If you're paying £5.99 a month (or £79.99 a year) for a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription just to write letters, do the household budget and open the odd attachment from work, you're spending money you probably don't need to spend. LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite that includes Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), and several smaller tools, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. But "free" only matters if it actually does the job — so this guide looks honestly at where LibreOffice matches Microsoft 365, and where it doesn't.
Key takeaway: LibreOffice is a genuinely capable free replacement for the vast majority of home users, but heavy Word/Excel power users with complex formatting or macros should test it carefully before cancelling a subscription.
What LibreOffice gets right
For everyday tasks — CVs, letters, invoices, household budgets, simple presentations — LibreOffice is every bit as capable as Microsoft 365. Writer opens and saves .docx files, Calc opens and saves .xlsx, and Impress handles .pptx. The interface will feel familiar to anyone who's used an older version of Office, with menus and toolbars rather than Microsoft's modern "Ribbon" (though a Ribbon-style layout is available as an option in recent versions). Crucially, LibreOffice has no subscription, no login requirement, no forced cloud storage, and no advertising — you download it once from libreoffice.org and it's yours.
Where compatibility can wobble
This is the honest part. LibreOffice's file format support is very good but not pixel-perfect. If you open a Word document with intricate formatting — nested tables, tracked-changes-heavy legal documents, custom fonts that aren't installed on your PC, or advanced SmartArt diagrams — you may notice small shifts in spacing, line breaks, or object positioning when you open it in Writer, and vice versa if you send a LibreOffice file to someone using Word. Excel files with complex macros (VBA) or certain advanced chart types can also behave differently in Calc. For a typical home user writing letters and doing simple spreadsheets, none of this matters. For someone regularly exchanging heavily-formatted documents with a workplace that uses Microsoft 365, it's worth testing your specific files first.
Tip: Before switching over fully, open your five or six most important existing documents in LibreOffice and check they still look right. This takes ten minutes and tells you immediately whether your particular files are a good fit.
Getting set up
- Go to libreoffice.org and download the installer for your operating system — it's free with no email sign-up required.
- Run the installer and choose a standard installation; it typically takes under 400MB of disk space.
- Open your existing Word, Excel or PowerPoint files directly — LibreOffice can open Microsoft formats natively, so there's no need to convert anything first.
- In Writer or Calc, use File > Save As and keep the file type as .docx or .xlsx if you need to keep sending files to Microsoft Office users, rather than switching to LibreOffice's native .odt/.ods formats.
- Check Tools > Options to set your preferred default save format, so you don't have to choose it every time.
How it compares
| Factor | LibreOffice | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, forever | ~£79.99/year |
| Works offline | Yes, fully | Yes, with occasional login checks |
| Cloud storage | Not included (use your own) | 1TB OneDrive included |
| Complex formatting fidelity | Very good, occasional quirks | Best (it's the native format) |
| Collaboration/real-time co-editing | Limited | Strong, built-in |
Before you start: only download LibreOffice from the official libreoffice.org site. Third-party download sites sometimes bundle unrelated toolbars or adware alongside the genuine installer.
Who should switch
If you mainly write documents for yourself, manage a household budget, or need something to open the occasional attachment, LibreOffice will save you money with almost no downside. If you rely on real-time co-authoring with colleagues, heavy VBA macros, or need pixel-perfect fidelity with a workplace using the latest Office features, keep Microsoft 365 for now — or use both, since they can coexist on the same PC without conflict.
Frequently asked questions
- Can LibreOffice open password-protected Word or Excel files?
- Yes, LibreOffice supports opening files encrypted with a password in Microsoft's format, and you can add or remove password protection from within LibreOffice too.
- Will my fonts look different?
- If a document uses a font that isn't installed on your computer, both LibreOffice and Microsoft Office will substitute a similar font, which can shift line spacing slightly. Installing the actual font resolves this in either program.
- Does LibreOffice work on Chromebooks or tablets?
- LibreOffice itself is a desktop application for Windows, macOS and Linux. On Chromebooks you'd need Linux (Crostini) support enabled, and there's no official mobile app, though a community-supported Android/iOS viewer exists with limited editing.