Microsoft Office has become the default document editing suite for many organizations and the increasing costs that come along with the software suite are often accepted as the cost of doing business. Many organizations and European Governments are now starting the realize that Microsoft can be quite easily terminated without disruption to workflow. The cost-savings of ditching Microsoft Office can be in millions as Microsoft continues to increase costs for their subscription-based software by 20% each year. Microsoft Office licenses are now funneled into Microsoft Office 365, and require a one-year contract, even on a monthly term.
These alternatives to Office are no longer seen as inferior, free alternatives. Rather they are innovative solutions that work well and do credit to free software as a way to get things done that’s at least as effective as Microsoft’s proprietary software.
If you’re looking for an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office 365, take a look at these options:
LibreOffice
So, while Microsoft Office is perhaps the best-known option, it’s best left for professionals, businesses, and users with more than enough money to spend on luxuries. That’s especially with LibreOffice providing a competing suite of office software that’s just as exceptional, versatile, and feature-rich at no cost to its users.
How does it manage to do this? LibreOffice is an offshoot of the OpenOffice project and is developed by a huge team of enthusiastic coders who are lending their services without pay. This same team also delivers regular updates and new features to ensure it keeps pace with premium office software. The only notable difference between LibreOffice and Microsoft Office is that LibreOffice doesn’t really have a “support” service. If you run into problems, you’ll have to turn to the community of users who use the software suite rather than someone specifically dedicated to the task. But if you think about how often you need to turn to a professional to resolve problems on a spreadsheet or word processor, you’ll have to admit that this is hardly a decisive difference.
Just how exactly is LibreOffice keeping up with something as widely beloved and relied on as Microsoft Office. To start, it comes with six component programs that provide everything you need from an office suite:
LibreOffice Writer (word processing)
Calc (spreadsheets)
Impress (presentations)
Draw (vector graphics)
Math (mathematical formulae)
Base (databases)
Platforms: GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, BSD, Android, and Haiku
Benefits
Library of extensions
Open-Source
Recommended by French Government
Limitations
Concerns about compatibility
FreeOffice
If you are looking for a free and easy alternative to Microsoft Office, then FreeOffice is the suite for you. The company, SoftMaker, has been developing office software since 1987 and its office suite is their flagship product.
FreeOffice is a complete office suite that is free to use for both home and in the workplace. It is developed for both Windows and Linux, and offers a basic version for Android users.
The suite itself is fully compatible with all Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. This means that you can not only view but save files in document formats such as DOC or DOCX files, XLSX and PPTX. It also supports older file types such as PPT and XLS.
The new interface that was launched this year gives you the option of either working with modern or classic menus and toolbars. This makes switching from Microsoft Office easy to do as the interface is eerily similar.
For those users who have the luxury of a touchscreen PC you can use touch mode with larger icons. This mode is available for both the newer version look and the classic menu-based interface.
Benefits
Ease of use
Open Source
Free
Limitations
Uses local computer resources
Thexyz Cloud Drive
Thexyz Cloud Drive upgrade adds 30GB of online cloud storage for each of your mailboxes. Collaborate with our Microsoft Office-compatible applications so you can create, access, and edit documents and spreadsheets from your web browser. Access your files securely from everywhere with 30GB of online Cloud Drive storage that’s protected with 256-bit encryption.
Platforms: Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android.
Benefits
Regular new features
Open Source
Scalable for teams
Limitations
Cost per user
Web apps only
Calligra
Rather than directly confronting the two heavyweights in the field, Microsoft Office and LibreOffice, Calligra has tried to differentiate itself through the ergonomy of managing large documents, but also by orienting itself towards users willing to switch completely to open-source solutions. For example, the suite relies on OpenDocument formats and does not necessarily aim for compatibility with Microsoft’s formats.
Besides the several add-ons that you may be tempted to try, Callibra’s main advantage is that it fits perfectly into KDE open-source software. The technical compatibility and consistent graphic design make the Calligra suite very easy to use if you have already chosen to use KDE. Although there are some that note Calligra has difficulties in ensuring satisfactory compatibility with Microsoft data formats.
Platforms: GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, BSD
Benefits
No sign up required
SIP compatible
Easy to use
Limitations
Limited MS Office compatibility
Small community of developers
OnlyOffice
OnlyOffice is a collaborative office tool developed by a group of Latvian developers known as TeamLab in 2009. Since then, the project has evolved and now offers a desktop version that serves as an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office.
One of the main features of OnlyOffice is its word processing capability, which allows for easy formatting and editing of documents. Additionally, the software offers a spreadsheet editor, a slideshow presentation tool, and a form creator.
Users can download and utilize OnlyOffice to work with various file formats, making it a flexible option for all types of users. With its diverse range of tools, OnlyOffice provides a comprehensive solution for word processing and other office-related tasks.
Platforms: Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Benefits
Mobile friendly
Free & Open Source
Easy to use
Limitations
No add-on tools
Implementation can be tricky
Limited desktop support
OpenOffice
The OpenOffice.org, or OOo, first launched in 2000, 10 years after Microsoft’s, and came out with the first version of its software in 2002. But its origins trace back to the 1980s since OpenOffice is in fact a free continuation of StarOffice, a previous competitor to Microsoft’s, which was already free at that time for individuals and especially students. In 2011, the project was transferred to the Apache Foundation (which is what gives it the name Apache OpenOffice).
