| Major Feature Differences |
LibreOffice 4.4 |
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 (tdf#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 MPLv2 and others. |
no, proprietary and closed-source |
| Full integration of all office components |
Supported. From within each office component, files of all other components can be opened and newly created. Central StartCenter with access to office modules, recently used files and templates. |
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 260 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 |
110 languages (detailed list of languages supported by LibreOffice) |
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)). Detailed list of LibreOffice writing aids for over 140 languages. |
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) (tdf#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)). Extension for the integration of cliparts from OpenClipart.org |
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, Google GDrive, Nuxeo, MS SharePoint, MS OneDrive, IBM
FileNet Lotus Live Files, Lotus Quickr Domino, OpenDataSpace and
OpenText ELS. |
inbuilt support only for MS SharePoint and MS OneDrive |
| 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 (.svg, .svgz), Adobe Photoshop (.psd) |
supported |
not supported |
| Import from vector graphics / DTP software: CorelDraw (v1-X7), Corel
Presentation Exchange, Adobe/Macromedia Freehand, Adobe PageMaker |
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 (mkv), OGG Audio, Ogg Video, Quicktime Video, WebM
Video, Real Audio (.ra), Real Media (.rm), Digital Video (.dv), Audio
Codec (.ac3), and Ogg Opus (.opus) |
supported |
not supported |
| Drawing program |
LibreOffice Draw |
no |
| PIM and email program |
not part of office suite, referring to Mozilla Thunderbird with Mozilla Lightning. Mail Merge Wizard sends out emails directly from LibreOffice without email software. |
MS Outlook |
| Import & Export of Microsoft OOXML files |
Good support of real life OOXML files (e.g. .xlsx, .docx, .pptx) and standardized (transitional) OOXML files, as well as import of OOXML-strict files. |
Advanced support of transitional (default) and strict OOXML files. |
| PDF Import |
partial, into Draw and Writer with the limitation that text is imported line-based (tdf#32249). |
supported, into MS Word |
| User Interface approach |
Classic
UI; Sidebar (default in Impress and Writer; in Calc not enabled by
default). Customization possible: several icon themes, Firefox themes. |
Ribbon UI; Classic UI available as third-party paid extension |
| Available as native 64-bit application on OS |
Linux, MacOS X. Native 64-Bit version for Windows currently in development, planned for upcoming version 5.0 |
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, for details see page for Android port development). Beta version of the LibreOffice viewer on Google play. Prototype of Android LibreOffice editor |
Mobile
versions restricted to smartphones (not on tablets) for iOS, Android,
WindowsPhone 8 with heavily restricted feature set, good viewing but
very limited editing capabilities; after registration private users are
allowed to view and edit at no cost, while professional users are
required to have an eligible Office 365 subscription at a monthly fee. A
more comprehensive version is available for the iPad, after
registration document viewing at no cost, while editing requires an
eligible Office 365 subscription at a monthly fee. |
| Online/cloud version of office suite |
no, in development: see LibreOffice - the cloud edition, LibreOffice Online port development and Using LibreOffice in a Web Browser. |
Office web apps, with reduced functionality. (1) |
| Synchronous collaborative editing |
no, in development. See: Collaborative Editing and Track changes. |
supported |
| Minor Feature Differences |
LibreOffice 4.4 |
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 MacOS legacy vector and bitmap graphics formats:
BeagleWorks, ClarisWorks, GreatWorks, MacPaint, MacWorks, SuperPaint,
MacDraw, MacDraw II, RagTime for Mac 2-3 |
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 |
| Support for GIMP color palette format .gpl |
supported |
not supported |
| Enhanced list of recent files and folders |
partial (tdf#61174, tdf#60743). Option to clear list of recent documents. Selectively delete Recent Documents (in StartCenter) |
supported (option to set recent files as permanent) |
| Digital signatures / Signature Line |
Single signature. Round-trip with MS Office problematic (tdf#58442, tdf#58476). |
supported |
| Custom colours in formula editor |
Set of 16 colours (tdf#40436) |
supported |
| Streaming of office applications/office on demand |
not supported (possible via third party services) |
supported (1) |
| 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 (tdf#37048) |
supported |
| Inserting videos from online sources |
not supported (tdf#42246) (Work-around: Download of online video and embed it in presentation (incl. Flash videos)) |
supported (1) |
| Import of graphics formats: MEZ, WMZ, PCZ, CGM |
not supported |
supported |
Export to XPS format  |
not supported |
supported |
