8 Best European Alternatives to Microsoft Office (2026), Compared

The best European alternative to Microsoft Office is LibreOffice (Germany): a free, open-source desktop suite from a Berlin foundation that opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. If you want Microsoft’s file formats as the default and a ribbon interface, pick SoftMaker Office from Nuremberg – free as FreeOffice, or from US$49.90 a year.

I wrote this ranking for home users and small businesses who want to stop paying Microsoft Corporation, a US company, for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Office is now sold mainly as a subscription: Microsoft 365 Personal costs $99.99 a year, and the one-time Office Home 2024 costs $179.99 for one PC or Mac. Microsoft’s EU Data Boundary is written for its enterprise services, and even there Microsoft says some data will still leave the EU in limited cases. I compared ten office suites from Europe and kept eight. For each one you get who is behind it, how well it handles DOCX and XLSX files, what it costs and what you lose compared with Microsoft Office.

What are the best European alternatives to Microsoft Office?

If you only have a minute: these are the European office suites I would switch to from Microsoft Office, in order. Each one is reviewed in detail below.

1. LibreOffice (Germany) – the free, full desktop suite with Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw and Base. Best for most people leaving Office.
2. SoftMaker Office (Germany) – saves DOCX, XLSX and PPTX by default, with a ribbon like Office. Best for keeping Office files and habits.
3. Infomaniak kSuite (Switzerland) – online Docs, Grids and Points with mail and cloud storage, free to start. Best Microsoft 365-style cloud suite.
4. Nextcloud Office (Germany) – co-editing on your own Nextcloud, now powered by Euro-Office. Best for small businesses that want control.
5. Collabora Office (UK, office in Hamburg) – a free modern desktop app built on LibreOffice. Best for a simpler LibreOffice.
6. Proton Docs (Switzerland) – end-to-end encrypted documents and spreadsheets inside Proton Drive. Best for private writing.
7. CryptPad (France) – encrypted documents, sheets and slides in the browser. Best free encrypted option.
8. ONLYOFFICE (Latvia) – free editors built around DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, with an ownership story to read first. Best for maximum Office look-alike.

Microsoft Office alternatives compared

Prices from public pricing pages. Affiliate links and sponsored placements are labelled.

“Data hosted in” shows where each vendor’s website or cloud runs, based on DNS records and an ASN lookup (25 Oct 2026). Desktop suites like LibreOffice and SoftMaker Office keep your files on your own computer; for Nextcloud and Collabora Online you choose the hosting yourself.

How I compared the Microsoft Office alternatives

I looked at ten office suites from the EU, Switzerland and the UK and kept eight. The order is driven by how much of Microsoft Office you keep after switching – a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation app on your own computer that open your existing files – then by privacy and sovereignty, then by price. Concretely, I weighed five things:

• File compatibility – whether the suite opens and saves DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, which format it saves by default, and what the vendor says about macros.
• Feature match with Office – Word, Excel and PowerPoint equivalents, desktop apps for Windows and Mac, mobile apps and real-time co-editing.
• Jurisdiction and ownership – where the company is registered, who owns it and where any cloud version runs.
• Price – free versions, subscriptions and one-time licences, for a household and for a small team.
• What users say – ratings on Trustpilot, read together with the number of reviews.

I left out WPS Office (China) and Zoho Workplace (India) because they are not European. I also left out Euro-Office as a separate entry: it is not sold on its own but runs inside Nextcloud and partner clouds, so it is covered under Nextcloud Office. All data comes from the vendors’ own product, pricing, about and legal pages, their support documentation and Trustpilot, checked on 25 October 2026.

The best European alternatives to Microsoft Office, reviewed

Each suite gets the same treatment: who is behind it, what users say, what it replaces from Microsoft Office, its pros and cons, and my opinion.

1. LibreOffice

The free, complete desktop replacement for Word, Excel and PowerPoint – from a non-profit foundation in Berlin

LibreOffice is developed by a community of hundreds of contributors and backed by The Document Foundation, a charitable foundation under German law at Winterfeldtstraße 52 in Berlin, supervised by the Berlin Senate’s foundation authority. The foundation was incorporated in 2012; LibreOffice itself grew out of OpenOffice.org. There are no shareholders. The software runs on your own computer, and the website and downloads are served from Hetzner in the EU (AS24940).