OpenOffice has earned its reputation as a solid alternative to each version of Microsoft Word thanks to the interest from public institutions.
Platforms: GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and BSD
Benefits
Open/Save Word files or PDF
Free to use
Easy to use
Limitations
Apache struggled to keep the project active
Updates are less frequent
Nextcloud
We have been a big supporter of the Nextcloud project even before when the developers were part of ownCloud. This open-source software provides you with your own private cloud space with plenty of tools geared toward collaboration installed on your own server. Although this is free, open-source software, you will need a server and with our service, you can set one up with a few clicks and have Nextcloud pre-installed. Users can store, export documents, and share documents and files using either the web interface or just by dropping them into a Nextcloud directory on their desktop, which gets synchronized automatically in real time with the Nextcloud desktop client. The web interface also features a chat application called Talk, which features the ability to make voice calls, conference calls, and video calls to now offer Nextcloud as a complete conferencing platform with virtual backgrounds. We tested the chat app with 50 participants and it worked great with the excellent video quality.
Platforms: Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android.
Benefits
Regular new features
Open Source
Unlimited users
Limitations
Requires server
Resource intensive
Early days for office apps
Google Workspace
If you’re looking for a Microsoft Word alternative for word processing that offers native file format, and are concerned about the privacy and security of your files, Google Docs may be a viable option. Although it can still be costly compared to other software, it is slightly cheaper than the Microsoft Office Suite. Some individuals with limited experience using computers and software may prefer Google Docs since it may be the only software they have ever used.
Benefits
Easy for people with limited PC skills
Limitations
Poor privacy polices
Expensive and not free
Data lock-in
Besides these general solutions, there are also Microsoft Office alternatives tailored to your specific needs. It’s difficult to say for sure that any one solution is better than another since everyone will find in each of these possibilities the option that best meets their needs:
- Do you need a complete suite or just a word processor?
- Are you looking for a way to do collaborative work and share access to documents?
- Will you need to coordinate your work with employees, coworkers, or contractors using a proprietary format, Windows for example?
The decision to turn to an open-source alternative to Microsoft Windows is in any case an opportunity to question how you need to use these tools and “deconstruct” Windows’s influence. The world of free and open-source software has not stopped at being “like Windows but free” and can also provide another way to think about office tools.
I am going to give this a go and try and ditch MS suite. It is true how it gets more and more expensive but barely has any changes. I am not sure how many times I have purchased MS software. I can’t believe that I don’t already own it.
This is some great information on open-source alternatives.
Microsoft is awful and their office 365 offering and new windows 11 have made me want to switch to Linux more than ever before.
I am really struggling with MS office. Thanks for posting these resources.
+1 for ONLYOFFICE
Do you know if any of these track word count?
I love how many free alternatives to microsoft office there are now.
Very helpful. I have been looking for alternatives to microsoft word for a while now.
Great article! Rocket Chat is also cool, it’s the pendant to MS Teams.
Few more open source alternatives
Instagram -> PixelFed
Medium -> Write.as / Writefreely
Zoom / Google Meet -> BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet
Facebook Events -> Mobilizon
Twitter -> Pleroma
Google Search -> DuckDuckGo, Searx, Quant
Google Drive -> Nextcloud, owncloud, Cozy Drive
These are great projects and I don’t mean to be a whiner, but… one problem is the perennial open source problem: there are so many alternatives to choose from. I’m not sure how that gets resolved. One good thing about the evil Facebook is its universality. If you’re of my generation (old) and looking for your high school pals they WILL be on Facebook, and not, e.g., Diaspora.
I tried to migrate to Diaspora and ditch Facebook but none of the FB friends seemed interested in migrating along with me. It’s hard to dump a huge community and start over completely alone.
I found recently a new video platform, said to be open source : Freetube a Youtube replacement.
I would go with Signal as an alternative to Messenger
Free your mind ! Use open source programs !
Many people communicate with family that a located far away. What people need is an alternative, decentralized, censorship resistant platform to converse on. Meta is a trap but we need them to put their dollars towards the infrastructure of Web3. Social apps have groups for health issues. People are finding ways to cope with or mitigate health issues through groups on social media. Tell me another way to break geographical barriers in communication? I will still consider blogs a social media effort.
This is a great list. Thanks for sharing. Ive been using dscvr.one and enjoy it very much as a decentralized option to reddit and discord. It’s hosted completely on chain on the internet computer protocol. We earn Karma points and have had nfts airdropped to us randomly for engagement. We can store the nfts on dscvr or transfer them and sell. Its awesome.
I love free and open source software and use Firefox, Thunderbird, MS Security Essentials, PR Grep, and Open Office. And I fell in love with NoteTabPro, a low-priced pay software for editing all things ASCII and code (HTML, CSS, PHP, etc.) The the multiple-document Search and Replace function is awesome, and what it can do with editing out spaces and carriage returns in ascii docs it just beautiful. It was worth the $15 back in ’97.
Inkscape is a vector image editor, which is cross-platform, free and open-source. A usable alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
I did not know there were so many options for MS office. And for free!
Most stuff in this list is cool, but only a few are comparable to their closed source counterparts. It’s a shame, but funded, commercial projects have a better shot of working right now. (take Libre Calc, for instance: lacks a number of features that excel has, and has way worse usability)