Best Smart Office Suite for beginners-2022
For word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, Microsoft 365 office suite isn't the only option. Our assessment of the finest office suites can help you find the right one for your needs, whether you prefer local or cloud-based software.
OUR TOP 6 PICKS
LibreOffice
- Writer - Word processor
- Calc - Spreadsheet
- Impress - Presentations
- Draw - Diagrams
- Base - Database
What is a smart office suite?
A smart office suite is a suite of software that helps to manage and automate office tasks. These suites can include features such as email, calendar, files, and messaging. They can be used to improve efficiency and communication within an office.
Why invest in a smart office suite?
A smart office suite can improve communication and efficiency within an office. They can also help to manage and automate office tasks. These suites can be useful for a variety of reasons, such as reducing time spent on tasks that can be automated, improving communication within an office, and improving overall productivity. They can also be a cost-effective
THE BEST OFFICE SUITE
FOR VALUE
Free Office 2022 is the most cost-effective alternative to Microsoft 365. It has an attractive interface and all of the features that home-office and small-business customers want.
What Does an Office Suite Include?
Differences in pricing
Some office suites, such as Freeoffice’s, and LibreOffice’s, are completely free. WPS also has a free version available. Others, such as Officesuite, requires a monthly subscription. Freeoffice have standalone and subscription-based versions, whereas Libreoffice, WPS and Officesuite has monthly and yearly subscription-based service’s. The cost of a subscription is determined by the number of devices on which the software will be used, as well as the apps that will be used.
Your apps will automatically stay up to date with all the latest features and security upgrades if you use a subscription-based office suite. This is a significant advantage, but if you don’t care about getting the most recent updates, you might choose to buy a standalone version. Many office suites offer existing users a discount on the latest edition, so you might not have to pay full price when it’s time to upgrade.
What Does an Office Suite Include?
Every office suite needs three apps: a word processor, a spreadsheet editor, and a presentation app. You also get a mail and calendar app, a database manager, PDF-editing software, a note-taking app, website creation tools, and any of a dozen miscellaneous apps and services that cover everything from web conferencing to form-building, depending on the suite and, in some cases, depending on which version of a suite you choose
Apps on the Cloud or on the Desktop
Before you choose an office suite, you must decide whether you want to work online, offline, or both. Both types of software offer their own set of benefits. Online apps, for example, allow you to collaborate with others while also ensuring that your data are accessible from anywhere. Local apps, on the other hand, are usually more powerful and dependable.
Openoffice, WPS, Google Suite and Freeoffice Office have web versions, thus you can work on documents in the cloud. All of the programs in those suites, for example, are accessible through a browser, and every document you work on is saved to cloud storage. Although you can work on Google Docs files offline, installing full-featured local-disk versions of programs is a better option.
Microsoft 365 is a hybrid solution that combines the best of both worlds. Microsoft’s programs store documents to its cloud storage service, Microsoft OneDrive, by default (though you can alter this). This allows you to retain copies of your documents both online and in the cloud at the same time. Microsoft makes it simple to edit and access your documents whether you’re using a browser or top-of-the-line desktop tools.
Organizing Your Files
Microsoft 365 sets the standard for document formats, for better or worse—we think it’s generally for the better—and all rival suites let you save documents in Office’s file types.
Microsoft Word and Excel are the only document types that every suite we tested can handle. You can force non-Microsoft apps to save in those formats, but you’ll almost always have to swat away message boxes and other warnings.
You can force non-Microsoft apps to save in such formats, but you’ll almost always have to ignore dialog boxes and other cautions. This isn’t an issue if you exclusively distribute papers within an entity that uses non-Microsoft formats. In fact, some individuals or corporations who are concerned about security may prefer to preserve potentially sensitive documents solely in LibreOffice’s open-source formats. However, if you email documents to people outside your company on a regular basis, keep an eye out for compatibility issues.
Google’s suite programs handle different file kinds in different ways. You can download Google’s documents in standard formats like those used by Microsoft 365 or LibreOffice, but only Google’s web and mobile apps can edit the originals saved to the cloud (with some special exceptions).
Should You Use a Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office Alternative?
When choosing an office suite, think about whether you’re buying one for yourself or for your entire company. If it’s the former, go with whatever you’re most at ease with. If you choose anything other than Microsoft 365 (the online subscription version of Microsoft’s killer suite) or Office 2022 (the buy-once-and-use-forever local software version) and plan to send your files to others, be sure to configure your suite to export files in standard Microsoft Office formats.
