--- title: "LibreOffice Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is LibreOffice the right Document Management solution for you? Explore 2240 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://bx-capterra-jskei0oik-g2dm.vercel.app/p/158981/LibreOffice/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- LibreOffice 4.3 (2240) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/158981/LibreOffice/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated July 21st, 2026 # Reviews of LibreOffice Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 3.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews ET Edward T Founder and Marketing StrategistMarketing and Advertising, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The ability to have a complete suite of fully functional document and spreadsheet that I can open any file type that a client sends to me any time at no cost is something I do more and more appreciate and the longer I operate my lean agency.“ April 28, 2026 GG Giulio G Postdoctoral ResearcherResearch, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Some advanced features exist but are not always easy to discover, which can slow down workflows unless you already know where to look or customize the interface.“ April 20, 2026 GG Giulio G Postdoctoral ResearcherResearch, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Its compatibility with common document formats (especially .docx, .csv, and .xlsx) allows smooth collaboration with colleagues who use proprietary software.“ April 20, 2026 GG Giulio G Postdoctoral ResearcherResearch, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Occasionally, layout issues appear when exchanging files back and forth multiple times.“ April 20, 2026 RR Rodel C R Journal EditorHospital & Health Care, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Changes and comments are easily readable during peer review, and saving in standard file types keeps co-authors in sync under varied editing environments.“ September 5, 2025 KR Katherine R School AdministratorPrimary/Secondary Education, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Teachers say that the interface is outdated, compared to what they use at home.“ May 31, 2026 GC Georges Attino C Journaliste International MultimediaTelecommunications, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It also lets you work with different file formats and has pretty complete tools for everyday use.“ July 11, 2026 Subhobrata S Co Founder and Lead - Client SuccessManagement Consulting, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “If you use Libre Office, you should convert the files to docx / pdf before sharing with someone, else receivers get confused as they are not familiar with the file extensions“ May 9, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 2240 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Chris L. Operations Publishing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great free alternative to every OFFICE need." March 19, 2026 4.0 Very satisfied with this alternative to OFFICE, which handles about 90% of everything I need for productivity. I am in the TEXT document every single day multiple times, and use the Sheets function every morning. I've used it for several years and am very satisfied with this software. Pros I use LibreOffice every day to write and save documents and sheets. It is a great value for the free plan, easy to use due to familiarity and has all the features I need for my business. Cons The constant upgrades can gum up the system, and the formating doesn't always translate into other files. Review Source DB Damon B. Founder Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great, affordable Microsoft Word alternative" May 19, 2025 5.0 A great, affordable alternative to Microsoft Word. It requires extra effort to save the documents to make them Word-compatible, but the rest of the experience is smooth. Pros The freeware setup gives as many options as Microsoft Word. Cons Saving documents requires additional steps to make them compatible with Microsoft Word. Switched from [Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) Not wanting Microsoft Word's new subscription-based model. Review Source AS Agata S. HR consultant Human Resources Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good program for creating documents" March 17, 2025 3.0 A good alternative for creating simple documents Pros Libre Office is free to use and good alternative to MS Cons Limited in options compared to MS and the document does not open on some devices Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Postdoctoral Researcher Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A Reliable Open‑Source Workhorse" April 20, 2026 5.0 Overall, my experience with LibreOffice has been very positive. It is stable, powerful, and more than sufficient for the majority of academic research tasks, from drafting manuscripts to preparing figures and tables for publication. Once properly set up, it integrates smoothly into a daily research workflow. While it may require occasional workarounds for advanced formatting or collaboration-heavy projects, its strengths, openness, and cost-free availability far outweigh these limitations. I consider LibreOffice a dependable and ethical productivity suite for researchers, especially those committed to open standards and reproducible research. Pros As a postdoctoral researcher, I value tools that are reliable, transparent, and flexible, and LibreOffice fits well into that workflow. I mainly use