What users say. On Trustpilot LibreOffice has 2.9/5 from 64 reviews on an unclaimed profile. Reviewers praise that it is free, needs no subscription and handles Word and Excel files well; the complaints are about crashes, a cluttered interface, printing issues and slow lookups in big spreadsheets. The company-wide Microsoft profile scores 1.2/5 from 4,124 reviews.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. You get six apps: Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (PowerPoint), Draw for diagrams, Base for databases (closest to Access) and Math for formulas. LibreOffice’s own help says it can open and save documents in the Microsoft Office formats, including Office Open XML – DOCX, XLSX and PPTX – and you can make those formats the default in the settings, so colleagues on Office never notice. Its native format is ODF, an ISO standard. What you lose: macros. LibreOffice says that with a few exceptions it cannot run the same macro code as Microsoft Office, although recent versions can run some Excel VBA scripts. There is no cloud, no real-time co-editing and no official mobile app from the foundation.

Facts: HQ Germany (Berlin) · foundation incorporated 2012 · current version 26.8 · price: free · Windows 10 or newer, macOS 10.15 or newer, Linux · open source · opens and saves DOCX, XLSX, PPTX · native format ODF.

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy for documents and ordinary spreadsheets – install it next to Office and open your files; hard if your work relies on VBA macros.

My take: LibreOffice is the one I would install first. It replaces all three core Office apps plus Access for nothing, it is run by a non-profit foundation in Berlin, and it opens your old Word and Excel files. It is first because it keeps the most of Office on your own computer at the lowest price – just test your most complex spreadsheets before you cancel Microsoft 365. Best for: households and small offices that want a free desktop suite. Not for: teams that live in shared online documents or VBA macros.

Visit libreoffice.org →

2. SoftMaker Office

The closest European match for Microsoft Office – DOCX, XLSX and PPTX as default formats, from Nuremberg since 1987

SoftMaker Office is made by SoftMaker Software GmbH, Kronacher Str. 7, Nuremberg, Germany (HRB 8788), managed by Martin Kotulla. SoftMaker says it has been developing office software since its foundation in 1987. Ownership is not stated on its site. The apps run on your computer; the website is hosted at Hetzner in Germany (AS24940).

What users say. SoftMaker has an unclaimed Trustpilot profile with no reviews yet.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations replace Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and according to SoftMaker they use DOCX, XLSX and PPTX as their default formats, so you can keep editing the same files in Microsoft Office without conversion. The interface uses a ribbon like Office. SoftMaker Office NX Universal runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and one licence covers 5 computers in a household. If you only need the basics, FreeOffice gives you the three apps for free, for personal and business use. What you lose: there is no database app, no shared cloud and no real-time co-editing, and the full suite is not free.

Facts: HQ Germany (Nuremberg) · since 1987 · NX Universal US$49.90/year or US$4.99/month (5 computers per household, or 1 business computer) · Professional 2026 US$149.95 one-time · FreeOffice: free · 30-day free trial · Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android · closed source.

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy – files stay in DOCX, XLSX and PPTX and the ribbon looks familiar.

My take: SoftMaker Office is the most Office-like suite made in Europe: same file formats, a ribbon, apps on every platform, and a one-time licence if you hate subscriptions. It sits second only because LibreOffice gives you more apps for free – try FreeOffice first and upgrade if you need the extras. Best for: people who exchange lots of Word and Excel files and want Office's look. Not for: teams that need shared online editing.

Visit softmaker.com →

3. Infomaniak kSuite

A Swiss replacement for Microsoft 365 in the browser – Docs, Grids and Points with mail and cloud storage

Infomaniak is a Swiss hosting company from Geneva, founded in 1994, whose main shareholder is the Infomaniak Foundation. kSuite bundles mail, kDrive cloud storage, calendar, chat, video meetings and an online office suite. Infomaniak says the service is hosted and developed in Switzerland, in its own data centres (AS29222).

