Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Microsoft Teams vs Microsoft Word

Microsoft Teams 4.8★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Tie
Microsoft Word 4.7★ · Free to download 60

Microsoft Teams is better for team communication and collaboration, while Microsoft Word remains the standard for document creation, despite both apps having significant usability and reliability issues on mobile.

Full reviews: Microsoft Teams · Microsoft Word

Microsoft Teams excels as a communication and collaboration hub, but users report frequent bugs with notifications, syncing, and overall app stability. Microsoft Word is praised for its robust document editing capabilities, though it struggles with mobile usability, crashes, and persistent sign-in issues.

Head to head

Features tieR5R11R17R22
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is valued for its communication features like chat, calls, and video, and its ability to keep teams connected from anywhere R5R17. However, users desire more capabilities such as screen sharing on Vision Pro, scheduled messages, and the ability to fix chat position R11. Some users also miss features from older apps like Skype and find certain new features like Copilot useless R22.
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is considered the gold standard for document processing, with users appreciating its versatility and ease of use for academic writing and general document creation . However, the mobile app lacks many desktop features like SmartArt, full customization with keyboards, and developer tabs R63R75R84. Users also dislike the intrusive Copilot feature .
Ease of Use tieR1R5R17R18
Microsoft Teams Teams is generally found easy to communicate with and use for team meetings R5R17. However, many users find the app constantly getting worse with more wasted space and less customizability R1. The interface can be clunky , and some find it difficult to navigate folders or use search effectively R18. There are also complaints about the app taking over as the default video call method, replacing FaceTime .
Microsoft Word Word is generally considered easy to use for its core function of document creation . However, users frequently report difficulty with basic functions on mobile, such as the keyboard not appearing , struggling to close the app , and finding features like alignment hard to locate . The scroll feature on mobile devices is particularly criticized for jumping around R76. Some users also find the app unfriendly with accessibility features like VoiceOver and dislike intrusive pop-ups for Copilot .
Reliability tieR2R4R10R12
Microsoft Teams Teams is praised by some for being reliable for corporate work and communication . However, a significant number of users report constant issues, including the app not opening R4, crashing during meetings R19, and being buggy when switching to Picture-in-Picture mode R12. Many users also experience persistent problems with notifications, such as delays R2, incorrect badge counts R10R30, and notifications not clearing . Syncing issues between devices are also common . The app is described as almost unusable without Wi-Fi, even on 5G R46.
Microsoft Word Word is generally seen as an essential and reliable tool for document processing . However, users report frequent crashes and issues with documents not saving, leading to lost work . Syncing problems across devices are also noted, with documents sometimes becoming read-only . Users also experience difficulties with signing in, often getting stuck in authentication loops .
Price/Value edge: Microsoft TeamsR7R28R34R91
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is free with in-app purchases. Some users express frustration with personal accounts not working without an organization invitation R7 and authentication issues R28R34.
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is free to download but requires an IAP for full functionality. Users frequently complain about being forced to pay for subscriptions, even when they believe they already have one R91R94R112. Many find the payment model confusing and restrictive, especially when features are locked behind a paywall R91R94R112.
Support tieR28R30R34R43
Microsoft Teams Users report issues with notifications persisting across multiple updates, suggesting that feedback is not being addressed R30R43. Authentication problems are also noted as a recurring failure R28R34.
Microsoft Word Users frequently encounter sign-in issues and report that the authentication process is problematic . There are complaints about persistent bugs over two decades, such as crashes and data loss, indicating a lack of effective long-term support .
Pick Microsoft Teams if

you need a robust communication and collaboration tool for work, especially if your organization already uses it, and you can tolerate occasional bugs and notification issues .

Pick Microsoft Word if

you require the industry-standard word processing capabilities for creating and editing documents, particularly for academic or professional use, and you are willing to navigate its mobile usability challenges and subscription model .

Evidence note: Both apps have a high volume of recent negative reviews, particularly regarding bugs, notifications, and sign-in issues, despite their high lifetime ratings. The free-to-download nature of both apps means a significant portion of negative feedback for Word is related to its paid features and subscription model.

