What are the best office suites for Linux?

Question

13

Options
Considered

831

User
Recs.

Oct 12, 2019

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 11 OptionsWhy?

Best office suites for Linux	Price	Platforms	Word processing
94 LibreOffice	Free	Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD	Yes
83 ONLYOFFICE	-	Web-based (Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android-clients)	Yes
78 WPS Office‎	-	Windows; Linux; IOS; Android	Yes
69 Google Drive	-	Windows; OSX; Linux; Android; iOS	Yes
62 SoftMaker Office/FreeOffice	-	Windows; OSX; Linux	Yes

See Full List

10 Other Options Considered

ONLYOFFICE

Top Pro

Free and Open Source

ONLYOFFICE is distributed under AGPL v.3 license with the source code available on GitHub. See More

Top Con

Spreadsheet can be very memory demanding

Larger spreadsheets can be very slow to load on computers with limited memory. See More

RealisticBamapana's Experience

A little different to most other office packages and takes a bit of getting used to, but well worth the effort. Fully MS Office compatible in my experience. See More

Specs

Platforms:Web-based (Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android-clients)

Top Pro

Compatibility with MS Office formats

Highly compatible with .docx, .xlsx, .pptx as well as with .odf. See More

Top Con

Poor presentation tool functionality

CromulentGugalanna's Experience

It is lighter than LibreOffice and WPS, no clutter at all. Simply opens a Document created in MS Office 2016 and it shows the way it should show. That's realy compatible! Differently from WPS and LibreOffice, wich claim the same. I reached OnlyOffice, after extensive use of LibreOffice and OnlyOffice. See More

Top Pro

Can be used as a web app

ONLYOFFICE offers a web-based office suite that can be deployed on your own server using various deployment options, including Docker script and virtual machines with the software pre-installed. See More

Top Con

Web app

Even the deskop version uses the Chromium Embedded Framework to display a webpage. See More

OrganizedApollo's Experience

Best compatibility compared to LibreOffice and WPS office See More

Top Pro

High MS Office compatibility

Highly compatible with .docx, .xlsx, .pptx as well as with .odf. See More

Top Con

Wrong architecture

Not available as a desktop application in 32 bit in Linux. 64 bit only. That might be fine for your brand new machine you've set up with 64 bit but not for older machines that typically run Linux. See More

MagicalCottyto's Experience

Stable and looks really nice and structured in comparison to libreoffice See More

Top Pro

Available as a desktop application

ONLYOFFICE offers desktop applications for Linux, Windows, and Mac that can be connected to the web-based solution for document sharing and collaboration. See More

PopularCleta's Experience

Really good, works fine with any kind of format. On top of that, it has desktop and online editor with are absolutely identical in terms of GUI and features. See More

Top Pro

Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac

Top Pro

Has a portable version

ONLYOFFICE portable works on almost every Linux distribution. See More

Top Pro

Looks good and structured

Top Pro

Advanced work with math equations

Top Pro

Best compatibility compared to LibreOffice and WPS office

Top Pro

Free and open source

ONLYOFFICE is distributed under AGPL v.3 license with the source code available on GitHub. See More

Top Pro

Integration with Nextcloud

Easy integration with Nextcloud for collaborative work. See More

Top Pro

Collaboration capabilities

Top Pro

Support for add-ons (plugins)

Top Pro

Available for Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Android

ONLYOFFICE offers desktop applications for Linux, Windows, and MacOS that can be connected to the web-based solution for document sharing and collaboration. See More

See All

WPS Office‎

Top Pro

Excellent Microsoft Office compatibility

WPS has the best compatibility with MS Office files of all major office suites that support Linux. See More

Top Con

Lacks ODF support

WPS Office does not support importing or exporting OpenDocument Format, the default file format of LibreOffice and OpenOffice. See More

PhilosophicalKulullu's Experience

Great perfomance, fully compatible and free of weird graphical bugs unlike other OpenSource solutions. Although it has only the basic components of a "full" office suite, it gets the job done completely. Totally recommend. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; Linux; IOS; Android

Top Pro

Ribbon-like UI

WPS is the only Linux office suit to offer a Ribbon-like UI for better ease of use. Although, if you wish to keep using a classic drop-down menu style UI, you can. See More

Top Con

No equation editor in Linux

Equation editor for Linux has been "under development" for several years with no real additional info from the developers. Safe to say it's just not going to happen. No equation editor is a deal breaker for some, which is a shame. Otherwise this office suite performs very well. See More

ReasonableMelpomene's Experience

Very compatible, and excellent for edition of Word documents; shows modifications at the margins and not within the text, avoiding the mess, and allows to divide the screen. Both features are very useful for me when using Microsoft Word See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform desktop and mobile

