The office suite from Microsoft has become a true standard and benchmark for how products of such a plan should look. In creating, editing, and performing other operations with documents and tables, the Office has no equal. It is convenient, understandable, works quickly, and the output documents are perfectly adapted for use in some related systems and editors.
In a word, we have here without a small monopolist. Everything would be fine, but the only fly in the ointment for most domestic users is the cost of the product. For a one-time license, you will have to pay about 7 thousand rubles, and for a monthly subscription - about 300 rubles. In this regard, many users are asking a completely logical question: "How to replace Microsoft Office?"
On the Internet you can find many free text and spreadsheet editors. But not all of them adequately cope with the tasks. So the choice of programs that replace Microsoft Office should be taken seriously. What we will do in our article. So let's get started.
We present you a list of the best Microsoft Office replacements. Consider the remarkable qualities of each product: features, ease of use, as well as advantages with disadvantages. For a clearer picture, a list of alternative programs will be presented in the form of a rating.
Best Microsoft Office replacement solutions:
- Microsoft Office Online
- LibreOffice.
- "Google Docs."
- WPS Office.
- SoftMaker FreeOffice.
Consider each product in more detail.
Microsoft Office Online
No matter how strange it may sound, one of the best solutions for replacing Microsoft Office is the online version of the complex. Unlike a full-fledged product, there is no need to pay for a subscription. You get the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote programs, with the only difference being that they will not work independently, but in the browser.
The appearance and tools of the web version of the "Office" is practically no different from the basic package. Judging by the feedback from users, they also did not experience any problems with the formats. All files executed on the standard “Office” were perfectly readable in a web-based analogue.
But this Microsoft Office replacement is not without flaws. Editing documents is possible only in online mode, and with the Internet turned off, you can only read the text. In addition, there are cut out the possibilities of working with pivot tables, there is no support for RTF formats with HTML, and the print wizard is very limited.
Libreoffice
Many users, not without reason, consider this package a complete replacement for Microsoft Office. Here we have an almost identical alternative to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. There is also a very sensible database editor that can replace Microsoft Access.
In addition, the Libre Office package contains the Math and Draw applications. The first allows you to work with mathematical formulas, and the second is responsible for building vector diagrams. Judging by the reviews, for some categories of users this moment became critical when they looked after the replacement of Microsoft Office.
Libre products can do almost everything that Microsoft's paid solutions offer. As for the formats, judging by user reviews, there are no problems with export and import.
Features
It is also worth noting that a rather active contingent of developers has already formed around Libre. They create new add-ons, plug-ins, modify old extensions and adapt existing solutions to popular platforms. Such impressive support allows you to add a lot of useful features to the basic version of the package. So this product is a great replacement for Microsoft Office for Windows 10, Mac and Linux.
Judging by the reviews, the Libre products do not have any such shortcomings. Some users complain about the lack of full support for mobile gadgets and related applications, but for those who use software on a personal computer, this is not critical. In addition, we are talking only about the impossibility of editing files, and viewing data on smartphones and tablets is fully implemented.
Google Docs
Solutions from a well-known search engine, as well as in the case of Microsoft Office Online, work in a browser. This approach immediately removes unnecessary questions about cross-platform products. The project is primarily focused on team work, and only then on a single user.
Thanks to the web interface, tables, presentations and documents can be made up on any device, and colleagues will easily evaluate the project and, if necessary, make the necessary changes directly online. It is also worth noting that, unlike Microsoft Office Online, you can edit text here without an internet connection. Just download the special resolution for the Chrome browser.
Pros and cons
Judging by the feedback from users, they were also pleased with the excellent integration of the complex into the company's services - company email, Google Disk, calendar and other cloud clients. Which, again, is very convenient for corporate tasks.
But this complex has its drawbacks. Despite the developer’s support for formats from Microsoft, documents saved in Word or Excel sometimes lose some of the formatting. Users also complain about the meager toolkit. The same Libra has a lot more. And the design of the interface, judging by the reviews, not everyone liked it. Here it is too ascetic and causes more anguish than a desire to work.
WPS Office
This product very meticulously copies the solutions from Microsoft. Moreover, this concerns not only the functionality and appearance of the interface, but also the user experience as a whole. To an uninformed user it can be difficult to distinguish one product from another, because almost the only difference is the name of the program in the upper left corner.
The complex offers complete clones of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In addition, the developer did a good job at adapting the formats. Applications fully support files stored in programs from Microsoft.
Reviews
It is also worth noting the presence of a very sensible PDF-editor as a nice bonus. Of course, it cannot be compared with the capabilities of the product from Adobe, but for the free version there is quite advanced functionality.
Judging by the reviews, the complex is very good, but almost all users complain about the abundance of advertising. Banners, lines, and sometimes even pop-ups on the whole screen interfere with the work. To perform one-time tasks, this solution is quite suitable, but it cannot be used for the flow, because due to the abundance of advertising you can leave all the nerves on the next project.
SoftMaker FreeOffice
This complex is also a very good alternative to Microsoft solutions. The product, as in the previous case, copies Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but not with such meticulousness. Nevertheless, the tools on the panel are easily recognizable, there is no entry threshold for beginners as such.
The complex works with all formats from Microsoft and does not lose formatting even in the most difficult cases (built-in tables, cross-layout, etc.). It is also worth noting that the programs were able to save files in PDF and ePub formats, which for some categories of users is a significant plus.
Product reviews in general are pretty good. He copes well with office tasks, but he has a number of shortcomings, with which some are not ready to put up. Firstly, the possibility of teamwork is extremely poorly realized here. That is, online editing is not provided. Secondly, many users complained about the lack of a thesaurus. And this is not the last element in importance for office software. But a free distribution license with a complete lack of advertising made the product popular and in demand.