Which Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive fits your business?

Even though Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) impresses with its features and func­tion­al­i­ty, some busi­ness­es are looking for suitable al­ter­na­tives—either because the sub­scrip­tion model is not feasible for them, the feature set is too extensive, or the costs are too high. We have reviewed the various Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tives on the market for you and present the best options.

Important features a Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive should have

The extensive feature set of Microsoft 365 remains a key advantage for many users and is one of the main reasons why Microsoft Office ap­pli­ca­tions continue to be the standard in most companies. For an al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365 to be a viable option, it needs to provide many of the functions as­so­ci­at­ed with the market leader.

The role of Exchange servers

Data exchange is a critical factor in modern busi­ness­es, and col­lab­o­ra­tive work on documents and processes is becoming ever more important. In this context, high avail­abil­i­ty and a de­pend­able version history are es­pe­cial­ly relevant. Many or­ga­ni­za­tions continue to rely on Microsoft Office, often alongside a hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, as only a few al­ter­na­tives — such as Google Workspace or the OX App Suite — provide com­pa­ra­ble ca­pa­bil­i­ties. When con­sid­er­ing an al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365, it is therefore vital to pay attention to this aspect. Companies that rely heavily on Exchange may otherwise be forced to implement complex and time-consuming workarounds.

Accepting file formats

Another central aspect to consider is file format com­pat­i­bil­i­ty. A viable al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365 must be able to create files that users with the Microsoft Office plan can open, and also process files created within it. Since Microsoft 365 remains widely used in the business world, it is not always practical to provide every document solely as a uni­ver­sal­ly readable PDF. For those who want to col­lab­o­rate on documents with business partners, partner companies, or customers, in­te­grat­ing the ap­pro­pri­ate file formats is essential. On­ly­Of­fice, for example, offers par­tic­u­lar­ly high com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with Microsoft formats (including DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX) without loss of for­mat­ting. This is the only way to ensure seamless data exchange across different programs. Al­ter­na­tives to Microsoft 365 that do not offer this level of com­pat­i­bil­i­ty were therefore not included in the direct com­par­i­son.

Taking the GDPR into account

Another important point for busi­ness­es is the General Data Pro­tec­tion Reg­u­la­tion (GDPR) and its con­sid­er­a­tion within programs. Microsoft 365 already took a pi­o­neer­ing role here, im­press­ing with its con­sis­tent and exemplary im­ple­men­ta­tion. Solutions like On­ly­Of­fice (in self-hosting) or the OX App Suite (European provider) now meet GDPR re­quire­ments sometimes more strictly than Microsoft or Google. This has the immense advantage that you have to worry less about this issue. GDPR aspects can be prob­lem­at­ic with some al­ter­na­tives, es­pe­cial­ly the free ones. Data pro­tec­tion should never be neglected when con­sid­er­ing Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tives.

It’s crucial for U.S. busi­ness­es to recognize that GDPR com­pli­ance is not just a European issue but one that impacts global data practices. Using al­ter­na­tives that may not meet GDPR standards—es­pe­cial­ly free solutions—can expose companies to potential risks. When exploring al­ter­na­tives to Microsoft 365, data pro­tec­tion should always be a top priority.

Overview of al­ter­na­tives to Microsoft 365

We’ve put together an overview of the leading al­ter­na­tives to Microsoft 365. While there are certainly many other options on the market, here we focus on the most widely used and popular solutions.

Cost legend:

+ = low  
++ = medium  
+++ = high

On­ly­Of­fice

On­ly­Of­fice offers a modern open-source al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365. The tool is par­tic­u­lar­ly strong when combined with Nextcloud or as a self-hosted solution for privacy-focused companies. With high format com­pat­i­bil­i­ty and granular user man­age­ment, the platform is also suitable for pro­fes­sion­al teams.

Ad­van­tages

Besides the seamless use of Microsoft Office file formats, On­ly­Of­fice impresses with an intuitive user interface and extensive options for real-time col­lab­o­ra­tion. Companies that value data sov­er­eign­ty par­tic­u­lar­ly benefit from the option to operate the solution in their own data center, thereby main­tain­ing full control over sensitive data. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, On­ly­Of­fice’s modular structure allows for flexible in­te­gra­tion into existing IT in­fra­struc­tures and is fully GDPR-compliant when self-hosting.

Dis­ad­van­tages

Despite its many strengths, On­ly­Of­fice also has some lim­i­ta­tions. The func­tion­al­i­ty of in­di­vid­ual modules (e.g., pre­sen­ta­tions or spread­sheets) is not as advanced as in Microsoft 365, es­pe­cial­ly with complex formulas, macros, or diagrams. Even though real-time editing works reliably, per­for­mance can decline when large files are edited si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly—par­tic­u­lar­ly in self-hosted setups without adequate server resources.

Google Workspace

Google Workspace is the pro­fes­sion­al version of the Google Apps available for free to private users. It brings together a variety of features, supported by the strength of Google’s ar­chi­tec­ture. Therefore, companies that already rely heavily on many Google services in­creas­ing­ly choose this solution.

