It’s filled with many of the same tools and options you can find at the top of your screen, but in a handy menu that’s easier to get to and features easier-to-see buttons and icons.
In addition, OpenOffice offers what it calls a Sidebar Deck, which is a series of sidebar menus that appear on the right side of your screen. But it does resemble Google Docs, so if you prefer the minimalist look of Google Docs and its straightforward menus, OpenOffice might be the best choice for you. In contrast, OpenOffice is a bit drab and gray-looking and has smaller menu icons that line the top of its windows. The large icons also make scanning the menu ribbon to find what you need even easier. The ribbon icons are rather large, and the overall look is brighter and much more colorful. LibreOffice looks very much like a Microsoft Office app, down to the menu ribbon of buttons and options that line the top of your screen. That said, your personal preference for either one may come down to one factor: Are you a Google Docs person or a Microsoft Office person? Neither LibreOffice nor OpenOffice have interfaces that are too unfamiliar or difficult to use. User interface and ease of use screenshot However, be careful when downloading or using these unofficial ports and distributions.
One notable port is AndrOpen Office, which is the Android port of OpenOffice.
The OpenOffice website provides links to additional third-party ports and distributions that are not endorsed or maintained by the Apache Software Foundation. OpenOffice, however, has a slight edge over LibreOffice. Both are comparable alternatives to Microsoft’s premium Office suite but without the associated cost.įor platform availability, both are available on Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
LibreOffice and OpenOffice are both free to download and use. Let’s get the pricing info out of the way first. Platform availability and price screenshot Technically, the latest released version of LibreOffice is 7.0.3, but this version hasn’t been tested as long as version 6.4.7 has and is generally for early adopters. Note: The following comparisons are based on the latest versions of LibreOffice and OpenOffice: LibreOffice 6.4.7 and OpenOffice 4.1.8. We take a look at factors such as platform availability, ease of use, their respective features, and supported file formats. If you are, be sure to read our comparison guide below to see how they match up to each other.
The same goes with Pages-moving text, images, and graphs around is a seamless experience that doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out. When you create something in Keynote, chances are you’ll end up creating something beautiful. While customization options are limited, everything that’s available is quite polished. Once you get used to them, they’re actually pleasant to use (something we can’t necessarily say about Microsoft Office). Since all three apps are now matured, all the basics are covered. And you don’t have as many options as the Microsoft Office suite. Instead of being top-heavy, the options show up in a contextual menu on the side. Pages, for instance, is one of the best Word alternatives for Mac.Īs these are Mac-centric apps, the UI is quite different. These are Apple’s own alternatives to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Included with your Mac is the iWork suite: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Conversely, LibreOffice’s track record in the recent past has been great. So we advise you to stay away from OpenOffice.
But OpenOffice hasn’t seen any meaningful updates recently, and its management is considering retiring the project. LibreOffice actually grew out of OpenOffice, which used to be the de facto alternative to Microsoft Office. Even complex Excel spreadsheets imported into LibreOffice Calc work as they should. LibreOffice also does a good job in regards to formatting when importing Microsoft Office documents. So you can sync files from Google Drive or OneDrive and edit them right in LibreOffice (there’s no collaboration feature, though). To make the deal even sweeter, LibreOffice recently added an online component.
Unlike Google’s apps, the LibreOffice suite comes with featured-packed offline desktop apps with all the pro features you expect. If you’re used to the Microsoft Office user interface (pre-Ribbon era), it won’t take you long to adjust to LibreOffice.