Open Source Microsoft Word Alternatives

    The best open source alternative to Microsoft Word is LibreOffice - Writer, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Microsoft Word and 15 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Microsoft Word are Apache OpenOffice Writer (Free, Open Source), ONLYOFFICE (Freemium, Open Source), AbiWord (Free, Open Source) and Manuskript (Free, Open Source).

    This page was last updated May 30, 2021
    1. Writer has all the features you need from a modern, full-featured word processing or desktop publishing tool.
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      LibreOffice - Writer vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Almost everyone thinks LibreOffice - Writer is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
       all • positive • negative      relevance • date
      KuboFHromoslav If you do not need some very rare functions, LibreOffice Writer is better and totally libre alternative!
      Top positive comment  about 4 years ago

      33
      LibreOffice can do 90%+ of what Microsoft Office can do, and it costs 100% less!
      Top positive comment  over 4 years ago

      31
      The newer Libre Office version (6.3.4) have less compatible than older version (6.2.8). The docx file when open is very wrong format that not acceptable. And saving file in docx file will make file read only that can't enable to editing. OpenOffice is better
      Top negative comment  over 1 year ago

      2
      ion1 LibreOffice is like Windows Word 2010. It is like good old Word, just free.
      Positive comment • 25 days ago

      0
      Because it sucks, libraoffice is a great option as alternate choice
      Positive comment • 3 months ago

      0
      Akhilesh_T It can do almost everything that Microsoft Word can and is 100% free
      Positive comment • 3 months ago

      1
      It does everything word can do, and it's FREE.
      Positive comment • 3 months ago

      2
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      7 of 34 comments
    2. Writer, part of the Apache OpenOffice suite, is an open-source word processor.
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      Apache OpenOffice Writer vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Most users think Apache OpenOffice Writer is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
      martintin_916 It is basically a free version of Microsoft Office.
      Top positive comment  over 2 years ago

      2
      rose64bit Microsoft Office is costly and slow, but OpenOffice is free and fast.
      Top positive comment  about 3 years ago

      -2
      Poor features and quite complicated interface
      Top negative comment  over 4 years ago

      3
      Centaro No proper implementation of digital signatures.
      Negative comment • over 1 year ago

      2
      Will not use later than Word 97 documents
      Negative comment • over 5 years ago

      0
    4. ONLYOFFICE is an opensource office and productivity suite that enables you to manage documents, projects (https://alternativeto.net/software/onlyoffice-projects/), team and customer relations in one place.
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      ONLYOFFICE vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Almost everyone thinks ONLYOFFICE is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
      Risei It has a nice UI, and good support for microsoft document formats.
      Top positive comment  over 1 year ago

      1
      If you know how to use Word, the you will feel at home using OnlyOffice. It's feature rich, supports all platforms and even the browser. You can collaborate with other people, and OnlyOffcie respects your privacy. Compared to something like Apple Pages, it's not the cleanest and smoothest experience, but if you have used MS Word og LibreOffice, it won't be a problem.
      Top positive comment  8 months ago

      0
      hudsonrb92 Its one of the best options to Microsoft Office, it has almost all tools. And is by far better then LibreOffice or OpenOffice.
      Positive comment • 12 months ago

      0
      Very similar layout to Microsoft Office so its the best alternative for people use to that. And especially for me, ecuations in google docs and libre office are ugly compare to Microsoft format which OnlyOffice use.
      Positive comment • about 1 year ago

      1
      Clean GUI and fast interface. Excellent for high dpi too.
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      0

    5. AbiWord

      • Free • Open Source
      • Linux
      • BSD
      • PortableApps.com
      • Haiku
      • GTK+
      • AmigaOS
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      AbiWord is a free software word processor. The name "AbiWord" (pronounced "Abby Word") is derived from the root of the Spanish word "abierto", meaning "open". It runs on Linux, Mac OS X (PowerPC), ReactOS, BeOS (unsupported), AmigaOS 4.
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      AbiWord vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Most users think AbiWord is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
      kaylinTechAU AbiWord is a great simple word processor. However it doesn't have many advanced features. Just a simple text document. And it's free!
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      6
      thomaszoschke It does what the user wants. It's a full featured text processor. It is affordable. It is not coded like a swamp.
      Positive comment • 6 months ago

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    6. Manuskript is an open-source tool for writers, with outliner, character management, plot development, distraction-free editor, etc. Outliner Organize your thoughts and snippets in a hierarchical manner. Organize them as you wish, reorganize them on the go.
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      Manuskript vs Microsoft Word opinions
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Manuskript is an app for planning and writing books. It is not a word processor, or an appropriate alternative to MS Word.
      Negative comment • 10 months ago

      0
    8. CryptPad is a private-by-design alternative to popular office tools and cloud services. All the content stored on CryptPad is encrypted before being sent, which means nobody can access your data unless you give them the keys.
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    9. LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to create a document in LaTeX, a .
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      LaTeX vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Most users think LaTeX is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
      sbibauw The most powerful document preparation system, for the absolute best result ever.
      Positive comment • about 1 year ago

      0
      forionio16 LaTeX isn't What You See Is What You Get. It's more powerful then word, but require a learning curve.
      Positive comment • 3 months ago

      0
    10. Create and edit documents online without sacrificing your privacy.
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      Airborn vs Microsoft Word opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Airborn is a great alternative to Microsoft Word.
      Cloud based document storage and editing, without giving up your privacy.
      Positive comment • almost 4 years ago

      0
    11. bibisco is a novel writing software that helps you to write your story, in a simple way.
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    12. Focus on your words not the interface. Quoll Writer is a writing application that helps you focus on your words. Clean and uncluttered. Feature rich. Features are where you would expect them to be.
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    Showing 10 of 15 alternatives