Windows 10 is reaching end-of-life (EoL) in a few months, and Microsoft is gearing up to migrate its customers to Windows 11 in one final push ahead of the October 14, 2025 deadline. While many Windows users will likely gravitate towards the latest version of the operating system, or stick around with their unsupported OS, there is also a third option that we have highlighted in the past. That is, migration to a free Linux distro, such as Linux Mint. Now, the creator of the popular LibreOffice software has suggested doing the same, citing the high costs of switching to Windows 11.

Is 2025 the year of Linux on the desktop?

For those unaware, LibreOffice is a free and open-source alternative to Microsoft's office suite. It leverages the OpenDocument format to offer software similar to that provided by Redmond, such as Writer (instead of Word), Impress (PowerPoint), and Calc (Excel) - among others -, but is also compatible with Microsoft Office formats. The productivity suite is developed by The Document Foundation (TDF), and it serves as the default office suite in numerous Linux distros too.

Now, as spotted by Neowin, TDF has penned a blog post urging Windows 10 users to migrate to a Linux distro instead of updating to Windows 11. The firm says that while Microsoft wants you to believe that the migration has more to do with security, the actual motive has hidden prohibitive costs, as it includes adopting Redmond's "aggressive" cloud services, accounts, subscriptions, and licensing models in the long run. It has also emphasized reduced control for end users and the fact that Windows 11's stringent hardware requirements have rendered otherwise perfectly fine PCs, obsolete.

Linux and LibreOffice together is the future

Expectedly, TDF has encouraged customers to adopt Linux with LibreOffice software instead of migrating to Windows 11. It claims that this combination offers a "modern" OS with more freedom, software supported by a global community, no licensing fees or telemetry, and improved transparency.The foundation has requested users to take action immediately, noting that the software combo it has pitched is not actually an alternative, it's actually the superior option. It further criticized Microsoft's actions, noting that:

This trust has been betrayed by the decision to abandon a functioning operating system such as Windows 10, purely to sell more products and lock users in further, which cannot be justified by any technological assessment.

[...] The end of Windows 10 does not mark the end of choice, but the beginning of a new era. If you are tired of mandatory updates, invasive changes, and being bound by the commercial choices of a single supplier, it is time for a change. Linux and LibreOffice are ready — 2025 is the right year to choose digital freedom!

In order to facilitate users in migrating to Linux and LibreOffice, TDF has suggested testing the combination on a separate partition, verifying compatibility of configurations, documenting training plans to familiarize enterprise users with the new setup, and hiring a consultant who can assist with the entire process.