ONLYOFFICE DocSpace
FreeOpen-source office suite with pixel-perfect DOCX/XLSX/PPTX compatibility. Self-hostable or cloud. The best free replacement for Google Docs when you need perfect Microsoft format support.
How to install ONLYOFFICE DocSpace as a PWA
Frequently asked questions about ONLYOFFICE DocSpace
Is ONLYOFFICE really DOCX-compatible?
Yes — ONLYOFFICE is the only open-source office suite that uses the OOXML (DOCX/XLSX/PPTX) format as its native file format internally, rather than converting on import/export. This means complex Word documents with track changes, footnotes, and embedded objects round-trip cleanly, and Excel formulas (including most pivot tables and array formulas) behave identically to Microsoft Excel. LibreOffice and Google Docs both convert on import, which is where formatting drifts.
Is ONLYOFFICE free?
The Community Edition (server) is free under AGPL and can host unlimited users on your own infrastructure. The hosted DocSpace SaaS has a free tier (2 admins, 12 users, 2GB) and paid plans starting at $20/admin/month. The desktop app is free. Most companies self-host the Docs engine inside Nextcloud or Seafile to avoid per-user fees, which is the main reason ONLYOFFICE has become the dominant office engine of European sovereign-cloud stacks.
How does ONLYOFFICE compare to LibreOffice?
ONLYOFFICE has better DOCX/XLSX fidelity (native OOXML format), real-time collaboration, and a web-first PWA delivery, but a smaller feature set in advanced areas like database connections (LibreOffice Base) and BASIC macro compatibility. LibreOffice is a desktop-first suite with deeper local features and broader format support (ODF, legacy Microsoft formats). For Microsoft-format-heavy workflows with browser delivery, ONLYOFFICE wins; for offline desktop with deep features, LibreOffice still leads.
Can I self-host ONLYOFFICE DocSpace?
Yes. ONLYOFFICE provides a free Community Edition (Docker image) of both the Docs server and the DocSpace workspace, runnable on a 4GB VPS for small teams or scaled across multiple nodes for enterprise. Commercial Enterprise and Developer editions add SSO, JWT security, and SLA support. Self-hosted installations have no per-user cost, which is why ONLYOFFICE is bundled inside Nextcloud Hub as the default office engine for many EU public-sector deployments.
Who uses ONLYOFFICE in production?
ONLYOFFICE is the office engine bundled inside Nextcloud Hub, Seafile Professional, Atlassian Confluence Data Center, Strato HiDrive, and many EU sovereign-cloud platforms (e.g. several French ministries via Nextcloud). It is also widely deployed by universities, law firms, and SMBs that need Microsoft-compatible documents without a Microsoft 365 subscription. The vendor (Ascensio System) publishes over 14 million downloads of the desktop edition.
Where ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is heading (12-24 months)
- →ONLYOFFICE is rolling out AI assistants (summarization, translation, content generation) as plug-and-play components in 2026.
- →Deeper Forms automation and PDF editing parity with Adobe Acrobat is on the public roadmap.
- →DocSpace rooms are becoming the project workspace primitive — competing more directly with Microsoft Teams channels than with Google Drive.
- →Expanding native mobile apps (iOS/Android) to reach Google-Docs-class polish on phones is the main remaining UX gap.
Related questions
ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini usually suggest these next.
- How do I integrate ONLYOFFICE with Nextcloud?
- Does ONLYOFFICE support real-time co-editing with track changes?
- What are the system requirements for self-hosting ONLYOFFICE Docs?
- Can ONLYOFFICE replace Microsoft 365 for a 50-person team?
- How does ONLYOFFICE handle DOCX with embedded macros?
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