There’s very little that a business can do without some sort of word processing program. Everyone knows (and probably uses) Microsoft’s offering, but the Office Suite can be fairly expensive. There are a number of alternatives and many of them don’t come with any sort of price tag.
The open source revolution has removed some of the monopoly held by the big technology companies. Now, there are many programmers and designers that work collaboratively to develop and produce software for consumers to use for free. There are now lots of top quality, legal, and free software alternatives circulating the internet courtesy of the open source movement.
We’ve considered a number of programs and we’ve decided to write up some of our finds. Here’s a list of some of the best free downloads for PCs and Macs that will help you equip your office and staff for free.
Free Software
Free software may seem contradictory, or it may even seem like there’s a hidden catch somewhere. That’s not always the case and the open source movement provides technologies that are completely free to utilize. There are however two categories when it comes to free software.
- Promotional Freebies
- Open Source Free Software
Promotional freebies are likely partially free or only free for a deliberate length of time – often they come in the form of a software trial. Open source options however are a growing market and more and more users are embracing this very accessible technology. The best part about open source software is the fact that the code and other building blocks are all available online for developers and general users to adapt and improve on.
Open source software then is not controlled and its applications are less restrictive than the professional paid-for services provided by technology companies like Microsoft. However, many people find it hard to discover good new technologies and it can be hard to find the best one amongst the sheer (and growing) quantity available.
Office Suite Alternatives
Microsoft doesn’t provide its software cheaply and the Office 2010 suite is no exception. The Professional version can cost upwards of $200. This is obviously a big expense but is it a necessary one? Probably the first open source solution that comes to mind is Open Office
. However, there are plenty of other cost-effective alternatives such as LibreOffice.
LibreOffice is a suite very similar to its Microsoft Office counterpart but it’s an open source project. The LibreOffice suite includes six word-processing programs and it’s compatible with many Microsoft document formats.
The new version has recently been released and the functionality and UI looks and responds very much like Microsoft Office. The programs included in the LibreOffice suite are:
- Writer
This is a fairly powerful word processor - Calc
The equivalent to Microsoft’s Excel, a spreadsheet program - Impress
Presentation software similar to Microsoft’s PowerPoint - Base
This option is very like Microsoft Access - Draw
Useful for flowcharts, effectively a design program - Maths
A basic tool for simple equations
LibreOffice is a powerful and free suite of programs. It works with Microsoft’s “docx” standard – something that most free office software doesn’t support. Like with all open source software there’s the option to donate, but this isn’t necessary and there’s no increase in functionality if you do. Your donation can however ensure that there are more frequent updates to the LibreOffice suite.
OxygenOffice
OxygenOffice uses OpenOffice’s source code. It’s similar to LibreOffice but it adds loads of templates, clip art, and photos to the mix. It has a fairly extensive media library, there are over 3,400 graphics included and users will also have access to 90 new fonts and a detailed help guide. These extra features may seem pointless to many and if you’re not going to use them then OxygenOffice is probably too bloated for you. However, if the extra features are something that you could use then it’s a viable alternative to the traditional Microsoft monopoly.
OxygenOffice is a fairly large program so have a read before downloading it and make sure that it’s right for you. Also, double-check the permissions as many open source content is not for use in commercial settings.
Online Alternatives
The options that we’ve considered so far require downloading but there are plenty of online-based cloud storage options too. This can ensure a better fluidity across platforms and allow users easier access to their files and content. Online options provide several benefits:
- No installation
- Minimum set up time
- Store work easily online
- Collaborate with others
- Access your work from anywhere with an internet connection
The obvious negative side effect of an online option is the fact that you have to be online. Now however, with 4G LTE and increased broadband speeds, this may not really be a problem for many users.
Here are some online options:
- Microsoft Office Web Apps
This is a stripped down version of the full office suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. This service can be used by anyone with a free Windows Live account. Try Microsoft’s web apps for free.
Just bear in mind that this is a stripped down version of Microsoft Office – the technology giant won’t release its most famous software for free.
- ThinkFree
This online suite has a very similar appearance to Microsoft’s software. ThinkFree has received glowing reviews and it includes the equivalents of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It has a really pleasant aesthetic and it’s responsive and simple to navigate.
It comes with a free 1GB of storage and allows you to use standard keyboard shortcuts online. Visit the ThinkFree site and try it for free.
There’s a number of alternative to Microsoft’s Office Suite available online and a good amount of them are free. However, it’s worth researching and making sure that the software that you’re considering works well with your current business structure and networks. Microsoft’s software offers a degree of security and a higher likelihood that its processing suite will work out of the box. The question is: how much do you want to pay?
William Thompson
William Thompson is the Marketing Manager at Power Admin, a server monitoring software business in the Kansas City area. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter. William has been a professional in website design, digital marketing and 3D/graphic design for over 20 years.