TrustRadius Insights for LibreOffice are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Clear and well-defined styles: Users have stated that Writer, the word processing software in LibreOffice, is very good at defining styles for paragraphs, characters, tables, pages, etc. This concept is clearer than in MS Office, making it easier to write documents with well-defined styles. This feature has been beneficial for future changes to the document.
High-quality typographical features: Many reviewers appreciate the typographical features of Writer when using supported OpenType fonts. They feel that these features make it easier to produce high-quality documents that are almost desktop publishing quality. Features such as kerning and ligatures enhance the overall appearance of the documents.
Convenient PDF export feature: A significant number of users have highlighted the embedded PDF export feature in Writer. They find it complemented by a lot of useful features and makes it convenient to export documents as PDFs without the need for additional tools. This simplifies sharing and ensures compatibility across different devices and platforms.
LibreOffice is being used in our organisation on some of the workstations as an open source and free office suite. It has sufficient number of applications in it to get most office work related tasks done i.e. Document, spreadsheet and presentations. Although it includes some more apps, we use mainly these 3 apps.
Pros
Free and open source
Easy to use and modern GUI
Good customisation options for layout
Cons
Email client can be added to make it a more complete suite.
Can have online presence also in addition to offline apps.
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice is very well suited for home users and organisation looking towards to using a free alternative to Microsoft Office to get most important Office related work done i.e. Document creation and editing, spreadsheet work and creating presentations.
LibreOffice really does punch above its weight. A lot of people underestimate it until they actually try building custom calculations in Calc or drafting longer documents in Writer, and then they realize it’s not just “good for free”—it’s genuinely capable. Styles and templates in Writer are extremely powerful once you get the hang of them. Extensions and add‑ons can expand the suite with dictionaries, templates, and automation tools.
Pros
Compatible with Microsoft Office.
Lightweight Design.
Styles and templates are available.
Cons
Startup speed and UI responsiveness.
More advanced spreadsheet function.
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice is well-suited for just about everyone, but it is especially great for non-profits and school organizations such as booster clubs and PTO due to its free status.
I use LibreOffice daily. Because of my job function, I use the Calc software way more than any other. I switched from Excel to LibreOffice because, starting with Excel 2007, they started requiring much more mouse usage (they said you can still use the same keystrokes, but some of the key combinations I often used, did not work). I started looking for alternatives and started with OpenOffice, then LibreOffice. When I have to use Excel, I find it getting in the way of so many things that I breeze right through, with LibreOffice. I am now far more productive than I would have been with Excel.
Pros
Sorting, much as Excel does, but Excel seems to ignore certain parameters.
The File Save function is much cleaner, clearer and more intuitive in LibreOffice than in Excel.
The menu bar, in general, is likewise leaner, clearer and more intuitive in LibreOffice than in Excel.
Cons
It could allow us to set a default font for imports, so we don't have to keep changing the fonts of imported data from various sources.
It could allow us to set a default cell format for imports, so we don't have to keep changing the cell characteristics of imported data from various sources.
It could allow itself to be called by QuickBooks, for exports therefrom so we don't have to keep moving the exported data from Excel to LibreOffice.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you're working with numbers, LibreOffice doesn't get in your way and try to make changes as it sees fit, forcing you to repeatedly go back and undo processes you didn't want, didn't ask for, and that have no place in the document you are trying to produce. All I want to do is assemble the data, process it for the task at hand, and then print it for distribution. LibreOffice allows me to do that.
I have used LibreOffice since 2012 for a client company that sought a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft Office. This company was reorganizing itself after emerging from bankruptcy and needed a low-cost, quality, easy-to-use office suite of applications that rivaled Microsoft Office. I installed LibreOffice for all users, and they never looked back. I previously gave this suite, primarily Writer and Calc, an 8 out of 10 in a review, but my client is now using version 25.2.7.2, and I keep myself quite fluent in the suite to answer user questions, and I’ve revised my rating to a 9 out of 10 due to the continuous improvements. The main business problems this suite addresses are cost-containment, compatibility, and ease of use for nearly 100 users who would not be considered computer savvy by any stretch of the imagination. Occasionally, new hires initially grumble, but within a very short time of using LibreOffice, they generally settle in and find they love it. And, with each new version, it gets more user-friendly, and the user support required gets less and less. A win-win!
