Word Processing Software from Non-U.S. Companies: Alternatives to Microsoft and Google
May 15, 2026
Increasingly, individuals and organizations are reconsidering their reliance on U.S.-based software. If you're among them, we have several competitive alternatives to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for you to consider.
Moving from Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint or Google’s counterparts entails trade-offs. One of the trade-offs is the ease of integration with other software. Are you able to do everything with the alternative options that you can with Microsoft 365? Not quite, but for most work—including grant proposals—all the alternatives listed in the table below can meet your needs, whether you work as a freelancer or within a nonprofit organization.
However, you can encounter minor differences when working with complex Microsoft-authored documents with heavy formatting or macros.
Before you decide whether to switch, it helps to understand what Microsoft and the alternatives offer.
Why Switch from Microsoft Word?
MS Word is the gold standard for word processing. It is widely used in business and academia, and globally, most people in the workplace have used it. Other benefits of MS Word include its integration with other tools in Microsoft’s suite, such as its AI tool, Microsoft Copilot; its broad accessibility across desktop, online, and mobile platforms; and its real-time collaboration features. For price-conscious nonprofits, Microsoft offers discounted pricing. Microsoft also offers a lite version of Word and other tools via its free online version.
With all these benefits, why switch from Microsoft 365? Three reasons include:
Cost: Several software alternatives offer full-featured versions of their product either for free or for less than the cost of Microsoft 365.
Diversification: Choosing one of the alternatives will reduce dependence on the Microsoft and Google ecosystems, which are not only constantly changing but also can be overwhelming due to the number of interconnected tools. The alternative products can have a more streamlined feel and allow you greater customization.
Privacy: Privacy laws vary by country and region. As mentioned above, European privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), are considered more robust than U.S. data protection laws, so for those concerned about data privacy, transitioning to a European-based company can be a compelling option. Additionally, for Europeans, choosing a European company is also a way to support a regional employer.
Options to Consider
The table below (click the image to view and download) summarizes the features of seven alternatives to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, highlighting their hosting requirements, collaboration features, and pricing. Although we present the options as alternatives to Microsoft Word, all the replacements are suites of tools that include spreadsheets, presentation programs, and word processing. Several also include drawing programs.
The alternatives listed are:
The one area where not all of the alternatives can compete with Microsoft and Google is real-time collaboration. Some tools provide only basic commenting and track-changes, while others—such as Collabora Online and OnlyOffice—offer multiuser editing in their browser-based versions.
Another important caveat with the Microsoft alternatives is that many require self-hosting. If your organization has dedicated IT support, this should not be a problem. If self-hosting feels daunting, you can work with a managed provider such as hosting.de that handles server setup and maintenance, allowing you to focus on the actual office suite.
Click to view and download a breakdown of features of seven alternatives to Microsoft and Google.
Recommendations
The alternatives to Microsoft 365 share many core features but differ significantly in setup complexity and ideal use cases.
When choosing a solution, consider:
How tech-savvy you are.
Your primary goal (saving money, increasing data privacy, or using a vendor based in a specific country).
Whether you require real-time collaboration and browser‑based access, or can work with a desktop‑only solution.
How closely you want the software to mimic Microsoft 365’s interface and features.
After trying several of the products listed above, the two that stood out as best suited for proposal writing and nonprofit environments were Collabora Online and OnlyOffice. They both allow online collaboration, and you can host them with a provider such as hosting.de at a relatively low monthly cost, often comparable to or lower than a single Microsoft 365 Business license.
Besides online collaboration, the other features that make them our top choices are that they are full-featured, not “lite” versions. Their interfaces are also similar to Microsoft’s (especially the word processing program), and they are straightforward to set up if you choose a managed service option like hosting.de that handles the physical server and technical setup.
To access OnlyOffice or Collabora, you enable the app through a cloud platform, such as Nextcloud or ownCloud, that is integrated with the hosting provider. Nextcloud, ownCloud, OnlyOffice, and Collabora all offer open‑source or open-core editions that are free to use, while additional enterprise features, support, and licensing options are accessible for a fee.
