Best word processor for Mac OS

Pages.

The question is not practical unless you state what you plan to use it for. "Best" word processor for one user is not the best for another.

For work I don't need to share across platforms, I like Pages. Been using it since Apple first released it and it's one of my favorites.

For other times when I'm working across OS X, Windows & Linux I like OpenOffice.

Office for mac was fine but more expensive than iwork so I deleted my office trial and downloaded pages.
Office: 120 bucks ( includes excel, powerpoint and outlook)
Pages: 20 bucks and works fine

I switch constantly between Scrivener and Word.

They are very different -- Scrivener does things I need to do better than Word ever could, but I'd never use it to write a letter, for example.

I don't really think that Scrivener belongs on your list. It's too special-purpose (but absolutely dynamite for its purpose . . . I couldn't write without it).

Scrivener (my vote as it's my most used) for academic and creative writing projects. iA Writer for distraction free writing spurts. And Pages for miscellaneous writing.

NeoOffice isn't mentioned. After Pages it's my 2nd favourite word mangler.

MS Word I think is the best for OSX, I've used Pages but I find Word to be more feature rich and a better app.

Pages got my vote. It's just so clean looking and easy to write with. My resume and cover letter look fantastic and when you are looking at a simple screen, the words fly out. Can't stand MS Word.

Best "word processor": a LaTeX system!

If you want to concentrate in the first instance upon writing and organization, not how things will look, nothing beats a (La)TeX system. You use mark-up when writing. Then when you process the source with the TeX system, you get gorgeous output. And you can have considerable control over appearance. Ultimate output can be, in among other forms, PDF.

For scientific writing and publishing, nothing can (La)TeX for typesetting formulas correctly. But the range of document types for which LaTeX produces excellent results is much wider than that, including, e.g., parallel-columns with two languages, including many non-European ones.

You can get such a system for free: see http://www.tug.org/mactex/2011/.

(Note: the 2012 release is just a few weeks away.)

Pages, for an MS Word-style alternative.
But for creative writing, especially a first draft, Ulysses. Nothing but what you need.

murrayE said:

If you want to concentrate in the first instance upon writing and organization, not how things will look, nothing beats a (La)TeX system. You use mark-up when writing. Then when you process the source with the TeX system, you get gorgeous output. And you can have considerable control over appearance. Ultimate output can be, in among other forms, PDF.

For scientific writing and publishing, nothing can (La)TeX for typesetting formulas correctly. But the range of document types for which LaTeX produces excellent results is much wider than that, including, e.g., parallel-columns with two languages, including many non-European ones.

You can get such a system for free: see http://www.tug.org/mactex/2011/.

(Note: the 2012 release is just a few weeks away.)

Click to expand...

LaTeX is a typesetting-system which I love to use, but I do not consider it a word processor in that sense. However, it works great for making scientific reports and professional-looking papers.

My most used app right now is Scrivener, by far. It's very unique in its field of application, but (and this isn't a bad but at all) I use Pages for everything that requires formatting and/or doesn't have a structure.

I voted for word just because it's the one I use the most. If I don't have to share it with anyone I like pages a bit better, but pages doesn't work well for sharing documents with people who don't have it.

Word for a lot but latex for math and science.

It would be better to have multiple options.

For power use, academic use, Hebrew, plus multiple independent footnote/endote streams, Autotitles, superior styles, nothing compares to Mellel. My first choice.

But I also use Nisus Writer Pro for many projects not requiring the above capabilities. And Scrivener for editing a magazine. And I keep LibreOffice for cross platform exchanges. Not ideal, but I do not have MS Office, so I need something that gets close.