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Free alternatives to Microsoft 365

Top pick: LibreOffice. Switching saves about $100 USD a year.

Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Personal, annual plan

$99.99 USDa year

$115 CAD

Every pick below has a free version.

Runs on
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Key file formats
Not listed

Filter alternatives

5 alternatives

Top pick

1 tool

The editor’s first choice for most people switching.

  1. Rank 1: LibreOffice

    Best for a free offline replacement for the Office apps

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Unknown

    Replaces the document, spreadsheet and presentation apps only. Email, storage and collaboration need other tools such as Thunderbird and Nextcloud.

Strong

2 tools

Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.

  1. Rank 2: Google Workspace

    Best for email, files and documents in one cloud account

    License: Free tier
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Status: Verified

    A personal Google account is free. Documents live in Google formats, so Office files convert on import and export. Free version: A personal Google account gets Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet with 15 GB of shared storage. Workspace adds admin tools.

  2. Rank 3: ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors

    Best for opening Microsoft files in a free desktop suite

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Unknown
    • DOCX: opens and saves, full fidelity. Native format
    • DOC: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens DOC through a conversion and saves as DOCX
    • RTF: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Editing can lose some formatting
    • ODT: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Editing can lose some formatting
    • PDF: opens and saves, partial fidelity. The PDF editor handles forms, comments and basic edits
    • +7 more

    Free desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux. Collaboration and storage come from a separate server.

Situational

2 tools

Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.

  1. Rank 4: Nextcloud

    Best for self-hosting files, calendar and office editing

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Unknown

    Replaces the storage and sharing parts of Microsoft 365 and needs a server you run or rent. The Outlook part is covered by its Mail and Calendar apps or by Thunderbird. Free version: The Nextcloud server is free to self-host. Enterprise subscriptions with support start at 71.29 EUR per user a year (100 users).

  2. Rank 5: Thunderbird

    Best for replacing only Outlook's email and calendar

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Android
    Status: Unknown
    • EML: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • ICS: opens and saves, full fidelity. Import and export of calendar events and tasks

    Covers the Outlook part of the bundle only. Native Exchange support covers email; calendar and contacts do not sync over Exchange yet.

Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.

Feature parity

How each alternative covers what people use Microsoft 365 for. Numbers link to editor notes.

Feature parity with Microsoft 365
FeatureLibreOfficeGoogle WorkspaceONLYOFFICE Desktop EditorsNextcloudThunderbird
Apps
Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalentsYesNote 1YesNote 2YesNote 3PartialNote 4NoNote 5
Communication
Email, calendar and contactsNoNote 6YesNote 7NoNote 8PartialNote 9YesNote 10
Video calls and chatNoNote 11PartialNote 12NoNote 13PartialNote 14NoNote 15
Storage
Cloud storage and file syncNoNote 16PartialNote 17NoNote 18YesNote 19NoNote 20
Collaboration
Real-time co-authoring and sharingNoNote 21YesNote 22PartialNote 23PartialNote 24NoNote 25
AI
Built-in AI assistantNoNote 26NoNote 27PartialNote 28PartialNote 29NoNote 30
Parity score17%67%33%58%17%
  1. LibreOffice, Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents: Writer, Calc and Impress open DOCX, XLSX and PPTX; complex files can shift
  2. Google Workspace, Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents: Docs, Sheets and Slides in the browser; Office file fidelity is partial
  3. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents: Document, spreadsheet and presentation editors built on OOXML
  4. Nextcloud, Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents: Office editing needs Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE as a separate server
  5. Thunderbird, Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents: No document, spreadsheet or presentation apps
  6. LibreOffice, Email, calendar and contacts: The suite has no mail client; pair it with Thunderbird
  7. Google Workspace, Email, calendar and contacts: Gmail, Calendar and Contacts
  8. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Email, calendar and contacts: No mail client
  9. Nextcloud, Email, calendar and contacts: Calendar and Contacts are built in; Mail is a client and needs your own mail server
  10. Thunderbird, Email, calendar and contacts: Email, calendar, tasks and address book
  11. LibreOffice, Video calls and chat: No video or chat
  12. Google Workspace, Video calls and chat: Meet and Chat; free group meetings last up to 60 minutes
  13. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Video calls and chat: No video or chat
  14. Nextcloud, Video calls and chat: Talk handles chat and calls; large calls need extra components
  15. Thunderbird, Video calls and chat: No video calls
  16. LibreOffice, Cloud storage and file sync: No cloud storage
  17. Google Workspace, Cloud storage and file sync: 15 GB of shared storage free, compared with 1 TB in Microsoft 365 Personal
  18. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Cloud storage and file sync: No storage; connects to Nextcloud or ONLYOFFICE servers
  19. Nextcloud, Cloud storage and file sync: Self-hosted file storage with desktop and mobile sync clients
  20. Thunderbird, Cloud storage and file sync: No cloud storage
  21. LibreOffice, Real-time co-authoring and sharing: The desktop apps have no real-time co-authoring
  22. Google Workspace, Real-time co-authoring and sharing: Live editing and sharing in all apps
  23. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Real-time co-authoring and sharing: Real-time co-editing needs a connected server
  24. Nextcloud, Real-time co-authoring and sharing: Live editing works once an office server is connected
  25. Thunderbird, Real-time co-authoring and sharing: No document collaboration
  26. LibreOffice, Built-in AI assistant: No built-in AI by design as of 26.8
  27. Google Workspace, Built-in AI assistant: Gemini features need a paid Google AI or Workspace plan
  28. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, Built-in AI assistant: AI plug-in works with your own provider and API key
  29. Nextcloud, Built-in AI assistant: An assistant app exists and works with models you provide
  30. Thunderbird, Built-in AI assistant: No built-in AI assistant in the free app

Not covered by any free alternative yet: Video calls and chat, Built-in AI assistant. See all feature gaps

What switching saves

Switching saves about $100 USD / $115 CAD a year. Prices checked .

Based on Microsoft 365 Personal, annual plan. Price source.

About this page

Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.

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Related

Microsoft 365 is a product of Microsoft, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Microsoft 365: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android.