Here is the secret nobody tells new switchers: most people who 'run Office on Linux' actually run something else, happily, every day. LibreOffice and OnlyOffice handle the real documents of real offices - and this guide compares them without favour.
Replacing a tool is a different mindset from imitating it. These two free suites do not pretend to be Microsoft Office - they do the same jobs, in Microsoft's own file formats. This guide grades them on the work that matters: your documents, your printing, your colleagues on Windows.
Zorin OS arrives with LibreOffice installed: Writer for documents, Calc for spreadsheets, Impress for presentations. It opens and saves Microsoft formats directly, includes a capable PDF exporter, and its spreadsheet goes deeper than most people ever need - pivot tables, serious formulas, even a macro system of its own (not VBA, but powerful).
Its honest weak spots: the interface feels a generation older than Microsoft Office, and in heavily formatted documents - complex tables, floating objects, fancy WordArt-era decorations - layouts can shift a little. For documents you create and control, that rarely matters.
OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is a free download, and switchers notice it in the first minute: the ribbon, the icons, the whole layout deliberately mirror modern Microsoft Office, so your hands already know where things are. It was built around Microsoft's file formats from the start, which shows in how faithfully typical office documents render.
Its honest weak spots: it is a younger suite, so the very deepest Excel corners and some specialist tools are thinner than LibreOffice's, and very large files can feel heavier. For the standard office diet - letters, quotations, marksheets, reports, normal spreadsheets - many users find it the most comfortable chair in the room.
Do not choose by screenshots. Choose by your files:
For a home user or a small office creating its own documents, this route is not second prize - it is the simplest, fastest and completely free answer, with no licences, no browser dependence and no virtual machine to feed. Keep Office on the web in your back pocket for the rare shared document, and the combination covers nearly everything a normal working week contains.
Watch the suites in action in the video, then run the five-file test with your own documents.
▶️ Watch Full VideoFor documents that must look right, OnlyOffice often renders typical Office files a touch more faithfully and feels more familiar. For deep spreadsheet features and breadth of tools, LibreOffice is stronger. The honest answer is to open your own five most important files in both - the test takes twenty minutes and settles it for your work.
Yes. Both open, edit and save .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files directly. Set Microsoft formats as the default save format in settings if you regularly exchange files with Windows users, so you never send an .odt file by accident.
No. LibreOffice is free and open source for any use, and OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is free for home and business use. Neither needs a licence key, activation or subscription.