Apache OpenOffice vs. Microsoft Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apache OpenOffice
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Apache OpenOffice is a free open source office suite that includes six applications: Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (diagramming and graphics), Base (database), and Math (formulas).N/A
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application available as part of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), or standalone, in cloud-based and on-premise editions.
$6.99
per month
Pricing
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Excel with Microsoft 365
$6.99
per month
Excel for 1 PC or Mac
$139.99
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Considered Both Products
Apache OpenOffice

No answer on this topic

Microsoft Excel
Chose Microsoft Excel
While other products have been useful for being easily sharable or free, Microsoft Excel handles more data with easier to use functions, pivot tables, graphing, and formulas than all that I have used. Google Sheets is a close second but has not been able to handle the large …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Small Businesses
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
Google Sheets
Google Sheets
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(19 ratings)
9.4
(58 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.4
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apache OpenOfficeMicrosoft Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
Apache
In my opinion, Apache OpenOffice is best suited for writing, editing and proofreading texts in any language. You can also download additional language packages that really take up little space in your PC's storage. Of course, Apache OpenOffice is comprehensive of spreadsheet-/drawing-/database-related softwares and so on, but I primarily use it for writing and editing my own texts. I don't see any scenarios where it is less appropriate, at least so far.
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Microsoft
For tasks like financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and data visualization, I frequently use Microsoft Excel. I can develop financial models, use pivot tables to examine enormous datasets, and produce eye-catching visualizations thanks to its comprehensive features. I have, however, also come across circumstances in which Excel isn't the best tool.Excel falls short of alternatives like Google Sheets when I need to collaborate with my team in real-time. I favor employing robust database management systems or data analysis tools like SQL, Python, or R for managing very big data sets or sophisticated calculations. I use specialized tools like SPSS, SAS, or programming languages for better outcomes when complex statistical analysis or machine learning are necessary. And finally, for formatting elaborate reports, In conclusion, even though I consider Excel to be a great tool for many finance jobs, there are some limits in collaborating, processing big amounts of data, performing complex analysis, and creating documents that I take into account when choosing the best tool for the job.
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Pros
Apache
  • The number one strength of OpenOffice is the flexibility it gives. We can open any file type, save any file type - it's pretty much invincible. Even if we're going to work on this in a different program, just being able to open some of these ancient files that we get from local city governments is a huge win for us.
  • It's also administrator friendly - I'll use it a lot on the road because the licensing is so much easier to deal with than trying to check out a license from a server or make sure that everybody has internet connectivity.
  • It just looks pretty! It's legitimately a quality product, the layout looks good, it's not nearly as pushy as "other suites," and for the money it's the best!
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Microsoft
  • It is very good at embedded formulas and tying cells to one another
  • It allows me to compare deals terms on a side-by-side basis and talk my clients through it easily.
  • It is very helpful as well in terms of allowing me to filter/sort results in many different ways depending on what specific information I am most interested in prioritizing.
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Cons
Apache
  • There seem to be issues using this app in Windows 10. It worked fine when we used it on Windows 7, but after we upgraded the network with NEW Win 10 computers, it takes a very long time to process commands.
  • It will not allow any upgrades.
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Microsoft
  • Counting conditionally formatted cells (e.g., you have 5 green cells, 10 red ones, and 3 orange ones in a row).
  • Merging cells in a table; I have to remove the table first and then re-add the table to merge cells together.
  • Offering more preset colour categories for formatting graphs.
  • Built-in functions to run ANOVAs, Multiple Linear Regression, Factor Analysis, etc.
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Likelihood to Renew
Apache
It is a cheap alternative; however, with Microsoft 365 licenses also dropping significantly, we might opt to go in that direction to maintain uniformity.
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Microsoft
It comes with MS Office. Unless we stop using PCs or Microsoft Office, it's highly unlikely, even imperceivable to not continue to use Excel. It would be nice to see more Excel functions used, though, beside basic tables and calculations.
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Usability
Apache
It is so easy to use and produces quality work comparable to its paid competitor, Microsoft Office. I highly recommend this free software to any who need to make the switch to powerful and free Office software.
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Microsoft
Microsoft excel stands out in its User Interface as compared to any other software which offers same functionality. It can be used by a beginner as well as the expert in the same field. It is having many features as we dig deep in it like advance functions, dynamic arrays, pivot, VBA and Macros.
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Reliability and Availability
Apache
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
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Performance
Apache
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Again it does what I need it to do with little to no issues.
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Support Rating
Apache
Is there really support? There is a user forum but I do not see much developer input. Support options are limited. The most recent (Sept 2019) version of the product seems to have issues operating under Windows 10, yet there are few recent comments in the community forum, most comments are regarding older versions.
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Microsoft
I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
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Implementation Rating
Apache
We found that it is possible to use Open Office to accomplish everything we need. Some tasks required searching for steps on Google.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Apache
Apache OpenOffice is less intense on our computer systems and saves us a ton of financial resources. Since our document creation and editing needs are typical of a small business and not very complex, Apache OpenOffice is sufficient for us. We think that almost any smaller to medium sized business would feel the same way if they don't have a need to make or edit complex documents.
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Microsoft
We utilize Tableau and Alteryx in addition to Excel. We use Excel since we have a data dump that could be utilized in feeding for these two solutions. We select Excel for some manual work then plug the data into the other two tools for further analysis around text analytics like word clouds in Tableau, or text mining in Alteryx. Excel is an input data source that we use in conjunction with these two.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Apache
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
N/A I was not involved in this process.
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Scalability
Apache
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It integrates well with all cross functional teams
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Return on Investment
Apache
  • Moving to OpenOffice will save the company the cost of 500+ of Microsoft Office licenses in our company.
  • Because it is cross-platform, we could also save 500+ of Microsoft Windows licenses if we move everyone to Linux.
  • On the negative side, the lack of online collaboration and browser support may be an issue when you use clouds like Box, Workboard etc.
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Microsoft
  • Excel has positively impacted the business as it has increased our efficiency.
  • It also saves us the time that we would have spent on making the calculations that it does for us.
  • Since it works on all devices and is compatible with both Windows and Mac, we do not have to invest in any other alternative.
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