The Best Office Suites for 2026

Here at PCMag, we started testing word processors in 1986, and we're still at it. Today, office suites generally refer to software packages with presentation, spreadsheet, and word processing apps at the very least. Microsoft Office is indisputably the leader in the category, and the subscription-based Microsoft 365, corporate-ready Microsoft 365 Business, and standalone Office 2024 suites give you access to the same set of class-leading apps. All three are Editors' Choice winners alongside Google Workspace, which best suits corporate users thanks to its excellent collaboration features and ease of use. But one of the other office suites we included here might better fit your needs. Scroll down to see all of our favorite apps and links to our in-depth reviews of each, followed by buying advice to help you make an informed decision.

Best Overall

Microsoft 365

Score: 4.5

Pros & Cons

• + Powerful and feature-rich

• + Smooth collaboration features 

• + Distraction-free view in Word 

• + Convenient Copilot features in Excel 

• + Regular updates with new features 

• + Desktop, mobile, and web versions of apps

• - Powerful and feature-rich

• - Smooth collaboration features 

• - Distraction-free view in Word 

• - Convenient Copilot features in Excel 

• - Regular updates with new features 

• - Desktop, mobile, and web versions of apps

Why We Picked It

Microsoft's productivity apps are the best at what they do, bar none. Mobile and web apps make them accessible anywhere, and the cloud storage you get as part of a subscription is highly convenient. If you need to get serious work done in documents or worksheets, Microsoft's suite is not merely worth the money, but it's an amazing bargain.

Who It's For

Home users and very small businesses will find Microsoft 365 Personal an excellent deal. A subscription gives you access to all its latest features and capabilities, too.

Specs & Configurations

Price Per Month: $6.99

Free Account Offered: False

API Available for Customers: False

Guest Accounts: False

Time Tracking: False

Pre-Built Templates: True

Android App: True

iOS App: True

Desktop Apps: True

Cloud-Based Apps: True

Windows App: True

Mac App: True

Mobile Apps: True

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: True

Online Collaboration: True

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: True

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: True

Best for Businesses

Microsoft 365 Business

Score: 4.5

Pros & Cons

• + Top-notch office productivity programs

• + Includes a custom email address and many business-focused apps

• + Smooth collaboration and generous storage allotments

• + Regular feature and security updates

• + Works on all major platforms

• - Top-notch office productivity programs

• - Includes a custom email address and many business-focused apps

• - Smooth collaboration and generous storage allotments

• - Regular feature and security updates

• - Works on all major platforms

Why We Picked It

Microsoft 365 Business is the corporate-ready version of the company's office suite. You need to spring for the Business Standard tier ($12.50 per user per month, billed annually) to get the desktop versions of the core Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Word apps, but the price is extremely reasonable because these programs are the best at what they do. A subscription also unlocks 1TB of OneDrive storage, communication via Microsoft Teams , a custom business email address, video editing via Clipchamp , and many more apps for each user. Just prepare to pay extra for additional Copilot and Teams functionality.

Who It's For

If your business wants to settle on a single office suite that suits both workers who prefer to work online and offline, Microsoft 365 Business is the one to get. It's the clear market leader, thanks to its flexibility, reliability, and value.

Specs & Configurations

Price Per Month: $20 per Person (Business Premium)

Free Account Offered: True

API Available for Customers: True

Guest Accounts: True

Time Tracking: None

Pre-Built Templates: True

Android App: None

iOS App: None

Starting Storage: 50GB

Mobile Apps: True

Chat Client: True

Collaboration Tools: True

REST API: True

Anti-Spam: True

Anti-Phishing (Clear Warning): True

Microsoft Exchange Compatibility: True

Microsoft Active Directory Sync: True

HIPAA Eligible: True

Native Email Encryption: True

Email Delegation: True

Desktop Apps: True

Cloud-Based Apps: True

Windows App: True

Mac App: True

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: False

Online Collaboration: True

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: True

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: True

Best Standalone Office Suite

Microsoft Office 2024

Score: 4.5

Pros & Cons

• + Includes updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more

• + One-time purchase

• + Volume licensing available

• + Apps will get security updates

• - Includes updated versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more

• - One-time purchase

• - Volume licensing available

• - Apps will get security updates

Why We Picked It

Microsoft Office 2024 is the latest standalone version of Microsoft's office suite. The Home tier gets you the desktop versions of Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word for a single Mac or PC, while the Home & Business plan adds Outlook for commercial users. Microsoft won't provide any feature updates for these apps, but it does plan to maintain them with security patches. As such, you can count on a consistent, stable experience for as long as you use them.

Who It's For

Microsoft Office 2024 is ideal for anyone who wants to use the best overall office apps without continually paying for a subscription. If you don't care about having the most up-to-date version of the Office apps or cloud storage, there's no reason to opt for the subscription-based Microsoft 365.