In the self-hosted model described here, you typically need three layers for the system to work: a hosting provider (e.g., hosting.de), a cloud platform (such as Nextcloud), and the office suite (OnlyOffice or Collabora).
An advantage of choosing OnlyOffice or Collabora Online with hosting.de is that you can switch between Collabora Online and OnlyOffice as your primary document editor if you find your initial choice does not meet your needs. To switch, go to the apps section in your cloud platform settings, disable the current app, and enable the new one.
For comparison, below are screenshots of the document interface for OnlyOffice and Collabora Office. As you can see, both interfaces closely resemble Microsoft Word’s ribbon-style layout, which helps reduce the learning curve:
Screenshot of text document in OnlyOffice
Screenshot of text document in Collabora (Note: This is a screenshot from the desktop version of Collabora, which mirrors the online one).
Should You Transition?
Transitioning from Microsoft and Google requires planning and a few weeks of adjustment. The interfaces of Collabora Office and OnlyOffice are so similar to Microsoft 365 that once you have the system set up, you should experience few difficulties adjusting to the new software.
For some organizations, the primary reason to switch from Microsoft and Google is the enhanced data privacy offered by European-based options, with affordability as a secondary benefit. With grant money harder to come by, reducing operational costs is essential, and several of the listed alternatives could lead to significant savings. For a single user or a very small team, hosting costs are often comparable to or lower than a single Microsoft 365 Business license, but because hosting costs are shared across your whole team, the savings can be more significant as your team grows.
If you are curious about alternatives to Microsoft and Google and want to test them, you can try several products for free by downloading their desktop versions, which avoids having to create an account with a hosting provider.
Companion checklist: Five questions to answer before you leave Microsoft 365
For nonprofits, your office suite is what you use every day to draft proposals, prepare budgets, create presentations, and collaborate with colleagues.
Before you decide to leave Microsoft 365, take a moment to assess how your team works and what you need from your word processing and collaboration tools. The questions below will help you clarify those needs and choose an alternative that supports your workflow.
1. How do you use Microsoft 365?
List specific tools and tasks: Word for proposals, Excel for budgets, PowerPoint for board decks, OneDrive/SharePoint for file sharing, Teams for meetings, etc.
Identify the features you rely on the most, such as track changes, comments, real-time collaboration, shared calendars, or external sharing with partners.
2. How much internal tech expertise and capacity do you have?
Do you have staff or volunteers who can configure and maintain a self‑hosted environment?
If you do not have in-house technical expertise, are you willing to pay for a managed service? Options include choosing a simpler, fully hosted alternative that minimizes IT overhead, or working with a managed service (for example, an EU-based provider combined with Nextcloud and OnlyOffice/Collabora) that handles setup and maintenance for you. When you evaluate these options, consider how easily you can export your files and switch providers, so you do not end up locked into a single vendor.
3. How important is real-time collaboration for your team?
Do multiple people need to be in the same document at once—for example, co‑writing grant proposals or editing reports together in real time?
Is it feasible for staff to edit documents sequentially using comments and track changes, with one person updating at a time? (If the answer is yes, you can skip the hosting requirement and use desktop versions of the software.)
4. What are your privacy, security, and compliance priorities?
Are you handling sensitive data (clients, beneficiaries, HR, health, or legal information) that requires stronger privacy frameworks, such as GDPR?
Do you have any requirements or preferences about where your data is stored (for example, favoring European‑based providers for regulatory or values reasons)?
5. What budget and timeline considerations do you have?
Compare your current Microsoft 365 subscription costs with estimated costs for your preferred alternative, including any hosting provider and potential enterprise‑level licenses or support.
Decide how much time you can realistically invest in planning, migrating files, and training staff over the next 1–3 months.
Increasingly, individuals and organizations are reconsidering their reliance on U.S.-based software. If you're among them, we have several competitive alternatives to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for you to consider.