Alternatives to Microsoft 365

Office suites from Latvia, Germany and France with MS Office format compatibility, zero-knowledge collaboration and self-hosting options. Compare licensing models, features and data protection for teams migrating from Microsoft 365.

5 alternatives
Open-source office suites
Updated 2026

ONLYOFFICE

MS Office formats, no subscription

In detail

Microsoft 365 compared to European office suites

Microsoft Corporation is a US company and as such is subject to the CLOUD Act (2018). US authorities can compel the disclosure of data stored in Microsoft data centers, even when those are located within the EU. Microsoft operates data centers in the Netherlands and Ireland, but its legal jurisdiction remains in the United States. The Schrems II ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (2020) found that US surveillance laws conflict with the GDPR.

Microsoft 365 transmits telemetry data to Microsoft servers. Data protection authorities in the Netherlands and Germany found in investigations (2019 and 2021) that Office 365 in its default configuration sends diagnostic data that may exceed what is legally permissible. Microsoft subsequently expanded configuration options for enterprise customers, but a full deactivation of telemetry is not possible.

Microsoft 365 is available exclusively on a subscription basis. Monthly costs range from €5.10 per user (Microsoft 365 Business Basic) to €22 (Business Premium). ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online and LibreOffice are open-source software available in base versions at no cost and enable self-hosting on own servers without ongoing license fees. For public agencies and educational institutions this can represent a significant cost advantage.

LibreOffice is deployed in government institutions worldwide: the German Federal Foreign Office uses LibreOffice, as do parts of the Italian public administration and numerous European municipalities. ONLYOFFICE is integrated into Nextcloud, enabling full self-management of documents, files and communication. CryptPad is funded through EU grants and offers zero-knowledge collaboration, where the server cannot read document contents.

Quick Compare

Provider	Country	Open Source	Price (From)
ONLYOFFICE	Latvia	Yes	Personal free · Business from 8 €/user/month · Enterprise one-time license from 1,200 €
CryptPad	France	Yes	Free (1 GB) / from €5/mo
LibreOffice	Germany	Yes	Completely free · Voluntary donation welcome
Collabora Online	UK / Europe	Yes	CODE (Community Edition) free · Enterprise licenses on request
RagTime	Germany	No	RagTime privat free · full commercial version on request

European alternatives

5 alternatives in detail

ONLYOFFICE

Latvia

Office suite with MS Office file format compatibility

Full MS Office compatibility (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx)
Real-time collaboration for teams
Self-hosted or cloud hosting available

Open Source

Personal free · Business from 8 €/user/month · Enterprise one-time license from 1,200 €

Visit Website → View details →

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CryptPad

France

End-to-end encrypted collaborative documents

End-to-end encryption in the browser
Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, whiteboard
No registration required for guest collaboration

Open Source

Free (1 GB) / from €5/mo

Visit Website → View details →

LibreOffice

Germany

Local open-source office suite by the Document Foundation

Completely free and open source
Runs locally on your computer, no cloud required
Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, Math

Open Source

Completely free · Voluntary donation welcome

Visit Website → View details →

Collabora Online

UK / Europe

Web-based office suite for cloud integration

LibreOffice functionality directly in the browser
Seamless Nextcloud integration
MS Office format compatibility

Open Source

CODE (Community Edition) free · Enterprise licenses on request

Visit Website → View details →

RagTime

Germany

Office and layout suite from Germany for desktop publishing

Integrated suite: text, spreadsheets, layout, and graphics in one document
Frame-based page layout for desktop publishing
Free personal version (RagTime privat)

RagTime privat free · full commercial version on request

Visit Website → View details →

Frequently asked questions

Are European Microsoft 365 alternatives GDPR compliant?

ONLYOFFICE (Latvia), LibreOffice (Germany) and CryptPad (France) are headquartered in the EU and subject to the GDPR. Collabora Online is a European company with a UK seat. All providers enable self-hosting, where no data is transmitted to external servers.

Can I continue to use Microsoft Office files (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx)?

Yes. ONLYOFFICE and Collabora Online natively support MS Office formats with high compatibility. LibreOffice can open and save MS Office files. CryptPad uses its own document format variant but also offers export in common formats.

Are the alternatives suitable for businesses?

ONLYOFFICE offers business and enterprise plans with custom branding, API integration and corporate support. Collabora Online has enterprise licenses for organisations with managed-service options. Nextcloud (as a hosting base for ONLYOFFICE or Collabora) provides complete enterprise environments under EU law.

Does real-time collaboration work as in Google Docs?

ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online and CryptPad support simultaneous document editing. CryptPad allows collaborative editing without requiring guests to register. ONLYOFFICE and Collabora Online integrate with Nextcloud for team environments.

What does switching to open-source alternatives cost?

LibreOffice and CryptPad (base version) are free. ONLYOFFICE Business starts at €8/user/month, cheaper than Microsoft 365 Business Standard. Self-hosting eliminates license fees entirely; server costs are typically a few euros per month for small teams depending on the infrastructure.

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