How do I download an older version of iWork? Is it possible do download it outside of apple app store?

1. Create a virtual machine running the required macOS version (in this case, Big Sur+)

2. Sign in to app store in it

3. Get the apps you need, in this case Pages, Numbers and Keynote (Important: download them completely!)

4. Open app store on your mac, and click on your apple id(or in the purchases tab).

5. Find the apps you need to get for an older macOS version.

6. Click the cloud icon, enter your id password(if asked for), then press OK. Wait until it is done downloading and installing. Done!

The 32-bit iWork '09 applications were retired in early Fall 2013, from the Mac App Store, and Apple stopped selling the retail iWork '09 DVD. If you never downloaded Pages, Numbers, or Keynote since Oct 2013 then they will not be in your Mac App Store purchased panel, and there is simply no means to get any version. Apple does not provide a separate user download site for past full installers of these applications. You can still use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote iCloud applications.

If you need a word processing application for Catalina, Probably the lowest learning curve for a non-Apple basic word processing application that is free comes in the form of Bean 3.4.6 (or later) which is compatible with Catalina or later. Bean can produce Word compatible .docx documents, but cannot read Pages documents.

Although the free LibreOffice Suite is a clone of MS Office, its collection of applications is quite powerful and has a steep learning curve, even with the available documentation. A more practical, but not free alternative might be Softmaker's Office 2021, which has a free trial from their site. It is compatible with MS Office documents, but again, cannot open any existing Apple documents.

Other word processing solutions are in the Mac App Store and even if apparently free to install, may be tied to a subscription, or in-app purchases to unlock additional features.

" Some say that I can download an iWork '09 trial, but it is 32-bit. "

Not a useful choice, even if you can install it.

The trial period is 30 days. I've forgotten what limitations applied to the trial version, but as I recall, they made it not useful for continued use. Likely had to do with printing, saving documents or both.

When the trial period ends, or to activate all features, you'd need a registration code. The servers providing those codes are no longer active. And even if you were able to acquire such a code, the servers that recognize and validate the code are also no longer active.

You may be able to find the retail boxed dvd version of iWork '09 from one of the Apple resellers. This version required no unlocking code, but did, of course, require the computer to be attached to a disk drive capable of reading the DVD.

Whether the '09 versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote will run in Catalina is another question—one that I don'tknow the answer to.

Regards,

Barry

No, unless you can upgrade your Mac to Big Sur from Catalina, which would then allow you to download Pages v11.1 (current) to your Mac.

Since you apparently never installed Pages for an older version of macOS, there would be no record of it in the Mac App Store now. That is the only means to get Pages v11.1 which is the last version compatible with Catalina. Apple does not provide direct user downloads of past full installers of Pages.