Looking to buy an iPad instead of a laptop

Microsoft Word/Excel do not come free with either a laptop or an iPad.

You can download those applications for free from the App Store but you will need a Microsoft 365 subscription on an iPad larger than 10.1 inches. You can subscribe through Microsoft or through an in-app purchase.

See the following from

To create or edit documents, sign in with a free Microsoft account on devices with a screen size smaller than 10.1 inches.

Unlock the full Microsoft Office experience with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription for your phone, tablet, PC, and Mac.

As it’s occasionally been a source of some confusion, iPad runs iPadOS, and not Microsoft Windows.

If you need Windows apps, iPad is not your choice. Windows apps do not work on iPad.

Apple does not include third-party commercial apps such as Microsoft Office with iPad.

The Apple iWork apps can read and write many Microsoft Office documents.

iWork is available for free for iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Office Macros and some other Office features are not supported by iWork, but what Office features most folks use are supported.

Though I’ve not tried it—I’m only rarely using Office documents, and not outside of what iWork has been compatible with—another potential option is Collabora Office, based on LibraOffice:

‎Collabora Office on the App Store

If you don’t specifically need Office documents, iWork works just fine for processing text, creating presentations, for generating PDF files, and other such.

Or yes, you can purchase Microsoft Office. Probably a subscription to Office 365. It’s available in the App Store.

Here? I’d suggest finding an Office document of the sort you need posted on the ‘net somewhere, and borrowing an iPhone or iPad, and trying out Pages or Keynote or Numbers with it.

you would have to pay

apple devices come with their own version of Microsoft office