Best Office 2024 & 365 alternatives in 2026

LibreOffice is the closest free alternative to the traditional Office 2024 model, while Google Workspace is the strongest direct alternative to Microsoft 365. One gives you a locally installed office suite that works without a subscription or permanent cloud connection. The other builds documents, storage, sharing, communication, and collaboration around the browser.

Those are not your only choices. ONLYOFFICE and SoftMaker Office come particularly close to Microsoft’s familiar document-first workflow, WPS Office mixes desktop software with cloud and AI features, Zoho Workplace targets collaborative businesses, and Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote remain a strong option for people already living inside the Apple ecosystem.

The important question is therefore not simply which alternative is “best,” but which version of Microsoft Office you are actually trying to replace.

What makes something an Office 2024 or Microsoft 365 alternative?

We used two different sets of criteria because Office 2024 and Microsoft 365 solve the same basic productivity problems in different ways.

Each category is scored from 0 to 5 with equal weighting. The match score shown below is the higher of the alternative’s Office 2024 and Microsoft 365 scores. It is an editorial similarity score, not a product rating.

1. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is the easiest place to start if what you want is basically Office 2024 without Microsoft or the purchase price. Writer, Calc, and Impress cover the familiar document, spreadsheet, and presentation trio, while Base adds database management, Draw handles diagrams and vector graphics, and Math deals with formulas.

It is free, open source, private by design, and perfectly comfortable working with local files. DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files can be opened and saved directly, although LibreOffice itself warns that complicated Microsoft documents can require some manual formatting after conversion.

Biggest difference: there is no Microsoft 365-style integrated ecosystem of Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, meetings, and cloud administration built around it.

Best for: individuals, students, Linux users, and organizations that want a traditional locally installed suite without subscriptions.

Skip it if: exact Microsoft formatting fidelity or a cloud-first team workflow is critical.

2. Google Workspace

Google Workspace is the most obvious Microsoft 365 competitor because it attacks the same problem from almost exactly the opposite historical direction. Microsoft moved its desktop suite into the cloud; Google started in the browser and built outward.

Docs, Sheets, and Slides cover the productivity basics, while Drive handles storage, Gmail handles email, Meet covers calls, Chat handles team communication, and Gemini increasingly provides the AI layer. Multiple people editing the same file is central to the experience rather than an extra feature bolted onto a desktop application.

Docs, Sheets, and Slides can also be configured for offline use in Chrome or Edge, but this is still fundamentally a cloud-first ecosystem.

Biggest difference: you do not get the same traditional desktop-first Word, Excel, and PowerPoint experience, and complex Microsoft files may not translate perfectly.

Best for: remote teams, schools, freelancers, and anyone who values collaboration more than heavyweight desktop applications.

Skip it if: most of your work happens offline or depends on complex Excel, Word, or PowerPoint files.

3. ONLYOFFICE

ONLYOFFICE is particularly interesting if your reason for leaving Microsoft has nothing to do with wanting a radically different interface. Its free Desktop Editors package includes editors for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, fillable forms, and PDFs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Microsoft Office formats are a major focus, with DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX sitting comfortably alongside OpenDocument formats. The desktop applications work locally, while ONLYOFFICE’s broader ecosystem can add server-hosted collaboration if your needs grow beyond a single machine.

Biggest difference: the basic desktop suite does not come with Microsoft’s broader email, storage, meeting, and personal-productivity ecosystem.

Best for: users exchanging lots of Microsoft-format files who still want free local desktop software.

Skip it if: you want one consumer subscription that bundles productivity apps, email, cloud storage, meetings, and security.

4. SoftMaker Office

SoftMaker Office Professional 2026 may be the most straightforward alternative for someone who likes the idea of Office 2024 itself, but would rather buy from another vendor. It is sold as a perpetual desktop license for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations fill the familiar Word, Excel, and PowerPoint roles. SoftMaker uses DOCX as TextMaker’s native document format and places Microsoft Office compatibility near the center of its pitch.

There is also a subscription-based Office NX line with continuous feature updates, mobile apps, language tools, DeepL integration, and AI functionality, so SoftMaker can move somewhat closer to Microsoft 365 if you want it to.

Biggest difference: its ecosystem is much narrower. You are getting office applications, not Microsoft’s combination of OneDrive, Outlook, Teams, cloud administration, and security services.

Best for: people who want a polished paid desktop suite without committing to Microsoft’s ecosystem.

Skip it if: collaboration services matter more to you than desktop document editing.

5. WPS Office

WPS Office sits somewhere between the two Microsoft models. Writer, Spreadsheet, Presentation, and PDF provide a conventional desktop-suite foundation, but WPS also has web access, mobile apps, WPS Cloud, document collaboration, templates, and AI tools.

