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This article lists the best Microsoft Office alternative for your needs.

Best Overall: Google Workspace

Google

Works on most platforms.

Best-microsoft-office-alternatives-4582783

Photo:Getty Images /Katiuscia Noseda

1TB of free storage.

Spam can be a problem.

Paid versions are expensive.

Google

Google

The best Microsoft Office alternative for businesses is Google Workspace.

You dont have to pay unless you need more storage space in your online Google Drive.

Best Free Software: Apache OpenOffice

Apache Open Office

Free.

Apache Open Office

Apache Open Office

Easy to share files.

Hasn’t been updated since 2014.

Not a wide variety of features.

iWork

iWork

Can have some security risks.

If your primary complaint about Office is the cost, you should consider Open Office.

As an open-source software suite, new features generally come from volunteer developers who actually use the platform.

WPS Office

WPS Office

Regardless, Open Office can’t quite keep up with Microsoft or Google for new features and bug fixes.

It’s still worth trying, however.

Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math are excellent tools that get regular support.

Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper

Best for Mac: iWork

iWork

Fully integrated with Apple products.

Like others on this list, it works with its own file formats.

However, Pages lets you import Word pages and export your documents in Word-compatible formats like .doc and .docx.

FreeOffice

FreeOffice

For example, if you send over a Keynote file when someone is expecting PowerPoint, the .

Best (Ad-Supported) Free Software: WPS Office

WPS Office

Totally free.

Not compatible with more popular apps.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice

Limited support

Features are pretty basic.

WPS Office is a great choice, provided you don’t need anything too complicated.

It supports a variety of file formats and is a great, free alternative to Microsoft Office.

Office 365 Online

Office 365 Online

WPS has apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

It’s free, but it contains ads; you could pay monthly to remove them.

This option also includes artificial intelligence features to help you revise, organize, and create documents and tasks.

This suite also has customizable interfaces and works with tabs, like a web web client.

It also has an integrated cloud with 1GB of storage included.

Not widely compatible with other apps.

Dropbox Paper is tightly integrated into Dropbox, and that inclusion makes it easy to share projects.

Dropbox Paper supports collaboration from multiple users at the same time.

you could drag files into your Dropbox folder or the window to add them.

It supports the .docx and PDF file types, but not many others.

But if you have a Dropbox account, it’s free to use.

Best Ease-of-Use: FreeOffice

FreeOffice

Free to use.

FreeOffice includes a word-processing app (TextMaker), spreadsheets (PlanMaker), and slideshows (Presentations).

Best Lightweight: LibreOffice

LibreOffice

Free and open-source.

Works with many file types.

It supports working with documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, drawings, graphs, and even databases.

It’s available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.

LibreOffice is also open-source, so smaller updates and hotfixes come from the community between major releases.

Best Online Alter-Ego: Microsoft 365 Online

Office 365 Online

Online-only versions of all Office apps.

Our final pick for a Microsoft Office replacement is … a different version of Microsoft Office.

But it is a valid alternative thanks mainly to its cloud-based options.

FAQ

You may not like Microsoft Office for several reasons.

You also may be using a gear thats not compatible with Microsoft Office.

If you need more features, though, you may end up having to spring for a paid membership.

This cost is generally worth it if youre only paying for one user or using it consistently for work.