Ad­van­tages

In addition to seamless handling of Office file formats, this Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive offers the benefit of un­re­strict­ed access to all Google services from anywhere. Pri­or­i­tized support and a broad service portfolio round out the offering. Real-time col­lab­o­ra­tion is fully supported, and with unlimited online storage available, the solution is also highly scalable.

Dis­ad­van­tages

As an American cor­po­ra­tion, Google is subject to the Cloud Act and must grant U.S. au­thor­i­ties access to its users’ data. Since data use and sharing on the European side are subject to the GDPR, companies need to set up an ad­di­tion­al data pro­cess­ing agreement with the U.S. company.

When it comes to Google Workspace, there are hardly any dis­ad­van­tages in its use. However, those who are skeptical of Google and the security of Google Drive and have not yet worked with the various solutions might be better served by another Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive.

Li­bre­Of­fice

Li­bre­Of­fice was orig­i­nal­ly created as a fork of OpenOf­fice and is therefore built on the same ar­chi­tec­ture. However, the de­vel­op­ment team found OpenOf­fice’s min­i­mal­ist approach too limiting, which led them to rein­tro­duce many practical features in Li­bre­Of­fice. Par­tic­u­lar­ly for free­lancers, this free al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365 can be a solid and reliable choice.

Ad­van­tages

Due to its sim­i­lar­i­ty to Microsoft 365, the program is highly beginner-friendly and easy to use. Common file formats are supported, allowing you to read, edit, and save Office documents. The straight­for­ward user interface and un­com­pli­cat­ed func­tion­al­i­ty also reduce memory usage, making the program par­tic­u­lar­ly appealing on weaker hardware.

Dis­ad­van­tages

Li­bre­Of­fice was developed with a focus on in­di­vid­ual users, offering busi­ness­es only a limited portfolio of options. Es­pe­cial­ly, group work and the con­ve­nient exchange of files in real-time are only partially feasible with this Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive. While specific features can be in­te­grat­ed, they typically need to be self-developed—requiring technical know-how and po­ten­tial­ly being complex or prone to errors.

OX App Suite

The OX App Suite, by contrast, delivers many of the features users expect right out of the box. It also fully meets modern privacy re­quire­ments. In addition, the intuitive menu nav­i­ga­tion and extensive func­tion­al­i­ty make it easy to handle virtually all Office Suite tasks con­ve­nient­ly and ef­fi­cient­ly with the OX App Suite.

Ad­van­tages

The OX App Suite primarily impresses with its extensive func­tion­al­i­ty, which is on par with Microsoft 365. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the program offers not only a com­pre­hen­sive Office in­te­gra­tion with all file formats but also an in­tel­li­gent email solution, including online storage and suitable email addresses for your business.

Dis­ad­van­tages

When using the OX App Suite as a Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive, you will need to adapt to a different operating en­vi­ron­ment. At first, this involves a no­tice­able ad­just­ment across the various programs and in­ter­faces. However, once the tran­si­tion is complete, the change is unlikely to be regretted.

iWork for iCloud

iWork for iCloud is Apple’s own al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365. This solution is mainly suited for companies that already operate within an Apple-based in­fra­struc­ture, enabling them to use the programs more seam­less­ly. For busi­ness­es relying on the Microsoft ecosystem without Apple devices, the benefits are limited. Although iCloud apps can be accessed via Windows browsers, func­tion­al­i­ty is re­strict­ed, and usage on Android devices is not of­fi­cial­ly supported. However, where the right devices are in place, iWork can be a strong Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive, im­press­ing users with its features and ca­pa­bil­i­ties.

Ad­van­tages

This free solution is perfect for all Apple en­thu­si­asts: It is fully com­pat­i­ble with iOS and usable without re­stric­tions on all Apple devices, whether it’s a MacBook, iMac, iPad, or iPhone. Col­lab­o­ra­tive work, such as si­mul­ta­ne­ous document editing by different users, is also possible.

Dis­ad­van­tages

The use of iWork for iCloud is primarily ben­e­fi­cial for companies with an existing Apple in­fra­struc­ture. Although this al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365 can be utilized on Windows PCs via the web versions of Apple programs Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, its func­tion­al­i­ty is sig­nif­i­cant­ly limited. The full value of iCloud is realized mainly in con­junc­tion with the Apple operating system. On many tablets and smart­phones (for example, Android devices), the use of iWork for iCloud is currently limited or not possible at all.

Every Microsoft 365 al­ter­na­tive offers its own ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages

Choosing an al­ter­na­tive to Microsoft 365 often means ben­e­fit­ing from the unique strengths of each system. This can be an advantage for companies when the range of tools in Microsoft Office is either too extensive or does not align with their specific needs. It is also important to factor in GDPR com­pli­ance to ensure long-term benefits from the solution you select.

Since al­ter­na­tives to Microsoft 365 are generally used over many years, it is worth taking the time to carefully evaluate all pros and cons. Solutions such as Google Workspace or the OX App Suite can serve as effective re­place­ments in a pro­fes­sion­al en­vi­ron­ment.