Alternatives / Microsoft Office
Looking for an open source Microsoft Office alternative? We compared 3 open source office suites and editors by license, format compatibility, collaboration, self-hosting, and pricing. They cover a desktop suite, an online editing server, and an encrypted collaboration suite.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Full desktop office suite | Primarily MPL-2.0 / LGPL multi-licensing |
| Collabora Online | Online Office editing in your file platform | Primarily MPL-2.0 with other OSS components |
| CryptPad | End-to-end encrypted collaboration | AGPL-3.0-or-later |
We looked for open-source projects that cover Microsoft Office's core: word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, with compatibility with Office file formats. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. Microsoft Office also includes email and calendar through Outlook, which these tools do not replace. See our methodology for the full criteria.
LibreOffice is a desktop suite with Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math. Collabora Online is an online editing server based on LibreOffice technology that you integrate into a file platform such as Nextcloud or ownCloud. CryptPad is a web collaboration suite built around client-side encryption, with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and whiteboards.
LibreOffice and Collabora Online read and write DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX as well as OpenDocument formats, though complex layouts, macros, and advanced features can differ from Microsoft Office. CryptPad uses its own collaboration formats, so expect conversion when exchanging files with Office users.
LibreOffice is primarily MPL-2.0 and LGPL, Collabora Online is primarily MPL-2.0, and CryptPad is AGPL-3.0. The LibreOffice and Collabora Online GitHub repositories are mirrors, since active development happens on Gerrit. Collabora also sells commercial support and enterprise packaging.
None of these includes Outlook-style email and calendar, Teams, or deep Microsoft 365 integrations such as SharePoint and Power Automate. Teams usually pair an office suite with separate open-source tools for email, chat, and file storage.
LibreOffice, Collabora Online, and CryptPad were all updated within days or weeks of this update.
Microsoft Office is a proprietary suite sold as a subscription through Microsoft 365 or as a one-time license, with files increasingly tied to Microsoft's cloud. Open-source alternatives are free, run on your own device or server, open Office file formats, and avoid per-user licensing, at the cost of occasional formatting differences and fewer enterprise integrations.
| Alternative | Type | License | Platforms | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CryptPad | Encrypted online suite | AGPL-3.0-or-later | Web | Confidential collaboration |
| LibreOffice | Desktop office suite | MPL-2.0 / LGPL | Windows, macOS, Linux | Microsoft Office replacement |
| Collabora Online | Online office editor | MPL-2.0 core | Web, desktop, mobile | Embedding in file platforms |
Want a full free Office replacement on your computer
LibreOffice offers Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math with DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX support and no account or subscription.
Want Office-style editing in the browser inside your platform
Collabora Online edits documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in the browser with real-time collaboration, commonly integrated with Nextcloud or ownCloud.
Need end-to-end encrypted collaboration
CryptPad encrypts documents in the browser and adds spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and anonymous collaboration.