Frequently asked

Are Microsoft Teams and Word reliable on mobile devices?
Both Microsoft Teams and Word suffer from significant reliability issues on mobile devices, with Teams users reporting frequent notification bugs, syncing problems, and crashes R10R19R30R46, while Word users experience crashes, data loss, and persistent sign-in failures .
Do I need to pay to use Microsoft Word on mobile?
Microsoft Word is free to download, but many users report being forced to pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription to access full editing and saving functionalities, even if they believe they already have a subscription R91R94R112R120.
What are the main complaints about Microsoft Teams?
The main complaints about Microsoft Teams include persistent notification bugs with inaccurate badge counts, syncing issues across devices, frequent crashes, and a general feeling that the app is becoming less user-friendly with each update R1R10R19R30.
How does Microsoft Word perform on iPad?
Microsoft Word on iPad is described as having solid potential but falls short of native alternatives, with users noting a lack of desktop features like SmartArt and full customization, as well as difficulties with formatting, layouts, and the scroll feature R63R75R76R84.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] Microsoft Teams 5/5 · US Love it: This is one of my best apps to use when in a team meeting
  2. [R11] Microsoft Teams 5/5 · US Good initial support: Please continue adding capabilities, like screen sharing! Also, be able to not lock the app during a session as Vision Pro can detect when it’s taken off.
  3. [R17] Microsoft Teams 5/5 · US Team: It’s easy to communicate with team
  4. [R22] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Copilot is useless: Copilot is a completely useless function and ruined teams
  5. [R1] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Somehow constantly getting worse: Somehow the teams app developers manage to make this more annoying and more difficult to use, with more wasted space and less usefulness with every single release. Teams is now the least customizable it's ever been, with more useless buttons and wasted screen space than ever before. It doesn't even feel like a chat app anymore. It feels like a poor attempt at a da
  6. [R18] Microsoft Teams 3/5 · US Great concept but not as easy as explorer: I like having items connected, but the folders don’t seem to have easy hierarchy, tge search does not take you to folders and you can’t scroll pictures.
  7. [R2] Microsoft Teams 4/5 · US Great app but…: Great app, however I se notifications on the phone on a message, then when I open the app, I don’t see the message for a few minutes. That delay is annoying but livable .
  8. [R4] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Doesn’t open: When I open the app it shows a black screen with a white border at the bottom. Unusable
  9. [R10] Microsoft Teams 2/5 · US Notifications/badges are still not working correctly: Notifications/badges are still not working correctly. If I’ve read a message on my MacBook or PC it’s still not updating the app badges as expected. This broke 3-4 updates ago! Please fix. It’s annoying and misleading.
  10. [R12] Microsoft Teams 3/5 · US Buggy when going PiP: App is buggy switching between Picture in Picture when moving between apps
  11. [R7] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Damn it, my personal account is unusable again: Is it dying? Personal users are again showing no organization invitation. I used it for so long before, and now suddenly it doesn't work. · translated
  12. [R28] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Authentication is atrocious: If you use this on mobile they make it impossible to authenticate on a single device, the app tries to authenticate on the authentication app via the authentication app. If you have a meeting to get to on mobile and you get signed out good luck. Also the outlook sign in solution also failed. This process all around is a failure.
  13. [R34] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Richest poor software in the world: The application functions just like any other email application with the added side effect that you will randomly not be able to sign in due to their Authenticator app being complete and total garbage. It will trap you in an endless loop of needing to use the Authenticator app to authenticate that you’re using the Authenticator app so you can authenticate teams.
  14. [R91] Microsoft Word 2/5 · US High payment low reward: Great if you’re extremely creative and have a ton of time. Also if you cancel because of how expensive it is. You can’t save the files you created.
  15. [R30] Microsoft Teams 3/5 · US Good but Buggy: Has traditionally worked as expected and no complaints but lately notifications are a mess. Every time I get even ONE IM, it shows 8, 10, 18+ on the notification bubble. I go in and clear any/all notifications or alerts. Tested it with one in - immediately shows 10 missed notifications which isn’t true. Please fix! Updated to 3 stars - even after multiple app updates, the issue pe
  16. [R43] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US They can’t get it right!: There have been multiple updates in the last few weeks and my app still isn’t working properly. Every time I get a notification the app shows I have 10 notifications. Fix this please!!
  17. [R19] Microsoft Teams 1/5 · US Crash: For several months now, Teams crashes while in a meeting. I keep missing important information or maybe in the middle of speaking.
  18. [R46] Microsoft Teams 2/5 · US Almost unusable without Wi-Fi: This app is a constant headache. If you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, it’s barely functional. Even if you’re on 5G with strong signal, it constantly displays. The spinning loading symbol. Has to be restarted, frequently, freezes up often. And that’s just for messaging! Meetings are even worse. As frustrating and error prone as the desktop teams app is, this is even wors
  19. [R94] Microsoft Word 1/5 · US Basic to Personal: Why do I have 365 Basic? I’m locked out of my apps and being forced to pay again to move to 365 Personal? Is this a joke? How many subscriptions do I need to use your products???
  20. [R112] Microsoft Word 1/5 · US Sucks: Why I am being asked to buy 365 when I already subscribe
  21. [R120] Microsoft Word 1/5 · US The app: This app was trying to make me pay just to type and I couldn’t even write my essay
  22. [R63] Microsoft Word 3/5 · US MS iPad apps need full attention: Microsoft Office Apps on iPad: Solid Potential, But Falls Short of Apple’s Native Alternatives (3/5 stars) I’ve been using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on my iPad for work and personal projects, hoping for a seamless experience that matches the desktop versions. While the apps have improved over the years and offer good cross-platform compatibility with O
  23. [R75] Microsoft Word 3/5 · US SmartArt: The option to have SmartArt and other desktop features available on Windows and Mac for iPad would be ideal.
  24. [R76] Microsoft Word 2/5 · US The scroll feature is terrible.: I love word so much. But using it on a phone or an iPad absolutely sucks. The scroll feature is absolutely awful, especially when you have documents that are extremely long. It jumps all over the places, takes you back to the beginning of the page. You can be 400 pages in and it’ll scroll up to the top. And it takes minutes to scroll all the way back down. Please f
  25. [R84] Microsoft Word 3/5 · US Deficiencies: The iPad application does not offer all features, and the owner's version is not like it is on Windows. · translated

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store