Free Microsoft Office alternatives compared

For most people, the best free Office alternative is LibreOffice: it works offline, opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and has the lowest system requirements of the desktop suites here. If you mostly trade .docx and .xlsx files with Office users, try OnlyOffice too.

Last updated October 25, 2026 · Facts checked against each project’s official pages

The short version

LibreOffice and OnlyOffice are free desktop suites for Windows, macOS and Linux, with no account needed.
Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for the web are free in the browser with an account, but they’re built for working online.
Complex Office files (macros, intricate layouts) may not convert perfectly in any free alternative. Keep a copy of the original.
Skip Apache OpenOffice. It still gets security fixes, but its last major feature release, 4.1, came out in 2014.

Comparison table

Suite	Works offline	Platforms	Office files	Catch
LibreOffice	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	Opens and saves .docx, .xlsx, .pptx; its own format is OpenDocument	Complex Office layouts may need fixing
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors	Yes	Windows (including 32-bit), macOS, Linux	Built around .docx, .xlsx, .pptx; also opens OpenDocument	Higher requirements than LibreOffice
WPS Office	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Supports .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and older Office formats	Free version shows ads, according to WPS’s own blog
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides	Partly: Chrome or Edge with an extension	Web browser	Edits Office files; saves back as .docx, .xlsx, .pptx	No macros; 15 GB storage shared with Gmail and Photos
Microsoft 365 for the web	No	Web browser	Native Office formats	Fewer features than desktop Office; 5 GB OneDrive storage

System requirements for older PCs

These are each project’s own figures for Windows. The browser-based options only need a supported web browser, which makes them a good fit for ChromeOS Flex.

Suite	Windows versions	Memory	Disk space
LibreOffice	Windows 10 or 11	256 MB (512 MB recommended)	Up to 1.5 GB
OnlyOffice	64-bit: Vista to 11; 32-bit: XP to 10	2 GB or more, dual-core 2 GHz CPU	At least 2 GB
WPS Office	Windows 7, 8.1, 10, 11	2 GB recommended, dual-core CPU	4 GB recommended

Those are minimums for the office app itself, not for the whole PC. Your browser and Windows need memory too. If your computer has 4 GB or less, see how much RAM you need.

LibreOffice

Free, open source · Best all-round choice

LibreOffice includes six apps: Writer (documents), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw, Base (databases) and Math. It’s free to use and doesn’t need an account. Its own file format is OpenDocument (.odt, .ods, .odp), but you can save in Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats from the Save As box or make one of them the default.

LibreOffice’s help pages are upfront that some layout features in complex Office documents are handled differently or aren’t supported, so you may need to tidy up formatting. Office macros (VBA) often need editing to work in LibreOffice, though recent versions can run some Excel macros if you turn that on under Tools → Options → Load/Save → VBA Properties. New versions come out regularly; the current lines are 26.8 and 26.2.

OnlyOffice Desktop Editors

Free for personal and professional use · Best for heavy .docx and .xlsx users

OnlyOffice is built around the Microsoft formats (DOCX, XLSX and PPTX) rather than converting to its own, and it also opens OpenDocument files. It works offline, and connecting to its cloud for collaboration is optional. There’s a paid Enterprise tier for businesses, but the desktop editors are free.

It asks for more than LibreOffice: 2 GB of RAM, a dual-core 2 GHz processor and 2 GB of disk space. It also still offers a 32-bit Windows version.

WPS Office

Free with ads, paid Premium · Runs on the most platforms

WPS Office opens and saves the Office formats and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. WPS’s own pages disagree about ads: its help center says the PC apps don’t show ads, but a WPS blog post from June 2026 says the free version shows ads on desktop and Android. Paying for WPS Premium removes them. Avoid sites offering “cracked” or “mod” versions.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Free with a Google account · Best for sharing and working together

Google’s apps run in the browser and are free with a Google account, which includes 15 GB of storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. You can edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly, and download your work as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx.

Offline use is possible but limited: you need Chrome or Edge, the Google Docs Offline extension, and you must turn on offline access while connected. Macros don’t carry over, and some objects, such as embedded charts in Word files, become images.

Microsoft 365 for the web

Free with a Microsoft account · Best when you need real Office formatting

Microsoft offers free browser versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Sign in at Microsoft365.com with a free Microsoft account and you get 5 GB of OneDrive storage, where files are saved automatically. Because it’s Microsoft’s own software, it works with Office files directly, with no conversion.

It needs an internet connection; Microsoft says you need the desktop app to work offline. The web versions also lack some features, such as mail merge, macros and some advanced table and printing tools.

LibreOffice vs Microsoft Office

Desktop Microsoft Office is a paid product, and it’s the reference for its own file formats. LibreOffice is free and handles everyday documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

The difference shows up with complex files. LibreOffice lists revision marks (tracked changes), form fields, WordArt, multi-column layouts and some tables among the Word features that can convert imperfectly. Macros often need rewriting, and Calc can calculate some formulas differently from Excel. If you swap files with Office users often, check important documents before you send them, or export a PDF.

LibreOffice vs OnlyOffice

Pick LibreOffice if your PC is old or has little memory, you want a database or drawing app, or you prefer OpenDocument files.
Pick OnlyOffice if almost everything you open is a .docx, .xlsx or .pptx from Office users, your PC meets its 2 GB requirement, or you need a 32-bit Windows version.

Both are free and can be installed side by side, so you can try each with your own files.

LibreOffice vs OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice is still maintained: version 4.1.17 came out on October 14, 2026 as a security and bug-fix release. But its last significant feature release, 4.1, dates from April 2014, and everything since has been a 4.1.x maintenance update.

According to LibreOffice’s comparison, OpenOffice can’t save in .docx, .xlsx or .pptx, and has no 64-bit Windows version. LibreOffice publishes several releases a year. Unless you have a specific reason to stay, LibreOffice is the better choice. If you’re thinking about leaving Windows altogether, see Linux Mint for Windows users.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Office?

Yes. LibreOffice and OnlyOffice are free desktop suites that open and save Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Microsoft also offers free web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint if you sign in with a Microsoft account.

Is LibreOffice or WPS Office better?

For an older PC, LibreOffice: it needs far less memory and disk space by each company’s own figures, and it’s open source. WPS’s advantage is that it also has Android and iOS apps.

LibreOffice vs Google Docs: which should I use?

Use LibreOffice if you often work offline or want your files on your own computer. Use Google Docs if you mostly share documents and edit them together with other people. Many people use both.

Is LibreOffice or OnlyOffice better?

LibreOffice is lighter and has more apps. OnlyOffice is built around Microsoft’s file formats, which suits people who mostly exchange files with Office users. Try both with a document you use often.