Microsoft Office is no doubt one of the better office suites out there, but not everyone can afford the price to buy it, and this is where free alternatives come in. Many of them have a lot of the same features as Microsoft Office, some can even open Microsoft Office files, and a few have a similar interface as Microsoft Office to make it easier to switch to.
But out of all the free alternatives, which ones stand out the most? Here is a list of what I believe are the 5 best free alternatives to Microsoft Office.
Google Docs
Unlike most office suites, Google Docs is web based, which means you need an active internet connection to use it, which can be either good or bad depending on what you need it for. Google Docs offers a variety of useful applications that allow you to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
Because Google Docs is web based, it allows you to easily share your documents and files with anyone you wish, and without the hassle of needing them to install a certain program and then transferring the files to their PC.
Apache OpenOffice
Formerly known as OpenOffice.org, Apache OpenOffice is a great free alternative to Microsoft Office that runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. OpenOffice has a lot of tools available, which can be used for word processing, creating spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and even databases.
OpenOffice is also handy if you used to use Microsoft Office as OpenOffice can open many Microsoft Office files, and also lets you save your work in Microsoft Word format if you need to. There are also many third-party extensions available that add additional functionality as well.
LibreOffice
Because LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice, they both share similar features. LibreOffice has many of the same applications and tools as OpenOffice, including database and graphics functionality.
However, LibreOffice is often considered to be more actively developed than OpenOffice, and will typically receive more updates and new features much faster than OpenOffice. Not to mention, the community surrounding LibreOffice is very active, with many helpful guides and tutorials written by members of the community.
LibreOffice is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, and just like OpenOffice, includes support for third-party extensions and templates.
KOffice
Originally developed primarily for the KDE Platform, KOffice currently supports Linux, Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OS X. KOffice has three tools available, KWord which is its word processor, KCells which is used for calculations and spreadsheets, and Showcase which is its presentation application.
While KOffice has fewer applications than other office suites, it still has the main three, and they are all very well designed and easy to use. Having only three applications also allows KOffice to take up less hard drive space and be more light-weight than other office suites which tend to have a lot of extras installed.
GnomeOffice
Designed just for Linux originally, GnomeOffice can now also run on Windows. GnomeOffice has the standard office applications you would expect, such as a word processor, a document viewer, and the ability to create spreadsheets, presentations and graphics. However, GnomeOffice also includes an email application that lets you send and receive emails, and also allows you to download four other optional applications.
The optional applications are GnuCash for managing finances, gLabels which is a label designer, Glom for creating and managing databases, and Dia which can be used to create diagrams.
By not including every application in the default installation, GnomeOffice is more modular than other office suites and can therefor be more light-weight if necessary, while also allowing you to install more applications as needed.
