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Office Online

Office Online is a web-based version of Microsoft Office that allows users to view, edit, and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote files using a web browser. It offers limited functionality compared to the desktop Office suite but is free to use.

What is Office Online?

Office Online, previously known as Office Web Apps, is a suite of web-based applications developed by Microsoft that offers online functionality of their Office desktop applications. It includes online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Some key features of Office Online include:

  • Ability to view, edit, and share Office files via web browser on Windows, Mac, Linux systems, as well as mobile devices
  • Real-time co-authoring capabilities for collaborating on Office documents
  • Take notes and annotate Office documents with other users in real-time
  • Works with Office file formats like .docx, .xlsx, .pptx
  • Connect to OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox and other cloud storage providers
  • Free to use with limitations compared to full Office suite

While Office Online lacks some advanced features of desktop Office applications, its web and mobile access along with collaboration features make it useful for casual document editing and team collaboration. It serves as a free alternative to Google Docs with improved compatibility with Office documents.

The Best Office Online Alternatives

Top Apps like Office Online

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft 365 (Office), Apache OpenOffice, ONLYOFFICE, WPS Office, SoftMaker FreeOffice, Microsoft Works, Trio Office, NeoOffice, SSuite Office, Oracle Open Office, Corel WordPerfect, CryptPad, Arcane Office, Polaris Office, AppleWorks, Apple iWork, Calligra Suite, Ashampoo Office, EuroOffice, Collabora Online, Collabora Office, OfficeWork Office Online, Live Documents, SSuite OmegaOffice HD+, Truly Office, Ability Office, CloudOn, Coffice, Oxygen Office, Novus Office, Conholdate.Total for Java, Go-oo, Conholdate.Total for .NET, Zoho Workplace, Feather Suite, Google Cloud Connect, Draftboard are some alternatives to Office Online.

Microsoft Excel

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Microsoft 365 (Office)

Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) is a subscription service from Microsoft that provides access to productivity software and other cloud services. The core component of Microsoft 365 is access to desktop applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Unlike traditional one-time purchases of Office suites, a Microsoft 365 subscription allows you to...

Apache OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice is a full-featured office productivity suite that is open source and available for free. Originally developed as StarOffice in the 1990s, it was acquired and open sourced by Sun Microsystems in 2000 as OpenOffice.org. In 2011, Oracle donated it to the Apache Software Foundation, who released Apache OpenOffice.Apache...

ONLYOFFICE

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WPS Office

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SoftMaker FreeOffice

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Microsoft Works

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Trio Office

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NeoOffice

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SSuite Office

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Oracle Open Office

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Corel WordPerfect

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CryptPad

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Arcane Office

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Polaris Office

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AppleWorks

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Apple iWork

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Calligra Suite

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Ashampoo Office

Ashampoo Office is an office suite for Windows PC developed by German software company Ashampoo. First released in 2009, it aims to provide a low-cost alternative to Microsoft Office with many of the same core features and compatibility.The main components of Ashampoo Office include:Ashampoo Text - Word processor for...

EuroOffice

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Collabora Online

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Collabora Office

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OfficeWork Office Online

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Live Documents

Live Documents is a real-time collaborative document editing software designed for teams that need to work on files together from different locations. It works with Microsoft Office file types like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.With Live Documents, multiple people can edit a document at the same time and changes made...

SSuite OmegaOffice HD+

SSuite OmegaOffice HD+ is a free and open source office suite for Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. It includes applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, notes, drawings, and databases.The word processor, OmegaWord, has similar functionality to Microsoft Word with features like spell check, autocorrect, track changes, comments...

Truly Office

Truly Office is a free and open source office suite that includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database and other productivity applications. It is designed to provide a full-featured alternative to expensive commercial office suites like Microsoft Office.The centerpiece of Truly Office is its word processor, Truly Word, which...

Ability Office

Ability Office is an free, open source office suite that includes basic word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, equation editor and database front-end functionalities for documents and productivity tasks. It is developed by AbilityNet, a UK charity that focuses on using IT to enhance opportunities for people with disabilities.As an...

CloudOn

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Coffice

Coffice is a free and open source office suite software that provides tools for managing documents, spreadsheets, databases, slide presentations and organizing data. Features include: A word processor for creating and formatting documents Spreadsheets with analysis tools, formulas and charts Presentation tools for creating and formatting slide decks Note taking...

Oxygen Office

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Novus Office

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Conholdate.Total for Java

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Go-oo

Go-oo was a discontinued open source fork of OpenOffice.org created in 2005 by Novell. It aimed to add features and improvements to OpenOffice.org that were not accepted into the official releases at the time.Some of the key improvements in Go-oo included better compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats...

Conholdate.Total for .NET

Conholdate.Total for .NET is a comprehensive .NET library that allows software developers to work with over 100 popular document and image formats in their .NET applications without needing to rely on any third party dependencies. Developed by Aspose, it provides a broad range of features for creating, editing, converting, viewing...

Zoho Workplace

Zoho Workplace is a cloud-based office productivity suite that offers a variety of web-based applications for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, CRM, project management, and more. Developed by Zoho Corporation, Workplace aims to provide an affordable alternative to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for small and midsize businesses.Some of the key...

Feather Suite

Feather Suite is a free and open-source office suite that includes applications for common productivity tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, databases, and more. It is developed as a lightweight and customizable alternative to commercial suites like Microsoft Office or Apple's iWork.Some key features of Feather Suite include...

Google Cloud Connect

Google Cloud Connect is a plugin developed by Google for Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It allows users to access, edit, upload, and share files stored in their Google Drive accounts directly from the Office apps.Some key features of Google Cloud Connect include:Open, edit, and...

Draftboard

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