When it comes to selecting an office suite for a small business or a huge corporation, the situation becomes more challenging. Microsoft 365/Microsoft Office 2022 is the most powerful, dependable, and user-friendly of the suites, but it has two drawbacks: It’s costly, and you might have good reason to avoid using proprietary software.
If you insist on using open-source software, LibreOffice is the only viable option. The app has a clumsy UI with menus that might be confusing even for experienced users Consider Freeoffice Office’s free version for free software on any other desktop OS. Google’s apps are strong and intuitive if you’re okay with cloud-only software.
Microsoft’s suite, in any edition, is definitely the best, but it isn’t for everyone. Unfortunately, there isn’t an obvious winner among the Office alternatives, but you may try them all—including Office itself—for free or for a limited time.
For more reading see our article on
Office Suite Software Statistics 2023 – Everything You Need to Know
How to Learn and use Office Suite Software in 2023 – Tutorial
How to Install Office Suite Software in 2022 – Step by Step Tutorial
BEST TOP 6 FLOWCHART SOFTWARE FOR 2022 (Reviewed and Ranked)
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Our Methodology
Our writers researched the most popular OFFICE SUITE software on the market. They looked at 10 different pieces of software in total, screened alternatives from ten different companies and makers, reviewed 25 user evaluations (both good and negative), and tested three of the pieces of software themselves before making their final recommendations. All of this study has resulted in advice that you can rely on
.
What people says....
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pROS & CONS
- Simple, elegant interface
- Features for advanced collaboration and revision histories
- Free
- In comparison to desktop suites, the functionality set is limited.
- Only editing and viewing are available online (without advance preparation)
Although Google’s free office products are basic, they are enough for most users and include good collaboration options. Working offline isn’t ideal, but the well-designed web and mobile versions provide a solid base for document development.
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pROS & CONS
- Simple, elegant interface
- Features for advanced collaboration and revision histories
- Free to try
- In comparison to desktop suites, the functionality set is limited.
- Only editing and viewing are available online (without advance preparation)
ABOUT OFFICE SUITE
Microsoft Office Compatible
Full compatibility with all popular formats including Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Txt), Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides & Adobe PDF. Support for common formats like OpenDocument (ODT, ODS, ODP), RTF, CSV & ZIP.
Available on any device
Work and sync your documents on any platform – Windows, Android, or iOS. Whether in the office or on the go, enjoy the freedom to work between devices.
PDF work made easy
Your PDFs are under your control. Use digital signatures, password protection, or timestamps to secure the files that matter to you the most.
Explore
Multiple cloud services
Access and sync all your files on MobiDrive, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Amazon Cloud Drive.
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Libre Office
pROS & CONS
- Free and open-source software
- Almost any legacy document can be imported and converted.
- Desktop programs for Windows, macOS, and Linux are available.
- There are no features for online cooperation.
- Only editing and viewing are available online (without advance preparation)
LibreOffice is a free and open-source document suite that runs on all major operating systems, although it lacks online access and collaborative capabilities. It also doesn’t operate as smoothly as competitors.
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pROS & CONS
- Free and open-source software
- Almost any legacy document can be imported and converted.
- Desktop programs for Windows, macOS, and Linux are available.
- There are no features for online cooperation.
- Only editing and viewing are available online (without advance preparation)
LibreOffice is a free and open-source document suite that runs on all major operating systems, although it lacks online access and collaborative capabilities. It also doesn’t operate as smoothly as competitors.
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Free Office
pROS & CONS
- Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop apps
- Ribbon or menu-based interfaces that are highly customizable
- Most jobs are completed quickly and reliably.
- With large spreadsheets, slow performance is inevitable.
- There are no web apps or collaboration tools.
SoftMaker FreeOffice 2022 is the most cost-effective alternative to Microsoft 365. It has an attractive interface and all of the features that home-office and small-business customers want.
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pROS & CONS
- Mail, contacts, and calendar all in one app
- Any competitor's most powerful office app
- Elegant, user-friendly UI with a wealth of support options
- Some complex features can be difficult to find..
- Word's automated features yield some unexpected results
Microsoft 365 is the world’s most popular office suite, and it’s the only one that works equally well online and offline. Despite a few flaws, nothing else compares in terms of power, adaptability, or use.
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