What users say. Infomaniak has 3.9/5 from 2,068 reviews on Trustpilot, but that profile covers all Infomaniak products. Users praise the all-in-one suite, the price and the move away from big tech; the main complaint is slow support.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. Docs, Grids and Points are Infomaniak’s online editors for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files – Infomaniak calls Docs 100% compatible with Word documents – with real-time co-editing, comments and a revision tool, plus a free desktop install for offline editing. What you lose: Infomaniak advises converting LibreOffice files (ODT, ODS, ODP) to Microsoft formats before editing online; nothing is end-to-end encrypted; and the free plan needs a phone number.

Facts: HQ Switzerland (Geneva) · founded 1994 · free my kSuite: 20 GB mail and 15 GB kDrive · paid personal plan from CHF 19/year · business kSuite from CHF 1.76/user/month (excl. VAT) · online editors for DOCX, XLSX, PPTX · phone number required for the free plan.

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy – upload your files to kDrive and open them in the browser.

My take: If what you really use is Microsoft 365 – Word online, shared files, Outlook – kSuite is the easiest European replacement, and the free plan lets you start today. It sits third because it is a cloud suite first and has no end-to-end encryption. Best for: families and small teams replacing Microsoft 365 and OneDrive. Not for: people who want desktop-first software or encryption.

Visit infomaniak.com →

4. Nextcloud Office

Your own Microsoft 365 on your own server – co-editing powered by Euro-Office or Collabora

Nextcloud is made by Nextcloud GmbH, Hauptmannsreute 44a, Stuttgart (HRB 227086), managed by Frank Karlitschek. Since Nextcloud Hub 26 Spring (9 June 2026) its document suite, Nextcloud Office, can run on Euro-Office, an engine that Nextcloud, IONOS and partners such as XWiki and OpenProject forked from the open-source ONLYOFFICE code; Collabora Online remains an option. The partners told heise they reviewed and rebuilt the code. You choose where Nextcloud runs – the company’s own website is on Hetzner (AS24940).

What users say. Nextcloud has 2.7/5 from 51 reviews on Trustpilot. Users praise self-hosting, privacy and the app ecosystem; complaints are about sync problems, the desktop client and how hard self-hosting can be.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. You get documents, spreadsheets and presentations in the browser with real-time co-editing, next to Nextcloud Files, Talk and Calendar – Microsoft 365 on a server you control. Nextcloud says it supports DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX and ODF, and there are Nextcloud desktop and mobile apps. What you lose: you need a Nextcloud server – your own, or an account with a hosting provider. Euro-Office itself has no desktop or mobile apps yet; that is the next phase. Nextcloud’s published Enterprise prices start at 100 users, and the office component costs extra on all three plans.

Facts: HQ Germany (Stuttgart) · Euro-Office stable since 9 June 2026 · self-hosting: free server download and All-in-One image · free single-user accounts from providers (2 GB or more) · Enterprise from €71.29/user/year (net, min. 100 users), Office extra · formats: DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODF · open source.

Switching from Microsoft Office: moderate – easy with a hosting provider, harder if you run the server yourself.

My take: Nextcloud Office is how you rebuild Microsoft 365 without a US company: files, chat and live document editing on a server you or a European host control. Euro-Office makes the editors feel more modern. It sits fourth because you need a server or provider before you can type a word. Best for: small businesses and tech-savvy households that want their own cloud. Not for: people who just want to install an app and write.

Visit nextcloud.com →

5. Collabora Office

A free, modern desktop office built on LibreOffice – from a British company with an office in Hamburg

Collabora Office and Collabora Online are made by Collabora Productivity Ltd, a division of the software consultancy Collabora, with offices in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and Hamburg, Germany. The UK is outside the EU – keep that in mind if EU jurisdiction matters to you. Collabora calls itself the single largest contributor of commits to the LibreOffice codebase. Ownership is not stated. The desktop app runs locally; the website is on Hetzner in Germany (AS24940).

