Microsoft 365 Office, now rebranded as Microsoft 365Copilot, is one of the world’s most popular productivity suites and includes apps like Word and Excel that set the standard for working on documents and spreadsheets. However, it’s not the only available productivity suite.Officealternativeslike LibreOffice offer some advantages that make them worthwhile if you want to try something different on yourlaptopor tablet.
A non-profit organization called The Document Foundation makes LibreOffice free for anyone to share, study, and use without restrictions. Its open-source nature ensures security because users can view the source code and report potential threats. The suite includes six apps: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math, and Base, to rival Microsoft’s equivalents.
I’ll examine some of its features to explain why it could be a better option than Microsoft 365 Copilot for your needs.
LibreOffice
I tried these 5 free apps to find the best Microsoft 365 alternative
Why pay for an Office 365 subscription when you’re able to use OnlyOffice, LibreOffice, and other apps that do the same thing for free?
1It’s free
No payment or subscription required
Once upon a time, you could buy Microsoft Office for a one-off fee and use it until you felt like upgrading. Now, you’re forced into a monthly subscription that ensures you always have the latest product, but the cost factor adds up when considering long-term use. The basic personal package starts at around $100 a year, and most users will stick to a handful of the apps and disregard the rest.
LibreOffice is free with no costs or subscriptions to worry about. All you need to do is download the suite, and you can enjoy the benefits of its utilities with no strings attached.
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2Microsoft compatibility
Compatible with most formats
Microsoft compatibility is one of LibreOffice’s main advantages. It allows you to send and receive files from people using 365 Copilot products without stressing about whether they’ll work. LibreOffice supports.xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, and .docx file formats, so it’s guaranteed to work with the most commonly used apps like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Besides Microsoft compatibility, LibreOffice also supports OpenOffice file formats like.odtor .ofd, which other freeware Office alternatives use. These formats can still be opened by Office apps and easily converted back to Microsoft equivalents if necessary.
I like that LibreOffice apps have large, New, Open, and Save icons reminiscent of older Office versions, which I thought were more user-friendly.
3User-friendly interface
No learning curve to worry about
Anyone who’s used Office products will feel right at home with LibreOffice because its apps have similar layouts and color schemes that are easy to get the hang of. Like Microsoft, LibreOffice lists its menu options like File, Edit, and View in the top left corner. The Align, Font color, and other icons are easily recognizable, so you can find them at a glance. I like that LibreOffice apps have large, New, Open, and Save icons reminiscent of older Office versions, which I thought were more user-friendly.
LibreOffice offers numerous customization options if you don’t like the standard layouts. The customize tool in the main menu lets you change the icons and button layouts of the menus, toolbars, and context menus. You can also use the Events tab to create custom macros for functions like opening and closing files or modifying views. If you’re unhappy with your changes, you can easily reset them to their default state anytime.
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4Low system requirements
Works on most systems
LibreOffice’s low system requirements should work on most systems and benefit anyone running older hardware. It works on Windows 7 SP1 and higher operating systems and needs a Pentium III with 512MB of RAM and 1.5GB of hard disk space to run.
Apple users need macOS 10.15 with either an Intel or Apple Silicon processor. They also need 512GB of RAM and around 800MB of space.
In contrast, Office 2024 requires more resources and works on modern systems. Its minimum requirements are Windows 10 with a 1.1GHz or higher CPU,4GB of RAM, and 4GB of storage space. Macs need the three most recent macOS versions with Intel or Apple Silicon Processors. Other required specs include 4GB of RAM and 10GB of space to run Office 2024.
You can’t compare the system requirements of the two apps, and LibreOffice has a considerable advantage when it comes to lightweight processing.
5It has a math app
Create formulas and fractions
The built-in Math app may seem like a niche feature most users won’t touch. However, it’s still handy for teachers, students, and other users who might need to create formulas, fractions, and other concepts for projects and assignments.
This feature doesn’t have a Microsoft equivalent, and the learning curve can be steep for new users.
I’m no mathematician, but I figured it out after watching several YouTube videos and was impressed with its abilities. Math provides all kinds of elements, like unary and binary operators, for creating equations and other sums. It also lets you add Greek, Arabic, and other special symbols you may need for your assignment. After creating your equations and formulas, you can import them into other LibreOffice apps to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
6It has a graphics app
Edit images and draw vectors
The Draw app in LibreOffice is a versatile graphics app for creating and editing images. It has a maximum page size of 300 by 300 centimeters and includes all the features you’d expect – like object and line tools and the ability to add various layers. There are also various shape tools to add polygons, squares, circles, and more. The grid tool adds an overlay to the interface for when you want to create charts or plans that require measurements.
Draw is ideal for image editing, and the handy tools make it easy to crop, resize, or add effects to your project. You can also doodle or express your artistic talent with the freehand drawing tool. Another benefit of Draw is that it has a built-in PDF editor, which lets you fill in forms and make other changes to your documents before emailing them away.
When you’re done, you may easily transfer the images you’ve created into Writer or Calc.
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