For writers and editors, word-processing tools matter. But no one word-processing software is appropriate for every author or task: Selecting the ideal platform depends on workflow, the length and complexity of the manuscript, and who else needs to interact with the document. 

Whether you’re an academic author working on a dissertation, a general nonfiction author completing a book manuscript, or an organization collaborating with content writers, you’ll want to choose the right program to fit your needs. Before you begin, ask yourself these questions: 

• Will I be working on this document alone or with other writers or editors?
• How long is my document going to be?
• In addition to the body text, do I have any other special considerations, such as images or footnotes?

With your responses to those questions in mind, you’re ready to begin choosing the best word-processing software for authors. Below is a closer look at three of the most commonly used platforms—Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Scrivener—as well as what they offer writers and editors.

Microsoft Word: The Industry’s Gold Standard

Microsoft Word has long been the go-to word processor for writers and editors working across genres, from academic and general nonfiction to long-form journalism and business reports. It’s still the most widely used in the publishing industry, and most authors and editors will already know it inside and out. Word is especially strong for journal- or chapter-length manuscripts, where its formatting options and review features really stand out. 

However, it can become buggy with very long documents or those with lots of embedded images, which can cause formatting glitches or delays when navigating through the document. It’s often best to break up longer manuscripts into separate files to avoid crashing the application and potentially losing valuable work.

What makes Word essential for the editorial process is its Track Changes function. It’s reliable, easy to navigate, and widely accepted by publishers. Editors can insert comments, compare versions of a document, and easily deliver feedback to writers without overwriting original content. Its interface keeps changes visible but cleanly managed—users can toggle markup on or off, filter edits by reviewer, and easily accept or reject changes with a click. 

Word also supports popular editorial tools like Editor’s Toolkit, PerfectIt, and macros, which automate and speed up common editing tasks.

The Word app is available on multiple platforms, including desk- and laptop, tablet, and even mobile phones, allowing writers to work on the go. However, access to the program is typically part of a paid Microsoft 365 subscription, which many users access through a university or employer account. If you don’t have access through an institution, the individual subscription currently starts at around $100 per year. Microsoft’s free Word for the Web also exists, albeit with fewer features.

Google Docs: Best for Collaboration

Google Docs is increasingly popular, especially in workplaces already using Google Drive or Gmail. It’s great for shorter documents and is particularly useful when a team needs to collaborate in real time. Because it’s free and easily accessible from the web across devices and platforms, it’s a practical choice for business and organizational authors who work with large teams.

Writers who choose this platform tend to have a high volume of shorter texts that need to be passed between team members quickly—for example a marketing team working on social media captions or blog posts with multiple stakeholders, including writers and editors. Google Docs allows managers to track progress as it’s happening—though we’ve all probably cringed at the knowledge that someone else was watching as we wrote or edited!

For editorial work, Docs has some limitations. Its Suggesting mode is functional but less robust than Word’s Track Changes. Rather than marking edits inline, like Word, it displays each change as a separate suggestion in the margin, which can quickly clutter a document and make the review process laborious. Reviewing previous edits requires digging into the version history, which can be time-consuming and confusing—especially for long or complex edits. It’s also easy to accidentally overwrite text without anyone realizing what was lost or add unintended errors like missing or extra spaces.

Particularly alarming is the fact that while Word documents can be saved in Google Drive and edited in Docs, doing this can produce formatting glitches: Editing a .docx file in Docs can introduce errors like extra spaces and content control boxes when that same document is reopened in Word. Correcting these adds time and confusion to the editorial process.

Finally, most editorial add-ons like PerfectIt or Editor’s Toolkit don’t work in Google Docs, which makes it harder for the editors working on the project to apply consistency or a particular style guide. For complex manuscripts demanding professional editing precision, the Microsoft Word vs Google Docs vs Scrivener comparison often favors Word.

Scrivener: Built for Writers, Not Editors

Scrivener is a tool made for writers of long-form content, especially those working on novels, dissertations, or research-heavy manuscripts. Its strength lies in allowing users to store and organize their writing in smaller sections while viewing their entire project in the Binder, a sidebar where all content is visible at a glance. 

The Scrivener program has several other features that make it a great choice for writers of all sorts. Rearranging text in Scrivener is as simple as dragging and dropping, making structural edits much easier than in Word or Google Docs. Writers can also split the screen in order to view two manuscript sections at once, or they can review research materials, notes, and drafts side by side within the same workspace. Footnotes don’t appear at the bottom of the page as they do in Word; instead, they’re displayed in the Inspector panel, which keeps the writing space clean and uninterrupted.

With this in mind, an academic author can view an image of an archival document, a screenwriter can review dialog from an earlier scene, and the writer of a memoir can ensure they’re not repeating the same anecdote, all visible in a split screen while writing.

However, from an editorial point of view, Scrivener is not ideal. Most importantly, editors can’t edit directly in Scrivener—the document must be exported to Word or another format first, which could potentially add increased expense. Like Google Docs, it also doesn’t support common citation managers like Zotero or EndNote, which makes managing citations a time-consuming, manual process. 

Scrivener is a one-time purchase (currently around $59 for Mac or Windows), which can be appealing compared to the cost of Microsoft’s annual subscription. While affordable, its specialized features may not be necessary unless you’re managing a very long or complex manuscript. For many authors, the Scrivener vs Microsoft Word decision depends on whether they prioritize drafting flexibility or compatibility with editing software for writers.

Comparison Table: Microsoft Word vs Google Docs vs Scrivener

Which One Should You Choose?

There’s no single right answer. The best word processor for writers depends on your writing process, the length and format of your manuscript, your editing needs, and whether you’re collaborating with a team. 

• Choose Microsoft Word if you need full editorial markup, publishing-ready formatting, or compatibility with professional editing practices.
• Choose Google Docs if you value real-time collaboration and accessible cloud storage for shorter content.
• Choose Scrivener if your focus is on long-form drafting and organizing extensive research.

In the end, it’s about choosing what works best for your project and setting yourself—and your editor—up for success.