OnlyOffice earned its XDA moment fairly. The desktop editors handle Docx, Xlsx, Pptx, and PDF in one binary, keep formatting close to Microsoft’s own, and cost nothing for personal use. Where it slips is collaboration once you leave the docs server, macro parity with Excel VBA, and the Ubuntu snap that eats CPU on suspend. If any of that stops you, these OnlyOffice alternatives cover the same ground on Windows, macOS, and Linux without asking you to relearn ribbons.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Full offline suite | Everything | $0 | Draw is a real vector editor |
| WPS Office | Microsoft look-alike | Ad-supported | $2.49 | Best Docx/Xlsx fidelity in freemium |
| SoftMaker FreeOffice | Zero telemetry | Full editor | $4.17 (Office 2024) | Runs on 15-year-old hardware |
| Collabora Office | Team docs on-prem | Community | Contact sales | Real-time editing you host |
| Microsoft 365 | Advanced spreadsheets | 5 GB OneDrive | $6.99 (Personal) | Excel plus Copilot |
| Google Workspace | Browser-first teams | 15 GB Drive | $6 (Business Starter) | Live comments across seats |
| Apple iWork | macOS-only writers | Full editor | $0 (Apple ID) | Freeform whiteboard |
Why people leave OnlyOffice
Complaints repeat across Reddit r/opensource, r/linux, and the OnlyOffice forums. The three loudest:
Collaboration needs Docs Server
The desktop app on its own does not do live co-editing. You need the OnlyOffice Docs server or the paid workspace to get two cursors in the same file. Teams that assumed Google-style sharing was baked in bounce fast.
Excel VBA does not round-trip cleanly
OnlyOffice runs its own JavaScript macro engine. Complex VBA macros from finance and engineering teams either error out or need a rewrite. The forum has years of “why did my macro stop working” threads.
The Linux snap is heavy
The snap package on Ubuntu can hold a couple of gigabytes of RAM open after you close the last window. The Flatpak and AppImage builds behave better, but the default install path on Ubuntu still ships the snap.
The alternatives
LibreOffice — best for a full offline suite
LibreOffice ships Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math in one install. The Document Foundation put out the 25.8 branch this year with a rebuilt sidebar and native dark mode on GTK. It is the closest thing to a drop-in replacement for the old Microsoft Office 2010 workflow that OnlyOffice took inspiration from.
Where it falls short: the interface feels stuck in the early 2010s next to WPS or OnlyOffice. Track Changes across shared Docx files still drops the odd comment.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, forever, under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.
- Paid: no consumer tier; Collabora and TDF sell enterprise support contracts separately.
- vs OnlyOffice: identical price, more apps in the box, less polished chrome.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: open your .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files directly. Formatting survives. Custom OnlyOffice plugins do not carry over.
Download: LibreOffice.org
Bottom line: pick this if you want one install that opens anything and never phones home.
WPS Office — best for Microsoft compatibility
WPS Office clones the modern Microsoft ribbon so closely that finance staff switching from Excel barely notice. The 2026 desktop build added a native AI assistant that summarizes sheets without uploading them, plus a tabbed workspace that keeps 20 open docs manageable.
Where it falls short: the free tier shows ads and pushes cloud sync. Kingsoft, the parent, is based in Beijing, which some organizations avoid on procurement grounds.
Pricing:
- Free: full editor with ads, 1 GB cloud, PDF tools capped at 5 pages.
- Paid: WPS Premium at $29.99/year (about $2.49/mo).
- vs OnlyOffice: same price point in a paid tier, better Xlsx fidelity, worse telemetry story.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: direct open of any Office file. WPS keeps its own .wps native format around, ignore it and save as .docx.
Download: WPS Office
Bottom line: best free choice if you need spreadsheets that match Excel pixel for pixel.
SoftMaker FreeOffice — best for zero telemetry
SoftMaker FreeOffice ships TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations, all with the option to open in classic menu mode or ribbon mode. The German developer publishes a full changelog and does not collect any analytics from the free build. It is the office suite most private about who you are.
Where it falls short: the free version cannot save .docx by default; you have to change the default format in preferences. No macro engine at all.
Pricing:
- Free: FreeOffice, full editing, no ads, no telemetry.
- Paid: SoftMaker Office 2024 at $49.90/year for one user (about $4.17/mo).
- vs OnlyOffice: comparable price on the paid tier, weaker collaboration story, better privacy story.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: open .docx, .xlsx, .pptx files directly. Enable “save in Microsoft format by default” on first launch.
Download: SoftMaker FreeOffice
Bottom line: the quiet pick for anyone who wants a real editor with zero analytics.
Collabora Office — best for hosted team editing
Collabora Office is the enterprise fork of LibreOffice that turns the same code into a browser-based, real-time editor you can host yourself. The desktop client pairs with the Collabora Online server so teams get the OnlyOffice Docs experience with the LibreOffice compatibility layer.
