Microsoft Office remains the most popular productivity suite for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more -whether as a download software package or as the cloud-based Microsoft 365 suite – thanks to excellent tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Outlook, and others.
However, a variety of Microsoft Office alternative rivals have grown increasingly appealing, not least because license rates have gotten more competitive, and some are free to use. However, as the open-source community will attest, paying less or nothing does not always imply that the program is of poorer quality.
However, there may be challenges with document sharing between multiple office suite platforms, which can be a serious worry. This is why, while looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, you should be aware of any shortcomings that may limit your usage of the program, especially if you need to share or collaborate on documents with other users who have one or more versions of the software.
There should be no such concerns if you use the office alternative as a single piece of software, but it is something to keep in mind if you decide to switch to a different software suite.
Having said that, the best Microsoft Office alternatives are generally strong programs with full functionality and little difficulty sharing files with other platforms, though few come close to the full functionality of Microsoft 365 with its cloud service bundle that includes OneDrive and Microsoft Teams. We’ll show you the greatest of them, as well as their strengths and flaws.
Table of Contents
Let’s dive into the list of Best Microsoft Office Alternatives-
1. LIBRE OFFICE
The Document Foundation’s progeny, LibreOffice, broke from OpenOffice in 2010. The suite is free and open source, and it includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software in 110 languages.
While LibreOffice utilizes the ODF (OpenDocument) format, it also accepts a variety of other file formats, including those used by Microsoft Office. LibreOffice is the default office suite for the majority of Linux distributions, and it is also available for Windows and macOS. There is also an Android LibreOffice viewer.
As with other open-source software, all technical assistance is provided online, although given how simple this is to use, support will be rare. Among other things, the platform allows you to export your files in PDF format.
2. FREE OFFICE
The Document Foundation’s progeny, LibreOffice, broke from OpenOffice in 2010. The suite is free and open source, and it includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software in 110 languages.
While LibreOffice utilizes the ODF (OpenDocument) format, it also accepts a variety of other file formats, including those used by Microsoft Office. LibreOffice is the default office suite for the majority of Linux distributions, and it is also available for Windows and macOS. There is also an Android LibreOffice viewer.
As with other open-source software, all technical assistance is provided online, although given how simple this is to use, support will be rare. The platform, among other things, allows you to export your files in PDF format.
Touch mode with bigger icons is available for people with the privilege of a touchscreen PC. This option is available for the current version appearance and the old menu-based interface.
3. WPS OFFICE
WPS Office was published in 2016 by Chinese software company Kingsoft. REASONS TO AVOID -Some premium-only features It’s a productivity package that’s available for Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. The suite is available in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Russian.
It has two tiers: free and premium. The free tier gives you access to Writer, Presentation, and Spreadsheets, which are alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite, which it also strongly mimics. WPS provides a quick and simple PDF to Word-converter. It allows for mass exports and may split-merge PDF files if necessary.
For iOS and PC users, the suite provides 1GB of free cloud storage; however, this feature is not currently accessible for Android. The ‘Premium’ tier enables the user to connect up to 9 devices at the same time.
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4. CALLIGRA
Calligra Office Suite was first distributed as part of KOffice in October 2000. It is an office suite designed by KDE that is also excellent for graphic design. It is compatible with Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android. Calligra is a free and open-source software suite that can be downloaded from its website or through the downloads page of KDE. It is not to be confused with LibreOffice.
Calligra, unlike LibreOffice, does not have the familiar appearance and feel of MS Office. Many of the useful feature tabs are located on the right-hand side of the screen, rather than on the top, as in MS Office and other office suites. This signifies that the page you’re presently updating doesn’t take up the entire screen.
5. OFFICE SUIT
MobiSystems created the OfficeSuite app, which is available for Android, iOS, and Windows. Amazon, Toshiba, Sony, and Alcatel devices frequently come with OfficeSuite pre-installed.
The Android app has been awarded one of the best business apps. You may use your OfficeSuite account to synchronize between devices, and only one license is required for all of your devices.
There are numerous tiers to pick from. Users may read and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents in the ‘Basic’ tier, which is free. Most formats, including ODT, RTF, CSV, DOC, and ZIP, are fully supported by the suite. The free tier also allows users to view PDF files and provides cloud support through services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive.
6. POLARIS OFFICE
Polaris Office was created by Intraware and was made available in March 2014. It is a free office suite for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. It looks to be a popular suite among corporations since it is employed by Amazon and Samsung.
While the free version is incredibly liberal, you may upgrade to the corporate version. To inquire about pricing, email Polaris a ‘Purchase Query form,’ which may be accessed on their website.
This sophisticated suite allows you to edit a wide range of file types, including PPT, XLS, DOCX, and HWP. As your account synchronizes between devices, you will be able to modify and create from anywhere. AWS protects all of your data (Amazon Web Services).
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7. ONLY OFFICE
The ‘Community Edition,’ which is free, is best suited for small businesses and permits up to 20 connections at once. This suite not only includes standard capabilities like word processing and spreadsheets, but it is also incredibly beneficial for order fulfillment and sales documentation.
The useful calendar tool helps users stay on top of personal and work-related obligations while also keeping an eye on deadlines. Third-party integration is also possible. With the ‘Mail’ tool, you may construct your Mailboxes.
Documents and spreadsheets may be created and edited, much as in other office suites.
8. WORD PERFECT
Since its inception in the late 1970s, WordPerfect has had several owners. Fast forward to 1996, when it was bought by Corel, who intended to develop a firm capable of competing with Microsoft and Adobe at the time.
WordPerfect was most well-known in the 1980s for its DOS and Microsoft Windows versions. When Microsoft Office was released, it quickly surpassed it.
It is a complete office suite. It comes with its own word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation maker. The most recent version has enhanced photo editing and management. WordPerfect has a free trial version that may be downloaded from the official website. It, like other suites, may save to a variety of formats, including DOCX, PDF, and HTML.
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