Microsoft Office vs LibreOffice: which one should you choose?

There was a time when the question didn't even come up: you bought a Microsoft Office key at the supermarket, installed it once, and you were set for ten years. Today, the situation is very different. Microsoft has switched to a subscription model, the free alternatives have become serious, and many people find themselves paying every year for software they once owned for life.

So: should you keep paying Microsoft? Switch to LibreOffice? Try OnlyOffice? The answer really depends on what you do, and this guide will help you see things clearly.

Why the question matters now#

For years, Microsoft Office came in a box. Office 2010, Office 2013, Office 2016, you paid once (~€150–200) and kept the software as long as you liked. No strings attached.

In 2017, Microsoft progressively pushed towards Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), its subscription offer. The model stuck. Today, when you buy a new PC, you often get a pre-installed Microsoft 365 trial, which expires after a month and asks you to pay.

The result: many users end up either paying ~€69/year without really choosing it consciously, or looking for an alternative. Both options can be justified, it all depends on what you do with your office suite.

Microsoft 365: what it actually includes#

Microsoft 365 Personal costs around €69 a year (just under €6/month). For that price, you get:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote : the full versions, installed locally
• 1 TB of OneDrive storage (Microsoft cloud storage)
• Regular app updates, including new features
• Built-in Copilot AI features (since 2024)
• Use on up to 5 devices simultaneously (PC, Mac, tablet, phone)

Microsoft 365 Family costs ~€99/year and can be shared between 6 people (each with their own 1 TB storage). If you have a family or can share with relatives, it works out to ~€16/year per person, hard to beat.

The 5-year calculation#

Let's look at the cost over time, honestly:

• Microsoft 365 Personal: €69 × 5 = €345 over 5 years
• Office 2021 Home & Student (one-time purchase): ~€150 once : but no feature updates, and not compatible with certain Microsoft cloud services. Word, Excel, PowerPoint only (no Outlook).
• LibreOffice: €0 forever

Over 5 years, paying €345 for a word-processing program you could have for free is a real question worth asking. The answer depends entirely on how you use it.

LibreOffice: free, solid : but not for everyone#

LibreOffice is a 100% free and open source office suite, developed by an independent foundation. It's been around since 2011 (a fork of OpenOffice.org) and is used by millions of people worldwide, particularly across many European public administrations.

It includes:

• Writer → equivalent of Word
• Calc → equivalent of Excel
• Impress → equivalent of PowerPoint
• Base → databases (equivalent of Access)
• Draw → vector drawings

Who LibreOffice is perfect for:

A user who mainly creates and reads their own documents, letters, simple tables, presentations without complex formatting, has no objective reason to pay for Microsoft 365. LibreOffice will do exactly the same job, without spending a penny.

LibreOffice's real limits:

Compatibility with Microsoft formats (.docx.xlsx.pptx) works well for simple documents. But as soon as documents get complex, the issues appear:

• Word tables with elaborate formatting: possible shifts when opened
• Excel macros (VBA): not compatible, LibreOffice has its own macro language (Basic), but Excel VBA macros generally don't work as-is
• PowerPoint presentations with advanced animations and transitions: sometimes rendered poorly

If you regularly exchange documents with colleagues using Microsoft Office, work on Excel files with macros, or receive Word contracts with dynamic forms, LibreOffice can lead to disappointments.

OnlyOffice: the best Microsoft compatibility without paying#

OnlyOffice is the solution I recommend most often as a free alternative to Microsoft Office. Less well known than LibreOffice, it's often more relevant for users who frequently exchange files with Microsoft Office users.

Why OnlyOffice is different from LibreOffice:

OnlyOffice was designed from the start to be natively compatible with Microsoft formats. Where LibreOffice translates .docx/.xlsx formats into its own internal format, OnlyOffice works directly in the native Microsoft format. The result: formatting is better preserved, documents open more faithfully.

Worth knowing:

• Free for personal use in Desktop version (downloadable from onlyoffice.com)
• Interface very close to Microsoft Office, quick to pick up for anyone used to Word/Excel
• Available on Windows, Mac and Linux
• A collaborative cloud version exists (paid for teams)

It's my number one choice to install on the PCs of clients who want to stop paying for Microsoft 365 without any noticeable loss of comfort.