Available on Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. See More

Top Con

No hyphenaton, no help or real forum

Lack of hyphenation in Writer is a terrible mistake. Reading the few forums about it will let you know that it breaks the words without rules and without hyphens in any language. The question was stated in 2013 and still doesn't have an answer. Their help system practically doesn't exist, everything leads you to a 404 page. Maybe this issue could be easily resolved by developers with a plugin or something like that, but the Linux community doesn't show interest for the product. See More

ChattyAphroditus's Experience

Try 2019 version, It's perfect for daily writing. If you want other complex functions, I recommend libreoffice See More

Top Pro

Multilingual

WPS Office is available in more than 40 languages. See More

Top Con

Installing can be a hassle

A .deb file is offered, but missing fonts can be a problem. See More

GraciousFand's Experience

now you can sync your documents See More

Top Pro

Tabbed interface

Instead of open up a new instance of the program for each document, WPS opens each document as a separate tab, allowing for easy switching between them. See More

Top Con

Only the basic office tools

WPS has software for word-processing, spreadsheets and presentations. No tools for database management, note-taking, graphics, etc. See More

Phillip Smith's Experience

Cross platform from windows, to iOS, to Linux, to Android, GUI is great looking and easy for people use, this I put on wife and kids computers. I brought the pro version to get rid of ads, worth it. See More

Top Pro

Free version

WPS comes in three flavors: Free, Standard ($49.95) and Professional ($69.95). See More

Top Con

Default font styles are not pretty

Top Pro

Integrated backups

WPS will automatically save your document over time to prevent data loss. See More

Top Con

No HiDPI support

Problematic with 4K screens. See More

Top Pro

Encryption support

WPS allows you to encrypt and password-lock files. See More

Top Con

Chinese software

Might be a security problem for some end-users. See More

Top Pro

Pdf viewer

Has support to view pdf files. See More

Top Pro

Smooth integration with many different cloud services at the same time

WPS integrates with multiple cloud service's at once such as Dropbox, One Drive, Google Drive and more. See More

Top Pro

View documents side by side

You can split the window allowing to view different parts of the same document, or open two documents for comparison, also imitating Microsoft Word. See More

Top Pro

Clean edition when sharing your document

Text modifications can be verified at the margins, not mixed with the text, imitating Microsoft Word. On the other side, LibreOffice/OpenOffice don't have this very useful feature. See More

Top Pro

Change pdf documents to word

See All

Google Drive

Top Pro

Real-time file sharing & collaborative editing

Google account holders and non-holders can be set to access and/or collaborate on files/folders in real-time. Additionally, you can find files you've shared not only by filename but by person you've shared the files with. See More

Top Con

Cloud based

Not every wants to depend on the mercy of the cloud provider. See More

PrinceKael's Experience

Convenient yet requires blind trust in Google. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; Linux; Android; iOS

Top Pro

Simple

Google Drive offers only basic functionality for each of its office components and as such is easy to use. See More

Top Con

All data belongs to Google unless you purchase pro accounts

According to their EUA. See More

Top Pro

Integrates with other Google services

For example, you can use search to search through both Drive and Gmail. See More

Top Con

No Linux desktop app

Google Drive on Linux is accessible only via web. See More

Top Pro

Cloud based

Google Drive is cloud-based, meaning there's no installation required and all your files are automatically synced between every device you use. See More

Top Con

Not a lot of advanced functionality compared to alternatives

Missing features in Google Docs are: Automatic numbering of chapters Image caption See More

Top Pro

Cheap

$1.99 per 100GB, for up to 16TB. See More

Top Con

Terms and Conditions allow Google to own anything on Google Drive

They can create derivative works, they can perform it, they can modify it, and they can publish it at will. There are many other specific rights they take over your product. Read the Terms carefully and compare with ANY others. See More

Top Pro

15GB of free storage

This space is shared across Drive, Gmail & Picasa, but Google Docs documents, Google Slides presentations, Google Sheets spreadsheets, Google Drawings and Google Forms do not count for this. See More

Top Con

Data privacy not guaranteed

Data privacy is widely known as one of Google's weaknesses. Data shared through Google is most likely matched up with the user's profile inside other Alphabet inc. subsidiaries, and, due to the business model, used commercially. See More

Top Pro

15GB free

This space is shared across Drive, Gmail & Picasa. See More

Top Con

Can’t password protect publicly shared folders

Top Pro

Save files to drive directly from Gmail

Drive lets you save any file from your email. See More

Top Con

Very unreliable

Desktop client constantly crashes. See More

Top Pro

Indexes images

You can search images by object, place, or face when they've been added to your google photos collection. Google Assistant also helps you find screenshots that could be archived, images that aren't in the correct orientation and pictures that would work well as animations or albums. See More

Top Con

No universal Windows app

Top Pro

Mobile integration

You can work from any device, especially mobile. See More

Top Con

Illegal / Bad data protection

It is illegal in some countries for company usage due data protection laws. See More

