Microsoft has developed the Office suite as a way to increase the productivity of people and make their lives easier with an advanced and capable family of office applications, and in our times has become one of the most popular products when it comes to utilities like word processing or spreadsheet management.
The many different software you can acquire all together when purchasing Microsoft Office is a bonus, however, the price can be a dealbreaker for many people who would prefer not to spend or invest money in buying Microsoft Office. Some people might even get overwhelmed by how much Office is capable of. Each and every application is filled to the brim with unique and useful features, but if you look at it through the average person’s eyes, most of these features are going to go unnoticed and not utilized, meaning that the purchase isn’t going to live up to the expectations.
Luckily, there are many free options and other alternatives that provide similar features and capabilities to Microsoft Office, and we’re bringing you the best ones that are worth trying out before you consider purchasing Office, or if you’re looking to cancel your subscription but need somewhere to continue working.
Truly Office: The Ultimate Microsoft Office Alternative
Truly Office revolutionizes the way you work with a complete suite of professional applications that outperform Microsoft Office in every way.
At its core, the suite features Truly Word for document creation, Truly Sheets for spreadsheet management, Truly Slides for presentations, and Truly PDF for comprehensive PDF editing. Each application delivers powerful features wrapped in a clean, intuitive interface that feels instantly familiar.
Where Truly Office truly shines is its value proposition. Instead of draining your wallet with endless subscriptions, you get lifetime access for a single payment of $54.99. This includes all future updates, making it significantly more cost-effective than Microsoft's yearly $99.99 fee. Over five years, you're looking at savings of over $400 while getting more features and better privacy.
Professional templates, advanced formatting options, and powerful productivity features make Truly Office the superior choice for both personal and business use. The suite's robust feature set, coupled with responsive 24/7 customer support, ensures you're never left struggling with your work. Try it risk-free with a 90-day money-back guarantee and experience how office software should work - powerful, private, and subscription-free.
LibreOffice
If you’re looking for something that really resembles the Microsoft Office suite yet comes at no price, LibreOffice might just be the best option for you. It is used by millions of people worldwide and includes several office applications that can easily replace those found in Microsoft’s suite. You can use Writer for word processing, Calc for spreadsheets, Impress to make presentations, Draw to create vector graphics and flowcharts, Base for databases and Math for formula editing - keep in mind, all this for free!
LibreOffice has a lot to offer on its own, but it is possible to extend its features further by installing extensions and templates. As an additional bonus, LibreOffice has its own file format, however, it also supports many document formats including many of the Microsoft Office formats, as well as Open Document Format (ODF). When exporting, you can choose from a wide variety of file types as well, allowing you to have full control over how you want to handle your documents.
Platforms: Windows 10/8/7, Linux, Mac OS X, and Android (view only).
Google Workspace
If you’ve ever used the internet, you know about Google. The company is huge, and it feels like it has a presence in all things technology. It provides the most used search engine, and many popular applications and services such as Google Chrome, YouTube, Gmail, developed the Android mobile operating system - it would be a surprise if they didn’t provide users with powerful office applications as well.
You can utilize Google Docs as a powerful online word processor that has just enough for you to create professional looking documents without the hassle of having to install anything on your computer, use Slides to create presentations, or get started with Sheets to manage spreadsheets like a pro, all from your browser. Google Docs is directly linked with your Google Drive, so even as a free user, you can store up to 15GB of data and easily share your documents with anyone.
One thing to keep in mind is that due to its online browser-based nature, you need an active and working internet connection to be able to use Google Docs.
WPS Office
Another alternative to a suite that you can use offline from your device, WPS Office provides three key applications for word processing, creating presentations and spreadsheet management. WPS Office’s design is clean and modern, the suite includes cloud services to sync your files across devices, and supplies you with numerous templates to speed up your work. Despite the occasional advertisements, the free version allows you to take care of everyday needs, which is perfect for the average user. However, if you need more, you can always upgrade to premium for a low cost.
Platforms: Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Office Online
Last but not least, another online suite straight from Microsoft themselves. If you want to experience a light version of Office products without having to pay a penny, you can by using Office Online from your browser. As long as you are connected to the internet, you have access to the cloud-based Office Online versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Sway and Flow.
Although these versions are cut down and don’t include many features of the paid on-premises software, they are perfect if you don’t have the need for advanced features and don’t want to learn an entirely new set of applications.