Google Docs / Google Workspace: for cloud-first use#

Google offers its online suite for free: Docs (word processing), Sheets (spreadsheets), Slides (presentations). Accessible from any browser, no installation needed.

Strengths:

• Real-time collaboration with multiple people (ideal for shared documents)
• Complete version history, you can go back to any previous state
• Free with a Google account, with 15 GB of Drive storage
• Works on any device with a browser

Limits:

• Requires an internet connection to work (limited offline mode)
• Advanced Excel features not available in Sheets
• Slightly different formatting when exporting to .docx

Google Workspace Business (paid version for businesses, with custom email and more storage) starts at €6/month per user, comparable with Microsoft 365 Business.

Full comparison#

Microsoft 365 vs Office 2021 vs LibreOffice: the decisive comparison#

To choose between the three main options, here's how they line up side by side.

How to test LibreOffice without uninstalling Office#

This is the question everyone should ask themselves before paying for a Microsoft 365 subscription. Here's how to test safely.

1. 1
   Download LibreOffice from libreoffice.org (free, no sign-up). Choose the 'Still' version (stable) rather than 'Fresh' (latest features, less stable). The installation doesn't touch Microsoft Office, the two coexist.
2. 2
   During installation, untick the option 'Associate Office files with LibreOffice' if it appears, your .docx files will still open in Word by default during the test.
3. 3
   Open your 5 to 10 most important documents in LibreOffice: your letter templates, your complex Excel spreadsheets, your presentations. Check that formatting is correct. This is the test that really matters.
4. 4
   Use LibreOffice Writer alongside for a week for your new work. Work normally: letters, reports, simple spreadsheets. Assess how comfortable it feels.
5. 5
   At the end of the week, decide: if everything went well and your usual documents display correctly, you have no reason to renew your Microsoft 365 subscription. If you ran into compatibility issues on important files, OnlyOffice (also free) is the next alternative to try.

Recommendations by profile#

You're a student#

If your institution offers Microsoft 365 Education for free, take it without hesitation. Otherwise, OnlyOffice or LibreOffice will cover your needs amply. Writing dissertations, building tables and creating course presentations don't require the premium features of Microsoft 365.

If you need to hand in .docx or .pptx files that will be opened and annotated in Microsoft Office by your teachers, OnlyOffice will give better results than LibreOffice for formatting fidelity.

You're retired or use a PC casually#

LibreOffice or OnlyOffice are the obvious choices. If you write letters, keep simple tables, look at family photos on your PC, you have no reason to pay €69/year to Microsoft. OnlyOffice is easier to pick up if you're coming from Word; LibreOffice is more comprehensive but takes a bit more adapting.

You're a remote worker or self-employed#

This is where the question really matters. If your clients send you complex Word contracts, Excel files with macros, or if you use Outlook connected to a professional Exchange server, Microsoft 365 is probably the right choice. Perfect compatibility with the Microsoft ecosystem avoids friction, and at €69/year, the cost is reasonable in a professional context.

If instead you mainly work on your own documents and export to PDF to share them, OnlyOffice may be enough.

You run a small business or charity#

Seriously consider Microsoft 365 Family (shareable up to 6) or Microsoft 365 Business Basic (~€6/month/user). The Teams integration, professional Outlook email and SharePoint storage have real value in a team context. But if your team doesn't need heavy real-time collaboration, OnlyOffice Desktop remains an option worth exploring.

What I can do for you#

Whether you want to migrate from Microsoft 365 to a free solution, or on the contrary install and configure Microsoft 365 properly on a new PC, I can come to you or work at the workshop in Poitiers.

That includes: installation of the chosen software, import of your existing documents, configuration of email accounts in Outlook or Thunderbird, and a few minutes of explanation so you're comfortable with the new interface.

In summary#

There's no wrong choice here, there's the choice suited to your situation. If you're undecided, here's the guideline:

• You often exchange files with Microsoft Office users and have complex documents → Microsoft 365
• You want something free with the best possible Microsoft compatibility → OnlyOffice
• You mainly create your own documents with no exchange constraints → LibreOffice
• You mostly work from a browser and value collaboration → Google Docs

In every case, install the software, test it with your usual documents for a week, then decide. That's the only test that really counts.

Frequently asked questions#

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