Specs & Configurations

Desktop Apps: True

Cloud-Based Apps: False

Windows App: True

Mac App: True

Mobile Apps: False

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: False

Online Collaboration: False

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: True

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: True

Best for Cloud-First Companies

Google Workspace

Score: 4.0

Pros & Cons

• + Elegant office tools

• + Works the same on any browser

• + Fine-tuned collaboration and revision-tracking features

• + Corporate-friendly user management

• - Elegant office tools

• - Works the same on any browser

• - Fine-tuned collaboration and revision-tracking features

• - Corporate-friendly user management

Why We Picked It

Google Workspace has plenty to offer any organization that needs collaboration-ready office apps, mail services, shared calendars, and websites. Google Workspace is cloud-only, unlike Microsoft's apps. Whether this is an advantage or disadvantage depends on your needs. Cloud-only apps are better if you want to assure that everything your organization produces is always available in the cloud. For its ease of use, elegance, depth, and speed, Google Workspace is a powerful choice.

Who It's For

The Workspace version of Google's productivity suite is for businesses. It's only for organizations that are willing to host all of their apps and files in the cloud.

Specs & Configurations

Price Per Month: $6 per person

Free Account Offered: True

API Available for Customers: True

Guest Accounts: True

Time Tracking: None

Pre-Built Templates: True

Android App: None

iOS App: None

Desktop Apps: False

Cloud-Based Apps: True

Windows App: False

Mac App: False

Mobile Apps: True

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: True

Online Collaboration: True

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: True

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: True

None

Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

Score: 4.0

Pros & Cons

• + Simple, elegant interfaces

• + Tight integrations across Apple's platforms

• + Unique canvas-style format for spreadsheets

• + Powerful graphics features

• + Free

• - Simple, elegant interfaces

• - Tight integrations across Apple's platforms

• - Unique canvas-style format for spreadsheets

• - Powerful graphics features

• - Free

Why We Picked It

We admire Apple's office apps for their sheer beauty and ingenuity. Keynote, Numbers, and Pages all take a unique graphic-centric approach.

Who It's For

Apple's apps come up short on some features, but if they are sufficient for your needs, they're a pleasure to use. Some of the apps have unique features that you won't find elsewhere—although you are unlikely to need them. If you live and work in Apple's ecosystem and like the convenience of, for example, taking a photo on your phone and inserting it into a document or worksheet on your Mac, then you should use the iWork apps.

Specs & Configurations

Desktop Apps: True

Cloud-Based Apps: True

Windows App: False

Mac App: True

Mobile Apps: True

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: True

Online Collaboration: True

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: False

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: False

None

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Score: 3.5

Pros & Cons

• + Free

• + Simple, elegant interfaces

• + Support features, such as drop-down lists and voting by emoji

• + Easy-to-use collaboration and revision history features

• - Free

• - Simple, elegant interfaces

• - Support features, such as drop-down lists and voting by emoji

• - Easy-to-use collaboration and revision history features

Why We Picked It

Docs, Sheets, and Slides, among a few other apps, make up Google's suite of productivity apps for home users (also known as Google Docs Editors). We love their best-in-class collaboration and revision-tracking features. While Docs, Sheets, and Slides are available only as web apps, they are highly convenient to use.

Who It's For

This version of Google's productivity apps is for home users and students. It's a wonderful group of apps to use if you are able to work almost exclusively online.

Specs & Configurations

Desktop Apps: False

Cloud-Based Apps: True

Windows App: False

Mac App: False

Mobile Apps: True

Open Source: False

Free Version Available: True

Online Collaboration: True

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: True

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: True

Links to Live Web Data: True

Records Macros: True

Best for Open-Source Document Editing

LibreOffice

Score: 3.0

Pros & Cons

• + Free and open-source

• + Offers desktop apps for Linux, macOS, and Windows

• + Can import and convert almost any legacy document

• - Free and open-source

• - Offers desktop apps for Linux, macOS, and Windows

• - Can import and convert almost any legacy document

Why We Picked It

LibreOffice is an impressive achievement that keeps improving with each incremental release. It still suffers from a clunky interface, despite some improvements, and it crashes more than it should. But it's your best choice for free, open-source office apps.

Who It's For

LibreOffice is for people who want open-source software. In particular, open-source software tends to appeal to financial firms, government offices, and other privacy-conscious users, because they can examine the source code for vulnerabilities. It's also an excellent choice for anyone with older documents in outdated formats, as LibreOffice can usually open them.

Specs & Configurations

Desktop Apps: True

Cloud-Based Apps: False

Windows App: True

Mac App: True

Mobile Apps: False

Open Source: True

Free Version Available: True

Online Collaboration: False

Opens/Saves Microsoft Formats: True

Imports From PDF: False

View/Edit Format Codes: False

Mail App Included: False

Links to Live Web Data: False

Records Macros: True

The Best Alternatives to Microsoft 365

When deciding on an office suite, consider whether you are choosing one for yourself or for your entire organization. If it's the former, use whatever feels most comfortable. If you choose anything other than Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 and plan to send your files to anyone else, just set up your suite to export files in the standard Microsoft Office formats.

