Here we review and compare the most popular Free Office Software to help you select the best Office Suite as per your requirement:
Office software plays an important role in all types of professional settings. The average office suite consists of a Word processor, spreadsheets program, and presentation program. Each of these tools allows you to input, edit, and present information differently.
When choosing an office suite, it is vital to compare them based on their user-friendliness and features. There is numerous FREE office software to choose from.
We have compiled this list of the best free office suites to make the selection process easier for you.
Office Software Review
Fact Check: The The majority of businesses around the globe use Google and Microsoft’s Office Suite products. Google recently beat out Microsoft to become the leader in the free Office Suite market.
The below image depicts the market share of major office productivity software:
Pro-Tip: Choose a free Office Suite based on the tool you will use most frequently. So if you intend to use spreadsheets the most, pick a suite that offers a good spreadsheet tool.
FAQs About Office Software
Q #1) What are the different types of Office software?
Answer: An Office Suite can consist of several tools such as a Word processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, email client, and calendar. Most office suites feature the first three tools.
Q #2) Is there any free office software?
Answer: There is numerous free office software available. Google Docs is one of the most popular free options for small and medium-sized businesses.
Q #3) What software is used in offices?
Answer: Word processors are the most commonly used tools in an office. This is followed by spreadsheets and presentation tools. Each of these tools is versatile and is considered invaluable for businesses in most industries.
Q #4) Are free office software any good?
Answer: Most free office software offer capabilities similar to their paid counterparts. Businesses can get away with using free versions for much of their day-to-day operations.
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List of the Top Free Office Software
Here is a list of popular and free Office Suite:
Smartsheet Google Docs Apache OpenOffice Microsoft 365 Microsoft Office Online Apple iWork Mobisystems OfficeSuite Professional LibreOffice WPF Office Softmaker FreeOffice Polaris Office SSuite Office Feng Office Quip Dropbox Paper
Comparison Table of Best Free Office Suite
Software/Tool Name Supported Platforms/Operating Systems Best For Price Rating Smartsheet Web platform, Android, and iOS. Small to medium-sized businesses seeking a powerful spreadsheet tool. $14/month. Also available for a 30-day free trial. Google Docs Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari Small to large sized businesses seeking online collaborative tools. FREE Apache OpenOffice Windows (XP, 2003, Vista, 7, 8, and 10)
GNU/Linux, mac OS X Any user that would like MS Office desktop functionality for creating documents. FREE Microsoft 365 Windows (8.1, 10), macOS Small to medium sized businesses seeking a versatile office suite. FREE Microsoft Office Online Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safar Small businesses seeking basic office tools accessed through a web browser. FREE Apple iWork Mac OS X and iOS Small to medium sized businesses seeking to create attractive documents and presentations. FREE Mobisystems OfficeSuite Professional Windows 7 or later, Android 4,4 or later, iOS 13 or later, iPadOS 13.0 or later Small to medium sized businesses that require office apps for mobile devices. $9.99. Also available with FREE 7-day trial
Let us review the best free Office Suite below:
#1) Smartsheet
Smartsheet – Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a powerful spreadsheet tool.
Smartsheet is an online app that resembles a spreadsheet program. It offers powerful collaborative features and can be customized to function as a project management platform. The program is available on a subscription basis for $14/month. However, users can try out the program for free for 30 days.
Features:
Powerful spreadsheets tool
Workflow automation
Content collaboration tools
Mobile app integration
Custom email domains
Price: $14/month. Also available for a 30-day free trial.
Verdict: Smartsheet offers a wide range of collaboration functions. Its customization options also make it incredibly versatile. However, it might not be a good fit for someone seeking a straightforward office suite.
#2) Google Docs
Best for small to large businesses seeking online office tools.
Google Docs is the most popular FREE online office suite. It requires no download, as we can access each of the programs through the web browser. This includes Docs for word processing, Sheets for spreadsheets, Slides for presentations, and Forms for surveys. It offers a wide variety of capabilities, including collaborative tools.
Features:
Word processor with most of the features found in MS Word.
Versatile spreadsheets tool.
Great presentation tools.
Numerous sharing and collaboration options.
Price: Free
Verdict: Google Docs is the most popular free online office suite for a reason. It offers great capabilities and collaboration options that many of its competitors are still struggling to catch up with.
Website: Google Docs
#3) Apache OpenOffice
Best for small to large-sized businesses seeking to create high-quality documents.
