About Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer is an online word processor from Zoho for creating, editing, sharing, reviewing and publishing documents. The vendor describes it as free, designed for smooth teamwork, and compatible with DOCX and PDF files.
Layout features include multi-column layouts, section breaks, borders, headers, footers, tables, images and charts. Zia, the built-in AI assistant, helps write, edit, rephrase and rewrite text and can draft templates. Writer can also build dynamic templates and forms from scratch or from scanned documents, with automation for business documents such as letters, proposals, invoices and reports.
Review tools include change tracking, comments, AI-based rewrite suggestions and a plagiarism checker, and documents can be shared with permissions for real-time collaboration. Writer runs on the web, with desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux that support offline work, plus iOS and Android apps.
Key features
- Online word processing with DOCX and PDF support
- Real-time collaboration and comments
- Change tracking for reviews
- Zia AI writing assistant
- Templates and forms with automation
- Desktop apps with offline mode
Good fit for
- →Team document drafting and review
- →Generating business letters and proposals
- →Writing offline on desktop apps
- Tags
- word-processor
- documents
- zoho
- collaboration
- ai-writing
- templates
- docs
Zoho Writer: questions and answers
- What is Zoho Writer used for?
- Zoho Writer is an online word processor with real-time collaboration, an AI writing assistant, templates and DOCX and PDF support. It is a good fit for team document drafting and review, generating business letters and proposals, and writing offline on desktop apps.
- Is Zoho Writer free?
- Yes. Zoho Writer is free to use.
- Is Zoho Writer open source?
- No. Zoho Writer is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Zoho Writer include Etherpad, La Suite Docs and Collabora Online.
- What are some alternatives to Zoho Writer?
- Zoho Writer competes with Google Docs, Apple Pages and Dropbox Paper. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Zoho Writer alternatives.
Open-source alternatives to Zoho Writer
See all
Etherpad
Docs & Wikis
Etherpad: A modern really-real-time collaborative document editor.
Apache-2.0vs Google Docs★ 19k
La Suite Docs
Docs & Wikis
Docs is the open-source document editor that turns your team
MITvs Notion★ 17k
Collabora Online
Productivity
Issue tracker only. Active development is on Gerrit at https://gerrit.collaboraoffice.com/
OSSvs Microsoft 365★ 3.4k
CryptPad
Productivity
Collaborative office suite, end-to-end encrypted and open-source.
AGPL-3.0vs Google Docs★ 8k
ONLYOFFICE Docs
Productivity
ONLYOFFICE Docs is a free collaborative online office suite comprising viewers and editors
AGPL-3.0vs Microsoft 365★ 7k
Outline
Docs & Wikis
The fastest knowledge base for growing teams. Beautiful, realtime collaborative, feature p
OSSvs Confluence★ 41k
SaaS alternatives to Zoho Writer
See all
Google Docs
Docs & Wikis
Google Docs is Google's browser-based word processor for writing and co-editing documents in real time, part of Google Workspace.
SaaS
Apple Pages
Docs & Wikis
Apple's word processor and page-layout app for Mac, iPad and iPhone
SaaS
Dropbox Paper
Docs & Wikis
Dropbox's collaborative document editor with media embeds and task lists
SaaS
WPS Office
Productivity
Office suite with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation apps
SaaS
Microsoft Word
Docs & Wikis
Word processor for writing, formatting and co-editing documents
SaaS
Quip
Docs & Wikis
Salesforce's collaborative documents and spreadsheets with built-in team chat
SaaS

