Libre Office icons pictured above
Microsoft Office 365 requires annual subscription fees, and is horrendous when it comes to privacy. Well over a decade ago Microsoft was caught recording keystrokes of users as they typed, who knows what other abusive behavior is being done as you work on what should be private documents. Since Microsoft controls the Operating System, they can do anything they wish on your machine without your knowledge. They can record and save anything they wish, including your most private documents, anything you type, and much more.
Thankfully we have a much better way to create Word, Excel and PowerPoint type products using the FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) Libre Office, as well as a few others. No cost whatsoever, and no spying. Easily create and edit your products for free, free of spying, and seamlessly operate with other Microsoft Office user products, anything you edit in Libre Office can be viewed normally on Microsoft Office, and anything Microsoft Office can be viewed and edited normally using Libre Office. You’ll notice that the programs look and function nearly identical, and the icons even look nearly the same.
Libre Office comes standard with most Linux distributions and is considered the go to for a Microsoft Office 365 replacement, however we have more options still.
Libre Office
Libre Office Writer replaces Microsoft Office Word, choose light or dark mode:
Libre Office Calc replaces Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet:
Libre Office Impress replaces Microsoft Office PowerPoint:
Hint: Here are some great keyboard shortcuts for use in LibreOffice if you’re any type of power user: Keyboard Shorcuts
Only Office
And then we have another option if Libre Office doesn’t quite do it for you, another great version of a Microsoft Office alternative is Only Office, which looks and feels almost identical to Microsoft Office:
Take a brief video tour of why we love LibreOffice:
If those two products aren’t enough, here are some others you can explore, note that not all of these are FOSS or recommended by us, but good to be aware of your options. While Libre Office fits our needs to replace Microsoft Office, take a peek at these to see if any work better for you:
Office Documents on Android
Viewing Microsoft Office 365 / LibreOffice / OnlyOffice documents on GrapheneOS Android phones-there are a number of options, but LibreOffice Viewer, available on F-Droid is my preferred application. Download F-Droid app store on Android, open F-Droid and search for the application, download and you’ll now be able to view any office document on your mobile device.
For editing documents, I strongly encourage folks to simply use their Desktop or Laptop Linux using LibreOffice or OnlyOffice software. However, if you need to edit office documents from your mobile device, try out the application called Collabora Office.
