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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Microsoft 365 Copilot vs Microsoft Word

Microsoft 365 Copilot 4.7★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word 4.7★ · Free to download 75

Microsoft Word is the more reliable choice for core document creation and editing, despite its own mobile app limitations, while Microsoft 365 Copilot offers powerful AI assistance but struggles with consistency, accuracy, and core functionality for many users.

Full reviews: Microsoft 365 Copilot · Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word remains the industry standard for word processing, offering robust document creation and editing, though its mobile experience can be frustrating. Microsoft 365 Copilot provides AI assistance for various tasks, but user reviews highlight significant issues with accuracy, functionality, and integration.

Head to head

Features and Core Functionality edge: Microsoft WordR2R3R4R7
Microsoft 365 Copilot Microsoft 365 Copilot is praised for its AI capabilities, such as reviewing correspondence, helping with research, generating ideas, and assisting with administrative tasks R2. However, many users report that it's missing core features, has buggy interfaces, and struggles with basic tasks like understanding instructions, providing accurate information, or organizing chats R3R4R7. Some users also lament the loss of the previous Microsoft 365 app's 'one-stop shop' functionality for documents, now replaced by a disconnected Copilot experience .
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is widely recognized as the 'Gold Standard' for word processing, essential for projects and businesses . Users appreciate its versatility for academic writing, creating stories, and general document creation . However, the mobile app often lacks desktop features like SmartArt, full ribbon customization, and publisher capabilities R63R75. Some users also report issues with saving documents, printing, and file synchronization .
Ease of Use and User Experience tieR2R6R17R19
Microsoft 365 Copilot Copilot's user experience is mixed; some find it user-friendly and revolutionary R2R17, while others struggle to understand how to use it or find its interface buggy R6. Specific complaints include clunky autocorrect, awkward pop-ups, and scrolling issues . There are also significant frustrations with frequent login requirements R19.
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is generally considered easy to use for its core purpose . However, the mobile experience is often criticized for being difficult, especially with scrolling long documents, which jumps around or takes a long time R76. Users also report issues with the keyboard not appearing, difficulty finding settings, and the intrusion of Copilot features .
Reliability and Performance tieR4R12R13R18
Microsoft 365 Copilot Copilot's reliability is a major concern. Users report it frequently forgets instructions, makes basic mistakes, and even 'lies' R4. It can mess up documents, reword things incorrectly, or fail to follow specific formatting requests R13R18. Some experience glitches, documents not syncing, and loss of work R12. Performance is also an issue, with the app being slow and draining battery .
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word, despite its long history, still suffers from reliability issues. Users report frequent crashes, loss of unsaved work, and documents not saving or syncing correctly across devices . The mobile app can also be slow to load or experience internet-related issues .
Price and Value tieR4R22R61R91
Microsoft 365 Copilot Microsoft 365 Copilot is part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (Free + IAP). Some users who pay for Microsoft 365 express frustration that Copilot doesn't acknowledge their purchase or forces them into additional logins R22. There's a sentiment that Microsoft should pay users to use the AI, given its current state R4.
Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is free to download but requires a Microsoft 365 subscription for full editing capabilities, leading to frustration for users who feel they are being forced to pay again or are locked out of features despite having a subscription R61R91R94. Users also complain about the high cost for what they perceive as low reward, especially if they cancel and lose access to their files R91.
Pick Microsoft 365 Copilot if

Pick Microsoft 365 Copilot if you need an AI assistant for brainstorming, research, or generating content, and are willing to tolerate its current inconsistencies and limitations R2. It can be a helpful tool for specific tasks, especially for those with ADHD or dyslexia who find it assists with focus and deciphering thoughts .

Pick Microsoft Word if

Pick Microsoft Word if your primary need is robust document creation, editing, and formatting, particularly for professional or academic use . It remains the industry standard, and despite mobile app shortcomings, it offers more reliable core word processing functionality.

Evidence note: Reviews for Microsoft 365 Copilot are heavily skewed towards recent negative feedback, often from users frustrated with its integration into the broader Microsoft 365 experience and its current AI performance. Many positive reviews are very general. Microsoft Word reviews also show frustration with mobile functionality and subscription issues, but its core utility is less questioned.

