Best free alternatives to Microsoft Office

The best free replacement for Microsoft Office depends on where you work. LibreOffice is the strongest free choice for desktop work without an account. Google Docs is the most common choice for shared documents in a browser. ONLYOFFICE, WPS Office and Zoho Workplace each suit a narrower need. The best office suites ranking scores these tools against each other, with Microsoft 365 as the reference point.

Free desktop suites: LibreOffice and ONLYOFFICE

LibreOffice is the closest free match to a desktop office suite. It is open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 and includes Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw and Base. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and does not require a sign-in. Its weak spots are a more dated interface and the lack of built-in cloud co-editing in the desktop suite, so people who need to edit the same file at the same time will need another tool. LibreOffice ranks third in the office suites ranking.

ONLYOFFICE offers free desktop editors for Windows, macOS and Linux, plus online editors. Its document server is open source under AGPL-3.0, so an organization can host online editing on its own servers. That suits a team with IT staff who want shared editing under their control. The trade-offs are an interface that Microsoft Office users may find unfamiliar and the admin work of running the document server yourself. See ONLYOFFICE.

Browser suites: Google Docs and Zoho Workplace

Google Docs is free with a personal Google Account. It is built for shared editing with comments, and files live in Google Drive. It has no desktop app, and its layout tools are simpler than Word's. Documents are stored on Google's servers, which matters for confidential work. Google Docs ranks second in the ranking.

Zoho Workplace combines Zoho Mail, Writer, Sheet, Show and WorkDrive storage. Its free plan covers up to five users, and paid plans are charged per user. It is browser only, and it suits small teams that already use other Zoho products. See Zoho Workplace.

WPS Office for desktop and phone

WPS Office, from Kingsoft, is free to download on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Its listing says it opens Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Some features need the paid Premium license. It is also less common in workplaces than Microsoft 365, so the people you exchange files with may use something else. WPS Office ranks fifth.

The Microsoft 365 baseline

Microsoft 365 is a subscription. Its desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps run on Windows and macOS, and the same three apps run free in a browser with a Microsoft account. It is the reference point here because most files you exchange with others are likely to be in its formats. Microsoft 365 ranks first.

Suite	Runs on	Open source	Pricing model
Microsoft 365	Windows, macOS, web	No	Subscription, free web apps
LibreOffice	Windows, macOS, Linux	Yes	Free
ONLYOFFICE	Windows, macOS, Linux, web	Yes (document server)	Free desktop editors
Google Docs	Browser	No	Free with a personal account
WPS Office	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	No	Free, with a Premium license
Zoho Workplace	Browser	No	Free for up to five users

Where Microsoft format compatibility falls short

Compatibility is the question most people switching away from Microsoft Office need answered. LibreOffice's listing says it reads and writes Microsoft Office formats, and WPS Office's listing says it opens Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The other suites in this comparison make no such claim on their listings here, so check their own help pages before you move a file.

Opening a file is not the same as preserving it. Complex page layouts, fonts that are not installed on the machine, tracked changes and comments, charts, pivot tables and macros can look different after a round trip through another suite and back to .docx or .xlsx. Newer Office-only features may not survive at all. For a letter or a plain report the effect is usually small. For a template-heavy document or a formula-heavy workbook it can be large.

A few checks reduce the risk:

1. Keep the original file and save your edits as a copy.
2. Take a real file from your work, edit it, save it back, and open the result in Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365.
3. Check macros, pivot tables and conditional formatting separately, since they are the most likely to change.
4. Ask the people you share with which format they need. Send a PDF when the layout must stay fixed.

If your work depends on Excel macros or advanced spreadsheet features, Microsoft 365 may be the lower-risk choice, even though it is a subscription.

PDFs and the rest of an office workflow

Office documents often end up as PDFs, and the best PDF editors ranking covers tools for changing them. Among the free options there, PDF-XChange Editor has a free edition for Windows. Okular and PDFsam are open source, but they focus on viewing and page work rather than rewriting text, so they complement an editor instead of replacing one. Adobe Acrobat ranks first in the PDF editors ranking, and its editing needs a subscription, so it costs more over time than one-time editors. Foxit PDF Editor ranks third and is a paid desktop editor for Windows and macOS, with editing that needs a paid license after the trial.

The ranking also includes Adobe Acrobat (90.5), the reference PDF tool for editing, signing and converting, with editing behind a subscription; Foxit PDF Editor (88.5), a paid desktop editor for Windows and macOS; Smallpdf (86.0), browser tools with a free plan that process files on the company's servers; Sejda (85.0), online and desktop tools with a forever free tier and usage limits; and PDF Expert (84.5), a PDF editor for Apple devices only.

Our picks

• Offline desktop work with no account: LibreOffice.
• Shared editing in a browser: Google Docs, if you accept that files are stored on Google's servers and that there is no desktop app.
• Self-hosted online editing: ONLYOFFICE.
• Small team already on Zoho: Zoho Workplace.
• Desktop and phone use with Office files: WPS Office, keeping the Premium features in mind.
• Full compatibility for work that depends on Office: Microsoft 365.

The ranking also includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote (83.0), which are free to download on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and creating documents in Pages needs no subscription. There is no Windows app, so PC users work through iCloud.com.

The scores in the ranking are editorial judgments, not measurements, and free plan limits change. Check each vendor's pricing page before you rely on a free plan for daily work.