LibreOffice 25.8: New features
By LibreOffice - The Document Foundation ·
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Microsoft Office Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Microsoft Office alternatives: LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, WPS Office and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Office, Docs & Presentations
Verdict:Microsoft Office is sold as Microsoft 365, and third-party sources disagree on the personal price, so the number to compare is whatever you pay now. Many people can stop paying. LibreOffice is the default answer: free, open source under MPL-2.0, and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. It handles ordinary letters, budgets and slides well. ONLYOFFICE is the pick when documents come from other people and must keep their formatting, because its .docx and .xlsx handling is closer to Word and Excel than most free suites, and you can host the server yourself for nothing. Google Docs is the simplest route if your work is shared drafts and comments, and it costs nothing with a Google account. WPS Office has the most familiar interface and a free Standard tier, and SoftMaker FreeOffice is a light, free suite that stays out of the way. The trade-off is advanced use. Excel macros, Power Query, Word templates built by an IT department and tracked-change workflows with lawyers or editors rarely survive the trip intact. Test your five most important files in the new tool before cancelling anything. Stay if you depend on those features or your employer mandates Office. Leave if you mostly write documents, make basic spreadsheets and share PDFs.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Free (download and use at no cost per its site) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Full offline suite, free | Docs only |
| ONLYOFFICE | Free (Startup cloud plan with up to 3 admins, unlimited users and guests, 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage); paid from $20 per admin/month (Business cloud plan; only admins are paid) | Web, Self-hosted, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Best .docx and .xlsx compatibility | Docs only |
| Google Docs | Free (Free for anyone with a Google Account; storage comes from the Google account quota) | Web, iOS, Android | Free collaborative writing | Docs only |
| WPS Office | Free (Free WPS Standard: 1 user, 1 GB cloud storage, limited AI tools) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web browser | Familiar look, free | Docs only |
| SoftMaker FreeOffice | Free (Free for personal and business use) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Light Office-compatible suite | Docs only |
| Google Workspace | Paid from $7 per user/month (Business Starter, excludes tax) | Web, iOS, Android | Office suite | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
See the tools in action
Images from the linked documentation. Versions and features may differ from current plans.
LibreOffice Writer — official interface example
The Document Foundation · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0
Good fit if
- You want a full free suite on your own computer (LibreOffice is the pick)
- You must keep .docx and .xlsx formatting from others (ONLYOFFICE is the pick)
- You mostly collaborate on shared drafts (Google Docs is the pick)
- You want an interface that looks like Office (WPS Office is the pick)
- You want a light suite for business use at no cost (SoftMaker FreeOffice is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Microsoft Office features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Microsoft Office today: Free (Free web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint with a Microsoft account (third-party reports)) (Microsoft Office pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Microsoft Office alternatives
Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for one person, and Family costs $12.99 or $129.99 for 1 to 6 people. Buying once means Office Home 2024 at $179.99, which covers a single PC or Mac. The page lists Access as PC only, and Copilot in Excel requires AutoSave, so those files must be saved to OneDrive. Nothing in the listed range is free for the desktop apps.
LibreOffice
Compared with Microsoft Office: Free MPL-2.0 suite for Windows, macOS and Linux with Writer, Calc and Impress. It opens Office files but complex layouts, macros and fonts can shift, and there is no built-in cloud collaboration.
Price: Free (download and use at no cost per its site) (LibreOffice pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MPL-2.0 (open source).
Best for: Full offline suite, free.
Worth knowing: Desktop suite of Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math; it has no built-in cloud storage or email.
ONLYOFFICE
Compared with Microsoft Office: Closest to Office file fidelity among free options; the Docs server is AGPL-3.0 and free to self-host. Hosted cloud starts at $20 per admin a month, and the interface is less familiar than Word's.
Price: Free (Startup cloud plan with up to 3 admins, unlimited users and guests, 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage); paid from $20 per admin/month (Business cloud plan; only admins are paid) (ONLYOFFICE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. AGPL-3.0 (Docs server) (open source).
Project activity: 7.1k GitHub stars · latest release v10.0.0 (Oct 12, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Best .docx and .xlsx compatibility.
Google Docs
Compared with Microsoft Office: Free with a Google account, browser-based with live co-editing. Weaker than Word on layout, macros and large documents, but sharing is far simpler.
Price: Free (Free for anyone with a Google Account; storage comes from the Google account quota) (Google Docs pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Free collaborative writing.
WPS Office
Compared with Microsoft Office: Free WPS Standard tier with an interface close to Microsoft Office. It is closed source and the free tier carries limits; premium prices were not readable on the page.
Price: Free (Free WPS Standard: 1 user, 1 GB cloud storage, limited AI tools) (WPS Office pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Web browser. Proprietary.
Best for: Familiar look, free.
SoftMaker FreeOffice
Compared with Microsoft Office: Free for personal and business use, with a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program compatible with Office formats. Proprietary and no collaboration tools, but light and quick.
Price: Free (Free for personal and business use) (SoftMaker FreeOffice pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Light Office-compatible suite.
Worth knowing: Word processor (TextMaker), spreadsheet (PlanMaker) and Presentations; compatible with Microsoft Office formats.
Other popular options (paid)
Google Workspace
Compared with Microsoft Office: Business Starter lists at $7 per user per month excluding tax, against Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 monthly. Documents, spreadsheets and slides open in the browser rather than as desktop apps.
Price: Paid from $7 per user/month (Business Starter, excludes tax) (Google Docs (more detail), checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want a full free suite on your own computer: LibreOffice
- You must keep .docx and .xlsx formatting from others: ONLYOFFICE
- You mostly collaborate on shared drafts: Google Docs
- You want an interface that looks like Office: WPS Office
- You want a light suite for business use at no cost: SoftMaker FreeOffice
Limits of this review
Docs-only for LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, WPS Office, SoftMaker FreeOffice: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Microsoft Office. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
Related guides
More in Office, Docs & Presentations
- Microsoft Word alternatives
- Microsoft Excel alternatives
- Google Docs alternatives
- Microsoft PowerPoint alternatives
Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, WPS Office, SoftMaker FreeOffice, Google Workspace. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.