SoftMaker has been making Office software for decades. Their FreeOffice version is freemium but surprisingly powerful for portable use.
To give you a real-world sense of speed, here is a benchmark comparison running each tool from a standard USB 3.0 drive on a Dell OptiPlex (i5, 8GB RAM): microsoft word portable
| Software | Launch Time (Cold) | Open 50pg .docx | Save to USB | RAM Usage | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | MS Word (Repack) | 18 seconds | 4 seconds | 3 seconds | 280 MB | | LibreOffice Portable | 12 seconds | 5 seconds | 2 seconds | 150 MB | | FreeOffice TextMaker | 4 seconds | 2 seconds | 1 second | 70 MB | | OnlyOffice Portable | 14 seconds | 6 seconds | 3 seconds | 200 MB | SoftMaker has been making Office software for decades
Winner for speed: FreeOffice TextMaker. It is remarkably lightweight. It is remarkably lightweight
| Your Goal | Best Action |
|-----------|--------------|
| Edit .docx files on any PC without installing | Use Portable LibreOffice – 100% legal, free, safe. |
| Use real Microsoft Word on multiple computers | Buy a license and install normally on each machine (or use remote desktop). |
| Work on school/work computers without admin rights | Use Microsoft Word Online (works in browser). |
| “I want real Word portably anyway” | Understand it’s legally impossible without piracy/malware risk. Don’t do it. |
Users look for portable Word for legitimate reasons: