Now I am going to bring to your attention various programs that can replace (if not completely, then partially) the popular Microsoft Office. Why do we need analogues? It's simple: I remind you that one of the latest existing versions of this program costs about $ 140 (and this is only a stripped-down version of "Starter"). A professional package will cost all 400 $.
Naturally, the version of “Profi” contains a lot of various improvements and updates that can help users work with the documentation, but it should be noted that most average users do not need to use all the power of this application.
Moreover, all the functionality is used in units, from which the conclusion follows - there is no need to buy a full-fledged program. Moreover, for a simple reading of documents and their editing a lot of different free applications have been created, some of which may even compete with Microsoft Office.
"GoogleDocs"
This free counterpart to Microsoft Office is Microsoft's main competitor. It is also called GoogleDrive. It is important that this application from Google is as simple and easy to use as other applications - Google search engine, GoogleTranslate for translation or Gmail. It is likely that GoogleDocs will soon become the new standard and almost completely replace Microsoft Office from the market, leaving the latter only for professionals who simply need all the highly specialized features of the program.
This service can be called the embodiment of all the power of Google. In addition, it is really easy to use, has an intuitive interface, which greatly speeds up the work, and also has a sufficient set of functions for everyday use. However, this web application has unaccounted for subtleties of work, which is its main difference from a competitive product, which provides almost everything. Also, do not forget about the periodic problems associated with the opening of existing documents.
Among the undoubted advantages - GoogleDocs is ideally suited for remote work, since the whole team consisting of more than two people can work with one document almost immediately. This alone brings this product into the category of “out of competition”, not to mention the completely free access.
MicrosoftWebApps
The second name for this office product is SkyDrive, and it was already developed in order to compete with GoogleDocs. The undeniable advantage of the program is the maximum possible similarity with Microsoft Office software.
In essence, SkyDrive is a greatly reduced functionality copy of the usual Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, but these functions may not be enough for a completely comfortable work. There is an interface that is as close as possible to the original Microsoft applications, which greatly simplifies training and work, plus the opportunity to integrate with Microsoft’s web storage has appeared.
Zohooffice
This program has relatively recently enjoyed no less (if not more) popularity than GoogleDocs. But now users have almost completely forgotten about ZohoOffice. In fairness, it is worth noting that it has quite serious functionality, and this allows it to compete on equal terms with most serious office applications. Measure the power of the application yourself, simply by using any of the ten possible web services of Zoho. In particular, pay attention to the ability to work with tables, edit text, and even create pretty good presentations.
Of course, the interface of this application does not resemble the well-known product from Microsoft, which at first may cause some difficulties. At the same time, ZohoOffice is stable and fast, and also supports a significant number of additional functions. You will be able to work with a variety of popular formats, as well as gain access to the online repository, which will allow you to work together on some documents.
Among the shortcomings - despite the free access, some features can be activated only using a paid tariff.
Openoffice
This program is another free analogue of the office suite from Mircosoft Corporation. Here you can find text and table processors, a program for creating presentations, a formula editor, a special vector graphics editor and a DBMS. Each of the applications is characterized by the presence of a convenient standard interface, and besides, with their help, you can easily process almost any electronic documents.
SoftMakerFreeOffice
This application is lightweight and has only a number of standard features, which greatly speeds up the opening of new documents and their processing. It supports working with all standard formats, and also has a simple installation, although it has a pretty impressive list of additional features.
Completely free access, although there is a paid extended version, but there is no special meaning in its use - free and so will suit most cases in life.
Kingsoft office
This version is a Chinese clone of the Microsoft Office program. It completely repeats its entire interface and supports most of the functions. At the same time, the first version of this program was imperfect, it worked slowly and ineffectively, however, it was further improved and as a result, users received a rather high-quality package of office programs.
Note that some of the specific features of the Microsoft Office suite were not ported to KingsoftOffice, but this does not affect its normal use. At the same time, many users claim that, compared to a paid product from Microsoft, KingsoftOffice is one of the best free alternatives.
Libreoffice
This package is a more advanced functional OpenOffice. There are properties of open resources, there is a completely free distribution and a large number of useful functions.
Moreover, this program is a working complex, which includes an editor of tables and texts, plus special programs for editing ready-made drawings or creating presentations.
Among the advantages - a technically advanced functionality that can compete with Microsoft Office, and complete free of charge. The disadvantage is that the program is as cumbersome and “heavy” as its paid competitor, which contains a sufficiently large number of functions that are unlikely to be needed by the average user.
