Do you ever feel like you‘re constantly battling against your Office 365 apps? Wrestling with formatting in Word, scrubbing messy data in Excel, or painstakingly tweaking PowerPoint designs? Yeah, me too.
But what if I told you there‘s an easier way?
Over 2,000 add-ins are available that supercharge Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook with new features, tools, and capabilities that make working in Office 365 a breeze. And many of the top add-ins won‘t cost you a penny.
In this guide, we‘ll uncover the best FREE add-ins to unlock your productivity in Office 365. I‘ll highlight my top picks for amping up each Office program, when to use each add-in for maximum impact, and tips for seamlessly integrating them into your workflow.
Let‘s dive in!
An Introduction to Office 365 Add-ins
Before jumping into the add-ins, let‘s quickly cover the basics…
What Are Office 365 Add-ins?
Office add-ins are lightweight apps that integrate directly into Office programs to add extra functionality without having to switch between programs.
You can access add-ins from right inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook to streamline workflows and access tools you use regularly.
Add-ins can help you:
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Save time through automation
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Reduce errors with quality and accuracy tools
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Unlock creativity with enhanced design and content capabilities
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Simplify collaboration by standardizing formats and processes
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Increase productivity by cutting out context switching
And much more!
Top Benefits of Using Add-ins
There are a few key reasons why add-ins can be game-changing for your productivity:
1. Streamline repetitive tasks
Add shortcuts, templates, and automation to speed up mundane work.
2. Reduce switching between apps
Access everything you need directly inside your Office program.
3. Customize functions and features
Get tools tailored to your unique needs.
4. Standardize team processes
Centralize key functions to align how your team works.
5. Enhance creativity
Bring designs, content, and multimedia directly into Office.
6. Increase accessibility
Install only what you need instead of complex software.
How to Install and Use Add-ins
Installing add-ins takes just a few clicks:
1. Open the application (Word, Excel, etc.)
2. Click "Insert" tab > "My Add-ins"
3. Click the "Store" button
4. Search for and install the add-in
Once installed, add-ins easily integrate right into your workflows:
Now let‘s look at some of the best free add-ins available!
7 Must-Have Outlook Add-ins
Outlook is most people‘s command center for communication and time management. These add-ins make you even more productive without leaving your inbox:
1. Boomerang
Boomerang supercharges your email management with time-saving automation. Key features:
- Schedule send emails later when it‘s convenient for you
- Pause inbox to block distractions when you need to focus
- Schedule reminders if you haven‘t received a reply
- Analyze likelihood of response with AI to improve replies
This is one of my favorite add-ins for reducing stress around emails. Set it and forget it!
Price: Free up to 10 emails/month
Great for: Consultants, support reps, account managers, and anyone who handles lots of email
2. Translator for Outlook
Instantly translate emails from over 50 languages right inside Outlook. This add-in is perfect for teams working across languages or communicating with international clients and partners.
I like using Translator for Outlook when receiving support emails or messages from global team members. It allows me to quickly clarify unfamiliar terms and respond appropriately.
Price: 100% Free
Great for: International teams, global businesses, multilingual communication
3. Mr. Post Email Inspector
This handy add-in scans links and attachments in emails to detect phishing attempts and malicious content. Just click the handy toolbar icon to scan any message for threats.
Email Inspector helps me rest easy knowing my inbox is safe, especially when links seem fishy. Peace of mind to avoid hacks and malware!
Price: Free
Great for: All email users concerned about security
4. Template Phrases
Quickly insert reusable snippets of text from a customizable library. Template Phrases is great for teams who need to standardize email language and save time on repetitive content.
For example, my team built templates with common questions, answers, greetings and closings. This boosts consistency across client communications while allowing personal customization.
Price: Free
Great for: Teams, consultants, support professionals, account managers
5. Custom Signatures
Tired of switching between email signatures manually? This handy add-in lets you save and customize multiple signatures for different purposes. With one click, quickly swap signatures when wearing different hats.
Custom Signatures is useful for anyone juggling multiple roles like consulting, freelancing, volunteer work, side businesses, etc. No more copy/pasting signatures!
