Which office software is right for me?

The eternal question! There are loads of different office software packages, which makes it difficult to make a decision. We can make the choice easier by narrowing it down to 2 main options:

  • Microsoft Office
  • OpenOffice

So now it’s decision time... Pay for Microsoft Office, or download OpenOffice for free? Sound simple? Well perhaps, but hear me out.

It’s generally accepted that Microsoft Office is the ‘best’ package out there. It has a wide range of programs and offers pretty much everything you could need. On top of that if you’re running a business, most potential employees will already have some experience of Microsoft Office – Don’t underestimate this point, most people are scared of new software and hate learning about it!

So what about OpenOffice? Well, it’s free! I have huge respect for everyone who has contributed to the OpenOffice project – It’s an open source project, which means that the programming code is made available online so that anyone can contribute. I have used OpenOffice extensively, and I can say without doubt that it is easily good enough for most uses.


So where does that leave us? Here’s my suggestion:

If you’re a home user or small business person at least give OpenOffice a try. If you can’t get on with it you can always make the switch to Microsoft Office, but if you do like it you’ve saved yourself some money!

If you’re a power-user, own an established business or you just don’t want to commit to learning about new software, its Microsoft Office for you! OK, so you have to fork out the cost of buying – These days it’s pretty reasonably priced and ultimately the quality speaks for itself.

If you’re really interested to see more options there’s some great information on office software at toptenreviews.com. They don’t cover all the different packages, the fact that they haven’t considered OpenOffice is a big oversight, but they have concluded that Microsoft Office is the best available product.


Made your decision? In that case it’s time to…

Download Microsoft Office

Download OpenOffice


Looking for more? Return to the Office Software homepage



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