Output
If you want to pick up free office programs that resemble Microsoft Office, you may encounter a large number of very different programs, different in their capabilities and functionality, but stably performing the main functions - giving you the ability to read and edit electronic documents in popular formats.
It is important to remember that not one of the free programs listed above has been able to copy all the professional features of Microsoft Office. However, they are necessary only for professionals who are not sorry to pay the specified money to purchase their main working tool. So, if your needs are completely satisfied by any of the free programs, then there is no point in buying a professional package.
MS Word - deservedly is the most popular text editor in the world. This program finds its application in many areas and will be equally good for home, professional and educational use. Word is just one of the programs included in the Microsoft Office suite, which, as you know, is distributed by subscription with an annual or monthly payment.
Actually, it is the cost of subscribing to Word that makes many users look for analogues of this text editor. And there are many of them today, and some of them are not inferior in their capabilities to the fully functional editor from Microsoft. Below we will consider the most worthy alternatives to the Word.
Note: The order of describing programs in the text should not be regarded as a rating from worst to best, or from best to worst, this is just a list of worthy products with an overview of their main characteristics.
This is a cross-platform office suite, one of the most popular in the free segment. The product includes approximately the same programs as the Microsoft Office suite, even a little more. This is a text editor, a table processor, a tool for creating presentations, a database management system, a graphics editor, an editor of mathematical formulas.
The functionality of OpenOffice is more than enough for comfortable work. As for the word processor directly, called Writer, it allows you to create and edit documents, change their design and formatting. As in Word, the insertion of graphic files and other objects is supported here, the creation of tables, graphs, and much more is available. All this, as expected, is packaged in a simple and intuitive, conveniently implemented interface. It is important to note the fact that the program is compatible with Word documents.
Another free and cross-platform office editor with great features for work. Like OpenOffice Writer, this office suite is well compatible with Microsoft Word formats, according to some users, even to a slightly greater extent. If you believe them, this program also works much faster. The analogs of all the components that make up the Microsoft Office suite are also of interest here, but we are only interested in one of them.
LibreOffice Writer - this is a word processor, which, as befits a similar program, supports all the functions and capabilities necessary for comfortable work with text. Here you can configure text styles and perform formatting. It is possible to add images to a document; tables and columns can be created and inserted. There is an automatic spellchecker and much more.
Here is another office suite, which, like the above counterparts, is a free and quite worthy alternative to Microsoft Office. By the way, the program interface is in many ways similar to that in the brainchild of Microsoft, however, if you do not take into account the latest versions of the program. If the appearance does not suit you with something, you can always change it for yourself.
Office Writer word processor supports Word document formats, provides the ability to export documents to PDF and can download file templates from the Internet. As expected, the capabilities of this editor are not limited to just writing and formatting the text. Writer supports the insertion of drawings, the creation of tables, mathematical formulas and much more is available, without which today it is impossible to imagine comfortable working with text documents.
And again, the office suite, and again quite a worthy analogue to the brainchild of Microsoft. The product includes an application for creating presentations and a word processor, which we will consider. It is noteworthy that the program for working with text is well adapted for touch screens, has a pretty attractive graphical interface and a number of other advantages.
In Galligra Gemini, as in all of the above programs, you can insert images and mathematical formulas. There are tools for page layout, standard Word formats DOC and DOCX are supported. The office suite works quite quickly and stably, without loading the system. True, on Windows sometimes there are slight slowdowns.
An office suite from the world famous search giant, which, unlike all of the above programs, does not have a desktop version. Documents from Google are sharpened exclusively for working online in a browser window. This approach is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In addition to a word processor, the package includes tools for creating spreadsheets and presentations. All that is required to get started is having a Google account.
All software services from the Google Docs package are part of the Google Drive cloud storage, in the environment of which the work proceeds. Created documents are saved in real time, constantly synchronized. All of them are in the cloud, and access to projects can be obtained from any device - through the application or a web browser.
This product is focused on collaboration with documents, for which there are all the necessary features. Users can share files, leave comments and notes, edit. If we talk directly about tools for working with text, here is more than enough for most users.
So we have reviewed the five most relevant and functionally equal analogues of Microsoft Word. Which one to choose is up to you. Recall that all products discussed in this article are free.
1. Google Docs is an online word processor. By the number of features and features, it cannot compete with MS Word, however, it is accessible from any computer connected to the Internet. Google Docs are used by General Electric. By the way, for three weeks now I have been using Google Docs as the main word processor, despite the fact that there is no need to type texts from different computers (a working tool is a laptop). It’s just that Google Docs is free, and its functionality completely suits me personally. :)
2. Zoho Writer is another online word processor. It has a pretty good interface and there are additional features (compared to Google Docs). WWD believes it's worth a try.