The free WPS Standard tier includes the basic office applications, limited templates, PDF reading, and 1 GB of cloud storage. The paid Pro+ tier expands PDF editing, storage, templates, electronic signatures, OCR, and AI functionality.

Its familiar interface and support for common DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files also reduce the adjustment for someone coming directly from Microsoft Office.

Biggest difference: the surrounding business ecosystem is still much smaller than Microsoft 365’s Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, Teams, and administration stack.

Best for: people who want an inexpensive all-in-one suite covering documents and PDFs across several devices.

Skip it if: you specifically want an open-source solution or a large enterprise collaboration ecosystem.

6. Zoho Workplace

Zoho Workplace is less interesting as an Office 2024 replacement than as a genuine Microsoft 365 Business alternative. Writer, Sheet, and Show handle documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, while WorkDrive adds cloud file management.

The wider Workplace bundle adds Mail, Calendar, Cliq for communication, Meeting for calls, Vault for passwords, Connect for internal collaboration, and administration features. In other words, Zoho is trying to replace the surrounding workplace as much as the three core Office applications.

Current Workplace Standard pricing starts at $3 per user per month when billed annually, with Professional adding more storage and advanced features.

Biggest difference: Microsoft’s file formats and desktop applications remain the de facto standard in many workplaces, so moving a whole organization involves more than replacing three apps.

Best for: small and medium businesses that want an integrated cloud workplace without Microsoft or Google.

Skip it if: your partners, clients, or internal workflows rely heavily on native Microsoft desktop features.

7. Apple iWork: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

If your computers, phones, and tablets already have Apple logos on them, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote deserve consideration before paying for another office suite.

The three applications cover documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, work across Apple’s devices, and support real-time collaboration through iCloud. Browser users can also edit and collaborate through iCloud.com, although some advanced functionality is unavailable in the web versions.

Apple also supports importing and exporting modern Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats, although not every Microsoft feature survives conversion unchanged.

Biggest difference: there is no equivalent integrated business stack around iWork, and the experience is strongest when you remain inside Apple’s ecosystem.

Best for: Mac, iPhone, and iPad users with ordinary document, spreadsheet, and presentation needs.

Skip it if: your workplace revolves around Windows, sophisticated Excel workbooks, or Microsoft 365 administration.

Which Microsoft Office alternative should you choose?

The closest overall alternatives

There is no single winner because Office 2024 and Microsoft 365 represent different ideas of what an office suite should be.

LibreOffice is our closest overall Office 2024 alternative. It gives you serious locally installed productivity applications, broad file support, no recurring subscription, and little dependence on cloud services. SoftMaker Office is the better alternative if you are happy to pay for a more conventional commercial desktop suite.

Google Workspace is our closest overall Microsoft 365 alternative. Its applications are different, but the underlying idea is extremely similar: your files, collaboration, communication, storage, and increasingly AI assistance all live inside one continuously updated online ecosystem. Zoho Workplace is the strongest alternative if you specifically need that model for a business and want to avoid both Microsoft and Google.

If you are still deciding whether you actually need an alternative at all, our Office 2024 vs. Microsoft 365 comparison explains the differences between Microsoft’s one-time-purchase and subscription approaches.

What if Microsoft Office is still the better fit?

Alternatives make sense when they solve a particular problem, whether that is subscription fatigue, Linux support, cloud collaboration, or cost. If compatibility with existing Microsoft workflows matters more than changing ecosystems, staying with Office can still be the easier choice.

Microsoft Office alternatives FAQ

What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Office 2024?

LibreOffice is the strongest general-purpose free alternative if you want locally installed desktop applications. ONLYOFFICE is also worth considering if Microsoft-format compatibility is a particularly high priority.

What is the best Microsoft 365 alternative?

Google Workspace is the closest overall match for users who value cloud documents, collaboration, storage, email, meetings, and cross-device access. Zoho Workplace provides a similar all-in-one model with a stronger business-oriented alternative ecosystem.

Can these alternatives open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files?

Most of the alternatives in this list support modern Microsoft formats such as DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX to some degree. Compatibility is not guaranteed to be perfect, especially with complex formatting, macros, advanced spreadsheet features, fonts, or presentation effects.

Can an Office alternative completely replace Microsoft 365?

For ordinary documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, often yes. Replacing the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem is harder because that can also involve Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, Teams, identity management, security, device administration, and integrations already used by an organization.

Choose the workflow, not just the word processor

Replacing Word is easy. Replacing Microsoft Office is a little harder, and replacing Microsoft 365 can mean changing the way an entire team stores files, communicates, schedules meetings, and works together.

That is why the best alternative depends on the Microsoft product you actually wanted in the first place. LibreOffice and SoftMaker make sense when you want the traditional desktop-suite idea. Google Workspace and Zoho Workplace make more sense when Office is only one part of a wider cloud workspace. Pick the model first, then pick the apps.