Yes, but those are the programs never keep the same formatting that you started out with in Microsoft Office. Especially if you’re using claude, I would use Microsoft Office. I am speaking as somebody who is not currently using Microsoft Office but considering switching back.
But if all you want is the iWorks apps (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) they are still free.
So I think that it is crazy, if you are concerned about money in this context.
Thet are free but if you upgrade to the latest version you are constantly prompted to pay for Creator Studio, even when in the middle of working on a doocument.
It’s hugely annoying
4 Likes
Perhaps, but as I wrote above:
Cost, however, is not the only consideration. Most artificial intelligence tools work best with Markdown, Microsoft Office applications, and PDFs. I use Claude Max Cowork extensively. Claude cannot work with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote without extensive conversion processes, whereas it can with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Dollar for dollar, Google Workspace offers the best deal, but I dislike working with Google applications. I prefer the graphical interface clutter of Microsoft Office over Google’s offerings
[/quote]
I must be an outlier but I got asked a couple of times when it was introduced to pay for Creator Studio, but I cannot remember the last time I got prompted to do so. However, I don’t use their templates. Maybe that is the reason.
1 Like
I think this question will come up more and more as the old iWorks apps increasingly move behind a paywall. Nobody want to use an app that may be free now but not in a year’s time. That creates mental baggage.
MS Office is in a strong position of being cross platform and a better format than iWorks. Apple also need to come to a realisation that not all users are in an entirely Apple eco system. That alone makes iWorks apps problematic.
It should be made clear by Apple that their intention is to have iWorks apps remain free. I do not know what you mean by saying “increasingly move behind a paywall”. They are not behind a paywall. Like zero behind a paywall.
But I would agree that it is a little murky.
I think that the Creator Studio including iWorks apps causes confusion and Apple should make this all clearer. These apps in Creator Studio are identical to these apps outside of Creator Studio. In Creator Studio you get some templates and stock media but the apps themselves are identical in or out.
My assumption is that the iWorks apps themselves will remain free. Your assumption is apparently that they will not remain free. But the future has not been spelled out. It is speculative.
I think that it would be crazy for Apple to charge for the basic iWorks suite so I assume they will not do it.
3 Likes
I think that it would be crazy for Apple to charge for the basic iWorks suite so I assume they will not do it.
I agree. I think Apple will retain a free version of iWork. As I stated earlier, my suspicion is that a feature gap will widen over time between the basic free versions and the Creator Studio versions. I expect the differentiation to extend beyond templates to include AI features and more. Time will tell, but for those who need only Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, yet also want great templates, photographs, clip art, AI integration, and other features still to be developed or revealed, paying $130 per year seems a relatively poor value proposition when, for $100 per year, one can obtain the entire Microsoft Office suite, world-standard formats, more storage, and AI integration.
This baffles me. Aren’t you employed by a private school? Here’s what Apple says about eligibility:
K12 - Any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the United States is eligible, including homeschool teachers. In addition, school board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members are eligible. PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers are eligible.
Is there some caveat I’ve missed?
I’ve never had to “convert” any MS doc I receive in Libre Office. It reads and can write all MS formats as well as its own ones.
I’ve done that very recently with Libre Office. I regularly update and turn in a spreadsheet that contains over 35 separate sheets each with hundreds of columns and typically about 100 rows per sheet back and forth several times a year. The only problem I’ve ever had is Excel’s date calculations. This sreadsheet started out life with the old Windows version of excel that used a different start date for dates and also didn’t’ calculate leap years properly. Libre office can be set to handle this case and still keep everything clean. BTW I have no ability to change or modify the format of the spreadsheet when I send it back.
Not true. You can continue to use and keep all the MS formats but use LibreOffice to edit and manipulate them. The only formatting I’ve lost is date calcs from Excel if I change the start date. But LO allows you to select from any of the 3 common start dates so even that one is not an issue.
Re Claude use I have a standing rule that Claude cannot use any Microsoft formats for outputs. I’ve not had any problems with that once I set the rule up so I don’t see any issues there either. I can still use MS formatted stuff as inputs I just hate mS so much I won’t sue it as outputs unless absolutely required to by a company I am dealing with and even then I do all the work in LO and only convert to MS at the end.
We had our IT department check into this, and according to them, the discount only applies to college students. The head of our IT department is checking with Apple to see if this is an oversight or misunderstanding. He is waiting for a response, but as of now, we don’t qualify.
Did you notice what the text says that you referenced? “ Higher Education - Faculty and staff of Higher Education institutions in the United States; and students attending, or accepted into a Higher Education institution in the United States are eligible to purchase.”
My school is a private 7-12 institution. 
Per Apple’s Support Page:
Get an Apple Creator Studio college student or educator subscription
If you’re a verified student enrolled in or a verified educator employed at a degree-granting college or university, you can subscribe to Apple Creator Studio at a discounted monthly or yearly rate.
How to qualify for an Apple Creator Studio college student or educator subscription
You must be one of the following to qualify for an Apple Creator Studio college student or educator subscription:
- A student attending a college or university and studying for an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, a post-graduate degree, or an equivalent higher education course.
- An educator at an accredited institution of higher education.
Additionally, I’ve read that K-12 educators across the country are pushing back. The Apple Education Community forum has an active thread where Apple Distinguished School staff and Apple Learning Coaches are formally requesting that Apple extend Creator Studio educational pricing to K-12. As of early March 2026, Apple has not publicly responded or signaled a change.
1 Like
Why does one need the Creator Studio, when Pages, Number and Keynote are free with every Mac?
For me, the macOS suite are far better options than the ugly and stupid MS Office counterpart.
But that’s me.
/fwiw
2 Likes
+1
We always had more than 100 users and less than 10 used Microsoft Office. The rest used Libre Office set to save in MS formats, and they worked (linked, etc) with the Excel users every day.
Agreed that this is speculative. However, Apple are harming themselves by bundling iWorks in with Creator Studio if their intention is for it to remain free. However, if they are positioning to make them paid apps, then I would expect what they are currently doing.
Perhaps it was openoffice. However, I do like MS Office and so the cost is worth it for me, plus dragging in Word docs to IA Writer creates a really good markdown file, better than Claude’s conversion.
Yes, but the part I quoted explicitly says that any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the U.S. is eligible, so I’d think you’d be covered under that. Even homeschool teachers and board members are eligible.
That’s for the education hardware discount.
2 Likes
Ah. Good point.
I did a little more digging. Based on what I found in this discussion in the Apple forums and on the About Apple Creator Studio support page, it looks like the pricing is only available to college and university students and educators.
Which is absolutely bonkers.
Unfortunately we are not eligible.
Most unfortunately. Apple really needs to fix that. 
1 Like
I think M365 suite is good value. But so is Google Workspace or Apple’s iWork. I spent many years with G Suite and was a power user, and even that I dabbled into Pages, Numbers and Keynote and liked them. All of them are powerful and deep tools that require some learning.
The thing here to consider is interoperability. I would not dare to share a Keynote file at work, for example. And given that I have to work with Powerpoint, Excel, and whatnot it’s better for me to learn their ropes as thoroughly as I can.
The value added aspect of MCP support in O365 is a nice one!
2 Likes