3. ajaxWrite - its distinguishing feature is not required to register on the site to get started.
4. - An open source cross-platform word processor. Its advantage is a quick start (when compared with MS Office and OpenOffice).
5. DarkRoom - ported version of WriteRoom (text editor for Mac). DarkRoom requires a .NET system installed.
6. JDarkRoom is another alternative to WriteRoom, a cross-platform application. Powered by JAVA, distributed free of charge.
7. Writer - again mention WriteRoom, only this is an online option.
8. Writer.app is a word processor for Mac. Flexible customizable, many features.
9. TextEdit is a near-text text processor that comes with Mac OS X. It can read and create documents of various formats, including DOC, RTF, HTML.
10. RoughDraft is a free word processor (Windows) that is said to be specially designed for writers. So if you are writing a new novel, get acquainted with this program, maybe you will like it.
I want to add on my own, under Windows I worked in OpenOffice.org, and under Mac I really like TextEdit. In rare cases when complex formatting is required, I use NeoOffice (this is the same OpenOffice.org, but with a Cocoa interface). What do you use?
Five free counterparts to the Microsoft Word text editor.MS Word - deservedly is the most popular text editor in the world. This program finds its application in many areas and will be equally good for home, professional and educational use. Word is just one of the programs included in the Microsoft Office suite, which, as you know, is distributed by subscription with an annual or monthly payment.
Actually, it is the cost of subscribing to Word that makes many users look for analogues of this text editor. And there are many of them today, and some of them are not inferior in their capabilities to the fully functional editor from Microsoft. Below we will consider the most worthy alternatives to the Word.
Note: The order of describing programs in the text should not be regarded as a rating from worst to best, or from best to worst, this is just a list of worthy products with an overview of their main characteristics.
This is a cross-platform office suite, one of the most popular in the free segment. The product includes approximately the same programs as the Microsoft Office suite, even a little more. This is a text editor, a table processor, a tool for creating presentations, a database management system, a graphics editor, an editor of mathematical formulas.
The functionality of OpenOffice is more than enough for comfortable work. As for the word processor directly, called Writer, it allows you to create and edit documents, change their design and formatting. As in Word, the insertion of graphic files and other objects is supported here, the creation of tables, graphs, and much more is available. All this, as expected, is packaged in a simple and intuitive, conveniently implemented interface. It is important to note the fact that the program is compatible with Word documents.
Another free and cross-platform office editor with great features for work. Like OpenOffice Writer, this office suite is well compatible with Microsoft Word formats, according to some users, even to a slightly greater extent. If you believe them, this program also works much faster. The analogs of all the components that make up the Microsoft Office suite are also of interest here, but we are only interested in one of them.
LibreOffice Writer - this is a word processor, which, as befits a similar program, supports all the functions and capabilities necessary for comfortable work with text. Here you can configure text styles and perform formatting. It is possible to add images to a document; tables and columns can be created and inserted. There is an automatic spellchecker and much more.
Here is another office suite, which, like the above counterparts, is a free and quite worthy alternative to Microsoft Office. By the way, the program interface is in many ways similar to that in the brainchild of Microsoft, however, if you do not take into account the latest versions of the program. If the appearance does not suit you with something, you can always change it for yourself.
Office Writer word processor supports Word document formats, provides the ability to export documents to PDF and can download file templates from the Internet. As expected, the capabilities of this editor are not limited to just writing and formatting the text. Writer supports the insertion of drawings, the creation of tables, mathematical formulas and much more is available, without which today it is impossible to imagine comfortable working with text documents.
And again, the office suite, and again quite a worthy analogue to the brainchild of Microsoft. The product includes an application for creating presentations and a word processor, which we will consider. It is noteworthy that the program for working with text is well adapted for touch screens, has a pretty attractive graphical interface and a number of other advantages.
In Galligra Gemini, as in all of the above programs, you can insert images and mathematical formulas. There are tools for page layout, standard Word formats DOC and DOCX are supported. The office suite works quite quickly and stably, without loading the system. True, on Windows sometimes there are slight slowdowns.
An office suite from the world famous search giant, which, unlike all of the above programs, does not have a desktop version. Documents from Google are sharpened exclusively for working online in a browser window. This approach is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In addition to a word processor, the package includes tools for creating spreadsheets and presentations. All that is required to get started is having a Google account.
