LibreOffice is a completely free office suite, ideal for home and small office use. It contains Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheet), draw, Impress (presentation) and math. The user can add dictionaries or extensions that add functionality. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Libreoffice is well established, used by millions of users despite being only 12 years old (compared to Microsoft office which is 32 years old)
Libreoffice VS Microsoft Office
LibreOffice and Microsoft Office are two well established office productivity suites, each with its own set of advantages and considerations.
LibreOffice is an open-source, free-to-use software suite that offers a comprehensive set of applications.
It’s known for its cost-effectiveness and compatibility with various platforms, making it a preferred choice for budget-conscious users and those who value open-source principles.
Microsoft Office on the other hand, is a paid suite that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other applications. It’s highly popular in the business world due to its extensive features, support and compatibility with proprietary formats.
Libreoffice Writer
LibreOffice is a free office suite, Writer is the word processor in the LibreOffice suite. You can import and export documents in a variety of file formats, including Microsoft Word’s DOCX format. The latest version has added support for PDF import, allowing you to create PDFs from within LibreOffice itself.
LibreOffice Writer allows you to create and edit documents with ease. In addition to standard formatting options, there are more than 600 different fonts available in various languages as well as bold, italicized and underlined text styles. Images can be added along with tables and diagrams created by simple clicks on the screen; bullets and numbering are also available at your fingertips if needed while typing out your document’s content
Libreoffice Calc
Calc is useful for many things, but it’s also available in LibreOffice. You can make spreadsheets for accounting, budgeting and project management.
In Calc you have a wide selection of features:
- A basic spreadsheet with three worksheets
- The ability to create a spreadsheet with any number of columns and rows
- The ability to create column charts or bar charts in your spreadsheets
- The ability to use formulas that calculate results based on the data in your tables
Libreoffice Draw
LibreOffice Draw is a powerful and easy-to-use drawing application. Its core feature set includes drawing, diagramming, and image editing capabilities. It also features 3D drawing and advanced layout options. LibreOffice Draw has been designed to be both fun and easy to use!
Libreoffice Impress
LibreOffice Impress is the program you’ll use to create presentations. It’s the most popular of the three, and as such it’s used in schools, universities and businesses around the world. It’s also used by government agencies and non-profit organizations for making presentations.
Math
LibreOffice Math is a spreadsheet application that can be used to create spreadsheets, charts and statistical graphs. It is compatible with Microsoft Excel.
It’s available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X
Takeaway:
Libreoffice is a free and open source office suite, available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
It’s compatible with Microsoft Office documents and offers features like:
- A word processor called Writer that works in the same way as Word (and comes with an optional WYSIWYG view)
- A spreadsheet app called Calc that resembles Excel’s interface
- Presentation software Impress, which includes some basic presentation templates
Conclusion
Libreoffice is a great alternative to Microsoft Office, and it’s completely free. If you’re looking for something new, give this program a try!