it for writing research papers, reports, grant drafts, and for light data handling in spreadsheets. Writer is particularly strong for long-form academic documents, as it handles styles, references, footnotes, and large files very well, which is essential when working on journal articles or collaborative reports. I also appreciate that LibreOffice is open source and free, which aligns well with the ideals of open science and makes it easy to recommend to students and collaborators regardless of their institution’s budget. Its compatibility with common document formats (especially .docx, .csv, and .xlsx) allows smooth collaboration with colleagues who use proprietary software. Cons The main downside is that compatibility with Microsoft Office is not always perfect, especially for very complex documents with advanced formatting, tracked changes, or heavily styled tables. Occasionally, layout issues appear when exchanging files back and forth multiple times. The user interface, while functional, can also feel less polished or less intuitive than some commercial alternatives, particularly for new users. Some advanced features exist but are not always easy to discover, which can slow down workflows unless you already know where to look or customize the interface. Review Source VB Vanessa B. Business Advisor International Affairs Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Almost as good as Microsoft Pack Office yet free" March 26, 2025 5.0 Pros Almost as good as Microsoft Pack Office yet free Cons Compatibility issues with Microsoft are always annoying, but probably unavoidable, since they happen even within Microsoft products Switched from [Apache OpenOffice](https://www.capterra.com/p/160717/Apache-OpenOffice/) I was told LibreOffice worked better than OpenOffice, and I believe this is true. Review Source JG Joseph G. owner Arts and Crafts Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Libre Office is the greatest" May 19, 2025 5.0 I have not used it in about ten years. I am glad I discovered it. If it were not for Capterra i would have forgotten about it. Pros It installs really fast. It is a great alternative to Word that is so expensive. I am glad I found something that is not office and it is not open office. I think open office is not bad but this version of Libre has more file saving formats. Cons I had forgotten about it. I have been a bard for a long time and I am a published author so i should have known about this. Reason for choosing LibreOffice It installs fast and it loads fast, I really like having it on my computer. Switched from [Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) ms word is costing me too much money per year Review Source EH Edgar H. Software engineer and owner Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Basic software but with mediocre user interface" January 3, 2025 4.0 I’m also using it to automatically convert docx to pdf and for that use case it works well for simple docx files. For more complex files the output is sometimes messed up when there are headers/ footers, or background images. It also works on windows, Linux and Mac which is great Pros It opens many types of files : Docs, pptx, and xlsx but also the open formats odt, odd. The basic features work pretty well Cons The ui is a bit cluttered, if you’re used to word it will seem more complex to use. The rendering will differ sometimes compared to Microsoft office Alternatives considered [WPS Office](https://www.capterra.com/p/126794/WPS-Office/) Reason for choosing LibreOffice I use both depending on the features I need. However wps was less stable in my experience Review Source TH Tara H. Manager Automotive Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Libre Office is Great!" March 21, 2025 5.0 Love it because I can create word documents easily and save them. Pros I love that it is free and has all the options that other software companies have that charge money. Cons Sometimes it doesn't open up documents correctly. Switched from [Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) No charge to use libre office. Microsoft word is good but charges a fee. In these times we need to save money everywhere we can especially if we don't need it everyday. Small businesses need all the help we can get. Review Source ET Edward T. Founder and Marketing Strategist Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Free office suite, which does not need a subscription and enables you to do daily writing and file work." April 28, 2026 4.0 LibreOffice would meet the requirements of writing the documents and organizing the files of Guide Marketing as well as will not require another recurrent line of expenses which I would have to explain. It will work without fuss on simple professional writing and basic spreadsheet work. Pros The ability to have a complete suite of fully functional document and spreadsheet that I can open any file type that a client sends to me any time at no cost is something I do more and more appreciate and the longer I operate my lean agency. Cons The interface slows me down as it allows navigation in outdated ways. It takes more menu hunting than it ever should to find certain features, which I need to accomplish quite often. Review Source SM Stuart M. Manager Entertainment Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Free open source spreadsheet and word doc" September 19, 2025 5.0 Libreoffice is the free open source version of Microsoft products. And I use Libreoffice Calc (Excel) and writer (word) daily Pros Libreoffice calc is the equivalent of Microsoft Excel. It does everything I needed Excel to do as a basic user and its free. Cons Never tried to email support, as I haven't come up with any bugs or errors, but being free and open source, I doubt there is support Switched from [Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/) High cost of purchase of Microsoft Excel. Review Source RG Resist G. IT Consultant Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Libre Office Saves the Day" January 7, 2025 5.0 Pros Libre office makes office work easier and cheap particularly for small organization. Cons It's not advanced compare to Microsoft office. Switched from [Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) Office 365 is expensive although it has advanced features and usability Review Source JY Jed Y. