OnlyOffice vs LibreOffice
OnlyOffice and LibreOffice are both open-source European office suites, and they solve different problems. OnlyOffice, from Riga, is built around Microsoft's formats and real-time collaboration, in the cloud or self-hosted. LibreOffice, from a Berlin non-profit, is a free desktop suite that works offline and sends nothing anywhere. Teams exchanging DOCX files pick OnlyOffice; individuals and public bodies often pick LibreOffice.
Choose OnlyOffice if
clients send you complex Word, Excel and PowerPoint files that must not shift, several people edit the same document at once, or you want editing embedded in Nextcloud, ownCloud or Confluence.
Read the OnlyOffice reviewChoose LibreOffice if
you want a complete suite that costs nothing, runs entirely on your own machine with no account, uses open ODF formats, and you can accept occasional formatting drift in Microsoft files.
Read the LibreOffice reviewOnlyOffice and LibreOffice side by side
| OnlyOffice | LibreOffice | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Ascensio System SIA | The Document Foundation |
| Headquarters | Riga, Latvia | Berlin, Germany |
| Founded | 2009 | 2010 |
| Jurisdiction | EU (Latvia) | EU (Germany), non-profit foundation |
| Where the data sits | EU, or self-hosted | Runs entirely on your own machine |
| Pricing | Free desktop and self-hosted / cloud from about €4/user/month | Free and open source |
| Free tier or trial | Free desktop editors | Free |
| Certifications and checks | Open source | GDPR — no data leaves the device |
| Source code | Open source | Open source (MPL 2.0 / LGPL) |
| Usually replaces | Microsoft 365, Google Docs | Microsoft 365, Google Docs |
| Position in our Office Suites guide | #1 of 9 | #5 of 9 |
Both are listed in our European Office Suites guide. The table is built from the same directory data as those entries; how we check it is described in the editorial process.
Where OnlyOffice and LibreOffice differ
Across the four points below, OnlyOffice has the edge on 2 points and LibreOffice on 2 points. A count like that is a summary, not a verdict: the point that matters to you may be the one the other product wins.
Fidelity with Microsoft files
OnlyOffice treats DOCX, XLSX and PPTX as native formats and was engineered around OOXML from the start, so it holds complex layouts, embedded objects and macros. LibreOffice's native format is ODF; it reads and writes Microsoft formats well enough for everyday exchange, but a heavily formatted DOCX can shift. Where a wrong rendering costs money, OnlyOffice wins.
Edge: OnlyOffice
Working together in real time
OnlyOffice includes simultaneous editing, comments, track changes, version history and user tagging. LibreOffice is a local desktop suite: real-time collaborative editing requires Collabora Online on top, and there is no first-party cloud or mobile editing. For a team that co-authors documents, OnlyOffice does it without adding a second product.
Edge: OnlyOffice
Cost and limits
LibreOffice is free with no tier above the one you have: no subscription, no upsell. OnlyOffice's Desktop Editors are also free for personal and commercial use, but its cloud starts from about €4 per user a month and the free self-hosted Community Edition stops at 20 concurrent connections. For a guaranteed zero on the licence line, LibreOffice is the simpler answer.
Edge: LibreOffice
Data exposure and governance
LibreOffice runs entirely on your machine, with no account and nothing transmitted, and is developed by The Document Foundation, a non-profit funded by donations and corporate contributors. OnlyOffice is a commercial product of Ascensio System SIA with EU hosting or self-hosting, and no end-to-end encryption. For the shortest possible data protection assessment, LibreOffice is ahead.
Edge: LibreOffice
When neither OnlyOffice nor LibreOffice fits
If documents must stay unreadable to the server even while people co-edit them, neither fits: CryptPad does zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted collaboration. And if you want a complete self-hosted workspace with files, calendar and calls around the editor, Nextcloud is the platform to look at.
OnlyOffice vs LibreOffice: questions
OnlyOffice. It was engineered around the OOXML formats and is rated best in our office suites category for Microsoft format fidelity. LibreOffice handles DOCX well enough for everyday exchange, with good but not exact fidelity on complex layouts. Test both against your own most heavily formatted document rather than a sample.
LibreOffice is entirely free and open source. OnlyOffice is open source with free Desktop Editors for Windows, macOS and Linux and a free self-hosted Community Edition for up to 20 concurrent connections; beyond that a paid edition is needed, and its cloud service costs from about €4 per user per month.
Yes, both. LibreOffice is installed locally and works entirely offline, with no cloud component at all. OnlyOffice's free Desktop Editors also work offline on local files. The trade in both cases is real-time collaboration, which needs a server: OnlyOffice's own, or Collabora Online in LibreOffice's case.