Pros
Tools like speeling, grammar, and thesaurus are super fast and intuitive
Read-only content can be created by adding a section and password
The right-click menus are very intuitive and change on the fly with what is needed depending on the content and situation
Documents can be saved natively as *.docx or *.xlsx
Cons
I would like to see more templates such as ones for forms
I would like to see a free-form character/text rotation
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice is well-suited for just about anyone who has used MS Office or Google Docs. I find it to be more powerful and feature-rich than both, and its ease of use and intuitiveness are far better. I've primarily used Writer and Calc, but also have some experience with Impress, Draw, and Base, and find them top-notch as well. On the other side of things, I find collaboration to be more difficult than with Google Docs, and to a degree, even MS Office. LibreOffice does have a fairly robust Tools > Share Spreadsheet… feature, but I've never been able to find one for Writer. I have little need for collaboration, but when I once did, I found it somewhat convoluted.
The moment we get a new laptop into our company out goes all the bloated Microsoft ware and on goes Libre Office. it is the smoothest way to get up and running for the least amount of cost.
Pros
Syncs perfectly with MS files
Works equally as well as MS
Love the intuitive interface
Cons
Updates should be more obvious and easier to implement
Some drop down menu choices are difficult to find, they're not identical to MS apps
It would be nice if it defaulted to current MS operating systems when choosing "Save As" for files.
Likelihood to Recommend
I only have experience with calc and writer. It's perfect for my own line of work, which is writing and project management. Where it is less appropriate is for people who need to collaborate heavily with others in the cloud. I'm pretty sure there isn't an online version of it right? But even if there was I love having some control over keeping LO on my desktop.
LibreOffice fills in the gaps where I need a spreadsheet and/or word processor which are fully compatible with other file formats current in the industry. Unlike Microsoft, I can easily just setup LibreOffice on a computer without paying a cent and get users going with this quickly and easily. I really appreciate the work that has gone into LibreOffice as a cohesive system.
Pros
spreadsheet
wordprocessor
presentation
Cons
Presentations format is not fully 100% MS compatible
Importing MS Word documents is very very close but not perfect
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice works perfectly for the type of situation it was designed for: desktop, offline office tools. It should be noted that it does not specifically do things the way MS 365 or Google Docs does: it does not utilize the internet and make things available like that to others who are collaborating. I think the whole store-and-edit-on-the-internet ideology is overrated and more gimmicky than having a shared folder and users who can edit documents. I see GDocs and 365 as security breaches at best and nefarious at worst.
I used LibreOffice to write my dissertation. I also used it for years to write academic articles and to develop teaching materials for my students. One of the things that is important to me as an academic writer is to be able to use plug-ins that connect my word processor with my bibliography manager.
Pros
Word Processing.
Basic Styles.
Compiling chapters into a book-sized project.
Cons
More advanced Style options.
Consistent integration with bibliography management software.
Group authoring.
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice is a great option if you don't have access to a free copy of Microsoft Office. It includes all of the basic functionality of MS Office for the price of free. But if you need some of the more advanced features and if the rest of your colleagues tend to use MS Office, then it's not worth struggling against the tide.
It is used by my whole organization. I use it as my primary source for office applications usage.
Pros
It's comparable to MS Office suites.
MS Office documents are compatible.
Better than Google Docs.
Cons
It doesn't provide all the functions it should with a paid subscription.
There are features that are only available with Premium and I have premium and they are still not available.
Paying for the premium version doesn't provide additional services than free version
Customer service is nonresponsive and has been nonresponsive for years even prior to COVID.
Likelihood to Recommend
LibreOffice is a good alternative to MS Office. I like it better than Google Docs. It's compatible with MS Office applications.