If you're choosing an office suite for a small business or a large organization, the decision gets more complicated. Microsoft 365 Business and Office 2024 Home & Business are the easiest to use, most effective, and most reliable of all the suites, but they have two disadvantages: First, they're expensive. Second, you might have strong reasons to avoid proprietary software.

If you insist on open-source software, LibreOffice is your only serious choice. However, it suffers from a sometimes clunky interface. If you want free software and you use a Mac, Apple's Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps might be a good fit. If you're content with cloud-only software, Google's apps are powerful and intuitive. Realistically, the options we've covered to this point can cover nearly every use case.

We no longer review them, but you still might also want to consider the following alternatives:

• Corel WordPerfect Office : WordPerfect offers highly granular formatting capabilities and may be the standard in your industry or research field. That said, it's pricey and has an outdated interface.

• SoftMaker Office : SoftMaker's desktop apps generally perform well and are easy to use. They are available across platforms, though some features might differ between versions. These apps don't support real-time collaboration.

• Zoho Office : Zoho Office is inexpensive, and a subscription comes with cloud storage. Still, the Zoho Sheet app is in beta.

How Much Do Office Suites Cost?

Some office suites—such as those from Apple, Google, and LibreOffice—are free. Others, such as Corel WordPerfect, require a one-time fee. Google Workspace is a subscription-based service (the free versions fall under the umbrella of Google Docs Editors), while Microsoft Office and SoftMaker Office both offer standalone and subscription-based versions. The cost of a subscription depends on how many devices you intend to use the software on and which apps you need. Expect to pay at most $10 per month for personal versions of office suites.

With any subscription-based office suite, your apps automatically stay up to date with all the latest features and security updates. That's an important benefit, but if you don't really care about getting the latest updates, you might prefer to purchase a static standalone version. Several office suites offer the latest version to existing users at a discount, so you might not need to pay full price when you decide it's time for an upgrade.

What Do You Get in an Office Suite?

Three apps remain the core of every office suite: a presentation app, a spreadsheet editor, and a word processor. Depending on the suite, and, in some cases, depending on which version of a suite you choose, you also get a database manager, mail and calendar apps, a note-taking app , PDF editors , website creation tools , and a variety of other services that cover everything from form-building to video conferencing .

One thing that all of today's suites have in common is that their core apps share much of their underlying code. That means, for example, that the drawing tools in the presentation app are typically also available in the word processor and spreadsheet apps. The core apps also typically share a similar interface, so you can easily move between them.

Should You Use Cloud or Local Apps?

One important decision to make before you choose an office suite is whether you want to work offline, online, or both. Both types of software have advantages. For instance, online apps allow you to collaborate with others and ensure that your files are available everywhere. Local apps are typically more powerful and reliable, however.

Corel WordPerfect and SoftMaker Office both lack web versions. Google's commercial and consumer apps, by contrast, are web-first experiences. For instance, all the apps within those suites are available via a browser, and they save every document you work on to cloud storage. Although you can work on Google Docs files offline , that's not as viable a solution as downloading full-featured local disk versions of apps.

Microsoft 365 offers the best of both worlds. By default—though it's easy to change this—Microsoft's apps save documents to its cloud storage service, OneDrive , which allows you to keep copies of your documents both in the cloud and offline. Microsoft also makes it easy to edit your documents either locally through top-notch desktop apps or online through a browser.

Apple's apps are also available locally on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices as well as online. Unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't provide Android or Windows versions of its office apps. LibreOffice primarily offers desktop apps, but it is starting to add online functionality.

What File Conventions Do Office Suites Use?

For better or worse—and we think it's mostly for better—Microsoft 365 sets the standard for document formats, and all other suites let you save documents in Office's file formats.

The only document formats that every suite we reviewed can handle are Microsoft's Excel and Word formats. You can set up your non-Microsoft apps to save in those formats, but you typically need to swat away message boxes and other warnings when you do. If you share documents only within an organization standardized on non-Microsoft formats, this isn't an issue. In fact, some security-conscious users or businesses might prefer to keep potentially sensitive documents exclusively in LibreOffice's open-source formats. If you frequently send documents to recipients outside your organization, watch out for compatibility problems.

Google's apps have a unique way of handling file types. You can download Google's documents in standard formats that LibreOffice or Microsoft 365 apps can open, but the originals in the cloud are editable only in Google's apps (with some special exceptions). All of the apps within Apple's suite use proprietary formats by default, which makes sharing difficult. If you export a document to a more universal file type and then try to re-import it, you lose any special formatting.

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