Best Free Microsoft Office Alternatives in 2026

You don't need to pay for Microsoft 365 to write documents, build spreadsheets or make presentations. Several free office suites open Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and some of them run on Linux, work offline or let your whole team edit together.

I compared 8 free office suites on Microsoft Office compatibility, platforms, collaboration, AI features and what the paid upgrade costs, using each vendor's official pages. My top pick is ONLYOFFICE, which uses Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats as its own. Prices and features were checked in November 2026.

Quick comparison

How I chose

I looked for office suites that are free to use (not just a free trial), can open and save Microsoft Office files, and are actively maintained in 2026. For each one I checked the official website for platforms, file formats, collaboration, AI features, licence terms and upgrade prices. I haven't tested every suite hands-on for this list, so where a claim comes from the vendor I say so. See how I review.

Who this list is for: students, freelancers, small businesses and anyone who needs Word, Excel and PowerPoint files without a Microsoft 365 subscription. If your company runs on Outlook and Teams, or you exchange complex Excel models with clients every day, Microsoft 365 is still the safest choice.

1. ONLYOFFICE: best overall

ONLYOFFICE is the closest free match to Microsoft Office because Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats are its own formats, not something it converts to. ONLYOFFICE says you can work with DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files "without worrying about broken layouts or missing elements", and it also opens ODT, ODS, ODP and CSV.

The desktop editors include a word processor, spreadsheets, presentations and a PDF editor that can fill and create forms. For teams, the DocSpace cloud adds shared rooms and real-time co-editing. Its free Startup plan allows up to 3 admins, unlimited users and guests, 12 rooms and 2 GB of storage. The Business plan costs $20 per admin per month, and only admins pay: ONLYOFFICE's own example is 3 admins for $60 a month with 40 users and guests free.

There's also an optional AI layer (ONLYOFFICE AI Tools) that works with the AI provider you choose. I compared it with Microsoft's suite in detail in ONLYOFFICE vs Microsoft 365.

2. LibreOffice: best fully free and open-source suite

LibreOffice is the most complete free suite on this list. Besides a word processor (Writer), spreadsheets (Calc) and presentations (Impress), it includes Draw for diagrams, Base for databases (tables, forms, queries and reports) and Math for formulas. It's free with no strings, and its website describes it as a "free and private office suite, no forced AI".

LibreOffice 26.8 added Markdown import and export. Its native format is OpenDocument (ODT, ODS, ODP), and it opens and saves Microsoft Office files.

Choose LibreOffice if you work alone, want everything offline and like open source. Choose ONLYOFFICE instead if you mostly exchange DOCX and XLSX files with Microsoft Office users.

3. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides: best for online collaboration

Anyone with a Google account can use Docs, Sheets and Slides for free. Every account includes 15 GB of storage, shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Google says you can "directly edit Word documents, without having to make a copy", and Docs works offline.

For businesses, Google Workspace starts at $7 per user per month for Business Starter (30 GB per person) and $14 for Business Standard (2 TB per person), both with a one-year commitment. Gemini is included in Gmail on Starter, and in Docs and other apps on Standard.

4. Microsoft 365 for the web: the free official option

If you only need Office now and then, Microsoft's own free web apps are hard to beat for compatibility. With a free Microsoft account you get Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in the browser and on mobile, plus 5 GB of OneDrive storage. Files must be saved in and shared from OneDrive.

The full desktop apps need a subscription: Microsoft 365 Personal costs $99.99 a year (or $9.99 a month) with 1 TB of storage, and Family costs $129.99 a year for up to 6 people. If you'd rather pay once, Office Home 2024 costs $179.99 for one PC or Mac.

5. WPS Office: best for a familiar Office look

WPS Office is free to download and describes itself as "fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats". It covers documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs, and runs on every major platform, including Linux (.deb and .rpm).

The paid Pro+ plan adds more cloud storage and WPS AI tools such as an AI writer, summariser and "chat with PDF". WPS says Pro+ AI features have a daily usage limit.

6. SoftMaker FreeOffice: best for classic menus

FreeOffice 2024 from Germany's SoftMaker includes a word processor (TextMaker), spreadsheets (PlanMaker) and Presentations, which SoftMaker says are "seamlessly compatible" with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can choose ribbons or classic menus and toolbars, and there's a touch mode.

It's free "for business and personal use", but check the licence: it covers up to 3 computers in one household, or 1 computer in an organisation.

7. Zoho Writer, Sheet and Show: best free cloud suite with AI

Zoho's online office apps are a strong, lesser-known alternative to Google Docs. Zoho Writer is free with all features and opens and saves DOCX and many other formats. Zoho Sheet imports Excel files, and Zoho Show imports PPTX and is "completely free with no ads".

Each app has Zia, Zoho's AI assistant, for writing and rephrasing, building charts and pivot tables, or designing slides. If you want business email too, Zoho Workplace Standard costs $4 per user per month, or $3 billed yearly.

8. Apple Pages, Numbers and Keynote: best for Apple users

Apple's Pages, Numbers and Keynote are free on Mac, iPad and iPhone and are great for good-looking documents and presentations. They import Microsoft Office files, but Apple's own compatibility pages list features that don't carry over, such as macros in Word files and data validation in Excel files.

Apple's new Creator Studio subscription ($12.99 a month or $129 a year) adds AI features and premium content to these apps. The apps themselves stay free.

Which free Office alternative should you choose?

Also worth knowing: Euro-Office, a new Microsoft-compatible suite backed by European companies such as IONOS and Nextcloud, released its first stable version in June 2026. It's mostly used through providers like Nextcloud. See the best European alternatives to Google and Microsoft.

FAQ

What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Office?

For most people, ONLYOFFICE: its desktop editors are free on Windows, macOS and Linux and use DOCX, XLSX and PPTX as native formats. If you prefer a fully open-source suite with no account, choose LibreOffice.

Is there a free version of Microsoft Office?

Yes. Microsoft 365 for the web gives you Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in the browser for free with a Microsoft account and 5 GB of OneDrive storage. The desktop apps need a paid plan, such as Microsoft 365 Personal at $99.99 a year.

Can LibreOffice open Word and Excel files?

Yes. LibreOffice opens and saves Microsoft Office files, although its native format is OpenDocument (ODT, ODS, ODP). Complex Word and Excel files may look slightly different, so check important documents before sending them.

Which free office suite works on Linux?

ONLYOFFICE, LibreOffice, WPS Office and FreeOffice all have Linux desktop apps. Zoho Writer also has a Linux desktop app, and Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for the web work in any browser.

Is Google Docs really free?

Yes, for personal use with a Google account, including 15 GB of storage shared with Gmail and Google Photos. Businesses can pay for Google Workspace, from $7 per user per month for Business Starter.

Related reading

• ONLYOFFICE vs Microsoft 365
• Best European alternatives to Google and Microsoft

Sources

• ONLYOFFICE pricing and Desktop Editors (ONLYOFFICE)
• LibreOffice and downloads (The Document Foundation)
• Google Docs, Google Workspace pricing and Google One plans (Google)
• Free Microsoft 365 for the web and Microsoft 365 plans (Microsoft)
• WPS Office and WPS pricing (Kingsoft)
• FreeOffice and FreeOffice features (SoftMaker)
• Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show and Workplace pricing (Zoho)
• Apple iWork, Apple Creator Studio and the Pages, Numbers and Keynote compatibility pages (Apple)