I replaced my entire Microsoft Office subscription with free open-source apps

I’ve been paying for Microsoft Office for years without thinking twice about it. It was the software I was taught in school, saw being used in offices, colleges, and everywhere else. But that subscription cost has been adding up, and I’ve been paying money for features buried in Word and Excel that I don’t even use.

So I decided to cancel my subscription and replace Microsoft Office with free, open-source alternatives. I had already done this when I replaced Adobe apps with open-source alternatives, and what I found surprised me because not only are these tools saving me money, some of them are actually better for me than Microsoft’s offerings.

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LibreOffice Writer

Microsoft Word

I’ve used Microsoft Word for everything from quick notes to my entire journalism school dissertation. However, it’s overkill for a majority of the tasks I do on a daily basis. LibreOffice Writer stepped up beautifully.

It handles .docx files natively, which solves my biggest concerns as I don’t have to worry about leaving all my old documents behind or converting them. It also includes essentials like spell check, grammar checking, styles, mail merge, and export to PDF without requiring additional software. The interface is also quite user-friendly, and honestly, if you’ve ever used Word, you’ll be up to speed in no time.

5

LibreOffice Calc

Microsoft Excel

Spreadsheets are trickier to replace because Excel power users often have complex needs and need the more powerful features it offers. Excel is my most-used program in the Microsoft Office suite, so finding a suitable replacement was tricky. Thankfully, LibreOffice Calc does everything I need it to. Budgets, data tracking, formulas, charts, you name it, Calc will handle it.

Similar to LibreOffice Writer, Calc supports Excel files (.xlsx) and even some legacy Excel formats natively. It includes pivot tables, advanced functions, and even scenario management. That said, I had trouble getting some of my more complicated Excel sheets to render properly. Nothing was missing, but Calc would introduce small changes that take a couple of minutes to get right as you move a file from Excel.

If you frequently work with complex spreadsheets and need maximum Microsoft compatibility, OnlyOffice Spreadsheets is another free, open-source option worth considering. It uses Microsoft’s OOXML format natively, so Excel files render nearly perfectly regardless of complexity. Or if you’re a jam and need a quick spreadsheet tool, Google Sheets will do just fine. It’s free, web-based, but not exactly open source.

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LibreOffice Impress

Microsoft PowerPoint

For Presentations, LibreOffice Impress is a capable replacement. It opens and saves PowerPoint files without hassle, includes templates and transitions, and handles slide design reasonably well.

I don’t use PowerPoint frequently, so this tool wasn’t exactly at the top of my list, and I didn’t have to worry about leaving old presentations behind or formatting issues with existing ones. Once again, if you work with complex spreadsheets regularly and need maximum Microsoft compatibility, OnlyOffice Spreadsheets is another free option that might give you fewer headaches with formatting consistency.

3

Thunderbird

Microsoft Outlook

I’m not really into email clients. However, Thunderbird, Mozilla’s open-source email client, might change that.

It natively supports Microsoft Exchange email without requiring third-party add-ons. It also brings together email, calendar, and contacts in one app, works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and includes built-in encryption via OpenPGP. Finally, there’s a huge library of add-ons for customization, plus robust spam filtering and phishing protection. Calendar and address book sync with Exchange is still in the works, but for email alone, Thunderbird will do just fine.

2

Joplin

Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is another one of my most used tools from Microsoft, especially sticky notes. I’ve used it for years to organize research, reading lists, personal notes, and more. Joplin is one of the several offline-first note-taking apps that sync only when you decide, respects your privacy, and offer all the features you’d need to jot down the most complete notes possible. In fact, I even dumped Obsidian for Joplin, and I’m not going back.

Joplin uses Markdown for formatting, supports notebooks and to-do lists, and can sync across devices using a cloud service of your choice. More importantly, it offers end-to-end encryption, meaning your notes stay private. It’s definitely not as polished as OneNote, and it will take you a while to extract its full potential, especially considering the interface, which tries to do a lot more than it should. For someone prioritizing privacy, data ownership, and their wallet, the trade-off is well worth it.

1

Copyparty

Microsoft OneDrive

For cloud storage and syncing files across devices, I replaced OneDrive with Copyparty. It’s an open-source, ultra-lightweight file server you can host yourself on anything from a spare PC, an old phone, to a Raspberry Pi. There’s nothing to install for clients, and any device on your network or the internet can access your files via a web browser.

You get drag-and-drop uploads, search, user management, and even media streaming. No big cloud provider peeks at your data, no storage limits beyond your hard drive, and no subscription fees. Just a simple Python file making all your data available when and where you want it. Copyparty doesn’t have the office suite integrations or collaborative editing like Nextcloud, but Nextcloud didn’t expect competition like this, and Copyparty excels at fast, direct, private file sharing, which is perfect for backup, transfers, or syncing with apps like Joplin.

Productivity doesn’t have to cost you a dime

I’m saving $70 per year, and honestly, my workflow hasn’t been affected at all. Some apps like Thunderbird feel like upgrades. Others, like Copyparty, require a slight workflow tweak but deliver better privacy and control.

If you’re paying for office out of habit rather than necessity, give these alternatives a try. You might be surprised at how little you actually need Microsoft.