Of all the software applications considered as “must-have” for a PC user, an office suite is undoubtedly indispensable. From students needing to submit their assignments to office-goers who have to create business presentations, everyone needs an office suite. With a wide range of tools, MS Office stands out as the go-to tool for those who want a complete office suite. That said, Microsoft’s offering is not perfect as the office suite has its own share of flaws. If you no longer want to live those shortcomings, look no further than these 10 best Microsoft Office alternatives.

  • So, What are the Major Shortcomings in Microsoft Office?
  • Why Should You Choose Microsoft Alternatives?
  • Polaris Office
  • OnlyOffice
  • Apache OpenOffice
  • LibreOffice
  • WPS Office
  • Softmaker FreeOffice
  • NeoOffice
  • G Suite
  • iWork
  • Zoho Office Suite
  • WordPerfect
  • Frequently Asked Questions

So, What are the Major Shortcomings in Microsoft Office?

One of the pain points of MS Office has been the comparatively high price tag Office Professional is priced at $439. While the personal Office 365 plan is set for $5.99/user/month, the business standard plan comes for $12.50/user/month.

There could be multiple reasons why may want to choose Microsoft substitutes. Maybe you find the pricing too much for your budget or maybe you are looking for a slightly less resource-intensive and easy to master office suite.

Keeping in mind various needs, we have included both free and paid MS Office alternatives. So, choosing the office suite that can fit into your needs shouldn’t be a big deal.

One of my favorite Microsoft Office alternatives is the Polaris Office Which brings a really good experience. The best part about Polaris Office is that the company offers a limited free version which brings enough features to suit the needs of most individual users, thereby allowing us to do our work without needing to pay a high subscription fee.

OnlyOffice is yet another good Microsoft Office alternative that one can use. The software not only offers native apps for all the major desktop and mobile platforms but it also has a web version that works really well. One of the USPs of OnlyOffice is that it can integrate with various third-party services including mail, CRM, calendars, and much more to give users extra control and power.

The only drawback of OnlyOffice is that it is made primarily for businesses and enterprises and not meant for individual users. If you want an MS Office alternative for personal use, check out the other options on this list.

Price: Home server comes for $99, while the single server is available for $1100

Probably the most popular alternative to MS Office out there, Apache OpenOffice is loaded with features. It’s completely free and open-source and includes the standard trio of office applications (word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation software), in addition to a graphics editor and a DBMS application.

Platform Availability: Windows, macOS, and Linux 

Although it’s essentially a fork of the previously discussed OpenOffice, LibreOffice has enough features to hold its own as one of the best MS Office alternatives you can find. It includes applications for everything from editing documents to creating presentations, and aside from UI differences, has a feature set identical to OpenOffice.

However, what gives LibreOffice the edge is that its code is much better optimized, thus making it a bit faster. Also, LibreOffice is more actively developed and is the default office suite included with majority of Linux distros. It even lets you embed fonts in your documents, and has a file viewer app for Android.

If your requirements are basic and you don’t need a full office suite, WPS Office is exactly what you need. Packing just the three standard applications (word processor, presentation software, and spreadsheet program), it’s lightweight (under 100 MB) yet feature-rich.

6. Softmaker FreeOffice

It may not be the best-looking office suite out there, but as a lightweight MS Office alternative, Softmaker FreeOffice works surprisingly well. It includes the three standard office programs, and among themselves, these provide a host of features such as smart text replacement, granular cell formatting, and automated presentations.

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If you’re looking for a solid Microsoft Office alternative specifically for your Mac, NeoOffice is going to serve you just fine. It’s a commercial fork of the previously mentioned OpenOffice, although the source code is still available for free. As such, NeoOffice packs in all standard features of OpenOffice, and comes with a word processor, spreadsheet program, and presentation software, along with a graphics program.

Price: Free, Paid version is available for $29.99

While G Suite may not be as feature-packed as MS Office, Google’s offering has got you fully covered when it comes to seamless experience and versatility. From the most powerful voice/video conferencing to the smartest search engine to a productivity-centric email client, G Suite has got everything covered to let you work and collaborate with your colleagues.

Unlike MS Office, G Suite uses web fonts which put Google’s offering at disadvantage as opening files created using other office software is a pain point. Another downside of G Suite is the flawed file formatting, especially when you have to convert files created by other office software. However, if your work heavily depends on web tools, you will find G-Suite pretty good.

9. iWork

If you are hunting for a Microsoft Office alternative that can work perfectly with your iDevices including Mac, iPad, and iPhone, look no further than iWork. Yes, you got that right!

Platform Availability: macOS, iPadOS and iOS

Zoho Office Suite has always been a top-notch alternative to Microsft Office. And guess what, I’m not going to miss out on this one for more than one reason.

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Last but not least, WordPerfect is another solid substitute for Microsoft Office. For those unfamiliar, WordPerfect first came into being way back in the late 1970s and it was very popular in the 1980s. However, it lost quite a lot of popularity post the arrival of MS Office.

Besides, it also provides ebooks publishing and macro-management. The native PDF editor enables you to edit and fill forms with ease. With these notable features, WordPerfect warrants a high price tag starting at $432 for the standard edition. If you don’t mind paying extra in favor of powerful tools, it could be a perfect alternative to MS Office for you.

What Can I Use Instead of Microsoft Office?

As to which office suite should you use instead of MS Office, it all comes down to your requirements and budget. We have mentioned a number of free and paid options in this article. Check them out and select the one that meets your needs.

What is the Free Equivalent of Microsoft Office?

LibreOffice is probably the most competent free and cross-platform equivalent of MS Office, thanks largely to the availability of all the basic tools.

Taking everything into account including offline functionality, Apache OpenOffice Writer, and LibreOffice Writer are the best alternatives to Microsoft Word.

Google Docks is a pretty good replacement for MS Office. It is especially great for people who want to collaborate with other team members in real-time. Barring a few issues like formatting, it’s got most of the bases covered.

So long as you don’t mind working online, you can get MS Word for free without any restrictions whatsoever. Yes, you are not getting all the features, but the free features are more than enough for most individual users.