If only Microsoft Office were free, secure, and allowed you the freedom to modify and distribute it as you see fit. But since that is not the case, you can try these free open-source alternatives I use instead.
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ONLYOFFICE
Modern interface with real-time collaboration and plugin support
ONLYOFFICE offers desktop editors for Windows, Mac, and Linux, marketed as a 100% free alternative to Microsoft Office. They give you access to the major functions that any office suite should have—the ability to create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. If you have ever used Microsoft Office, you will feel right at home with its intuitive interface, which includes all the necessary formatting, editing, and collaboration features.
As for collaboration, you can link the ONLYOFFICE desktop editors to several cloud services, including Nextcloud. This adds real-time collaboration, allowing others to edit and comment on files similar to how Microsoft Office’s OneDrive integration works. Yes, the extra steps to set it up can be a bit time-consuming initially, but the benefits of secure, real-time collaboration make it worthwhile if you value privacy and control over your documents.
ONLYOFFICE also has about 40 plugins that add extra functionality—a far cry from the thousands you’ll find for Microsoft Office. However, what’s on offer is enough for the average use case scenarios, such as text translation, clipart insertion, YouTube video embedding, spell checking, OCR, and mail merge functionality.
ONLYOFFICE also has AI integration, but it doesn’t work right out of the box like Copilot does in Microsoft Office. As long as you have the API key to the AI you use, you can add it to the desktop editor. The beauty of this is that you have the freedom to add different AIs for text generation, summarizing content, and translation.
Download: ONLYOFFICE (free)
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Apache OpenOffice
Lightweight, old-school office suite for basic editing needs
Apache OpenOffice has been around for 12 years, has millions of users, and hundreds of contributors. It’s got a simple interface that hasn’t kept up with modern trends, but the barebones approach makes it less resource-intensive. It’s perfect for older computers or users who prefer straightforward functionality without the complexity of modern office suites.
OpenOffice also doesn’t have two of the major features of modern office suites—cloud integration and AI. But for those who appreciate its old-school leanings, OpenOffice provides a reliable, no-frills document editing experience.
Despite this, OpenOffice has all the essential features needed for basic office tasks, like documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and diagrams. On the advanced side, it comes with a comprehensive database management system and equation editor. It supports Open Document Format (ODF), an open-source file format for documents that’s highly compatible with other office suites, and free to use, modify, and distribute without restrictions.
OpenOffice can open various Microsoft Office file formats, including DOCX, XLS, and PPT. As long as they don’t contain complex formatting, it will import them without issues.
Download: Apache OpenOffice (free)
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LibreOffice
You can’t list free open-source office suites without mentioning the most highly recommended one—LibreOffice. It’s a project that was born from OpenOffice after concerns about Oracle having stewardship of it. LibreOffice was created as a fork of OpenOffice by the non-profit organization, The Document Foundation.
LibreOffice is the preferred Microsoft Office alternative for many and has a larger and more dedicated community that provides it with frequent updates that keep it modern and secure—OpenOffice got its last update in December 2023. It largely has the same features as its predecessor, but with the addition of a module for creating and embedding charts in documents.
It also features a much more modern interface and better compatibility with Microsoft Office formats. And due to its active community, LibreOffice has hundreds of extensions to support its various functions, from writing and drawing to calculations and databases. The template selection is limited, but since it supports Microsoft formats, you can import those and use them with minimal issues.
Furthermore, it allows you to save your files to the cloud using services like WebDAV, FTP, and even Google Drive and Nextcloud. You can use this to collaborate with others, but its limited conflict resolution means there needs to be careful coordination among people who have access to the file.
Download: LibreOffice (free)
I like using the desktop versions of Office 365 apps when I’m offline, but those require a Microsoft 365 subscription, which I am not always inclined to pay for it, especially when the projects are purely personal. Sure, I can use Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with the offline extension, but I prefer something truly offline that also offers the benefits of open-source.
That is why these free open-source alternatives are my go-to options for creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and even PDFs. I get free access, no vendor lock-in, and support for a wide variety of file formats. Furthermore, they don’t collect any data or have any account requirements or forced cloud integration.