Top Pro

Built-in office suite

Includes tools for writing, presentations and spreadsheets. See More

Top Con

No avaiable equation editors for presentations

A way to add or edit equations in Slides is consistently a top requested feature, but little or no attention has been given to it by google. See More

Top Pro

Revision control

By clicking Ctrl + Alt + G in Windows or Command + Alt + Shift + G is OS X you can access previous version of the file. See More

Top Con

Doesn't have good integration with ODF or MS-format files

Top Pro

File sharing & collaborative editing

Google account holders and non-holders can be set to access and/or collaborate on files/folders in real-time. Additionally, you can find files you've shared not only by filename but by person you've shared the files with. See More

Top Pro

Extended functionality via apps

Third party Drive applications running in Chrome can add functionality such as image/video editing, project management, flowchart creation, etc. See More

Top Pro

Can translate text from within a document

See All

SoftMaker Office/FreeOffice

Top Pro

Great interoperability with Microsoft Office

SoftMaker office can open doc(x), xls(x), and ppt(x) files without messing up formatting. See More

Top Con

Proprietary Software

Although some versions/programs are free to download, they're all proprietary licenses utilizing a freeware model. See More

ImmaculateKresnik's Experience

There have been no issues switching back and forth between their word processor and Word. Even very long texts with a complicated ToC and an extensive Works Cited page have not been an issue. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; Linux

Top Pro

Has a free version

A free version, called SoftMaker FreeOffice, is available. FreeOffice is a stripped down version of SoftMaker Office, with less features, templates and interface polish, but it still is feature-packed and with the same excellent import and export filters that enable opening/saving Microsoft Office formats faithfully. See More

Top Con

The regular paid version is not free for students as it is for teachers

For students to use it, there needs to be a free student license for the regular (with . docx support) version. See More

GenuineGleti's Experience

nice easy user GUI can be used on android, windows and linux/GNU See More

Top Pro

Configurable User Interface

Includes the possibility to use Ribbons or classical Menus. See More

Top Con

Breaks icon themes

On Linux it breaks all icon themes by modifying them. See More

FerventPatecatl's Experience

I have purchased and used two different releases of SoftMaker Office. The office suite is fine for basic functionality and compatibility, but it does not include the macro language that Excel uses. The macro language is very important and is sorely missed once you discover its absence from the suite. For example, if you work with QuickBooks Pro and want to send a report to Excel, don't even bother trying. It simple doesn't work; it can't. When I addressed the issue with the support team at SoftMaker the omission was begrudgingly admitted with no indication that it would ever be added to the suite. See More

Top Pro

Multi-platform

Works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. See More

Top Con

It's not Microsoft Office and it never will be

Use SoftMaker Office only if you want basic MS Office-like features. Once you delve deeper into the software the omissions become glaringly obvious. See More

GloriousTriton's Experience

I have been using SoftMaker since my Wince days. What I like most about it is that I can use an android tablet, Linux box, and if I wanted to a windows pc and get my work done. the software is professional and I can tab my work, unlike LibreOffice which cannot. I can use templates from all the major office software. I tend to use Microsoft and libre office templates. See More

Top Pro

EPUB export included

You can create high-quality e-books in EPUB format easily. See More

CredibleSreng's Experience

This software is a piece of shit! See More

Top Pro

EU based company

Follows the the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU. See More

PrinceKael's Experience

Proprietary software using a freeware model that delivers an office suite that pales in comparison to various open-source alternatives. See More

Top Pro

Free technical support

If you face any issues, you can always use the technical support by developer SoftMaker, it's free. See More

Top Pro

Free for teachers

The regular paid version is free for teachers. See More

Top Pro

Low on dependencies

On Linux it avoids the common widget toolkits which makes it really lightweight compared to other office suites. See More

Top Pro

Documentation

Even the FreeOffice version includes a Handbook in PDF. See More

See All

Calligra

Top Con

Subpar compatibility

Microsoft office proprietary formats are not always accurately rendered See More

Top Pro

Free and open source

PrinceKael's Experience

Not terrible but subpar compared to LibreOffice. Requires way too many dependencies and lacking some features due to slow development. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; Linux

Top Con

Bloated

Very bloated as it requires way too many dependencies to install. This is especially prominent in non-KDE desktops which may require over 100 dependencies to install. See More

Top Pro

Huge list of efficient and capable office components

Calligra consists of 9 tools. In addition to word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, it includes tools for project management, sketching/painting, database management, vector graphics, diagramming and brainstorming. See More

Top Con

Slow development

Development is slower and less active than competition. See More

Top Pro

Made for KDE

Designed in Qt for KDE plasma (but will also work in other DEs), hence the appearance is consistent with it. See More

