Commonly known as OpenOffice, LibreOffice is an evolved version that is a worthy alternative to the industry giant – Microsoft Office. Thanks to robust features, cross-platform availability, and continuous improvements via frequent updates, LibreOffice has garnered a loyal fan following among students, individuals, and professionals worldwide. In this article, we will delve into the top reasons why LibreOffice continues to reign supreme as the best free alternative to Microsoft Office.

5 Cross-platform compatibility

Available on all your devices

Cross-platform availability plays a major role in any office suite. After all, you won’t want to lose access to your favorite software when you switch from Mac to Windows or vice versa. As for LibreOffice, the company has nailed the cross-platform availability. Besides, unlike the Google Workspace, LibreOffice offers proper native solutions on major operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux. With LibreOffice, unlike with Google tools, you can choose your own preferred cloud storage solution.

LibreOffice even supports Apple Silicon for better performance and efficiency on eligible devices. In fact, LibreOffice is the default office suite for many Linux distributions. As for mobile platforms, there isn’t a native LibreOffice app on iPhone and Android. However, their ecosystem partner, Collabora, offers mobile apps which are based on LibreOffice technology. ChromeOS users do need to rely on the LibreOffice web version to continue working on documents and presentations.

4 Feature-rich

An extensive list of functions and software solutions

Although it’s free (we will discuss that in length later), LibreOffice hasn’t skimped on important features. In fact, it’s power-packed with useful add-ons and should serve you to the point where you won’t miss your Microsoft 365 apps.

LibreOffice’s word-processing app, Writer, comes with templates, rich text editing options, collaboration features, and formatting options to craft the perfect document in no time. Calc is an Excel alternative with powerful calculations, data visualization with charts and graphs, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and more.

As for your presentations, you can use Impress to create stunning PPT-style decks offering a presenter console, custom layouts, animations, multimedia support, and more. There is also a Draw program to create vector graphics, flowcharts, 3D tools, and more. You can bring your creativity to life and export it in various formats, including SVG, PNG, and PDF.

Base is a database software that creates databases and online forms and connects to external databases like Microsoft Access and MySQL. Students and educators will also appreciate Math add-on to write complex formulas and equations without breaking a sweat. Other useful features include macro recording and scripting to automate repetitive tasks, extensions, templates, and accessibility features.

3 File format compatibility

Lets you open and share any type of file

LibreOffice’s file format compatibility is its major strength. Whether you are dealing with Microsoft Office formats like .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx or OpenDocument formats like .odt, .ods, .odp, etc., you won’t have a hard time opening and editing them in LibreOffice. This is essential when you want to share files and presentations with someone who uses Microsoft 365 on their desktop. You can also save documents as web pages for online viewing.

2 Cost

Easy on the wallet

One of the prime reasons why people are out looking for a Microsoft Office alternative is cost. Although Microsoft offers a one-time purchase option, the software giant is aggressively pushing the subscription plans to individuals and businesses. It starts at $7 per month for Microsoft 365 Personal.

While $7 per month doesn’t sound like much, it can be a deal-breaker for students and many individuals, as it adds up over time. In comparison, LibreOffice is completely free to download and use. The company only asks for a small donation when you download the setup file from the official website and that’s about it.

In an interesting twist, LibreOffice released a paid version on the Mac App Store in late 2022. It costs $9 as a one-time fee. However, according to the company, you can always download the Mac version from their official website for free.

1 Privacy and a thriving community

Strong fundamentals

LibreOffice has a solid commitment to user privacy with its community-driven development model. First of all, the software source code is publicly available, allowing anyone to audit it for privacy and data collection concerns.

LibreOffice is also high on privacy and security and doesn’t do sketchy practices like targeted advertising, data harvesting, or tracking. Overall, you have complete control over your documents and data.

The company also has excellent community support that ensures regular updates, bug fixes, and new features to keep it competitive against Microsoft 365. You also get a wealth of documentation and resources on active forums to receive guidance at all levels. Overall, privacy and its ever-growing strong community are essential ingredients to LibreOffice’s success.

Get the job done without the price tag

While Microsoft 365 remains the most established commercial offering, it’s not for everyone. The software giant charges a hefty subscription price and it can be a huge barrier for many creatives and productivity seekers. Instead of settling with below-average solutions or the underwhelming Office web version, give LibreOffice a try.

Do you want to replace more such paid apps with free alternatives in your workflow? Go over our separate article to find the top free alternatives to the most popular paid software.