What users say. Collabora has no reviews on Trustpilot yet, and the Mac app has too few ratings to show a score.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. The new Collabora Office desktop app brings the Collabora Online interface to Windows, macOS and Linux, with apps for Android and iOS. It is based on LibreOffice, edits DOCX, XLSX, XLSM and PPTX as well as ODF, works offline and is free in the Mac App Store. For businesses, Collabora Online adds browser co-editing on your own server. What you lose: Collabora does not promise perfect DOCX or XLSX fidelity, the company is British, and the online version needs a server.

Facts: HQ United Kingdom (Cambridge), office in Hamburg · desktop app: free (version 26.04) · Collabora Online for Business €3/user/month (up to 99 users) · Development Edition: free, for testing and home use · Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android · based on LibreOffice.

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy for the desktop app; moderate for Collabora Online, which needs hosting.

My take: Collabora Office is LibreOffice with a cleaner, tabbed interface and mobile apps, and the desktop version costs nothing. For small businesses, €3 per user a month for online co-editing is cheap. It is fifth because the company is in the UK, not the EU. Best for: people who find LibreOffice old-fashioned. Not for: buyers who need an EU-registered vendor.

Visit collaboraonline.com →

6. Proton Docs

End-to-end encrypted documents and spreadsheets inside Proton Drive – free with a Proton account

Proton Docs and Proton Sheets are made by Proton AG in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 2014 and majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation. They live inside Proton Drive, which runs on Proton’s own network in Switzerland (AS62371).

What users say. Proton’s main Trustpilot profile has 2.1/5 from 1,802 reviews. It is titled Proton Mail but covers other Proton products too; frequent complaints are slow support and account locks.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. Proton Docs is an end-to-end encrypted, real-time collaborative editor with suggestions, comments and sharing with people who have no Proton account; Proton Sheets adds spreadsheets. According to Proton’s help pages, Docs imports and exports DOCX (plus PDF export), and Sheets handles XLSX, CSV and TSV. Both are in the free 5 GB plan. What you lose: there is no presentation app, editing a Word file creates a new copy, and the editors are far simpler than Word and Excel.

Facts: HQ Switzerland (Geneva) · founded 2014 · free plan: 5 GB with Docs and Sheets · Drive Plus $4.99/month (200 GB) · Docs: imports DOCX, exports DOCX and PDF · Sheets: XLSX, CSV, TSV · no presentations · end-to-end encrypted.

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy for text and simple spreadsheets; not an option for presentations.

My take: Proton Docs is the right choice when privacy is the point: Proton cannot read your documents, and it costs nothing to start. It replaces Word for everyday writing and Excel for simple sheets, but not PowerPoint, which is why it sits sixth. Best for: writers and freelancers who want private documents. Not for: anyone who needs PowerPoint or advanced Excel.

Visit proton.me →

7. CryptPad

Encrypted documents, spreadsheets and slides in the browser – open source, from Paris

CryptPad is developed by XWiki SAS, a Paris company that has made open-source software for more than 20 years. Since 2016 CryptPad has been funded mainly by French and European research grants (67%), with 25% from subscriptions and 8% from donations. The flagship instance cryptpad.fr runs on OVH in France (AS16276).

What users say. CryptPad has 3.6/5 on Trustpilot, but with only one review in the last 12 months – far too few to mean anything.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. CryptPad offers Document, Sheet and Presentation apps plus Kanban, forms, diagrams and a whiteboard, all encrypted in your browser so the server cannot read them. Its Document and Sheet apps are integrations of ONLYOFFICE; they import and export DOCX, ODT, XLSX and ODS. What you lose: macros and plugins are disabled for security, undo is off in the default fast mode, there are no desktop or mobile apps, and CryptPad’s own docs recommend LibreOffice for printing.

Facts: HQ France (Paris) · funded since 2016 · free account on cryptpad.fr · paid plans €5 to €100/month · own instance from €1,500/year · formats: DOCX, ODT, XLSX, ODS, PDF export · open source (AGPL-3) · browser only.

Switching from Microsoft Office: moderate – simple files import well, but you work in the browser with fewer features.