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A great alternative to MS Office" April 10, 2025 4.0 Overall our experience with LibreOffice has been good. Pros I appreciate that Libre is free for us to use. Cons Too me it seems the user interface is a bit out of date but that is not a deal breaker. Switched from [Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) I switched to LibreOffice because the alternatives were very expensive. Review Source MN Mihail N. Service Engineering Computer & Network Security Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A good alternative to the Microsoft Office." January 14, 2025 4.0 It's not bad for work, but I prefer Microsoft Office. Pros A good program for creating and editing text files and tables Switched from [Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) Microsoft Office is better. I'm more used to it and have been using it for many years. Review Source Response from The Document Foundation January 15, 2025 You probably don't know that Microsoft 365 has fewer features than LibreOffice, which is comparable only to the desktop version of Microsoft Office. Of course, being more used to Microsoft 365 you know where to look for all features, but the opposite happens when you are used to LibreOfffice and look for features in Microsoft 365. Ron M. Project Manager Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent for small businesses!" March 31, 2020 4.0 Overall, LibreOffice was a very nice and useful tool to have in the office, before transitioning to GSuite. The features in LibreOffice are more powerful than GSuite, generally speaking, and there are far more use cases. However, the likelihood of incompatibility or data corruption when transitioning between LibreOffice to other similar software is a little bit higher, even if it can be negligible. That said, it is still a fantastic choice of software, and it's up to you to determine whether or not the pros balance out or exceed the cons. I believe it's worth a shot! Pros The software mimics Microsoft Office quite a bit, so the learning curve is very small. Being that the software is free and open source, it's an excellent ethical addition to the workplace especially during a time where pirated software can be frequently found in the small business world. Cons Compatibility between MS Office and GSuite can be dicey sometimes. Most use cases are fine and not worth worrying, but if you do a lot of work with importing and exporting data and need a consistent way to edit/parse it, LibreOffice may not be your best initial choice for the workplace. LibreOffice can also be slow depending on your computer; a lot of the stuff that is trivially quick to do in a program such as Excel can be a little bit of a crunch with LibreOffice's equivalent. Alternatives considered [Google Workspace](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/)[Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) Reason for choosing LibreOffice LibreOffice was the best way, at the time, to ensure that our office was not pirating software (due to unethical practices by a previous manager). It worked out as an office-wide tool for years, until GSuite's options expanded and became more refined, at which point it became beneficial to switch. However, I still firmly believe that even despite LibreOffice's flaws, it still makes for a magnificent alternative to paid or cloud-oriented products. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Senior Lecturer Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A worth replacement for commercial suites" October 14, 2021 4.0 I used for several years Openoffice and moved flawlessly to LibreOffice. Also if I have an institutional license for Office, I only use it in few occasion when I have to work on extremely macro-configured documents to be shared with colleagues. I daily work with LibreOffice, I appreciate the alternative to commercial suites and love to support it! Pros It is free, it has a wide support and development, with improvements and bugs correction. I cannot but support FLOSS (free libre open source). It has all the major features of other more expensive suites, and I prefer so much its interface compared with Office... There are a lot of free extensions to configure the app at your taste, and a strong community to rely when looking for support. Cons I find weak the image management in Write, and the lack of recording presentations in Impress (the latter not really relevant in a daily workflow). Switched from [Apache OpenOffice](https://www.capterra.com/p/160717/Apache-OpenOffice/)[Microsoft 365](https://www.capterra.com/p/227157/Microsoft-365/) I switched from OpenOffice because it was dismissed. I don't like at all the interface in Office suite, and I have all what I