Price: Free
Great for: Consultants, freelancers, hybrid roles, flexible workers
6. Email Recovery
Accidentally deleted a critical email? No problem – Email Recovery scans your trash and lets you restore deleted messages with just a few clicks. Lifesaver for recovering from mistakes!
I once used this add-in to rescue a year-old email thread from a client right before an important deadline. Email Recovery let me swiftly correct my absent-minded error.
Price: Free
Great for: Anyone who wants an ‘undo‘ button for deleted email
7. Send Anywhere
Easily share large files and attachments up to 10 GB from directly within Outlook. No more struggling with file size limits or syncing folders!
Send Anywhere makes collaborating on massive files like videos a breeze. I use it to share raw footage and multimedia seamlessly without hassling with external hard drives.
Price: Free
Great for: Media teams, creative pros, designers, videographers
So those are my top picks for upgrading Outlook! Next let‘s look at Word…
5 Word Add-ins That Boost Documents
Transform your documents with these Word add-ins:
1. Woodpecker
Woodpecker makes creating reusable templates a breeze. Simply add custom fields to templates, and Woodpecker lets you quickly populate new iterations later.
For example, I built proposal and contract templates with Woodpecker that automatically populate with client details like company name and project specs. This saves me tons of time!
You can also use Woodpecker for cover letters, reports, presentations, and other standardized documents.
Price: Free
Great for: Consultants, freelancers, lawyers, real estate agents
2. MyScript Math Sample
This genius add-in converts handwritten math equations into beautifully formatted text with a click. Finally, an easy way to write complex equations on tablets and touchscreen devices!
MyScript Math helps me effortlessly include sophisticated equations in research reports and presentations by writing them intuitively instead of struggling with Word‘s clunky built-in equation editor. Way more natural.
Price: Free
Great for: Researchers, academics, mathematicians, scientists, teachers, students
3. Symbols and Characters
Quickly find any symbol or special character instead of endlessly hunting through fonts and Wingdings. Extremely helpful for reports in technical and scientific fields laden with Greek letters, math symbols, asterisks, and other special characters.
No more googling "theta symbol" and meticulously copying/pasting ever again!
Price: Free
Great for: Academics, researchers, scientists, engineers, programmers
4. Abbreviation List
This handy tool scans documents and compiles a list of undefined and duplicate abbreviations and acronyms. Finally, no more forgetting to define an obscure shorthand or accidentally providing multiple definitions!
Abbreviation List helps me keep research papers and complex reports consistent. Set it and forget it – so convenient!
Price: Free
Great for: Academics, scientists, researchers, technical writers
5. Handy Calculator
Easily perform calculations right inside Word instead of toggling between apps!
Handy Calculator is a simple but game-changing tool if you frequently need to do math within documents. No more losing your place when jumping to a separate calculator. Just embed it directly into your workflow!
Price: Free
Great for: Budgeting, finance, accounting, math-heavy fields
Up next – Excel add-ins to upgrade your spreadsheeting…
6 Excel Add-ins That Turbocharge Spreadsheets
Crunch data faster and easier with these Excel upgrades:
1. XLTools Data Cleaning
Quickly clean up sloppy data by standardizing case, adding/removing punctuation, deleting extra spaces, and more.
I use XLTools Data Cleaning whenever I import reports or shared files with inconsistent formats. With a click, data perfectly aligns to my spreadsheet style guide. So fast!
This add-in saves tons of tedious clean-up work.
Price: Free
Great for: Analysts, researchers, database admins, financial analysts, scientists
2. Duplicate Remover
Find and delete pesky duplicate entries across rows and columns. Perfect for cleaning imported data sets and shared files where duplication is common.
Duplicate Remover helps me prep tabular data for analysis without laboriously combing for redundancies. It frees up more time actually assessing trends instead of just organizing data sets.
Price: Free
Great for: Analysts, researchers, data scientists
3. Split Text to Columns
This handy tool lets you split apart text strings into separate columns with just a click – extremely useful for parsing concatenated cells from imports or other sources.
No more fiddling with Excel’s confusing built-in text to columns wizard!