All software services from the Google Docs package are part of the Google Drive cloud storage, in the environment of which the work proceeds. Created documents are saved in real time, constantly synchronized. All of them are in the cloud, and access to projects can be obtained from any device - through the application or a web browser.
This product is focused on collaboration with documents, for which there are all the necessary features. Users can share files, leave comments and notes, edit. If we talk directly about tools for working with text, here is more than enough for most users.
So we have reviewed the five most relevant and functionally equal analogues of Microsoft Word. Which one to choose is up to you. Recall that all products discussed in this article are free.
If you purchased a computer without preinstalled standard programs, you will have to look for all the necessary software on your own. Of course, one of the first to use Microsoft Office. Thanks to this program, you can open files with the popular format: .doc, .docx, .xlsx, etc. But as you know, this service is paid, and quite expensive and not accessible to everyone. The user has a choice: look for a pirated version that can harm a PC, or find an analogue of Microsoft Office.
Huge selection
It turns out that this application package has many free alternatives. You can find software, the interface of which will appeal to everyone. The most famous are now considered OpenOffice and LibreOffice. The softwares are quite convenient and do not require hacking abilities during installation.
There are other options to consider. Despite the fact that these applications can not completely replace the popular office suite, nevertheless, most of them are the best free option.
Opening
The first free analogue of Microsoft Office is OpenOffice. This suite of office applications can easily compete with commercial services. It has popular file formats, as well as a convenient and familiar interface. OpenOffice was the first to support the OpenDocument format. Now the applications of this package work on all operating systems, including Linux and Mac. Today the collection is called Apache OpenOffice.
Story
The “germ” of this package first appeared in 1999. Originally it was StarOffice, which the Germans did. Then it was bought by another company. OpenOffice.org itself has been operational since 2000.
Three years later, the developers decided to update the software. Their main task was to establish interaction with the popular Microsoft Office suite. It was necessary to work on performance, as there were increased requirements for PC memory, as well as braking in operation.
It was necessary to improve the scripting language, improve integration, make a lightweight interface, create a new SQL database. An updated analogue of Microsoft Office was released in 2005. The first practical attempts indicated weaknesses that quickly fixed within two months.
Later it was decided to update the program every 3 months. Nowadays, the most stable version is 3.0. It was released in 2008.
Problems
Rumors about OpenOffice.org have long been roaming the Internet. Many knew about the dissatisfaction of the company's employees. It was necessary to solve the main problems. Complaints concerned the "inflexibility" of the project and the lack of leaders. The structure was supposed to transform and become more efficient. It was necessary to find an approach in which active developers would gain access to the project.
As a result, OpenOffice.org employees organized their own company The Document Foundation, which allowed them to continue developing the office project. This is how LibreOffice came about, which we will talk about later.
At the same time, Oracle decides to transfer the rights to its Apache Foundation project. So Apache OpenOffice appears. The fund decided to change the license of the package, and later expressed its chagrin over this event. The manual recommended using LibreOffice. Already in September 2016, the project manager announced the possibility of closing OpenOffice. This Microsoft Office counterpart now suffers not only a shortage of qualified employees, but also the inability to fix security errors.
Structure
While there is no official statement from the management to close Apache OpenOffice, it is worth considering the composition of their package. It is very similar to the famous commercial alternative. This includes:
Demand
Since its inception, this free analogue of Microsoft Office has been installed on the PC of enterprises and organizations. Its popularity was caused by a free license. Since 2007, this package has been used by Rostelecom. And a little later, the RF Fund and the Federal Bailiff Service joined him.
In 2010, Germany decided to conduct a survey that showed that this package of free office software was installed on the computers of 21% of the country's users. Previously, many powers began to actively implement it for their state institutions. In Germany, the application was used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in France by the police, in Belgium by the Ministry of Justice, in the Netherlands by the administration of Amsterdam.
Losses
One of the main losses was that Ubuntu abandoned OpenOffice and switched to its subsidiary LibreOffice. Now you can’t name this analogue of Microsoft Office for Linux. For Apache OpenOffice, this was a big loss.
Branch
Meanwhile, the branch continues to evolve. In 2010, a cross-platform office suite was created, which brought together not only developers with OpenOffice, but also other specialists - about 480 programmers. Now the company operates under the command of The Document Foundation. This organization is non-profit, and therefore lives only through donations and investments. This analogue of Microsoft Office for Mac, Windows, Linux is developing effectively. It is used both on home PCs, and in educational institutions, commercial organizations and large companies.
