There is no doubt that Microsoft Office is the most popular and high standard productivity office suite which includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook and more desktop applications. But not everybody can afford this software package because it is expensive, especially if you’re a student or if you just use it occasionally. So, if you can not afford it or want to save some money, there are some best and free alternatives for you.
To install on your computer:
OpenOffice / LibreOffice (Available for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows)
Apache OpenOffice (AOO) and LibreOffice are the open-source office software suite. You can download and install these professional-quality productivity suite completely free of charge. Both suite includes Writer for word processing, Calc for spreadsheets, Impress for multimedia presentations, Draw for illustrations, Base for databases and Math for mathematical equations.
OpenOffice – download from here: www.openoffice.org/download
LibreOffice – download from here: www.libreoffice.org/download
To use online:
Google Docs (Google Drive)
Google Docs is a freeware web-based office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive service. You need to have Google account (gmail) to use this service.
Online – drive.google.com
To use online:
Office Web Apps (SkyDrive)
Microsoft Office Web Apps is the web-based version of the Microsoft Office productivity suite. You need to have Microsoft account (hotmail) to use this service.
Online – skydrive.live.com