Tired of paying Microsoft hundreds of dollars every few years to upgrade your software? Below are high quality free or low cost alternatives. Try them out.

Google Docs
This is my top choice. All you need is an internet connection and Google account. Create word processor documents, spreadsheets, presentations and forms.

Zoho
I haven’t tried this one but it looks promising. It has word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and online project manager, CRM solutions, web conferencing and more.

OpenOffice
Open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers.

Thinkfree
An office suite of high performance word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications that is extremely compatible withMicrosoft® Word, Excel and Power Point. Whether you work in Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, with ThinkFree Office 3 you’ll feel right at home because it looks, feels and behaves just like they do regardless of whether you use it on Windows, Linux, or Macintosh.

StarOffice
Powerful and integrated word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database capabilities