LibreOffice vs ONLYOFFICE

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

LibreOffice

Free, open-source desktop office suite with a word processor, spreadsheet and slides.

Open source

Visit LibreOffice LibreOffice profile

ONLYOFFICE

Open-source office suite with Office-like editors on desktop, web and your own server.

Open sourceSelf-hostable

Visit ONLYOFFICE ONLYOFFICE profile

The short answer

LibreOffice is a completely free, offline desktop suite with six apps that uses the open ODF format and suits individuals and organisations leaving Microsoft Office. ONLYOFFICE uses .docx, .xlsx and .pptx natively for closer Office compatibility, and adds a self-hostable server for real-time co-editing inside Nextcloud and similar tools. The biggest difference is standalone desktop suite versus Office-like editors built for collaboration.

LibreOffice or ONLYOFFICE: our take

LibreOffice, developed by The Document Foundation and a large community under the MPL 2.0 licence, includes Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math, installed locally on Windows, macOS or Linux. It needs no account and includes no forced AI features. Its native format is ODF, and it opens and saves Office files, though complex .docx and .pptx files can show layout differences. The interface feels older than Microsoft 365's, and there is no built-in real-time co-editing; the related Collabora Online project covers that.

ONLYOFFICE's editors look and behave much like Microsoft Office and treat Office formats as native, which gives it very close compatibility. It comes as free Desktop Editors for Windows, macOS and Linux, mobile apps, ONLYOFFICE Docs, a server that plugs into Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile and SharePoint for real-time co-editing, and DocSpace, a hosted collaboration space. The core of Docs is AGPLv3; paid Enterprise editions add scale and features. DocSpace has a free Startup plan for up to 3 admins and a Business plan at $20 per admin a month. The free community server limits simultaneous connections, and the mix of editions can be confusing.

LibreOffice has the broader toolset, including a database and drawing app, and costs nothing at any scale. ONLYOFFICE has the more familiar interface and the cleaner path to browser-based collaboration on servers an organisation controls.

Choose LibreOffice for offline personal or office use, open formats and zero licensing cost. Choose ONLYOFFICE when files go back and forth with Microsoft Office users, or when a team needs self-hosted, real-time document editing alongside its file sharing platform.

Choose LibreOffice if…

People and organisations who want a full free office suite on their own computers
Completely free with six apps, including a database and drawing tool
Runs offline on Windows, macOS and Linux with no account

Choose ONLYOFFICE if…

Teams wanting self-hosted, Office-compatible editing inside Nextcloud or similar
You need to host it on your own servers
You need Web, iOS, Android and Self-hosted, which LibreOffice doesn't list
Very close .docx/.xlsx/.pptx compatibility
Free desktop editors on Windows, macOS and Linux

What is LibreOffice?

LibreOffice is the best-known free office suite. It includes Writer for documents, Calc for spreadsheets, Impress for presentations, Draw for diagrams, Base for databases and Math for formulas, all installed locally on Windows, macOS or Linux. Its native format is the open ODF standard, and it opens and saves Microsoft Office files, which makes it a common choice for governments, schools and anyone who wants to stop paying for Office. It is developed by The Document Foundation and a large volunteer and corporate community, has no accounts, no telemetry-driven upsells and no forced AI features, and it is released under the Mozilla Public License. The trade-offs are an interface that feels dated next to Microsoft 365, occasional formatting differences with complex .docx and .pptx files, and no built-in real-time collaboration; for online co-editing, the Collabora Online project builds on the same code. It is completely free, funded by donations.

What is ONLYOFFICE?

ONLYOFFICE makes document, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF editors that look and behave a lot like Microsoft Office and use .docx, .xlsx and .pptx as their native formats, which gives it better Office compatibility than most alternatives. It comes in several forms: free Desktop Editors for Windows, macOS and Linux; mobile apps; ONLYOFFICE Docs, a server you can self-host and plug into Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile, SharePoint and other platforms for real-time co-editing; and DocSpace, a hosted collaboration space with rooms. The core of Docs is open source under AGPLv3, with paid Enterprise and Developer editions adding scale, support and extra features. AI assistants can be connected through plugins with the provider of your choice. Pricing for the cloud DocSpace is per admin rather than per user, with a free starter tier. Weak points: the free community server has connection limits, and the mix of product names and editions can be confusing.

Side by side

Attribute	LibreOffice	ONLYOFFICE
Pricing	Open source	Open source
Open source	Yes	Yes
Self-hostable	No	Yes
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted
Best for	People and organisations who want a full free office suite on their own computers	Teams wanting self-hosted, Office-compatible editing inside Nextcloud or similar
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	LibreOffice	ONLYOFFICE
License	MPL 2.0	AGPLv3 (core of Docs)