Apache OpenOffice

Score9.9 out of 10

106 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Apache OpenOffice are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Business Problems Solved

OpenOffice has gained popularity among various professionals and organizations for its versatility and cost-effectiveness. One of its key use cases is in consulting firms, where it allows professionals to open and work on different file types received from clients. This not only helps maintain a professional image but also eliminates the need to request alternative file formats. According to users, OpenOffice provides unique capabilities, such as direct editing of .dbx files in Calc, which keeps consulting firms ahead of the curve.

Another use case for OpenOffice is as a potential replacement for Microsoft Office in organizations aiming to reduce costs while still meeting their current needs. By evaluating OpenOffice as an alternative, these organizations can significantly cut down on subscription expenses without compromising the functionalities provided by Microsoft Office.

OpenOffice is also being embraced by individual users across various industries. For example, secretarial staff in offices have been convinced to use OpenOffice for general writing and calculating activities. Likewise, web developers and account managers find it valuable for creating and editing documents and presentations for customers. It offers a lightweight and smooth alternative to the resource-heavy Microsoft Office suite.

Furthermore, OpenOffice finds utility in niche professions. A professional freelance photographer relies on OpenOffice for all word processing tasks related to their business, such as creating invoices, receipts, and quotes. Users appreciate how this cost-effective solution does not compromise functionality.

Academic institutions are also recognizing the benefits of OpenOffice as an alternative to Microsoft Office 365. Apache OpenOffice is recommended as the default office suite software in a technical institute, allowing them to reduce subscription costs to zero while providing all the necessary features comparable to Microsoft Office.

Overall, OpenOffice proves useful across diverse fields and contexts. Its appeal lies not only in its affordability but also in its ability to address specific needs, provide unique capabilities, and offer a seamless user experience.

Reviews

20 Reviews

Great free alternative to MS Office

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

December 17, 2024

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Apache OpenOffice for the redaction of quotations, bills of materials, slide shows, letters and several other types of texts. It solves the problem of needing a good text processor but mainly a free alternative to Microsoft Excel with Calc, which is used for most of the administrative tasks regarding money and even some regarding engineering, like reports.

Pros

Being free
Opening MS office documents
Having a good user interface

Cons

Some people used to Microsoft products can feel it's a little bit old in its style
I saves documents in its native format, which is incompatible with MS Word or Excel, unless you change that in the preferences tab
The UI is not very pretty

Likelihood to Recommend

It's perfectly suited for small bussinesses like mine that only need basic functionality out of an office suite. You can do almost everything you would do with MS Office but for free. Very good if you need to redact documents that will be printed or saved as a PDF only.

I'd say it's not great if you need to share documents with other people who use MS Office, like most do, because although it can save in MS Office formats, they are older versions, so you can't open files created in the new versions.

Verified User

Director in Engineering (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

8 years of experience

Great If You Hate That Other Office Software

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

June 27, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

If you have used other products, such as Microsoft Office software, then you know what Apache OpenOffice is all about. Open Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, but... it's all in Apache OpenOffice. You can write documents, work on spreadsheets, etc. If you have had bad experiences with other software providers, find their pricing prohibitive, want to avoid constant updates and downloads, or are worried about big brother spying on you, then Apache OpenOffice has got you covered.

Pros

Spreadsheets
Word processing
Price sensitive (it won't break the bank)

Cons

Graphics - I do find sometimes the graphics/icons appear fuzzy even though I have a monster computer (not bragging, just true)

Likelihood to Recommend

If you have budget constraints or hate "those" guys who make similar products then Apache OpenOffice is the product for you. It is cross-software/platform compatible so you can open documents and spreadsheets sent from other software and can send them to others who use that software. Great for word processing and spreadsheets. Intuitive and simple layout. Specifically designed to feel familiar (intuitive UI) and has a broad range of features to compare with other providers out there.

Zachariah King

Editor at Debtfree Magazine (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

4 years of experience

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Free MS Office replacement

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 27, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use OpenOffice instead of MS Office. I contains everything I need from MS Office and the price is right - FREE.

Pros

edits Word documents
handles Excel spreadsheets flawlessly.

Cons

it presently has all functionality I need, but redlining could be improved

Likelihood to Recommend

I normally use WordPerfect, but many colleagues use MS Word. OpenOffice gives me interoperability.

Verified User

Partner in Legal (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

7 years of experience

Apachy things!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

June 27, 2023

Pros

Sheets with formulas
Presentations
Sheets with diagrams

Cons

Some breaks or bugs happen and the app shuts
Better documentation online

Likelihood to Recommend

Create and share docs like sheets, words or any other where we might need to fill in info. My main use case is sheets, but using it to write documentation or use it as a note taker is also a good use case. Way better than the notepad that comes with windows

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (5001-10,000 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

Open Office - Compatible and free.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

June 25, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it as a cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Office 365 on common computers for users who do not have a dedicated license. The Apache OpenOffice suite allows us to do everything that the more polished but subscription-necessary MS O365.

Pros

Low resource footprint.
Works on older computers with outdated OS(s).
Similar in looks to the more widely used MS Office, it makes uptake easier.

Cons

Requires Java. Another piece of software that needs to be up-to-date.
The user interface is a bit clunky.
Limited suite compared to the main competitor in O365.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is free to use, and where we have temp or volunteer workers, we can use this without worrying about subscription costs while providing a platform for work to still get done.

Verified User

General Manager in Information Technology (11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

6 years of experience

Apache OpenOffice is Best Suit

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

January 20, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I'm saving money on authorizing cost by utilizing free office suite by Apache with an opportunity to pick any working arrangement of my decision.
I have utilized it for quite a long time for all word handling and bookkeeping page requires, without reliance on buying Microsoft. It makes life significantly less muddled!
In general, my experience has been amazing.

