Microsoft has dominated for a long time, but there are some new alternative office suites available. The world of freeware and open source applications has grown.
There are now lots of alternatives that allow users to create documents, databases, and spreadsheets at lower costs. Many of the applications are free. It’s a growing trend for uses that are no longer interested in Microsoft Office Suites.
Photo by adria.richards.
1. Think Free
This program is geared towards smart phone users, and it is a popular mobile application because it is an online program. People that are running platforms other than Windows will appreciate this. Mac and Linux users can run the suite without any issues. It is even compatible with the Microsoft Office suite.
This application can be downloaded free on the iPhone and Android phones. It also gives users up to 1GB of space online for document creation and storage.
2. Lotus Symphony
IBM is in direct competition with Microsoft. Lotus Symphony is marketed as productivity suite software. It is free for download on the IBM website. This suite has applications for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
It runs well on Linux systems, and it has received a lot of buzz in the open source community as a decent alternative to Microsoft Office.
3. Neo Office
PC users that are looking for a MAC alternative can utilize the Neo Office suite. The suite has been available since 2003, and it has been one of few alternatives that have been made exclusively for MAC systems.
It has been constantly improved upon, and it is still downloaded by more than 100,000 users annually.
4. Google Docs
The company that reinvented the search engine appears to have a hand in every other aspect of technology. Internet browsers and software applications were inevitable.
Google Docs provides online documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms that can be opened on any computer or phone.
5. Open Office
This suite has become one of the most well-known open source applications on the market. It is used in schools and businesses that are looking for ways to cut costs.
It’s a free download that has a program that’s equivalent to everything in the Microsoft Office suite. It’s the most commonly used free productivity suite because it runs on multiple platforms. Windows, Mac, and Linux users can all run this software without any issues.
There is also an alternate version of Open Office called Libre Office. Open Office is backed by Oracle, but the Libre Office Suite is total open source code. It is fully developed by the community of open source code programmers.