Apache’s OpenOffice offers a wonderful set of tools for businesses of any size. Users can create mathematical equations, produce high-quality documents, multimedia presentations, and even 3D illustrations using the included tools. It includes most of the features that are standard with Microsoft Office but is available for download free.
Features:
Document creation
Presentation tools
Data import/export
Database management
Price: Free
Verdict: OpenOffice is the best desktop-based free MS Word alternative. Its open-source design offers extra options for users, but some may be turned away by its slightly dated design.
Website: Apache OpenOffice
#4) Microsoft 365 FREE
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a versatile suite of office tools.
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Microsoft recently made some apps in their Office 365 suite available for FREE. This suite includes MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams. This software comes as desktop apps as well as cloud-based apps.
The suite includes collaboration features associated with web-based office software, but with the functionality set of desktop apps.
Features:
Word processing
Spreadsheets
Presentations
Drawing support
Shapes, Smart Art, and Charts
Cloud storage
Collaboration tools
Price: Free
Verdict: Microsoft 365 FREE offers more features than Office online, and with the familiar intuitive interface most of us love.
Website: Microsoft 365 FREE
#5) Microsoft Office Online
Best for small-sized businesses seeking browser-accessible online office tools.
Microsoft Office Online works as a great free alternative for the paid version of Microsoft Office. Users can edit and share the files they have created in its word processor, spreadsheets tools, presentation program. It also includes MS Outlook for email and OneNote for digital notes. All this is accessible through your web browser, so users do not have to download anything.
Features:
Word processor
Spreadsheets tool
Presentation program
Accessible through browser
Automatic spell-checker
Opens all the file types associated with MS Office
Price: Free
Verdict: Microsoft Office Online packs a lot of features found on its desktop counterparts. However, it lacks some of the features, such as drawing support associated with the non-web version.
Website: Microsoft Office Online
#6) Apple iWork
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to create impressive documents and presentations.
iWork is Apple’s free office suite for its iOS devices. Users can create great-looking text documents, detailed spreadsheets, and spectacular presentations using the programs it contains. This suite is available as a downloadable app, and can also be accessed as a web app. It features a minimalist interface but packs a rich set of features.
Features:
Pages: Word processor
Numbers: Spreadsheets
Keynotes: Presentation creator
Collaboration options
Apple pencil integration
Price: Free
Verdict: iWork offers an impressive set of tools for users with Apple devices. Each one is intuitive and offers a speedy workflow.
Website: Apple iWork
#7) Mobisystems OfficeSuite Professional
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to use office tools on mobile devices.
Mobisystems’ OfficeSuite Professional offers a respectable set of tools for those seeking Microsoft Office-like functionality. It is available for mobile devices, which makes it great for users that wish to utilize office tools on the go.
Each app is responsive and offers a great user experience. OfficeSuite also includes a PDF editor which lets users edit and sign documents through their touch-screen device.
Features:
Document creation and editing
Spreadsheets creation and editing
Presentation creation and editing
Document password protection
Electronic signature support
Price: $9.99. Also available for a 7-day free trial.
Verdict: Mobisystems’ OfficeSuite offers many great tools for users on the go. Its $9.99 price tag may make it unsuitable for users seeking a free office suite.
Website: Mobisystems OfficeSuite Professional
#8) Libre Office
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a versatile open-source office suite.
LibreOffice is one of the most famous open-source office suites out there. Its open-source design makes it popular with financial firms and businesses in other industries where privacy is a major concern. It includes a word-processor, a spreadsheets editor, a presentation app, a vector-drawing program, a database program, and a math-formula editor.
Features:
Writer: Straightforward word processor with many features.
Calc: Spreadsheets program that rivals Microsoft Excel.
Impress: Presentation program for slideshows.
Draw: Integrated graphic editing program
Base: Database program integrated with other LibreOffice applications.
Math: Formula editor that can be integrated with other LibreOffice applications.
Charts: Tool for creating and editing charts and graphs
Price: Free
Verdict: One of the best FREE options out there. The wide array of tools are well-integrated and offer rich capabilities for anyone seeking an ease-to-use open-source office suite.
Website: Libre Office
#9) WPS Office
Best for small and medium-sized businesses seeking an office suite with multitasking capabilities.
WPS Office is a small but efficient office suite that offers three powerful tools: Writer, Spreadsheets, and Presentation. Its features are comparable to MS Office in many respects. Users can improve their workflow with its handy multi-tab interface and pdf editing capabilities.
Features:
Word processor
Spreadsheets program
Presentation program
Built-in charts tool
Collaboration tools
View multiple documents at once
Price: Free
Verdict: WPS Office is a perfect choice for small and medium-sized businesses that require a lightweight office suite with collaboration tools. However, its spreadsheets tool offers limited capabilities compared to competitors like MS Excel.
