Microsoft 365 apps are hired for word processing, spreadsheets and slides. The jobs are common, so replacements exist, but the real work is finding which seats and which files need the exact product. Below: what to settle first, the open-source options we verified, and how to test before you commit.
Customers, lenders and auditors may send files in these formats, so staying on the same product can feel like the only way to be sure a file opens correctly. That worry is reasonable, and it is a common reason this line stays.
Seats can also pile up. A license is added when someone joins, and removing it when they leave is a task someone has to own.
Often the cheapest first move is to count seats against people, not to change tools at all.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Open source | GPL-3.0 | LibreOffice repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| ONLYOFFICE Docs | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | ONLYOFFICE Docs repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
Microsoft 365 apps are hired for word processing, spreadsheets and slides. The job is common, and so are the file formats, but the details are where moves go wrong. Macros, complex spreadsheets and exact page layout are the usual trouble.
LibreOffice is published under GPL-3.0 and ONLYOFFICE Docs under AGPL-3.0, according to their repositories on the checked date. Both carry obligations a reader should read, and the AGPL applies to modified versions offered over a network. How well either one opens your own files is a question to test on copies of your real documents, not one we can answer for you.
Samples are made up and are not Microsoft 365 apps's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
What paying a year up front really costs: the premium for monthly, the break-even month and the interest rate the discount works out to.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Moving editors is a compatibility test followed by a seat-by-seat decision. In outline:
List every user, what they use it for, and when they last signed in. Separate editor seats from email, calendar and sign-in needs.
Collect the twenty or so files people open most, including any spreadsheet with macros or links, and the templates customers or auditors expect.
Open each file in the replacement and compare it to the original: formulas, page breaks, fonts, comments. List what changed.
Pick a pilot group with simple needs. Have them work in the replacement for two weeks and record what blocked them.
Decide per person: replace, keep, or move to a read-only viewer. Do not move anyone whose files failed the test.
Change the seats at the next renewal, as the contract allows. Keep the originals of every important file in storage you control.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. Microsoft 365 apps is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
Paying 905.00 more on day one saves the other eleven monthly bills. The discount is worth that much a year on the cash you hand over early. If your cash earns or costs you less than this, annual wins, as long as you will use the tool all year.
| Months used | Monthly plan | Annual plan | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 95.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 3 | 285.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 6 | 570.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 9 | 855.00 | 1,000.00 | Monthly |
| 12 | 1,140.00 | 1,000.00 | Annual |
Assumes the monthly plan bills at the start of each month and the annual plan does not refund. Check your order form for both.