Find out what the differences are between the two alternatives to Microsoft Office, as well as which one is the best.
Known by many as the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office, both LibreOffice and OpenOffice have managed to position themselves among the top positions when it comes to office suites. Offering basic applications, simple to use and extremely useful, both free office suites allow you to create texts, spreadsheets and presentations.
However, OpenOffice and LibreOffice are often relegated as simple alternatives, because? For the reason that functions for communication between teams, email clients and cloud storage are missing.
If you came here looking for an answer to the following question: which is more worth it? Let us tell you that you are in the right place. on this occasion We will talk about all the differences that exist between both programsas well as which one is the best, you can not lose this!
What are the differences between LibreOffice and OpenOffice?
The differences are many at first glance.
For make a fair comparison between both alternatives to Microsoft Officeit is essential to put the user interface offered by both applications face to face, since it is one of the most important parts of any application (it is the first contact that any user has).
As we delve much deeper, we will be forced to compare the built-in tools and features that the two programs possessas well also the file types they supportnot a minor fact if we take into account that these office suites are usually used to replace Microsoft Office.
User interface of both programs
LibreOffice has a much cleaner and more modern interface.
Both LibreOffice and OpenOffice have their own customization layer. When we open them on a computer, we can see a small summary screen and the different programs they offer. In this way, it will be possible to execute the app that is needed to open a specific type of document.
Analyzing the LibreOffice interfacewe can observe the following advantages:
- It has a extremely useful side panel (direct access to functions and programs).
- The interface is much more modernmore careful and better organized.
- Spreadsheets show a much more advanced aspect.
- Allows you to customize the appearance of programs so that users have a unique user experience.
For his part, the OpenOffice interface has stood the test of timeas its characteristics demonstrate it:
- classic interface which reminds us of the first versions of the programs included in Microsoft Office.
- OpenOffice has remained in time, its functions and tools have a very old look.
- Spreadsheets still look a lot like the version of Excel included in Microsoft Office 2003.
- Does not allow customizing the appearance of any of the programs included in the package.
Built-in functions, tools and programs
The two office suites have calculation templates, a word processor and slides.
Being almost a general rule, most office suites, both paid and free, have extremely similar applications to each other. How could it be otherwise, they are specifically directed at the office automation sector, and this is something that can be extrapolated to both OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
Of course, analyzing both proposals, we can find some differences in terms of operation and compatibility of the programs that are included in said office suites.
Similarly, the two proposals in question have almost the same tools:
- Spreadsheets (present in both programs).
- Formulas (present in both programs).
- Database (present in both programs).
- Drawing app (present in both programs).
- Slideshow tool (present in both programs).
- Word processor (present in both programs).
Although the differences are minimal, we must highlight LibreOfficeprogram that wins in this sense, because? For the simple reason that all its templates are integrated directly into the program itself. In other words, there is no need to download and then install them separately.
file compatibility
Both proposals are compatible with Excel, Word and PowerPoint files.
The two programs that we have put face to face, use ODF formats by default (Open Document Format), this means that they have an open format compatible with practically any other office program.
However, LibreOffice is also compatible with Microsoft Office formats, What does this mean? That it can save documents in specific formats so that they can be opened in any Microsoft Office program, as well as open documents that have been created in Excel, Word or PowerPoint.
This changes a lot in OpenOffice. Although this office suite can open Office documents, it is necessary that they have been created in the latest versions of the Microsoft office suite. As if this were not enough, does not allow saving documents in those formats (it only lets you save files in DOC formats from versions 2003 and earlier).
Consumption and performance of both office suites
OpenOffice consumes less RAM.
When choosing one over another, it is necessary to take into account the capabilities of our computer. LibreOffice suffers from performance when loading the entire suite in memory. What it does is take over between 200 and 500 MB of RAM to be able to function correctly.
In the case of OpenOffice things change. This office package just load the program that we are going to use, so that its consumption ends up being minimally less. To put it another way, it is ideal for older computers that do not have more than 1 or 2 GB of RAM.
Conclusion: which is the most worthwhile?
The choice of one over the other depends on the situation of each user.
With both OpenOffice and LibreOffice, you get a great alternative to Microsoft Office that has the capacity to offer the basic functionalities of the office suite in question. In short, it allows you to edit texts, create presentations and design tables for free and easily.
Choosing one over the other depends on personal preferences. and the operating system installed on the computer:
- If you want an office suite that receives updates on a regular basisand that is also constantly developing in terms of functions, you should go for LibreOffice, especially if you want full compatibility with files created in Microsoft Office.
- On the contrary, if you are only interested in using a stable office suitelight and that also works on old computers, OpenOffice is your best option.
Last but not least, If neither of these two programs has convinced youwe want to remind you that you can download Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free on Windows, as long as you have a computer compatible with the latest version of Microsoft’s office suite.