What applications do you prefer to use for word processing, page layout, spreadsheets, and presentations? In What Me Wordy?, I shared some reasons not to use Microsoft Word.

However, there is some healthy competition in the document creation landscape and I have some insights to help you decide which one(s) to use.

Apple for Delight

Apple’s free document applications match a solid set of features with an elegant design and a delightful user experience. I regularly turn to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for all of my personal documents that I want to be easy to produce and to look good afterward.

I like how the formatting controls are well organized and labeled and there is a healthy set of keyboard shortcuts consistent among the applications. For documents I create for myself or to share by PDF or CSV, I consistently turn to Apple’s applications.

Google for Collaboration

When I need to work with others on a document, I usually turn to Google. The company’s web-based Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps make real-time editorial engagement easy.

It’s so simple to draft a body of text or a table with minimal layout, share it with others or save it to a previously shared folder, and get others involved in the process.

While Apple offers cloud-based collaboration, too, and I use it among my own devices, I still more often turn to Google for its speedier approach.

Microsoft for Compatibility

In a world where computer users are consistently using Microsoft’s document applications or third-party alternatives that read and write these formats, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint may be the de facto choices for many users.

I rarely open these apps. I find their interfaces bloated and often have difficulty finding certain commands. Their documentation doesn’t offer much assistance in my times of challenge.

However, folks who share documents by email with colleagues who are editing a file one at a time, or who use Dropbox for storage and collaboration, may prefer Microsoft’s apps.

If you need native Microsoft document creation but don’t want to pay the company’s price, try LibreOffice, the most recommended, free alternative. I, however, would rather use Apple’s apps and take the extra step of exporting to Microsoft formats when needing to share that way.