: you write in the pages of the book, headers and numbers included, at the size, margins and font of your PDF
Word
Not really: Word on the web has no section break, so no headers or numbering specific to each chapter
Can I see my whole story scene by scene, and reorder it?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes, up to 10 sheets per project: each scene is a card with its summary, and moving the card moves the text
Word
Through the Navigation pane: each chapter heading is dragged there with its text; no cards and no summaries
Can I keep sheets for characters, places and objects?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes: characters, places, objects, events and your own categories, with their fields, images and documents
Word
No: your notes go in comments or in other documents
If I name a character, even by a nickname, does the app find them?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes, everywhere in the book, as soon as the nickname is on their sheet; a tab suggests the names in the text that have no sheet yet
Word
Through search only: you search for the name, then the nickname, in the text
Can I see the relationships between my characters and the timeline of the story?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes: a map shows the links you write between sheets, and a timeline places each event at its date in the story
Word
No: Word has neither a relationship map nor a timeline
Can I go back to an earlier version of my text?
Extypis
Yes: you freeze a version of each sheet, compare two versions side by side and restore the one you want
Word
Yes, for a file kept in OneDrive: the last 25 versions with a personal account
Can I write with other people, or have my text corrected by an editor?
Extypis
No: a project has a single author, and your readers comment on the published version
Better answer
Word
Yes: track changes, comments and live co-writing, even on the web

And AI?

ExtypisWord

Can I write with no AI at all?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes: one setting removes every AI tool from the screen; only importing a manuscript still goes through an AI
Word
Not quite: Copilot cannot be turned off in Word on the web or in the phone app
If I want AI, do I get any?
Extypis
Yes: 300 credits, given once
Word
Yes, Copilot, in a limited version

Where and when can I write?

ExtypisWord

Can I write on the train, with no network?
Better answer
Extypis
In a tab that is already open: the text waits for the network to come back
Word
No: Word on the web does not work offline
Can I write on my computer, then on my tablet?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes: a browser is enough, and you find the same text everywhere, with nothing to sync
Word
On a small tablet: the app only lets you edit for free on a screen of 10.1 inches or less

How do I get, print and share my book?

ExtypisWord

Where do I write the dedication, the preface and the copyright page?
Better answer
Extypis
On a computer, you write them on the pages of the book, in their place, and you type the publisher and the ISBN on the copyright page
Word
By hand, page after page, with no section break on the web
Do I get a PDF ready for the printer?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes: Extypis typesets the PDF with LaTeX, in A4, A5 or Letter, up to 2 exports per month
Word
A PDF from Word on the web, with no numbering specific to each chapter
Can I get an EPUB for an e-reader?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes, up to 2 exports per month
Word
No: Word does not save as EPUB
Can I publish my book in the app, so people read it online and send comments?
Extypis
Yes: the book has its reading page, open to everyone, and readers with an account comment paragraph by paragraph
Word
Yes: you share the file through OneDrive, with view or comment access, with each reader
Can I show that I wrote my text myself?
Better answer
Extypis
Yes, for the typing: the “human origin” certificate says what was typed, pasted or moved, and is shared by a link; it does not say where the ideas come from
Word
No: the history keeps versions, without saying what was typed or pasted

What authors like about Word

A summary of what comes back in published reviews, each with its link. We paraphrase rather than quote.

It is the format that publishers already use, and it opens on any computer: for a published author, that matters more than all the features of a writing program.
Angela Addams's blog, May 2020
Heading styles and the Navigation pane make a whole novel fit in a single file, with one click to jump from one chapter to another.
The Writers' Greenhouse · Writing Forums, September 2025
You start on the phone and finish on the computer, to write wherever the ideas come.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (United Kingdom)
Read Aloud helps with rereading: hearing the text lets you judge its rhythm, and one editor uses it on every manuscript she receives.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (United States)

What bothers authors, and how Extypis answers

The complaints that come back, from the most frequent to the rarest. Opposite each one, what Extypis does, including when it does no better.

