Being the Office expert I am, there is one question I get asked more than any other. Are there any products that could replace Microsoft Office? At this point, my eyes normally light up as I’ve been allowed to talk about my favorite thing! Just scroll below to read my comprehensive list of Office alternatives.
Libre Office 4
Windows / OSX / Linux - Free
We start the list with Libre Office, aptly named as the word Libre means free in Spanish! This is descended from the Open Office suite and uses a lot of the same components, namely Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math. All of these components mirror parts of Microsoft Office, Writer being an alternative to Word, Calc as a replacement for Excel and so on. It works wonderfully, is very straightforward to use and is completely portable, so that means you could stick the software on a USB stick and transfer it between computers without having to download it again.
I opened a few very heavily formatted Microsoft Office documents in Libre Office and all the information seemed to carry across fine without losing much formatting, although some of the spacing between lines was incorrect and instead of a two page document it now spans nearly three pages!
Pros
- Free to download
- Lots of extensions for more functionality
- Opens all Office documents
Cons
- Loss of some formatting
Google Docs
Browser-based - Free
Google Docs has gained a lot of publicity lately due to its collaboration features and ease of access, and is used by businesses and home users alike. It has both basic and advanced functionality and contains a word processor, spreadsheet editor and a presentation app. One very nice feature is the ability to collaborate in real time with other people regardless of whether they have a Google account, so this is great if you’re working with multiple people hundreds of miles apart or if you're just checking your kid's homework! It uses Google Drive to store your file and folders in, which can easily be downloaded to a PC or through the Google Drive app on a smart phone for mobile viewing and editing!
Google Docs supports most popular file types from Microsoft Office files to PDF documents, and as it is made by Google it has full functionality with other Google services such as Calendar and Gmail. One very nice feature is the Form Creator which is great for businesses, allowing you to create forms for your staff to fill out, generating a Google Analytics page giving you all the stats and graphs you could want!
Pros
- Online collaboration between other users
- Built for home and business users alike
Cons
- Have to have an active internet connection, Unless you use the Chrome browser and have enabled offline mode
- Only replaces some of the more basic functions of the Office suite
- Uses Google Drive which comes with 5GB of storage across all Google products
iWork
OSX 10.7.4 and above - £42.00
You didn’t think I was going to leave this out, did you! iWork has been around for years and a lot of Mac users swear by it. This is Apple software so we know the user interface is elegant, it has a word processor called Pages which is simple and really easy to use, a spreadsheet program called Number which comes with everything you would expect and lastly a program called Keynote which is presentation software, which is much easier to use than most other Office suites. The iWork suite itself has one of the most extensive templates libraries I have ever seen!
iWork uses both your hard drive and iCloud service to store you documents which is really handy. You also have the ability to save in both Apple and Microsoft formats which is useful if you need to save in one or the other.
Pros
- Simple to create documents to a professional standard
- Uses iCloud so you have access to your documents on any Apple device
Cons
- It doesn’t have the same power features as MS Office
- The software is only for Apple devices
Microsoft Web Apps
Browser-based - Free
We end our brief list with Microsoft Office! Well, Microsoft Office Web Apps to be precise. The only requirement to use this product is a Microsoft account and an active internet connection, and you have access to a free version of Office anywhere in the world. The first thing you may notice about this product is that looks a lot like the Windows 8 start screen, which many find very easy to use. You are able to create or edit Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote documents, all the basic functionality of the full MS Office package. By basic functionality I mean you can still make lists and tables or insert pictures and that’s just in Word. The Excel and PowerPoint apps also work well and open most files I can throw at them.
Like Google Docs, many people can edit a document simultaneously and all users will see those changes in real time, extremely helpful no matter what the project you're working on. This is another product which includes the form builder known as the Excel survey, again this allows businesses to collect data and easily put into an Excel spreadsheet.
Pros
- Opens and edits 99% of files and has every feature you need for a home office
- Works on any PC or Mac and on most mobile platforms with a modern browser
Cons
- Only uses Sky Drive for storage which starts at 7GB with the option to increase when you need more
- Only works with an active internet connection
Summary
I hope I’ve given you all enough information to make an educated decision on what Office suite you will choose to use next. The days of having only one choice of Office product and paying over-the-top prices for that software are gone, and as more companies spring up bringing competition with existing developers, the variety and cost is going to become even more attractive in future.