libreoffice vs openoffice vs free office

The important thing to remember is that, although LibreOffice's support is excellent, it's all dependent on volunteers donating their time and expertise. You'll find a wealth of information in the LibreOffice Wiki (opens in new tab), Ask.LibreOffice (opens in new tab) provides a ticketing system (opens in new tab) where you can submit queries (and read answers to other users' questions), and there's an IRC channel (opens in new tab) for live chat. If you choose LibreOffice, you'll be relying on the goodwill of Community Assistance (opens in new tab) – but there's a lot of it. Microsoft has published a set of guides (opens in new tab) for helping you carry out common tasks using Microsoft Office as well, which can be enormously helpful.

If the automated systems don't provide the answers you need, there's phone and live chat supporrt with real Microsoft technicians. Microsoft provides a help app that can lend a hand with common problems, and there's an online chatbot (opens in new tab) that can provide solutions too. If you choose Microsoft Office, one of the things you're paying for is the customer support. This is partly due to Microsoft's use of its own fonts, and partly due to difference in the way data is interpreted and rendered on-screen.įor most purposes this won't be a problem, but if you frequently share files with people who use either LibreOffice or Microsoft Office, you might find it more convenient to stick with the same office suite as them to ensure you're all on the same page. However, it's worth bearing in mind that documents won't always look exactly the same in LibreOffice as they do in Microsoft Office programs. it also supports a wider range of non-Microsoft file formats than Office 365. Its tools can import and export all the most common file formats, including Microsoft DOCX, PPTX and XLSX. Of all the free office suites available, LibreOffice offers the best file compatibility around. PC users get Publisher and Access as well, though Mac fans will miss out.

LibreOffice includes Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Base (databases), Math (editing formulas) and Draw (vector graphics).Ī Microsoft Office 365 personal subscription includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive (with 1TB storage) and Outlook. One of the key considerations when you're choosing between Microsoft Office and LibreOffice is the programs on offer. At Microsoft US (opens in new tab) Programs

Libreoffice vs openoffice vs free office