LibreOffice vs Collabora Online
Both are free/open-source alternatives to Microsoft 365. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
LibreOffice
TOP PICKThe mature, fully open-source desktop office suite that runs entirely on your own machine.
LibreOffice is the most complete free desktop office suite and the closest all-round replacement for the Word/Excel/PowerPoint apps. It bundles Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and Math, runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and opens and saves Microsoft's DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files as well as the open OpenDocument (ODF) formats. It is produced by the non-profit Document Foundation, installs locally with no account or cloud, and costs nothing. It is the right pick for individuals and organizations that mainly need capable offline documents and full control over their files. Its main gap versus 365 is native real-time co-authoring in the desktop apps; browser-based simultaneous editing comes from the related Collabora Online project, listed below.
Collabora Online
Self-hosted, browser-based collaborative editing built on the LibreOffice engine.
Collabora Online is a self-hostable, browser-based office suite from Collabora that brings real-time co-authoring to the LibreOffice engine, so multiple people can edit the same Writer, Calc, or Impress document at once through a web browser. The free Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE) is a rolling release aimed at home use, testing, and small teams, while the supported Collabora Online product targets organizations that need stability and vendor support. It is the natural way to add Google-Docs-style collaboration on your own server, and it is what powers Nextcloud Office (the richdocuments app) inside a Nextcloud instance. It is MPL-2.0 licensed.
Side by side
| LibreOffice | Collabora Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 100 | 95 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Pricing | Free / runs locally | Free self-hosted CODE edition; paid supported edition and hosting available |
LibreOffice is Macrostack's recommended Microsoft 365 alternative, so it's our pick here.
LibreOffice
Strengths
- +Fully open-source under MPL-2.0, an OSI-approved license
- +Runs entirely offline on your own computer with no account, subscription, or cloud
- +The most feature-complete free desktop suite: word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, plus Draw, Base, and Math
- +Reads and writes Microsoft's DOCX/XLSX/PPTX as well as the open ODF formats, so files stay portable
- +Backed by the non-profit Document Foundation with a very active release cadence and large community
Trade-offs
- −No built-in real-time co-authoring in the desktop apps; browser-based simultaneous editing needs the related Collabora Online
- −Complex Microsoft documents (heavy macros, advanced pivot tables, intricate formatting) can shift slightly on import/export
- −No bundled cloud storage, email, or team-chat equivalent to OneDrive/Outlook/Teams
- −The interface and defaults differ from Microsoft's, so there is a short adjustment period
Collabora Online
Strengths
- +Fully open-source under MPL-2.0, an OSI-approved license
- +Real-time, in-browser co-authoring of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on a server you control
- +Built on the mature LibreOffice engine, so format handling matches LibreOffice closely
- +Powers Nextcloud Office, giving an easy path for people already running Nextcloud
- +Supports ODF and Microsoft formats, keeping documents portable
Trade-offs
- −Requires running a server; setup and maintenance are more involved than a desktop install
- −The free CODE edition is a rolling release the vendor does not recommend for production; production use points to the paid supported edition
- −Best used alongside a file backend such as Nextcloud, rather than as a standalone suite
- −Browser-based editing depends on the server being available, so it is less 'offline-first' than a desktop app
More Microsoft 365 head-to-heads
Facts verified 2026-07-06. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.