However, many of the features or functions are difficult to find even when utilizing the help menu. The website isn't too helpful either. My greatest disappointment is that I paid for the premium version a year ago but never received the features that were supposed to be available with a premium subscription. The upper right-hand corner of the app shows the subscription type and date of expiration of the subscription. I have premium yet every time I try to access a premium feature it requests me to pay. I have contacted LibreOffice several times over the year and they never responded or provided a refund. I can only recommend the free version because even with a premium subscription, which mine is supposed to expire on 10/22/21 (the date of this review is 08/04/21), I have yet to be able to utilize the premium features I paid for last year. I would not use this as my primary app for Word processing which is where I am experiencing the majority of the blocked features issues. Even with a paid premium subscription, I am unable to create labels. It's asking me to pay again. I think LibreOffice has greater potential but a user must get the features they paid for. I hesitate to call the company a scam but I can say I have contacted LibreOffice numerous times over the past year about the ongoing issues and have not received a response at least once. Along with the features and subscriptions issues that needed to be addressed, another area of improvement is their website. It is very difficult to locate information. Even when using the search field the instructions often do not match the app. I am not sure how often they update their online guides but I have never found it to be helpful. I have also found it very difficult to impossible to download templates. I usually get weird links with garbled codes and no template when trying to download a template. I'm not sure if it's an issue with their site or not but since they don't respond to inquiries I cannot determine a possible cause for the problem.
I am the only employee at a small nonprofit. I have been using LibreOffice back since it was OpenOffice. I need something that is affordable or ideally free so LibreOffice meets our price point. I mostly need a word processor and occasionally something to make presentations. I use Google Sheets primarily for spreadsheets mostly due to it's programmability and online integration with other tools.
Pros
It's free.
It's a full-featured office productivity suite.
The various applications are able to import and export documents in a variety of well-known formats.
Cons
Name brand office suites vendors such as Microsoft and Google have online portals where documents can be saved and shared for automation/integration. LibreOffice would do well to expand into this space.
Memory handling in large spreadsheets (i.e., 60k rows or more) seems a bit quirky on my Macbook Air. It might just be a memory issues, but scrolling with the trackpad behaves strangely (i.e., cell selection jumps around unexpectedly).
Likelihood to Recommend
The fact that it is free of charge for desktop use sets LibreOffice at the top of my list. Given our low software budget, and its feature set which is for all intents and purposes equivalent to big name brands, it is more than appropriate for our needs. I have noticed in some situations that exporting a spreadsheet in a particular format on my machine and then sharing it with someone who is using say Microsoft Excel results in unexpected behavior (i.e., formatting issues or unreadable data).
We use LibreOffice to fill in any holes left by the Microsoft Office Suite licenses we purchase. For example:
<ul><li>LibreOffice has a Draw program that allows you to make diagrams and flowcharts - a feature missing from the Microsoft Office Suite.</li><li>Also, for laptops that are used only occasionally, where office applications are seldom used, it's not worth purchasing a license, so we install LibreOffice.</li><li>Likewise, for hosting servers, where Remote App users do not need to use a word processor, but may need to occasionally open or view an attachment, LibreOffice meets this occasional usage.</li><li>It also provides an excellent and full office suite while working from home for staff that may not otherwise need to purchase Microsoft Office.</li></ul>
Pros
Full Featured - Just about everything you can get in a purchased office suite is available - word processor, spreadsheet, slides, drawing, database.
The Draw program provides features that you may not find elsewhere (at least not easily) - e.g. flowcharts with arrows that automatically connect to boxes, following smooth lines.
Follows industry standards - e.g. the spreadsheet uses the same formulas you'd be used to from Excel.
Compatible - Easily open and edit documents from Microsoft suite; save in all the usual file formats, with good formatting. (i.e. It won't look skewed when you send it to others. There are small issues with editing existing slides from PowerPoint, but these are minor.)
Editing PDFs - Word will not let you do this. For small-scale edits, LibreOffice Draw works great.
Maintained actively with frequent and useful updates.
Cons
The menus are outdated; while it's full featured, some tools are buried within dialogs that you'd have to find under sub-sub-menus, etc.
It's not online. The current way of collaboration is online apps like Google Docs. This makes collaboration less convenient.
It can give a poor impression if it becomes visible to clients or other stakeholders; this isn't a flaw with the suite itself, but often impression matters.
Likelihood to Recommend
For business usage, it is most appropriate to use as I've described - filling holes left by the main/purchased Office suite - e.g. on seldom used laptops, on servers, etc. This is not due to any flaws, but mostly impression.
It's also very useful for working at home if you need to edit documents on your own machine, but not often enough to merit purchasing an Office suite.
It would be less appropriate as a full-time Office suite used often each day in a professional environment, or where online collaboration is needed.