Frequently asked

Is Microsoft 365 Copilot reliable for important tasks?
No, many users report that Microsoft 365 Copilot is not consistently reliable for important tasks, frequently making mistakes, forgetting instructions, and sometimes messing up documents, leading to a lack of trust R4R13R18R25.
Can I use Microsoft Word effectively on mobile devices?
While Microsoft Word is available on mobile devices, many users find it less effective than the desktop version, citing issues with scrolling, missing features like SmartArt and full ribbon customization, and general difficulty with formatting complex documents R63R75R76R79.
Do I need a subscription for these apps?
Both apps are free to download, but full functionality, especially for editing and saving documents in Microsoft Word, typically requires a Microsoft 365 subscription, which can lead to frustration for users who feel they are being asked to pay multiple times or are locked out of features R22R61R91R94.

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. [R2] Microsoft 365 Copilot 5/5 · US Revolutionary: Increased MY quality!
  2. [R3] Microsoft 365 Copilot 3/5 · US A bit behind…: 1. Model seems to be behind on docs. Answers are two-to-three versions ago. 2. When giving solutions, it blasts you with too many solution paths. Needs to be more stepwise.
  3. [R4] Microsoft 365 Copilot 1/5 · US By far the dumbest AI: Constantly forget instructions, makes basic mistakes and even lies at time! Don’t ask it anything more than proofreading things or translations. Honestly Microsoft should pay us to use this joke of an AI.
  4. [R7] Microsoft 365 Copilot 2/5 · US Not customized to corporate structure: Still needs to be trained on corporate structure and the lack of database organization by verticals. If you ask it who is the leader of a project, or admin of group, it cannot determine this. If you ask it a simple who is the boss of this vertical it can answer. That is not useful… The ability to search by project, expertise, admin roles, everything not liste
  5. [R6] Microsoft 365 Copilot 3/5 · US Why is this here?: I have no idea how to use this!
  6. [R17] Microsoft 365 Copilot 5/5 · US “Best There Is” and “Here’s Why!”: Copilot is the “best there is”, because they have the best AI agents, overall performance, appearance, and user friendly experience ever created. Take the time to experience the “best there is” AI technology ever created! Thank you!
  7. [R19] Microsoft 365 Copilot 1/5 · US Too much login: I always need to go through the complete login process just to ask a frivolous question like whether a movie is based on a book. I’ll go back to google.
  8. [R12] Microsoft 365 Copilot 3/5 · US Getting better: Was glitchy the first time I used it and didnt really get the task or made me repeat what was asked as if I didnt ask. Its much better now since the update and looking forward to the future advancements it will bring.
  9. [R13] Microsoft 365 Copilot 1/5 · US Useless: This feature only messes up what I am doing. It doesn’t appear that it can be removed so I never see it again!!! Now, I’d like to know where is my 365 subscription?
  10. [R18] Microsoft 365 Copilot 3/5 · US Copilot: Sometimes copilot is great! But other times copilot messes up my document so badly that I have to start over and fix the mess. One time copilot reworded everything in a way that was completely wrong and another time I asked copilot to put in bullets exactly as the highlighted example I gave and copilot did then opposite!!
  11. [R22] Microsoft 365 Copilot 1/5 · US Utter garbage: I pay monthly for 365 but this garbage app doesn’t acknowledge my purchase, so I can’t use it.
  12. [R61] Microsoft Word 1/5 · US Sign in not working: 365 sign in not working
  13. [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.
  14. [R25] Microsoft 365 Copilot 2/5 · US Not very accurate: I get about 1 out of 10 responses that are correct. The links provided don’t necessarily go to what was described. Hard or impossible to provide photos when using on an iPad. Not sure if this is easier on a PC.
  15. [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
  16. [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.
  17. [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
  18. [R79] Microsoft Word 1/5 · US Trop d automatismes rigides, compliqués et mal adaptés: Inutilisable sur iPad ou iPhone
  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???

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