Top six MS Office alternatives in 2020

May 6, 2020

When you look at office productivity suites, MS Office is the most prevalent program as it caters to almost all the necessary needs of a modern office. It has been an industry leader for years. The only thing that people don’t embrace is the price tag. Individuals and IT departments need to balance their budgets so alternative productivity suites have become more attractive. The open-source community can testify that low prices and free applications aren’t a reflection of low-quality apps.

However, document sharing may be difficult between the different office suites which might be a real concern. For instance, a .docx document saved in Open Office may lose its formatting when shared on MS Word. As a result, you need to be aware of the shortfall of the office suite you choose especially if you are collaborating with other users who are using different suites.

Here are some of the best alternatives.

1. G Suite: Best Overall Suite

By far, this is one of the best office tools in the market and it’s free to consumers. G Suite for business is a combination of Google Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Forms. All these Google apps come together under Google Drive an online storage solution. If you have a Gmail account, you can integrate it with a free Google Drive account to access the free Google apps. It works well with any browser and OS be it Mac, Windows, or Linux. You can share and collaborate with other users at ease.

The major downside is that you need to be online to work efficiently on G Suite apps. For business, a G Suite account costs as little as $5 monthly. But if you want it for individual use, the free account works perfectly well.

2. LibreOffice: Best Full-featured Alternative

Currently, LibreOffice offers everything MS Office can offer plus more. It supports all necessary requirements to handle common office tasks plus it’s free. It is compatible with both Mac and Windows Office file formats. If you are collaborating with users on different Office suites then LibreOffice is the perfect solution for you. They have a very active open-source community that constantly updates the app making it more interactive and functional.

Generally, if you need a highly-customizable MS Office alternative that expands the functionalities of Microsoft, LibreOffice is here for you. The only disadvantage is the learning curve before you can be able to use it like a pro.

3. iWork: Best for Mac

If you have an Apple device, iWork suite comes with it. It is not as popular as G Suite but Pages, Numbers, and Keynote serve the same purpose as Docs, Sheets, and Slide. If you are engrained in the Apple ecosystem such as iCloud and devices like iPad, it will work exceptionally well for you. It is also compatible with most modern browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer. It works best with its own file formats but, you can easily export and import common MS Office formats such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx.

The biggest downside is that it’s not widely used so sharing and collaborating with others who aren’t on iCloud is nearly impossible.

4. Open Office: Best Free Open-Source

Are you looking for a totally free MS Office alternative? Apache Open Office will perform the same tasks at no cost. It might not be as polished or fully-featured like Microsoft but it comes at no cost. The features are constantly updated by volunteer programmers who are interested in making it better for the good of the community. However, with Google suite coming at the same price it’s hard for it to keep up with the competition and professional programmers at Google and Microsoft. Writer, Math, Impress, Calc, Draw, and Base are worth considering and they get consistent support.

5. WPS Office: Best Ads Supported Software

WPS Office is a free app that works with Windows, Mac, and Linux. Ads are supported on the platform but you can get rid of them at $30 per year. Developed by Kingsoft, WPS is mobile friendly with WPS Writers, Spreadsheet, and Presentation available for both IOS and Android. The user interface is customizable giving you the freedom to choose the menu style you like most. The speed at which the app works is amazing plus it supports tabbed document editing just like on a web browser. Like Google Drive, it provided you with integrated cloud storage only that it’s limited to 1GB.

Dropbox is popularly known for its cloud storage and file-sharing capabilities. Dropbox Paper is integrated with Dropbox making it a competitive word processing application. You can easily import and export files in popular formats like .pdf, .docx, or.xls. All you need to do is drag the file from your Dropbox folder into the Dropbox Paper active window. It has a very user-friendly interface and it comes at no cost if you have a Dropbox account. The free Dropbox account is limited to 2GB but if you need more space prices to start at $8.25 per month.