need in LibreOffice, for free! Review Source Carolina C. lighting designer Logistics and Supply Chain Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "in my opinion the best free office software" September 16, 2022 4.0 I was using it until the company moved us all to another system. Pros One of the things that I like the most is that the installation of this program is very simple Once you have downloaded the . You will be presented with a very intuitive screen which is the installation wizard. You won't notice it too much if your connection is not slow. As soon as you install it, you will be presented with a screen where on the right you can choose to open a file, remote files, recent documents, templates and the option to create documents with each of its tools. Cons LibreOffice requires more memory performance than other office suites Switched from [Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/)[Microsoft Excel](https://www.capterra.com/p/176574/Excel/) I was using it until the company moved us all to another system. Review Source CH Clay H. Owner Automotive Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great document management software " April 21, 2025 5.0 Pros I like that the programs are smaller and simpler than their windows counterparts. It makes for a faster running machine. Cons Im not sure there's anything about libreoffice that i dont like. Its a very good set of programs for documents. Review Source PB Paul B. Owner Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "LibreOffice - Free Office Productivity" May 5, 2025 4.0 Very positive over all. It is a great alternative for my clients who do not want to pay for Microsoft Office. Pros The fact that it is free is what my clients like best about it. Most people do not need the advanced features available in Microsoft Word or Excel and so this office productivity suite works beautifully. Also I love that it will open up so many different types of files. Cons Not much to complain about with this software. I guess the look and feel of the product is my least favorite thing. It feels like something I programmed when I first learned to program in the 90s. Review Source SB SREEREKHA B. QA Analyst Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ease of using Libreoffice" May 6, 2025 4.0 Good and easy to create text documents has many options to edit and firmat the text Pros Has good features and options to crete and edit the documents Cons Not mamy options for graphical user interface objects Review Source ST Stelios T. Pharmacist Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great free office software" February 5, 2025 5.0 Pros Great free shift ware that works with Microsoft documents Cons Interface is not as streamlined as Microsoft but still works well Review Source MH Moss H. Graphic Designer Recreational Facilities and Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Needs to be more used!" November 4, 2024 4.0 Pros Intuitive menu design with a stable working experience. Cons Sometimes there can be errors from opening .docx files, however that is not different from most programs. Review Source Nairoby D. Consultor Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Use makes the expert" October 22, 2018 4.0 Pros \- For those who do not know, is the competence of Microsoft Office, open source and I can say with complete certainty that it is very good and can perform almost all the same, if we are casual non-advanced users. - It is easy to install, intuitive and easy to use, it is multiplatform, it comes in different languages, it has a portable version that can be carried on a pendrive. - Currently I use the version Version: 5.0.1.2 and although it is free, I do not have the freedom to update it in the pc of my work. - A great advantage of LibreOffice package tools over your competition, is that I can export to PDF or HTML without installing anything additional, as it is included in your menu. - It is important to familiarize yourself with the format in which the documents are stored as it can be confusing when sharing with another person, usually sent in .odt or in the case of Cal I send it .ods and if by chance they tell me that they can not open it, because what I do is recommend that you download LibreOffice before converting it. - You can make tables, insert images, graphics, make macros, bring templates by default for trades, communications, cards, curriculum, all tools are compatible among themselves, from my point of view has greater variety in fonts. - If you want to start in the world of free software, the first step is to install LibreOffice. Cons LibreOffice allows you to open a .doc, an .xls, but it is possible that something will move or something will be unraveled at the design level, the content will be there but something can be distorted. Cal has its limitations in terms of macros, the number of columns, has few styles of graphics compared to Excel. The documents in LibreOffice seem to be slower to open. Review Source RA Ray A. Researcher Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best alternative to MS Word" March 30, 2021 4.0 Outstanding. I use LibreOffice every day to review, edit, and translate documents in English and Chinese. The software handles multiple languages well. Pros I have used LibreOffice since 2010, when it forked from OpenOffice which I began using in 2003. From the beginning it has offered a viable alternative to MS Office. - Easy to use - Intuitive old-school menus, but offers an optional ribbon toolbar - Excellent track-changes features - Good