My take: CryptPad is the best free way to co-edit documents without anyone else being able to read them, and it is EU-based and open source. It sits seventh because the editing experience is a step down from Word and Excel. Best for: associations and small groups that share sensitive documents. Not for: people who need offline Office-grade editing.

Visit cryptpad.org →

8. ONLYOFFICE

The most Office-like editors – free desktop apps built around DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, with a holding company in Singapore

ONLYOFFICE is made by Ascensio System SIA, registered in Riga, Latvia, where the company says its intellectual property has always been held. Its holding company, ONLYOFFICE Capital Group Pte. Ltd., is registered in Singapore, and founder and CEO Lev Bannov is based in Istanbul. Heise reports that ONLYOFFICE has Russian roots, which Nextcloud cited when it created the Euro-Office fork; ONLYOFFICE then ended its eight-year partnership with Nextcloud and says the fork breaks its AGPL licence terms. The website runs on Amazon CloudFront, and ONLYOFFICE said in 2021 that its European cloud runs on AWS in Frankfurt.

What users say. ONLYOFFICE has 2.8/5 from 20 reviews on Trustpilot. Users like the intuitive interface; complaints are about crashes and lost work, installers and slow enterprise support.

What it replaces from Microsoft Office – and what it doesn’t. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors are free for personal and professional use on Windows, macOS and Linux, with mobile apps, and the vendor says they are built around native support for DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. DocSpace adds a cloud with co-editing, free for up to 3 admins. What you lose: a European entity sits under a Singapore holding, the cloud runs on a US provider, and Business DocSpace costs $20 per admin a month.

Facts: Registered in Latvia (Riga) · holding in Singapore · Desktop Editors: free · DocSpace Startup: free (3 admins, 2 GB) · DocSpace Business $20/admin/month · Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, web · European cloud on AWS Frankfurt (2021 statement).

Switching from Microsoft Office: easy – the files and the look stay close to Office.

My take: On compatibility alone ONLYOFFICE would rank near the top. It is last because the ownership is spread across Latvia, Singapore and beyond, the cloud runs on AWS, and the Russian-roots debate is unresolved. If you like its editors, Euro-Office inside Nextcloud gives you the same code base under European control. Best for: people who only care about Office-like files and look. Not for: anyone switching for sovereignty reasons.

Visit onlyoffice.com →

What European office suites cost compared with Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office is now mostly a subscription. Most European suites are free on the desktop, and the paid ones cost less than Microsoft 365 or come with a one-time licence.

Prices as shown on each vendor’s pricing page on 25 October 2026, in the currency shown there. SoftMaker showed US dollar prices. Infomaniak’s business kSuite starts at CHF 1.76 per user a month excl. VAT.

How to switch from Microsoft Office to a European office suite

1. List the files that matter. Find your most complex documents and spreadsheets, especially any that use VBA macros – those are the ones most likely to need work.
2. Install the new suite next to Office. LibreOffice, FreeOffice and Collabora Office are free, so you can open your real files side by side before you cancel anything.
3. Choose your default format. If you exchange files with Office users, set DOCX, XLSX and PPTX as defaults; if not, ODF is an open ISO standard.
4. Move your files out of OneDrive. Download them and upload them to a European cloud such as Infomaniak kDrive, Proton Drive or a Nextcloud provider.
5. Cancel Microsoft 365 before it renews. Keep the subscription until the end of the paid period while you check that everything opens correctly.

Microsoft Office alternatives: FAQ

My verdict: which European office suite to switch to

Most people leaving Microsoft Office should install LibreOffice: it is free, made under a non-profit foundation in Berlin, replaces Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, and opens your existing files. If you want your files to stay in DOCX and XLSX and the screen to look like Office, choose SoftMaker Office – start with the free FreeOffice. If what you really use is Microsoft 365 in the browser with OneDrive, Infomaniak kSuite is the easiest Swiss replacement, and small businesses that want their own cloud should look at Nextcloud Office with Euro-Office.

Whatever you choose, run it next to Office for a few weeks with your real files before you cancel Microsoft 365.