Where it falls short: self-hosting the server is a Docker or Nextcloud project. Individual users get little benefit over LibreOffice.
Pricing:
- Free: Collabora Office community edition on the desktop, no support.
- Paid: named-user pricing starts around 21 EUR per user per year for the online edition, quoted through sales.
- vs OnlyOffice: same self-hosted model, better LibreOffice fidelity, more setup work.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: point Nextcloud at Collabora Online instead of the OnlyOffice Docs container. File formats are identical.
Download: Collabora Office
Bottom line: the right OnlyOffice alternative if your organization is committed to hosting its own docs.
Microsoft 365 — best for advanced spreadsheets
Microsoft 365 is what OnlyOffice replaced for many switchers, but it is still the ceiling for what a spreadsheet can do. Power Query, Copilot in Excel, and dynamic array functions have no real free equivalent. The 2026 Personal plan bundles Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and 1 TB of OneDrive.
Where it falls short: subscription-only for the desktop apps, and the AI features push you toward a Microsoft account and cloud storage.
Pricing:
- Free: Office on the web with 5 GB OneDrive.
- Paid: Microsoft 365 Personal at $6.99/mo or $69.99/year.
- vs OnlyOffice: pricier and cloud-tethered, but nothing else matches Excel for complex modeling.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: file formats are already Microsoft’s, so nothing breaks. Import your .docx and .xlsx directly.
Download: Microsoft 365
Bottom line: the answer if a spreadsheet is central to your work and you can pay for it.
Google Workspace — best for browser-first teams
Google Workspace treats the browser as the desktop. Docs, Sheets, and Slides run against Google Drive, and comments and mentions land in Gmail. The 2026 Gemini in Workspace tier folds an in-app AI writer into the sidebar without shipping your docs to a third party.
Where it falls short: it lives in Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Offline mode has always been the weakest part; a spotty connection during a big edit still risks conflicts.
Pricing:
- Free: personal Google account with 15 GB storage.
- Paid: Business Starter at $6/user/mo (30 GB pooled) or Standard at $12 (2 TB).
- vs OnlyOffice: comparable seat price, no self-hosting, better real-time collaboration.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: upload .docx and .xlsx to Drive and let Google convert them. Formulas port cleanly, complex charts sometimes reflow.
Download: Google Workspace
Bottom line: the OnlyOffice alternative for teams that would rather stop shipping desktop installers.
Apple iWork — best for macOS-only writers
Apple iWork covers Pages, Numbers, and Keynote and comes free with any Apple ID. The 2026 releases added Freeform integration for whiteboard-style planning inside documents, plus much better .docx export than the 2020 versions.
Where it falls short: you cannot run the desktop apps outside macOS. Some Word features render as static text when saved back to .docx.
Pricing:
- Free: all three apps for any Apple ID user.
- Paid: no paid tier for the apps themselves; iCloud+ starts at $0.99/mo for extra storage.
- vs OnlyOffice: free, but locked to Apple silicon and Intel Macs still on macOS 13 or later.
Migrating from OnlyOffice: open .docx and .xlsx in Pages and Numbers; complex Excel workbooks are the biggest risk of layout drift.
Download: Apple iWork
Bottom line: the free default for anyone who lives on macOS and does not need Windows compatibility.
How to choose
Pick LibreOffice if you want the widest OnlyOffice alternative for free with no cloud dependency. Pick WPS Office if your team lives in Excel and needs the freemium version that matches it best. Pick SoftMaker FreeOffice if procurement or personal preference bars you from cloud-tied installers. Pick Collabora Office if you already run Nextcloud and want to bring editing into it. Pick Microsoft 365 if the spreadsheet is your job. Pick Google Workspace if your team never opens desktop apps anyway. Stay on OnlyOffice if you like the modern ribbon look and the self-hosted Docs server already runs for you.
FAQ
Is there a free OnlyOffice alternative that matches Microsoft Office?
WPS Office and LibreOffice both open and save .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx without paying. WPS wins on visual fidelity and Excel-style ribbons; LibreOffice wins on privacy and offline use.
Which OnlyOffice alternative works best on Linux?
LibreOffice is the default on almost every distribution and integrates with GNOME and KDE. SoftMaker FreeOffice has a native Linux build without a snap wrapper if you want a lighter footprint.
Can any alternative run my Excel VBA macros?
Only Microsoft 365 runs VBA natively. LibreOffice supports a subset with its Basic dialect; most non-trivial macros need a rewrite. OnlyOffice, WPS, and Collabora all use their own scripting engines.
What is the best OnlyOffice alternative for real-time collaboration?
Google Workspace has the smoothest browser-based co-editing. Collabora Online is the closest self-hosted match. Microsoft 365 with OneDrive is a fair middle ground if you already pay for it.
Which desktop office suite has the least telemetry?
SoftMaker FreeOffice ships with no analytics. LibreOffice sends anonymous crash reports only if you opt in. Anything that touches the vendor’s cloud (WPS, Microsoft, Google) will send more.
