Productivity · head to head
LibreOffice vs WPS Office
LibreOffice
Productivity
Free and open-source office suite that runs entirely offline
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
WPS Office
Productivity
Office suite from Kingsoft with Microsoft file compatibility, including maintained Linux builds
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: LibreOffice real-time collaborative editing is far behind Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and for teams who co-edit this alone usually decides the question; WPS Office the free tier is funded by advertising, and the adverts and upgrade prompts appear inside the editing window rather than on a website, so the cost of not paying is charged in interruptions while you work.
- They diverge on capability: LibreOffice covers Full suite, WPS Office covers One application.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which LibreOffice and WPS Office actually diverge.
| Attribute | LibreOffice | WPS Office |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | freemium |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Web |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in LibreOffice
- Full suite
- Works offline
- OpenDocument native
- Microsoft format support
- No telemetry or AI
- Extensions and macros
Only in WPS Office
- One application
- Microsoft format handling
- PDF tools
- Linux builds
- WPS AI
- Cloud storage
- Mobile apps
- Templates
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
LibreOffice
- Organisations where documents cannot leave the premises for policy or statutory reasonsnot WPS Office
- Replacing per-seat office licences at scalenot WPS Office
- Long-term archives needing a format not defined by a single vendornot WPS Office
- Reviving older hardware that current commercial suites strainnot WPS Office
WPS Office
- A Linux desktop where the free alternatives keep breaking the layout of colleagues' DOCX and PPTX files.not LibreOffice
- A small business that edits and converts PDFs regularly and does not want an Acrobat subscription for each person.not LibreOffice
- Students and home users who need Microsoft-compatible documents without a Microsoft 365 subscription.not LibreOffice
- Older or low-specification Windows machines where the full Microsoft suite is slow to install and slow to run.not LibreOffice
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
LibreOffice
- Real-time collaborative editing is far behind Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and for teams who co-edit this alone usually decides the question
- Mobile support is weak, which is disqualifying for a workforce that reviews documents on phones
- Complex Microsoft Office documents still lose formatting in transit, so exchange-heavy workflows need testing with real files
- Central policy management, conditional access and audit tooling are thin against the commercial suites
- Advanced spreadsheet work is where the gap with Excel is widest, and it affects exactly the users least willing to change
WPS Office
- The free tier is funded by advertising, and the adverts and upgrade prompts appear inside the editing window rather than on a website, so the cost of not paying is charged in interruptions while you work.
- Kingsoft is a Chinese company and cloud sync stores documents on its infrastructure by default, which is a procurement blocker for government, defence and many regulated buyers no matter how well the software performs.
- Complex Microsoft files still drift, so heavily formatted documents with tracked changes, PowerPoint animations and workbooks using recent functions or VBA macros can open with differences that only become visible when the file goes back to a Microsoft user.
- There is no tenant administration, so an organisation has no central console for licences, policy, retention or offboarding, and every installation has to be managed on the individual machine.
- Cloud storage stops at 1 GB free and 20 GB per user when paid, so it works as sync for documents and stops being viable for anyone handling media, scans or large PDF archives.
Pricing, plan by plan
LibreOffice
Free- LibreOfficeFree
- Full suite
- Commercial use permitted
- No per-seat licence
WPS Office
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the WPS Office review.
Which should you pick?
Choose LibreOffice if
- You need full suite.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want works offline.
Choose WPS Office if
- You need one application.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want microsoft format handling.
Questions people ask
- Is LibreOffice or WPS Office better?
- Neither clearly leads. LibreOffice starts at Free and WPS Office at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, LibreOffice or WPS Office?
- LibreOffice starts at Free and WPS Office at Free.
- Does LibreOffice or WPS Office run on more platforms?
- LibreOffice runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. WPS Office runs on Web.
- Can I use LibreOffice for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is LibreOffice best used for?
- LibreOffice is most often used for organisations where documents cannot leave the premises for policy or statutory reasons, replacing per-seat office licences at scale, long-term archives needing a format not defined by a single vendor, reviving older hardware that current commercial suites strain. Of those, organisations where documents cannot leave the premises for policy or statutory reasons and replacing per-seat office licences at scale are not what WPS Office is typically brought in for.
- What can LibreOffice do that WPS Office cannot?
- LibreOffice covers Full suite, Works offline, OpenDocument native, Microsoft format support. WPS Office covers One application, Microsoft format handling, PDF tools, Linux builds.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
LibreOffice: Is LibreOffice really free for business use?
Yes. It is open source with no per-seat licence and no restriction on commercial use. The Document Foundation is funded by donations and sponsors.
WPS Office: Will it open and save Microsoft Office files properly?
It reads and writes DOCX, XLSX and PPTX natively and ordinary documents round-trip cleanly. Files with macros, tracked changes or complex animation can differ, so check anything going back to a Microsoft user.
LibreOffice: Does it have AI features?
No. The 26.8 release states it contains no generative AI, that documents are not transmitted to remote services, and that no component requires network access.
WPS Office: Is the free version genuinely free?
Yes, and it is not time-limited. It shows adverts, caps cloud storage at 1 GB, and holds back PDF editing and conversion, text recognition and electronic signature for the paid plan.
LibreOffice: Can it open Microsoft Office files?
Yes, and save back to them. Round-tripping complex documents is imperfect between any two suites, so test with your own files before committing to an exchange-heavy workflow.
WPS Office: Does it run on Linux?
Yes, with maintained desktop builds, which is unusual for a commercial office suite. The Linux version can trail Windows on newer features.
LibreOffice: Why do governments use it?
Two reasons: no per-seat cost at scale, and OpenDocument is an ISO standard implemented by more than one vendor, which matters for archives that must stay readable after a vendor relationship ends.
WPS Office: Is it suitable for a regulated organisation?
Usually not without a review. The vendor is Chinese, cloud sync is on by default, and there is no administrative or compliance tooling of the kind a regulated buyer will be asked to evidence.
LibreOffice: What is the biggest reason not to use it?
Collaborative editing. If several people work on the same document simultaneously, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are substantially better and that gap is not closing.
Related pages
More on LibreOffice
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