document layout tools - Open standards Cons It has trouble handling long documents. When I edit dissertations of 100 or more pages, LibreOffice can become sluggish and responds poorly. However, been less of a problem in recent versions (ie current version 7) but has not been completely resolved. When adding Comment to a document, if the text in the Comment is too long, it cannot be seen without scrolling inside the Comment bubble. This makes makes it difficult for the user to scan a document and read all of the Comments without constantly using a mouse to scroll through Comment text. To resolve this, LibreOffice needs to add a Comment Bar on the side where all comments can be see in full text. MS Office includes this feature. To avoid problems when editing very long documents, I tend to stick with MS Word, despite finding it more awkward and inefficient. Reason for choosing LibreOffice LibreOffice is - cross platform. I use it on Linux, Windows, Mac. This makes it easy to share documents among colleagues who use different computers and operating systems. Perfect for small to large organizations. - easy to earn and quite intuitive - stable - full-featured - free - open source LibreOffice is open source and supported by a large community of developers under the guidance of the The Document Foundation (TDF) non-profit that promotes open-source document handling. The organization issues frequent updates of LibreOffice that fix bugs and introduce new features. LibreOffice has developed rapidly since 2011. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Writer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not the best(writer review)" March 14, 2022 3.0 Very poor experience. Lack of creativity. Pros I have used this software for the better part of a year and altough it is free as mentioned, it is not worth the hassle of downloading and attempting a book with it. I will be moving to bigger software. Still a nice alternative to other more expensive programs. Cons Lack of a sufficient choice of fonts and tools necessary. Writing is like art and if I need to do so I must have the correct tools available at all times. Review Source YB Yevstakhii B. Teacher E-Learning Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "My expirience of use LibreOffice" May 6, 2023 5.0 One of the significant advantages of LibreOffice is that it is free to download and use. This allows to have access to a full-featured office suite without any financial barrier. Additionally, being open-source software means that users have the freedom to modify and customize the software according to their specific needs.LibreOffice offers a suite of applications that cover a wide range of productivity needs. These include Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentation), Draw (vector graphics), and Base (database management). Having all these applications in one suite provides me with a complete set of tools for various tasks, reducing the need for multiple software installations.LibreOffice supports a wide range of file formats, including those used by commercial office suites like Microsoft Office. This allows me to open, edit, and save documents in formats commonly used by others, facilitating seamless collaboration and sharing with users of different office software. Pros 1\. Free and open-source: One of the most significant advantages of LibreOffice is that it is free and open-source software. This means that I can download and use it without any cost and have access to the source code, allowing for customization and community-driven development.2. Comprehensive suite of applications: LibreOffice offers a suite of applications that provide alternatives to popular productivity tools. It includes applications like Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentation), Draw (vector graphics), and Base (database management). Having all these applications integrated into one suite provide with a comprehensive set of tools for various tasks.3.Rich feature set: LibreOffice offers a wide range of features comparable to commercial office suites. For instance, Writer provides tools for formatting, styles, and templates, while Calc offers advanced formula functions, data analysis, and charting capabilities.4. Compatibility with Microsoft Office formats: LibreOffice supports a wide range of file formats, including those used by Microsoft Office (such as .docx, .xlsx, .pptx). This compatibility allows to open, edit, and save documents in formats commonly used by others, ensuring seamless collaboration and file sharing. Cons 1\. User interface and design: I have mentioned that interface of LibreOffice to be less polished or intuitive compared to commercial office suites like Microsoft Office. While the interface is functional, it may not offer the same level of visual appeal or consistency across all applications within the suite.2. Learning curve and documentation: Users who are transitioning from other office suites may find a learning curve when adapting to LibreOffice. I noticed that the documentation and available resources for troubleshooting or learning advanced features of LibreOffice are not as extensive or user-friendly as those provided by commercial alternatives.3. Slower performance with larger documents: LibreOffice may experience slower performance, particularly when working with larger or more complex documents. This can include delays when opening, saving, or manipulating files with extensive content, multiple images, or complex formatting. 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