Website: WPS Office
#10) Softmaker FreeOffice
Best for small and medium-sized businesses seeking a simple office suite.
A basic office suite that is a useful free alternative to Microsoft Office. It contains core office tools such as a word processor, spreadsheets, and presentation maker. Users can also select-install some of the additional programs such as TextMaker as needed.
Features:
TextMaker: Word processor
PlanMaker: Spreadsheets application
SoftMaker Presentations: Presentations application compatible with MS Powerpoint.
Notes management
Price: Free
Verdict: A reliable and speedy suite that rivals Microsoft Office in many respects. However, it lacks collaboration features and web apps found on other office software.
Website: Softmaker FreeOffice
#11) Polaris Office
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to create documents on the go.
Polaris’ Office is a unique document management solution for users that wish to search, save, and edit files from various formats. This includes DOC, TXT, and PDF formats.
This software’s stand-out feature is artificial intelligence, which helps users access more efficient workflow menus. This software also comes with apps for mobile devices, making it an excellent choice for users that wish to access and edit documents on the go.
Features:
Word processor
Spreadsheets program
Presentation program
PDF viewer and editor
ODF document viewing and editing
Files-sharing via external cloud service
Price: Free
Verdict: Polaris Office offers a sleek set of tools for accessing and editing documents on the go. However, some users have complained about formatting issues when editing files on different devices.
Website: Polaris Office
#12) SSuite Office
Best for small to medium-sized businesses that wish to use online office tools along with downloadable apps.
SSuite Office offers numerous tools and programs for creating and editing content. These programs are downloadable, but many of them are also accessible via a web browser. The range of apps is also incredibly lightweight and is compatible with several devices.
Features:
Word processing
Presentations
Spreadsheets
Text chat
PDF editing
Collaboration tools
Price: Free
Verdict: SSuite Office offers several lightweight apps that can also be accessed via a browser. However, it doesn’t support open-source document formats such as docx and xlsx.
Website: SSuite Office
#13) Feng Office
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking online collaboration tools.
Feng is an open-source suite of programs to help small and medium-sized businesses conduct their day-to-day operations, plan projects, and connect with customers. This web-based collaboration software also includes email integration and time tracking.
Features:
Overview dashboard
Activity feed
Calendar
Workspace management
Search & filters
Price: Free for the Community Edition
Verdict: Feng Office offers a multitude of collaboration features for planning and completing projects. However, it is less suited as a stand-alone office software.
Website: Feng Office
#14) Quip
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking document creation tools with a host of collaborative features.
Quip is a unique cloud-based solution for project management and collaboration. Users can view, create, and edit documents, spreadsheets, and checklists with ease in this program. Quip also offers the ability to create chat rooms for real-time communication and file transfer between collaborators.
Features:
Document creation tools
Spreadsheet tools
Presenting tools
Collaborative editing
In-app messaging
Price: Free for Quip Personal
Verdict: Quip offers an interesting solution for users that wish to collaborate in real-time. Some users have reported formatting issues when exporting files.
Website: Quip
#15) Dropbox Paper
Best for small to medium-sized businesses seeking collaborative tools and LaTeX support.
Dropbox Paper is a web-based program that offers users the chance to collaborate and organize when working. Its primary interface resembles a large sheet of paper. Users can add different types of content to this page depending on their exact needs. It offers tools for creators, collaborators, and presenters. The program can also be integrated with DropBox, Google Drive, and Framer.
Features:
Document creation with external program integration
Seamless switching from editing to presentation mode
LaTeX support
Code box functionality
Trollo card integration
Works with Dropbox, Google Drive, and Framer
Collaborative tools
Price: Free
Verdict: Dropbox Paper offers a unique concept for users seeking a free office suite. However, its functionality is limited compared to other solutions, especially regarding presentations.
Website: Dropbox Paper
Conclusion
There is no shortage of great free office suite options out there. Google Docs still reigns supreme because of its in-browser functionality and ease of collaboration. Apache’s Open Office is the best free option for users that are seeking desktop functionality similar to Microsoft Office.
Mobisystem’s OfficeSuite is also a brilliant choice for users that wish to use office tools on their mobile devices.
Research Process:
Time taken to research this article: It took us approximately 10 hours to search through the various free office suite program options out there. This review compiled some of the most popular ones along with some that offer specialized functions.
Total tools researched: 30
Top tools shortlisted: 15
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