General office suite: LibreOffice vs. Microsoft Office
| Major Feature Differences | LibreOffice 4.2 | MS Office 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-platform availability | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD (based on the same code base). | Windows and Mac OS X (based on different code bases resulting in some format compatibility problems and differences in the user interface. Mac OS X Version is old version "Office 2011" and no MS Access.) |
| Supported versions of MS Windows | Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 (8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012 also reported to work (fdo#71690)) | Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, Windows RT (few features missing, no MS Access and not Metro-compliant) |
| Portable version that runs on USB flash disks (without installation) | yes | no (discontinued MS Office Starter 2010 edition runs on USB flash disks) |
| Open Source | yes, licensed under GNU LGPL Version 3 | no, proprietary and closed-source |
| Full integration of all office components | supported, StartCenter with recently used files. Creation and opening of files of other office components. | not supported |
| Availability free of charge | yes | no, proprietary software plus additional charges for language packs. 30-day trial version available. |
| Eco-system of extensions | complex ecosystem of valuable extensions (over 190 on extensions.libreoffice.org and over 750 on extensions.services.openoffice.org) for LibreOffice (including automatic updates). | partly, no centralized extension system for add-ins and macros. Office Apps store for Office 2013. |
| Localization | 111 languages (detailed list) | 96 languages (52 main languages for purchase, 44 more languages (in total 60) from Language Interface Packs (LIPs) for free download) |
| Changing language of the user interface on the fly | supported | supported, but requires additional purchase of language packs / download of local LIPs |
| Additional writing aids | extended support (spell-check dictionaries, hyphenation patterns, thesaurus and grammar check, specialized dictionaries as extensions (1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)). Overview list. | limited, requires additional purchase of language packs |
| Support of complex languages and special font features (ligatures, true small caps, old style numbers, proportional or mono-spaced numbers, capital spacing, true superscript/subscript) | comprehensive support of SIL Graphite font technology (not available of Mac OS X). Support of OpenType optional features limited to localized forms (locl) (fdo#58941). | limited via OpenType supporting ligatures, stylistic sets, number spacing options, number forms, contextual alternates. |
| Easy access to vector clip art | yes via LO Gallery (clipart extensions (1 or 2)) | selection more limited |
| Macro scripting languages | multiple languages, support for wide variety of languages (LibreOffice Basic, JavaScript, BeanShell and Python). | single language, support for Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Indirectly also Visual Basic or Visual C# by using automation. |
| CMIS protocol support to access Document Management Systems | support for Alfresco, GDrive, Nuxeo, SharePoint, IBM FileNet Lotus Live Files, Lotus Quickr Domino, OpenDataSpace and OpenText ELS. | inbuilt support only for SharePoint and Skydrive |
| Support of ISO standardized OpenDocument (ODF) format | advanced support, v. 1.2 extended | limited (Windows), v. 1.2, no ODF support on MacOS X |
| PDF export extended options | multiple options (Additional options: detailed image settings, watermarks, HybridPDF, transition effects, tagged pdf, extended security and permission options, PDF forms, initial view settings, extended handling of URLs, digital signatures) | High or low quality PDF, page and markup to print in Access, Word, Excel and PowerPoint 1; pictures resolution and non-printing informations in Publisher. |
| Creation of HybridPDFs (ODF file embedded in PDF for full editing) | supported | not supported |
| Import of graphics formats: SVG vector graphics, Adobe Photoshop (.psd) | supported | not supported |
| Import from vector graphics software: CorelDraw, Corel Presentation Exchange, Adobe/Macromedia Freehand | supported | not supported |
| Import of MS Visio files | supported (Visio 2000-2013) | not supported (only via MS Visio which is not part of MS Office) |
| Import of video and audio formats FLAC Audio flac, Flash Video (flv), Matroska Media, OGG Audio, Ogg Video, Quicktime Video and WebM Video | supported | not supported |
| Drawing program | LibreOffice Draw | no |
| PIM and email program | not part of office suite, referring to Mozilla Thunderbird with Mozilla Lightning. | MS Outlook |
| Import & Export of Microsoft OOXML files | Good support of real life OOXML files (e.g. .xlsx, .docx, .pptx) as well as standardized OOXML files | Advanced support of transitional (default) and strict OOXML files. |
| PDF Import | partial, into Draw with the limitation that text is imported line-based (fdo#32249). | supported, into MS Word |
| User Interface approach | Classic UI; New Sidebar (default in Impress, in Writer and Calc not enabled by default). Customization possible: several icon sets, Firefox themes, customization of toolbars. | Ribbon UI; Classic UI available as third-party paid extension |
| Available as native 64-bit application on OS | Linux, MacOS X | Windows |
| User interface improved to enable use on touch screen devices on desktop operating systems | no | Slightly adjusted user interface for touch screen devices, but no redesign |
| Versions of office suite for mobile operating systems | no, ports for Android and iOS in development (1,2,3, 4) | Versions for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 with heavily restricted feature set, good viewing capabilities but very limited editing abilities. Mobile versions are restricted to smartphones (not on tablets). Android and iOS versions only available if subscribed to Microsoft 365 Cloud services at a monthly fee. |
| Online/cloud version of office suite | no, in development: experimental version. | Office web apps, with reduced functionality. (1) |
| Synchronous collaborative editing | no, in development: experimental version, presentation (PDF) | supported |
| Minor Feature Differences | LibreOffice 4.2 | MS Office 2013 |
| Import of graphics formats DXF, MET, PBM, PCD, PCX, PGM, PPM, PPM, RAS, SGF, SVM, TGA, XBM, XPM | supported | not supported |
| Import of additional video and audio formats: CD Audio, Vivo Video. | supported | not supported |
| Document converter wizard | supported | not supported |
| Euro currency converter wizard | supported | not supported |
| Expert config to access a multitude of settings from UI | supported | not supported |
| Enhanced list of recent files and folders | partial (fdo#61174, fdo#60743). Option to clear list of recent documents. | supported (option to set recent files as permanent) |
| Digital signatures / Signature Line | single signature without visual features (fdo#63001) | supported |
| Custom colours in formula editor | Set of 8 colours (fdo#40436) | supported |
| Ink annotations (e.g. on a windows tablet computer) | not supported, (only support for import of existing ink annotations from MS Word file format) | supported |
| Live preview while formatting | not supported (fdo#37048) | supported |
| Import of graphics formats: MEZ, WMZ, PCZ, CGM | not supported | supported |
| Export to XPS format | not supported | supported |
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