Anybody who is a user of Apple’s Macintosh computers likely will run into this decision: should they but Apple’s iWork Office Suite or Microsoft Office for Mac? Both pieces of software are for the same purpose, and published by the two largest technology companies in the world, but there are some subtle differences that can impact the decision greatly in one way or the other. This article will compare and contrast the two office suites to help a prospective buyer with his or her decision.

Both of the two applications include software for what the average computer user needs to do most on their PC, and these programs are what will be compared first. In Microsoft Office 2008, there is Office Word, for word processing documents, PowerPoint, for creating presentations, and Excel, for managing spreadsheets. The corresponding applications in iWork 2009, Apple’s latest iteration of the program, are Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.

In one manner, it is difficult to compare iWork and Microsoft Office. This is mostly because Office is essentially the industry standard for word processing, and many businesses and schools require the word macro-enabled formats, or are standardized to the software. It is difficult to get away from Office, and some people who prefer to use iWork report that they need Office anyway just to stay compatible. While Apple programs can save in Microsoft’s formats, the compatibility for more specialized features, such as macros, may not be perfect. However, here the programs will be compared based on functionality and features, ignoring Microsoft’s dominance.

Both pieces of software include all of the basic word processing tools. This includes features such as page layout, editing fonts and sizes, bold, underline, etc. Both also include far more templates than anyone could ever need. Apple’s Pages includes easier navigation for adding pictures and other media from Apple-created tools, whereas Microsoft Office offers easier navigation for adding media in other situations. Which interface is better (Word’s ribbon or Apples toolbars) is a matter of personal preference. There is no tool to view pages files outside of the Apple ecosystem (on a Windows or Linux computer), but one can easily translate the document to a pdf or a Microsoft Word format.

The next two pieces of software in the suites are Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote. In this case, both programs offer extremely similar features. The only major difference is that Keynote is extremely tightly integrated into the Apple ecosystem, as one can control a presentation using an iPod, can export presentations to Apple’s iDVD software, and has compatible software for the recently released iPad. Microsoft’s software is perhaps slightly more basic in terms of included themes, transitions, and video editing, but is far more extensible as it is widely used, so such features can be added if necessary. Keynote is likely the better of the two pieces of software for making extremely impressive presentations quickly, but PowerPoint is perfectly adequate and useful for those who want to ignore more professional features. As before, the interface (ribbon vs toolbar) is a matter of personal preference.

The final pieces of software is the spreadsheet software in each suite. Microsoft offers the ubiquitous excel, while Apple offers Numbers. The difference between these two pieces of software is more stark than anything in the previous software. Excel is clearly aimed at the professional. There almost is no competitor for the software in business, and Excel’s functions are arcane and very difficult to learn, with more than anybody could ever possibly use. Numbers, by contrast, is easy. It offers far fewer features than excel, but everything is simple. For example, instead of having to understand lists of complex formulas to draw up a spreadsheet, the interface is a simple drag-and-drop for formulas. Excel is for the professional who is doing real-word deep analysis, while Numbers is for the layperson who is keeping track of something with a spreadsheet or only needs to do smaller analyses.

Both suites offer internet functionality as well. Very recently Microsoft began offering a free version of Microsoft Office online which is extremely easy to use to edit documents made on the desktop. Apple has the website iWork.com, which includes the ability to upload documents, control who can see them, and download those documents. Both of these services are free to use and include collaboration features, competing directly with Google’s Google Docs service.

One thing that Microsoft Office offers for which iWork has no counterpart is a large amount of other software. In the Professional versions of Microsoft Office, Microsoft now includes Entourage, an email/scheduling/calendar program, Publisher, a program for designing professional documents, such as brochures and banners, SharePoint, collaboration software, and many more programs.

Most of these programs are aimed directly at businesses, which make this the likely choice for any business that needs such features. Small businesses, which do little collaboration definitely do not need these features. It should be noted that many of these other programs have different names in their Windows iterations. In many cases, Apple has answers to this software in the form of software that comes bundled with a Mac.

It also should be noted that one benefit of using Apple’s software is the one-size-fits-all mindset. Microsoft Office for Mac has four different versions, possibly with more when the next version comes out. The software included is different for every version. iWork has only one version, so one definitely knows what he or she is getting.

In conclusion, it is the opinion of the author that a student or business professional should get Microsoft Office, while anybody else can get along perfectly well with the cheaper iWork Office suite. For the best balance in many cases, one should get both.