7 Alternatives for Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office is one of the most popular application suits which no doubt facilitates the users to the full extent. But due to its high price or due to any compatibility issue with the operating system, it is always desirable to have some alternatives. Lets have a summarized look on the available alternatives.

1. Zoho

Zoho is considered to be one of the best online office suites that is capable of replacing any desktop Office suite. It not only offers Word processing, Spread Sheet and Presentations but also provides you with the Wiki Pages planner for managing your to-do list, tasks and notes, and many more features that are an integral part of any office applications suit.

2. Google Docs

Google Docs is the most popular online service from Google. It is free, and provides a  Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and form application, etc. It lets you create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. Google Docs has come a long way with respect to the advanced features and ease of access and millions of users around the world trust it to fulfill their documentation and presentation needs.

3. Sun Star Office

Sun Star Office is a product from the well known Sun Microsystems. It is a full-featured office productivity suite that’s compatible with Microsoft Office at just a fraction of the cost.

4. OpenOffice

Open Office is one of the most well-known, open-source office software suites for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and a system with lower specs can also run it smoothly. Since it stores all your data in an international open standard format and can read and write files from other common office software packages, it is a common replacement for many Office users. It can be downloaded and used free of charge. It also works on many different operating systems like Windows, Linux, Mac and Solaris.

5. iWork

iWork is the Office alternative in Mac. It is a well-known Apple’s productivity suite,  and offers an easy way to create very attractive-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It is compatible with Microsoft Office, so sharing your work is even easier and your documents, spreadsheets or presentations can easily by viewed by people using Microsoft Office or some other similar office application suit.

6. Lotus Symphony

Lotus Symphony is an office application suit from IBM, and is totally free of cost. The three applications that make up Lotus Symphony are as follows: Lotus Symphony Documents, Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets, and Lotus Symphony Presentation. The application suit works on many commonly used operating systems like Windows, Linux and Mac.

7. Think Free Office

Think Free Office was designed while keeping compatibility with Microsoft Office in mind. The key features of this office application suit are: support for open office XML format, similar user interface with Microsoft Office, up to 1 GB free online file storage, automatic file synchronization and compatibility with multiple operating systems. The online version of ThinkFree is free while the desktop version is not.

8. Extra Tool

You can also try AbiWord which is a complete alternative to Microsoft Word. We did not include it in the list since it does not replace the Office suite.