Top Pro

Calligra offers cutting edge applications for artists to work on 2D drawings and illustrations

Calligra includes Krita, a sketching and painting application, and Karbon, a vector drawing application. Both offer end-to-end solutions. Krita is also available as a standalone program. See More

Top Pro

Unified design language

See All

Abiword + Gnumeric + Dia (formerly GNOME Office)

Top Pro

Lightweight

Both AbiWord & Gnumeric are designed with low resource consumption in mind. As such they are great applications for older computers. See More

Top Con

AbiWord has a dated aesthetic

The interface hasn't had a facelift since it's inception in 1998. See More

Top Pro

Multilingual

Over 30 languages are supported. See More

Top Con

Default format is only readable with Gnumeric

Gnumeric is able to read/write a lot of file formats including ODS, XLS, XLSX, but it's default .gnumeric format is only readable with Gnumeric. See More

Top Pro

Free and open-source

Top Con

Almost Abandoned

Very few updates and bug fixes. See More

Top Pro

Great import/export features

Top Pro

Collaborative editing

Abiword is able to edit online collaborative documents. See More

See All

Open365

Top Pro

OpenSource

Top Con

Too new / green to use

Work has just started on this. Needs development. Not a true replacement suite yet. See More

Zoho Docs

Top Pro

Allows for real-time collaboration

Multiple people can work on the same document at the same time. See More

Top Con

Proprietary Software

Zoho Docs is proprietary software. See More

Specs

Top Pro

No installation required

While Zoho Docs offers native applications for desktop and mobile, you can choose to use the webapp which doesn't require you to download anything and can be accessed from anywhere where there's an Internet connection and a modern web browser. See More

Top Con

Can get expensive quickly

Zoho Docs has 2 paid plans - $5/user/month and $8/user/month that add additional functionality and increase the storage limit. Compared to standalone purchases, the subscription fees can quickly rack up, especially since they are on a per user basis. See More

Top Pro

Comprehensive, business-oriented suite of applications

Zoho contains both free and paid versions of tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, customer relationship management, project management, invoicing. See More

Top Pro

Zoho Office Suite has matured

Zoho Office Suite has evolved a lot over 12 years of its existence and has become a strong player. See More

Top Pro

Reasonable MS Office compatibility

Top Pro

Page numbers in table of contents

See All

Apache OpenOffice

Top Pro

Free and open source

Licensed under Apache License. See More

Top Con

No copyleft

It's good for developers but bad for openoffice for example: libreoffice relicensed it under GPL now libreoffice can integrate all changes made to openoffice but openoffice is unable to integrate improvements from libreoffice. See More

rado84's Experience

When I used to use Windows, Microsoft's Office was my favorite. In Linux, OpenOffice makes me feel like I'm still using MS Office, only with cooler fonts. :) See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; Linux; Android; WP

Top Pro

Comprehensive suite of applications

Apache OpenOffice includes applications for word-processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and database management. See More

Top Con

Dead project

The project looks dead. They can't close even serious security vulnerabilities. You might want to use Libreoffice instead. See More

IntelligentAnat's Experience

IMO OpenOffice is stable, smaller and better looking than Libreoffice. Even without the features that Libre has, Apache OpenOffice still offers a multitude of features. I also like its help component which is available offline, user guides in pdf files can be also found online. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

OpenOffice is available on Windows, Mac OS, and *nix systems. See More

Top Con

Documentation is lacking

OpenOffice documentation is incomplete and language is highly technical. See More

IndependentSopdu's Experience

the project looks dead. they cant close even serious security vulnerables. You'd better use Libreoffice instead. See More

Top Pro

Multilingual

OpenOffice is available in 170+ languages. See More

Top Pro

Full compatibility with Microsoft

Fully compatible with Microsoft formats - from the oldest to the latest. See More

Top Pro

No CopyLeft

Unlike LibreOffice, its Grandfather OpenOffice is real open software for anyome. See More

See All

Office 365

Top Con

Proprietary

Uses proprietary software. See More

Top Pro

Allows for real-time collaboration

Multiple people can work on the same document at the same time. See More

Specs

Platforms:Webapp; iOS; Android

Top Con

Dependant on having an Internet connection

Top Pro

Easy to transition from MS Office

Office 365 is laid out the same way with a similar ribbon interface that will be instantly comfortable to long-time Microsoft Office users. See More

Top Con

Has only a fraction of Microsoft Office functionality

Office 365 is not a complete replacement for Microsoft Office. The most advanced functionality still can only be found on the desktop. See More

Top Pro

Excellent integration and compatibility with MS Office desktop applications

Top Con

Expensive

$35/user/mo. See More

Top Pro

No installation required

Top Con

Cloud dependent

Does not edit local files, they have to be synced first. See More

See All

LibreOffice Writer

iCloud

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