Direction
LibreOffice chose a successful strategy, which counts on the active participation of society in the development of the project. In addition, programmers hope to merge with other additions. Successful experience in this direction is already present: the company managed to merge with the former OpenOffice project - Go-oo.
Popularity
Despite the fact that this analogue of Microsoft Office has been actively used since 2011, it has already managed to gain popularity in many countries of the world. Many of those who previously used OpenOffice.org switched to the new version, this includes organizations in France.
LibreOffice use hospitals in Copenhagen, the administration of Las Palmas, South Tyrol, Valencia, Toulouse. Many world organizations also use the package: metallurgical company Evraz, Citigroup, etc.
Those users and organizations that previously purchased Microsoft Office now choose LibreOffice for their purposes. It is known that the military of Italy also preferred the free analogue. By the next year, more than 75 thousand users should be transferred, and by 2020 - another 25 thousand. According to authorities, the choice of LibreOffice will save more than 29 million euros.
Big choice
It turns out that there are a lot of alternatives to the famous commercial office suite. One of them is SSuite Office. This program is also free. The package includes software that is useful for office work. There is a text editor, a program for creating spreadsheets, as well as software for presentations. There is a notepad, a messaging application, a calendar, an image editor, as well as software for viewing photos in the SSuite Office collection. Users have access to a new browser and even Tetris.
WordGraph is responsible for the text here. At first glance, its interface is quite familiar. At the top is a panel with a context menu. Below are all kinds of tools. In addition to the usual buttons, there are also those that you will not find in other office suites. For example, in a text with one click you can insert a date, emoticon, picture or special character. The editor allows you to save the finished document not only in the usual format, but can convert it into a picture or PDF.
Accel works with tables. It is made in the style of WordGraph. It has all the necessary functions for creating and editing tables, their formatting, counting and more.
But for surfing the Internet, the office suite provides the NetSurfer browser. Its main feature is that it has the same interface as other SSuite Office softwares. It also has many useful tools that simplify the work. Quick access to social networks or email.
Image Editor deals with images. CleverNote is a multi-functional organizer. Well, for the "sweet" - Tetris. Although primitive enough, it can brighten up a couple of minutes at lunchtime.
Less popular
Find a Russian analogue of Microsoft Office is not difficult. In addition to LibreOffice, this includes SoftMaker Free Office 675. Although this package is not so popular in the CIS countries, it is still quite functional for the least fastidious users. This version has its own commercial one. The disadvantage of the free option is that there is no way to save files in proprietary Microsoft Office formats.
However, reading DOC, PPT and XLS files is available here. The support of the Russian language is also pleasing. To use the spelling dictionary it will have to be additionally installed. The advantage of the package is its speed. The work of the programs is quite fast. It quickly launches all its software, and also there is no slowdown with file editing.
Not just mobile
Many people know the Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2013 mobile application. Android gadget users consider this package to be the most optimized and functional. But few people know that there is also a PC version.
It completely copies the Microsoft Office 2003 interface. It has the same functionality. The main advantage of the package is that it works with tabs, and also has a small size - only 40 megabytes. In Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2013, you can view and edit corporate formats DOCX, PPTX and XLSX. The main disadvantage for the Russian-speaking user is the lack of Russian localization, and accordingly spelling check.
Analogs
It turned out that finding an analogue of Microsoft Office for Windows 10 and other operating systems is not difficult. Among the most popular LibreOffice and OpenOffice there are less well-known. WPS Office is another free suite of office applications in Russian. He can edit text, tables, and presentations. Works with proprietary Microsoft Office formats. The main drawback of this program is the presence of watermarks on the finished documents that are being printed.
WPS Office also has a gadget version. It works as fast as Kingsoft Office. The rest of the program easily copes with a standard set of software. The interface is very familiar. There is support for working with tabs. For presentations, tact, tables and images there is a whole set of templates. The package also quickly opens documents from Microsoft Office.
In addition to this application, there is also Polaris Office. A fairly universal free program that can support commercial analog formats. Lotus Symphony, Ashampoo Office 2012, Calligra Suite are popular office suite packages. They are less popular with us due to the lack of the Russian language in the interface or dictionaries.
Do not forget about the popular Google Docs. This is an online version of office software. It is especially convenient for those who protect free PC memory. Thanks to this program, you can import documents into a browser, and there you can edit them. Also supports all popular formats. An interesting feature is that the software allows you to work on a document together with colleagues and friends. Especially convenient for students and those who create a common cause. You just need to open access to files, and a colleague on the other side of the city can edit the document with you.
