Last checked October 2026 · 6 alternatives to Microsoft Excel in our catalog
People look for a free alternative to Microsoft Excel to cut cost or avoid lock-in. Below are 6 options with a free plan or no price at all - 4 are completely free, 3 are open source, 5 run on Linux and 3 work in the browser.
Picked from listing data (price model, license, platforms, community votes), not hands-on testing.
| Alternative | Price | Open source | Platforms | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache OpenOffice | Free | Yes (Apache-2.0) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free, open-source office suite with Writer, Calc and Impress |
| Google Sheets | Free | No | Web, iOS, Android | Free browser-based spreadsheet with real-time collaboration |
| LibreOffice | Free | Yes | Windows, Mac, Linux | Free, open-source office suite for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations |
| SoftMaker FreeOffice | Free | No | Windows, macOS, Linux | Free office suite with TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations |
| OnlyOffice | Freemium | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux | Secure online office suite fully compatible with MS Office formats |
| WPS Office | Freemium | No | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux | Free all‑in‑one office suite with AI‑enhanced Word, Excel, PPT and PDF tools |
Free, open-source office suite with Writer, Calc and Impress
Free browser-based spreadsheet with real-time collaboration
Free, open-source office suite for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
Free office suite with TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations
Secure online office suite fully compatible with MS Office formats
Free plan includes: Access to ONLYOFFICE Docs online editors · Basic collaboration tools (view, edit, comment) · Limited storage and user count · Integration with popular services (Box, Moodle, Nextcloud, Odoo, WordPress, etc.)
Free all‑in‑one office suite with AI‑enhanced Word, Excel, PPT and PDF tools
Free plan includes: Writer · Spreadsheet · Presentation · PDF editor & converter
Apache OpenOffice is the first free alternative we list for Microsoft Excel and has no paid tier. Others worth a look: Google Sheets, LibreOffice and SoftMaker FreeOffice. Which one fits depends on what you use Microsoft Excel for, so check the platform and free-plan details for each.
Yes. Apache OpenOffice, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and SoftMaker FreeOffice have no paid tier. The rest of the list are freemium: a free plan with paid upgrades.
Yes: Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice and OnlyOffice. Open-source options can usually be inspected, modified and self-hosted.
Yes. The free plan includes Create and edit workbooks in the browser, Real-time co-authoring and Requires a free Microsoft account.
How this list is built: alternatives come from our catalog's curated alternative relationships; price model, license and platforms come from each product's listing; order is fully-free first, then community votes.