The complaintExtypis's answer

The complaint
Copilot is forced on you: it cannot be turned off on a phone or on the web, it arrived with a price rise, and some authors say it meddles with their text.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (United States) · Microsoft Word on the App Store (United Kingdom) · Help: turning off Copilot
Extypis's answer
Extypis AI is optional: the no-AI mode removes it from the screen in one click, on every device, and the 9 € per month plan does not contain it.
The complaint
The subscription weighs on you: €99 per year for Word on the computer, apps that become read-only if you stop, and tablets over 10.1 inches locked for those who bought Word long ago.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (France) · Microsoft Word on the App Store (United Kingdom) · Help: when the subscription expires
Extypis's answer
The free Extypis account is for writing, on every device, with no time limit, and stopping the subscription leaves your projects editable, without growing past 15,000 words.
The complaint
Long documents misbehave on a phone: the cursor jumps back to the start, a search loses your place, and a document of 50 chapters freezes.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (United States) · Microsoft Word on the App Store (United Kingdom)
Extypis's answer
A book is sorted into chapters and scenes: you open the scene you are working on, and the phone opens the same Extypis as the computer.
The complaint
Lost work: a chapter that vanished mid-writing, weeks of work gone, paragraphs that never reached OneDrive.
Microsoft Word on the App Store (United Kingdom) · Microsoft Word on the App Store (France)
Extypis's answer
The text is saved continuously, with a local copy in case of a dropout, and a deletion waits 30 days in the trash.
The complaint
Everything goes through Microsoft's cloud: no AutoSave for a file kept on the computer, 25 versions at most, and OneDrive links imposed for sharing.
Help: AutoSave · Help: previous versions · Microsoft Word on the App Store (France)
Extypis's answer
Extypis also keeps your texts online, stored in the European Union, and you export the whole project whenever you like, as Word, PDF, EPUB, Markdown or HTML.
The complaint
A long novel is managed by hand: you scroll, reordering chapters is awkward, notes live in comments, and gathering chapter files into a manuscript is laborious.
Angela Addams's blog, May 2020 · Writing Forums, September 2025
Extypis's answer
The scene board shows the book as cards you move, the sheets hold your character notes, and the book stays a single project.
The complaint
No EPUB, and a PDF whose pages may not fall as in the document; Word on the web has neither section breaks nor offline use.
Microsoft Learn: file formats · Help: Word in the browser and on the desktop
Extypis's answer
Extypis exports to EPUB, and typesets the PDF from the very pages where you write.

What Word does better

It is the format that publishers, proofreaders and printers expect, and Amazon KDP supplies its book templates in Word.
On a computer, its layout can be set by hand down to the book size, the binding and the booklet. Extypis offers A4, A5 and Letter.
It lets several people write and correct together: track changes, comments, comparison of two versions. Extypis has one author per project.
You can write offline on a computer, and it can be bought once, €149, with Office Home 2024.
For €99 per year, the subscription also gives Excel, PowerPoint, 1 TB of storage and Read Aloud.

What Extypis does that Word does not

It keeps sheets for characters, places and objects, and finds their names and nicknames everywhere in the text.
It draws the map of the relationships between your sheets, places events on a timeline, and shows the story scene by scene on cards.
It exports to EPUB, and typesets the print PDF with LaTeX from the pages where you write.
Its AI is optional, and one setting removes it from the screen on every device.
It publishes your book on a reading page, and issues a “human origin” certificate that says what was typed, pasted or moved.

Extypis on film, in 20 chapters. Click a chapter to jump to it.

Moving from Word to Extypis, and back to Word for the publisher

Import your Word file into Extypis as it is: it is split into chapters and scenes, the dedication and the preface go to their own page, footnotes stay footnotes, and the characters who come back often already have their sheet, filled with what the text says about them. Check the split, which can get a heading wrong. When your publisher asks for a Word file, Extypis exports it. The free account imports a manuscript as long as it fits in 15,000 words; beyond that, importing requires a subscription.

The questions people ask us

Can you write a novel in Word?: Yes, and it is the format that publishers expect. Heading styles and the Navigation pane make a novel fit in a single file. Word has no character sheets, however, no scene board, no timeline and no EPUB export (surveyed on 17 October 2026).
How much does Word cost?: Word on the web is free with a Microsoft account. On the computer, Microsoft 365 Personal costs €99 per year or €10 per month, Microsoft 365 Family €129 per year for six people, and Office Home 2024 €149 once for one computer, with no upgrade.
Can you turn off Copilot in Word?: On Windows and Mac, yes, in Word's options, in recent versions. On the web, on iPhone, on iPad and on Android, no, according to Microsoft's help, and turning it off does not lower the subscription price. In Extypis, the no-AI mode removes AI from the screen on every device.
What is the difference with Extypis?: Word is a word processor, the publishers' format, strong for correcting with other people. Extypis is made for a book: sheets found in the text, relationship map, timeline, scene board, writing in the pages and EPUB export; it is free up to 15,000 words per project, then costs 9 € per month.
My publisher asks for a Word file: is that a problem?: No: Extypis exports your book to Word (.docx), as well as PDF, EPUB, Markdown and HTML. You write in Extypis, and you send a Word file to your publisher.
How do I move from Word to Extypis?: Import your Word file into Extypis: it is split into chapters and scenes, and the characters who come back often already have their sheet. The free account imports a manuscript of at most 15,000 words; beyond that, importing requires a subscription.

Sources

The pages opened on 17 October 2026 to write each line about Word.

User reviews

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