Price: Free
Great for: Database admins, analysts, researchers, scientists, financial data
4. ToDo List Pro
Struggling to keep your various data tasks and analysis steps organized across multiple workbooks or sheets? ToDo List Pro lets you embed a handy checklist directly alongside your actual spreadsheet.
No more flipping between Excel and external task apps that lose all context. Stay focused!
Price: Free
Great for: Analysts, business intelligence, database admins, researchers, consultants
5. People Graph
Easily turn spreadsheet stats into sleek infographic visuals. People Graph lets you instantly generate charts embellished with graphics like people, hearts, bags of money – whatever matches your vibe!
This add-in brings soulless stats to life when I‘m reporting Sociology research trends and analyses. The perfect balance of substance and style!
Price: Free
Great for: Academics, researchers, analysts, consultants, designers
6. Calendar
Insert dates from a handy pop-up calendar instead of manually typing and formatting cells.
Fantastic timesaver if you build lots of tables and reports with dates! Way faster than toggle between apps.
Price: Free
Great for: Analysts, researchers, project managers, finance
Now let‘s tackle PowerPoint…
5 PowerPoint Add-ins to Enhance Slide Decks
Make your slides pop with these amazing PowerPoint boosters:
1. Pickit
Struggling with lackluster images and boring clipart? Pickit integrates beautiful stock photos, graphics, and illustrations right into your workflow.
I use Pickit constantly for mocking up wireframes, prototypes, and eye-catching slides that don‘t look bland. It has an incredible library of unique royalty-free art I‘d never find via Bing Image Search or built-in options.
Price: Free
Great for: Designers, creatives, consultants, researchers, academics, marketers
2. Web Video Player
Effortlessly embed YouTube AND Vimeo content instead of just standard YouTube integration. This handy add-in saves me whenever clients share Vimeo links or I spot a useful animation on the site to showcase.
No more downloading videos and struggling with incompatible formats!
Price: Free
Great for: Designers, consultants, academics, marketers, public speakers
3. Web Viewer
Render full web pages like blog posts, images, or tools right inside slides without switching apps. Fantastic for quickly demoing websites or prototypes mid-presentation.
Last week, I used Web Viewer to showcase a new responsive site design that piqued a client‘s interest during a progress meeting. Being able to demo it live and switch between device views sparked tons of constructive feedback.
Price: Free
Great for: Designers, developers, consultants, academics, researchers
4. Pixton Comic Characters
Make boring presentations pop with cartoon characters! Embed colorful Pixtons instead of generic people icons and stock photos. Way more fun and engaging.
For example, I use Pixtons to liven up examples in training materials and educational content. Learners connect better with the Illustrated scenarios. Give it a try for boosting memorability!
Price: Free
Great for: Teachers, designers, consultants, academics, professionals
5. Zeetings
This newcomer add-in integrates interactive slides and prototypes right within PowerPoint. Build surveys, calculators, quizzes and more to drive audience participation without complex development.
I‘m currently using Zeetings to mock up a web form with various user flows for an upcoming application redesign pitch. Being able to demo interactions gets clients much more excited than static wireframes. Definitely check this one out!
Price: Free
Great for: Designers, consultants, researchers, teachers, product managers
Start Automating Office 365 with Zapier
While built-in add-ins allow you to power up Office 365 capabilities, taking it a step further with an automation tool like Zapier lets you seamlessly connect Office with thousands of other apps to drive even more value.
Check out these popular automations between Office 365 and other work apps:
With 500+ Office 365 integrations to apps like Gmail, Slack, Trello, HubSpot, Asana, and more, your customization options are endless!
Boost Productivity with Office 365 Add-ins
The right add-ins help you save time, reduce errors, enhance designs, simplify collaboration, and boost productivity every single day across Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
I highly recommend starting out with 2-3 of the top options for the Office apps you use most. Install them, test out integrations into your workflows, and consider exploring more specialized additions catered to your field and use cases from there.
Before you know it, everything you need will be accessible directly inside Office 365 instead of constantly switching between standalone apps and tools. Now that‘s efficient multitasking!
Have favorite add-ins I missed? Share your top picks in the comments!
