Microsoft Office alternative?

[newflowers]

I am ready to buy three new computers - one of myself, one for a daughter in college, and one for a grandson. I've not purchased computers in seven years (because the one I have worked just fine) so you can tell I am not so much into tech stuff, but the new computers will be used for work and school. I currently use the Professional because Publisher is a program I use frequently.

Imagine my surprise when I find out that unlike in the past, I have to purchase Microsoft Office for each computer! or worse still, pay a subscription so that I can keep paying for programs that I already purchased? .

I simply cannot afford the cost of buying this three times - what is Microsoft thinking?

What are alternatives to Microsoft Office Professional? Is Softmaker Office Professional comparable? What other programs are available that are compatible with office documents I already have and still use? Maybe my question is what similar program should I look at? I have no objection to paying, but paying multiple times seems excessive.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[torres-no-tan-magnifico]

Hi newflowers and welcome to the forum!

I recommend taking a look here: https://www.techsupportalert.com/bes...fice-suite.htm

[newflowers]

Thanks so much! Gd reading and research for me to figure this out. I really don't mind paying at all; in fact, I expect t pay for the software, I just object to what I consider to be MS greed.

Have you used any of these programs? Are they really comparable to and compatible with MS Office?

[MidnightCowboy]

Hi newflowers. Everyone will have their own favorite but I have been using OpenOffice and then LibreOffice on Linux for years. Recently, OpenOffice has made a bit of a resurgence and if anything I now prefer that again. Both are available for Windows too and I'm sure you will have no problems with either.

[George.J]

If you need good compatibility with MS Office, I'd recommend you to use Kingsoft Office Free. It's a brilliant suite and even looks just like Office programs from Microsoft (2003).

I don't think you'd ever need to pay for an Office suite...

[Anupam]

Kingsoft Office is a good option. It's lightweight and has great compatibility with MS Office.

You can also look at SoftMaker Office free, if you are looking for a lightweight solution.

If you do not mind installing a heavy weight software, you can go for OpenOffice, or LibreOffice, which has more components of office. They are pretty good too. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice.

[newflowers]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions - I really appreciate your assistance. I have to wonder how many other people are unaware of these options and think, as I had before now, that MS Office was the only option.

[sicknero]

I've been using Libre v4 portable since it was released a little while ago, it's slow to load and sometimes has issues remembering what printer it's supposed to be using, but otherwise it's an excellent app. I'm looking forward to the new release of Open Office sometime this year.

Thanks for the above tip about Kingsoft, I'll have a look at that as a lightweight and fast editor would be v useful when I don't want to load up the Libre suite.

[newflowers]

Again I thank you for the suggestions - this is a whole new world of computer use for me.

[joeguru]

Originally Posted by newflowers

I simply cannot afford the cost of buying this three times - what is Microsoft thinking?

The other responses more than covered alternatives to your dilemma, however I would like to point out regarding MS Office or any other commercial software, you technically are not buying the program, you are buying a license to use the program on (1) computer unless you buy a multi-user license. This has been industry standard for decades. The same is true with music, books, etc. I'm not siding with Microsoft, just clarifying the facts.