Productivity · alternatives
Alternatives to Microsoft 365
24 productivity tools sit alongside Microsoft 365 in this directory. Below is what separates each from Microsoft 365 on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 15
- Cheaper to start
- 6
- Microsoft 365 starts at
- $7/month
Why people look past Microsoft 365
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Microsoft 365 entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Microsoft 365 carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 15 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The world's #1 task manager and to-do list app
- Can be used without paying; Microsoft 365 cannot.
- Starts $2 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
Professional task management for complex workflows
- Starts $67.99 a month dearer, at $74.99/month.
- Sold on a one-time model rather than subscription.
- 4 tiers to Microsoft 365's 3.
The award-winning personal task manager
- Starts $2.99 a one-time dearer, at $9.99/one-time.
Scientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity
- Can be used without paying; Microsoft 365 cannot.
- 2 tiers to Microsoft 365's 3.
Journalling app for iOS, Android and Mac now sold as a subscription after years as a one-time purchase
- Can be used without paying; Microsoft 365 cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus subscription model rather than subscription.
Security-focused AI email client with end-to-end encryption and a lifetime purchase option
- Can be used without paying; Microsoft 365 cannot.
- Sold on a Per user per year, or one-time purchase model rather than subscription.
Every Microsoft 365 alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 (this page) | $7/month | Subscription | 3 | |
| TodoistThe world's #1 task manager and to-do list app | Free, then $5/month | - | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| OmniFocus 3Professional task management for complex workflows | $74.99/month | One-time | 4 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Things 3The award-winning personal task manager | $9.99/one-time | - | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Brain.fmScientifically-designed music to enhance focus and productivity | Free | Subscription | 2 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Day One | Free | Free tier plus subscription | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Canary Mail | Free | Per user per year, or one-time purchase | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Alfred | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Bring! | Free | Free, with an optional paid Premium tier for extras | 2 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Samsung Food | Free | Free, no subscription | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Bluemail | Free | Quote | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Spark Mail | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Mealime | Free, then $5.99/month | Freemium subscription | 2 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Supernormal | Free, then $20/month | Per month by credits | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| MeetGeek | Free, then $9.99/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Bluedot | Free, then $14/month | Per recording user per month | 4 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| LibreOffice | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Gamma | Free, then $12/month | - | 6 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Memtime | €10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Streaks | $5.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| AnyList | On request | Per user per year | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Mimestream | $4.99/month | Per user per month | 1 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Paprika Recipe Manager | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase, priced separately per platform | 2 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| HEY | $99/year | Per user per month | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
| Fastmail | $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Microsoft 365 |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Microsoft 365 badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (15)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Brain.fm , Free
- Day One , Free
- Canary Mail , Free
- Alfred , Free, then £34/one-time
- Bring! , Free
- Samsung Food , Free
- Bluemail , Free
Cheaper than Microsoft 365 (6)
Entry price under Microsoft 365's $7/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Todoist , Free, then $5/month
- Mealime , Free, then $5.99/month
- Streaks , $5.99/one-time
- Mimestream , $4.99/month
- Paprika Recipe Manager , $4.99/one-time
- Fastmail , $3/month
What you would be giving up
Microsoft 365 is most often brought in for any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill., a company standardising on single sign-on, where entra id becomes the account other services authenticate against., regulated work that needs retention, legal hold and ediscovery across mail and documents, provided the tier that includes them is actually bought., a household that needs installed office applications on several machines rather than browser-only editing.. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Microsoft 365 is broadly right and the question is cost, the Microsoft 365 pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Productivity category lists everything the directory holds, and best productivity tools ranks them.
Microsoft 365 runs on not recorded. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Microsoft 365 alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Microsoft 365?
- 24 other productivity tools are listed in this directory, led by Todoist, OmniFocus 3, Things 3, Brain.fm. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Microsoft 365?
- 15 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Todoist, Brain.fm, Day One, Canary Mail, Alfred.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Microsoft 365?
- Yes. 6 of the alternatives below start under Microsoft 365's $7/month: Todoist at Free, then $5/month, Mealime at Free, then $5.99/month, Streaks at $5.99/one-time, Mimestream at $4.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Microsoft 365?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Microsoft 365?
- Microsoft 365 is most often brought in for any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill., a company standardising on single sign-on, where entra id becomes the account other services authenticate against., regulated work that needs retention, legal hold and ediscovery across mail and documents, provided the tier that includes them is actually bought., a household that needs installed office applications on several machines rather than browser-only editing.. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Microsoft 365?
- None of the productivity tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Microsoft 365 alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Productivity, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Microsoft 365 against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Microsoft 365 covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every productivity tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Productivity category, 24 tools beside Microsoft 365. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.