We are going to look at the main strengths and weaknesses of FreeOffice and LibreOffice to see which of the two suites is better.
Pros and cons of LibreOffice
Can download LibreOffice .
Pros
Among the main advantages of this program is the fact that, in addition to being free, it is open source. The Document Foundation, the company behind the development of this software, offers outstanding maintenance, constantly improving its operation and compatibility.
This is one of the most complete free office suites, since it has a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentations and a database administrator. Almost the same thing that Microsoft offers us in its suite. Also, we can find it for any desktop operating systemalthough it has not yet made the leap to mobile operating systems.
LibreOffice is translated into a total of 110 languages, and also has Microsoft Office compatibility, being able to open your documents (although some leave a little to be desired) and save them in Microsoft document format. It even has a Interface (optional) tab-based very similar to MS Office.
It has a large number of extensions to customize how it works and add new functions, a good number of dictionaries and, what’s more, we can download it as a portable device to always carry it with us on a USB memory.
cons
One of the first drawbacks that we can put to this software is that, although it is compatible with MS Office, in reality there are many aspects of said compatibility that do not end up going well. The most common thing is to find that, when opening a DOCX document, the format is not respected.
Another major con is that the database administrator, Base, depends on Java. This makes the suite much larger than it should be. Also, due to legacy of the past, the consumption of resources is quite high.
Many features are below those of Office. For example, video editing within slides, or spreadsheet functions.
Pros and cons of FreeOffice
Can download FreeOffice for free .
Pros
Undoubtedly, its main strong point is the excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office documents, something LibreOffice fails a lot at. This suite allows us to open doc(x), xls(x) and ppt(x) without destroying the format and design of the original document.
Regarding consumption, being a reduced edition, it is much lighter than other similar suites. Especially on Linux. Also, it does not depend on Java, which makes it take up less space on your hard disk and run faster than other suites.
FreeOffice allows us customize the appearance of programs, being able to use a menu-based interface, like the old versions of Office, or one based on tabs like the Office Ribbon interface. We can find this suite available for both windows as for linux and macOS. In addition, we can also download it in android.
cons
Comparing this program directly with LibreOffice, the first thing we come across is that, although it’s free, its license is private. And, to be able to use this suite, we must register our mail.
Furthermore, we are not dealing with a complete version, but rather with a “minimum version” of SoftMaker Office, which is the suite that really competes against MS Office. In FreeOffice we are not going to find, for example, software to manage databases. And, in addition, the functions of the main programs (word processor, spreadsheets and presentations) are limited. For a very basic use it may be worth it, but for a somewhat more advanced use we must go through the checkout to unlock the extra functions.
Which office suite is better?
Definitely, both LibreOffice and FreeOffice are great alternatives to Microsoft Office. The two bring us the essential programs to be able to work, such as a word processor, a spreadsheet and a program to present slides. Both programs are compatible with Office formats, and we can use them completely free of charge. However, the format used by both office suites is not natively compatible with Word, which can pose a compatibility problem when sharing files. The solution to this problem is to save the documents in .doc or .docx format so that they can be edited in Word without compatibility problems.
FreeOffice, on the one hand, is a lighter and faster program than LibreOffice, but on the other hand, it’s a smaller program since it’s designed for users to pay for SoftMaker Office, the full version of this suite. In addition, it offers better compatibility with Office documents, something that can be of vital importance when deciding between one and the other. Not surprisingly, it’s easy for an Office file that we have to view or modify to fall into our hands, which is why the FreeOffice option is superior to that of its rival.
On the other hand, LibreOffice is the quintessential alternative to Microsoft Office: a complete office suite, completely free and open source that will allow us to forget about the Microsoft suite. It also has a great update policy from its developers, offering maintenance that borders on a high level. This will mean that we receive constant updates with bug fixes and new features that are gradually being incorporated. Unfortunately, this suite is quite a bit heavier than the SoftMaker alternative, as well as having compatibility issues.
Without a doubt, both programs are excellent. But if we had to choose the most faithful option to Microsoft Office we would choose LibreOffice, since we can use it without running into any restriction that makes us pay for a higher edition. Unless we need an office suite for Android, since The Document Foundation has not yet made the leap to this operating system properly, and then we can only choose FreeOffice. If the operating system where we want to use it is not a problem, both options are perfectly valid since both LibreOffice and FreeOffice have an application for Linux, something that Microsoft Word lacks.
LibreOfficeFreeOffice Word processorYesYes SpreadsheetsYesYes SlideshowsYesYes DatabasesYesNo Formula editorNoYes Note-takingNoNo Windows operating systems
linux
macOS
FreeBSD
NetBSDWindows
linux
macOS
Android LicensesMPL, GPLv3, LGPLv3- PriceFreeFree
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