9 Best Free Microsoft Office/365 Alternatives

You won't even miss having the real thing

There are several free Microsoft 365 (formerly Microsoft Office) alternatives that contain similar versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Many of the suites listed below open, edit, and create Office documents. Although they don't have all the cool Office features, many get close.

If you want a free and convenient alternative to Microsoft Word only, there are a number of free downloadable word processors and free online word processors. There are also free spreadsheet programs and free presentation software apps.

Want to give the real Microsoft Office applications a try? Check out the one-month free trial for Microsoft 365, which is a cloud-based subscription service that offers the same apps as the most recent version of Office, but with additional tools and benefits.

01
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LibreOffice

Screenshot of the LibreOffice download page
What We Like
  • Robust word processor for documents, books, diagrams, and indexes.

  • Fully compatible with DOCX files.

  • Easy to create forms.

What We Don't Like
  • Must install the entire suite of apps (can't pick just Writer, for example).

  • No real-time collaboration feature.

LibreOffice is a replacement for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, while adding a few extra features.

Six separate programs are included that make up the suite: Writer (word processing), Impress (presentations), Calc (spreadsheets), Base (databases), Math (formula editing), and Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts). You can install it on your computer or use the portable version.

You can open files from your computer or remote locations like Google Drive, OneDrive, or an FTP server.

Each of the MS Office alternatives can open, edit, and save to formats that are compatible with versions of Office back through 2007.

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OpenOffice

Website of free Microsoft Office alternative OpenOffice.
What We Like
  • No learning curve for those familiar with Word.

  • Software looks and feels familiar.

  • Mature product, in development for 20+ years.

What We Don't Like
  • No online collaboration.

  • Different default file format than MS Office.

OpenOffice has a word processor, database, spreadsheet, and presentation program that can all act as Microsoft application alternatives. Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Base (databases), and Impress (presentations) are the free alternatives offered by OpenOffice that can be used in full at absolutely no cost. The suite also includes Draw and Math.

Many popular file formats can be opened with OpenOffice, such as DOC, DOCX, XML, XLS, XLW, DBF, PPT, PPS, and POTX.

During installation, selectively decide to install some or all of the OpenOffice programs to avoid adding a program you won't use.

Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are supported as well as Linux and Mac operating systems. There's also a portable version of OpenOffice so you don't have to install anything.

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WPS Office

Screenshot of the WPS Office download page
What We Like
  • Compatible with Microsoft file formats.

  • Open multiple document tabs.

  • Eye Protection mode and Night mode.

What We Don't Like
  • Annual fee to suppress ads.

  • Advanced features require a paid version.

  • No real-time co-authoring.

WPS Office, formerly Kingsoft Office, installs three programs that work as alternatives: Writer, Presentation, and Spreadsheets.

Writer is a replacement for Word. It opens common file formats such as WPS, DOC, and DOCX, as well as Microsoft Word template files such as DOT and DOTM. The PowerPoint alternative, Presentation, opens and saves files in formats that can be used in Office or with the free WPS Office; file types such as PPT and PPS are supported. The Excel alternative is called Spreadsheets and works with Excel 2010+ files such as XLSX and XLSM; functions like SUM, COUNT, SUMIF, and AVERAGE are supported when building formulas.

WPS Office supports Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, and iOS operating systems. There are also Android and iOS versions.

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Google Drive

Google Drive loaded in Chrome
What We Like
  • Lots of free cloud storage space.

  • Excellent collaboration capabilities.

What We Don't Like
  • Can't password protect shared files.

  • Not as sophisticated as Microsoft 365/Office.

Google Drive is a free storage service offered by Google that also creates online documents without downloading any software, making it a perfect replacement. Log in with your Google account to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets to replace MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Files created with Google Drive are automatically saved to your Google account, accessible from any browser at any time, and can be shared with anyone, even if they're not a Google user. Google Drive also supports simultaneous collaboration with other users in real-time and allows add-ons to be used to extend functionality.

Existing Microsoft documents, such as DOCX and XLSX files, can be opened from your browser and then converted to a Google Drive format for easy editing and sharing.

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Zoho Docs

Screenshot of the Zoho Docs signup page
What We Like
  • Excellent collaboration features with built-in chat.

  • Advanced analytics tracks edits to files.

  • Secure encryption and two-factor authentication.

  • Sync with your devices through the offline program.

What We Don't Like
  • Sometimes slower than other online office suites.

Zoho Docs is another online office suite that includes a presentation maker, word processor, and spreadsheet program, much like Microsoft 365.

Upload several popular file types to Zoho Docs from your computer or Google Drive as well as create new ones online. There's a huge file size limit of 1 GB for uploads, and downloads can be saved in Microsoft's newer formats, like XLSX.

Once your files are stored in your account, you can edit them, share them with others, and download them. All the common text formatting tools are included and files are saved automatically as you work.

06
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ONLYOFFICE Personal

Website of free Microsoft Office alternative ONLYOFFICE.
What We Like
  • Compatible with Microsoft formats.

  • Sharing and collaboration features.

  • Personal version is free.

What We Don't Like
  • Not as robust as the paid version or its competitors.

Similar to other options, ONLYOFFICE Personal is a suite of online programs, which means you can use them from any web browser without downloading a single program. Log in to with your Google account or make a new one, and create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Files can be uploaded from your computer as well as a few cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, Yandex Disk, OneDrive, etc.

Also supported in this free MS Office-like program is co-editing, chat, spell check, and sharing with anyone, even if they aren't logged into their ONLYOFFICE account.

07
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SoftMaker FreeOffice

Screenshot of the SoftMaker FreeOffice website
What We Like
  • Free for home and business use.

  • Saves documents in Microsoft file formats.

  • Choice of ribbons or classic menu and toolbars.

  • Optimized for touch screens.

What We Don't Like
  • No cloud support.

  • No thesaurus or U.S. English dictionary.

SoftMaker FreeOffice is an Office alternative for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. PlanMaker (spreadsheets), Presentations (presentations), and TextMaker (word processing) are included, all of which can open and save files in several popular formats.

All three portions of SoftMaker FreeOffice work with the file types supported in the newest version of Microsoft's apps, as well as older ones. There's also auto-save, background/automatic spell check, and lots of options you can customize to your liking.

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SSuite Office

SSuite Office
What We Like
  • Small downloads for full-featured apps.

  • Fast startup.

What We Don't Like
  • Loads many apps that may never be needed.

  • The user interface is hard to follow.

SSuite Office has several MS Office alternatives, each with a different set of features and each free to use. The primary version, called Excalibur, includes a word processor and a spreadsheet tool.

Instead of downloading an entire free alternative suite, you can get just the word processor, for example, or just the spreadsheet program.

There's also a portable version on the download page called Blade Runner. A handful of web apps are available as well, including one for WordGraph Editor, but it's nothing near as comprehensive as other online Word alternatives.

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