Pros

OpenOffice is ideal to have as an application on your PC versus utilizing an online word archive application like Google Docs.
OpenOffice can deal with an assortment of document types like [.doc, .rtf, .xml] , making it a fundamental apparatus for the individuals who don't approach Microsoft Word.
OpenOffice is a more profound programming than Word and is more open. I know, openness for a record composing programming, I know. In any case, OpenOffice takes into account rapidly evolving edges, typeface, size, and so forth, and I think shows improvement over Word, and in a simpler arrangement.
OpenOffice can deal with bookkeeping pages, essential information bases, introductions, and fundamental drawings. It handles the entirety of the typical Microsoft Office instruments inside one application.

Cons

In my all through experience of utilizing Apache Open Office, I didn't encountered any issue aside from record design uphold for new Microsoft Office document designs like DOCx, XLSx and PPTx.

Likelihood to Recommend

The best thing that OpenOffice does is as a rule free. The expense of Microsoft Office is high and more modest shops can't bear the cost of it.
As far as execution, I have seen OpenOffice run just as or far superior to Microsoft Office. It is cross-stage, one of the critical qualities of OpenOffice.

Aurangzaib Adil

Senior Merchandiser in Customer Service at Junaid Jamshed Private Limited (501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

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I strongly recommend it to my friends

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

December 28, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

At Softronic Systems in their pharma services division, I along with my team are using Apache OpenOffice for our daily needs of composing documents, composing news articles, making spreadsheets, and preparing presentations. It is not being used by whole organization but the pharma services division is effectively using it. Previously we were paying to use Microsoft Office.

Pros

Supports a variety of formats
Open source and free
Small download package

Cons

Does not support the latest Microsoft Office formats
Layout doesn't appear exactly the same as in Microsoft Office
Theme of the application is not eye-catching

Likelihood to Recommend

I strongly recommend for my friends and colleagues to use Apache OpenOffice for drafting their documents, making spreadsheets, and preparing presentations because it is free, it is lighter in terms of application size, it supports a variety of file formats, it is available on almost all kinds of device and operating system, like Android, Windows, Linux, and many others.

Abdul Wahab Khan

Project Manager in Professional Services at Softronic Systems (Pvt) Limited (51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

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A free alternative to Microsoft Office

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

December 16, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

At our University, we previously used Microsoft Office for all our documents work. Our students were also using the same software. But as a Technical institute, using open source softwares is a plus point. We recommend Apache OpenOffice as the default office suite software. It helped us in reducing the subscription costs to 0.

Pros

Low size, Apache Open office weighs only 200MB with the full capabilities as that of a 2GB Microsoft office. This saves some space on your system and your internet bandwidth.
It's Free. That's one of the benefit of open source softwares, they don't cost anything. We can use it on as many systems as we want without any subscription.
It's cross platform, unlike Microsoft office which is only available on Microsoft Windows, OpenOffice is available on Windows as well as Linux which is used my most of the students pursuing a computer science degree.

Cons

The available file formats are a bit unconventional in OpenOffice. By default it saves the document in .odt format which may work with almost any other word processor but with a chance of formatting issues.
UI is not as polished as other mainstream products like Microsoft Office so a new user may need some time to get familiar to it.
No cloud save option available. For saving files online you have to save the document locally and upload it on you favourite cloud drive. And for accessing it on other device you have to download the file from your drive and open it. This is not a very long task tbh but it's still an extra step which may be considered as a minus point to a business user.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited if - 1. The user just bought a new device and needs an office suite for his basic office needs. 2. The user has a very limited or a slow speed internet. 3. The user is using a very low capacity storage device. It is less appropriate if - 1. The user needs cloud backup. 2. The user has more business focused needs and wants multiple device support at once.

Pulkit Agrawal

Engineering Technician in Engineering at Galgotias University (501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

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OpenOffice - Open or Closed?

Rating: 4 out of 10

Incentivized

February 12, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Part of the work we do requires use of a MS Excel template. Since we use WordPerfect, we tried to open and use this form in QuattroPro, however, for some weird reason, it wouldn't convert properly. We do not use MS Office, so we needed an "MS-friendly" alternative. This fit the bill!

Pros

Converts .XLT files perfectly.
Easy to use.

Cons

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.

Likelihood to Recommend

Well-suited: It converts XLT files flawlessly.

Not well-suited: It is not behaving well on Windows 10 - see previous comments - Processing time is very long. It freezes after many commands like "save."

Riva Schwartz

Office Manager at Law Offices of Alan J. Schwartz, P.C. (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

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OpenOffice: Fast, Free, Simple, And Easy To Use

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

June 11, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our web developers and account managers use OpenOffice to create and edit documents and presentations for our customers. The program is lightweight on our computers' resources and runs very smooth most of the time, with minimal technical glitches. It loads up fast and does not have many of the same challenges as the Microsoft Office suite. Although it's not as good for large complex documents, it is all we need for most documents most of the time.

Pros

Lightweight on our computer's resources
Loads and runs fast
Runs smoothly without technical errors
OpenOffice makes it very easy to create and edit documents fast

Cons

Not the best solution for larger or complex documents.
Doesn't integrate well with third-party software and applications.
Not as good as MS Office for document sharing and collaboration.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you have no budget for office software OpenOffice might be all you need, it's fast lightweight and doesn't use a lot of your computer's resources. However, if your business thrives on complex presentations and documents that use Adobe and Microsoft it might not be as well suited. It is very easy to install and does not have a lot of technical glitches like Microsoft.

.Kim Murphy

Owner in Marketing at Designz23 (1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

8 years of experience

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