Head-to-head · 2026

ONLYOFFICE Docs vs Microsoft Office

ONLYOFFICE Docs is a European alternative to Microsoft Office: same office & collaboration use case, headquartered in Latvia and governed by EU GDPR, while Microsoft Office is based in the United States.

By the EU Alternatives team Last updated 7 August 2026

European alternative

ONLYOFFICE Docs

Latvia

Open source office suite with high Microsoft format compatibility, real-time co-editing, and self-hosted or cloud deployment.

Jurisdiction: EU / EEA
Primary privacy law: EU GDPR
US CLOUD Act exposure: No
Open source: Yes
Free tier: Yes

Visit ONLYOFFICE Docs Full profile

Non-EU

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office · United States

Microsoft Office, now sold as Microsoft 365, remains the standard for documents, spreadsheets and email in most organisations. It is subscription-based for both households and businesses, with free web-only versions of Word and Excel. Microsoft is based in Redmond, Washington, and US legislation applies to data held in its cloud wherever the servers are.

Jurisdiction: United States
GDPR by default: Requires DPA + TIA
US CLOUD Act exposure: Yes

All European alternatives to Microsoft Office

ONLYOFFICE Docs vs Microsoft Office at a glance

	ONLYOFFICE Docs	Microsoft Office
Headquarters	Latvia	United States
Data jurisdiction	EU / EEA	United States
Primary privacy law	EU GDPR	Requires DPA + transfer assessment
US CLOUD Act exposure	No	Yes
Best for	Teams that need office & collaboration built for European data-protection requirements	Teams already invested in the Microsoft Office ecosystem

Choose ONLYOFFICE Docs if…

You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
You want to start free and scale up later
Open-source code and self-hosting matter to you
You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem

Stick with Microsoft Office if…

You depend on integrations only available in the Microsoft Office ecosystem
Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now

About ONLYOFFICE Docs

ONLYOFFICE Docs is a Latvian open source office suite built around the highest OOXML fidelity in the open source world: documents, spreadsheets, and presentations created in Microsoft Office open and save without layout breakage. That makes it the pragmatic choice for teams leaving Microsoft 365 who still exchange .docx and .xlsx files daily.

The suite runs in the browser with real-time co-editing, comments, tracked changes, and version history, and integrates into more than 40 platforms including Nextcloud, ownCloud, Moodle, and Odoo. Desktop and mobile apps cover offline work, and the AGPL community edition self-hosts for free on your own hardware.

Key features:

High Microsoft format compatibility for .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx round-trips
Real-time co-editing with fast and strict modes, comments, and mentions
Three editors covering documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
40+ integrations including Nextcloud, ownCloud, Moodle, and Odoo
Self-hosted community edition free under AGPL
Desktop and mobile apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
Plugins and macros extend editors with translation, OCR, and custom tools

ONLYOFFICE is developed by Ascensio System SIA, headquartered in Riga, Latvia, and the self-hosted deployment model keeps documents entirely on infrastructure you control, with GDPR compliance by design for European organizations.

Ideal for organizations that need Word-grade format fidelity in a European, auditable office suite.

Why choose ONLYOFFICE Docs over Microsoft Office?

The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Microsoft Office is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.

ONLYOFFICE Docs removes that overhead. As a Latvia-based provider, it operates under EU GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.

Frequently asked questions

Is ONLYOFFICE Docs a good alternative to Microsoft Office?

Yes. ONLYOFFICE Docs is one of the top-ranked European alternatives to Microsoft Office in our directory, covering the same office & collaboration use case. It is headquartered in Latvia, where EU GDPR applies.

What's the main difference between ONLYOFFICE Docs and Microsoft Office?

The biggest difference is jurisdiction: ONLYOFFICE Docs is based in Latvia, where EU GDPR applies, while Microsoft Office is headquartered in the United States and may transfer data outside Europe. For regulated industries or organisations following Schrems II guidance, this difference is decisive.

Is ONLYOFFICE Docs GDPR-compliant?

ONLYOFFICE Docs is based in Latvia, where EU GDPR applies. EU customers should still verify the provider's hosting and subprocessors, but the service is designed for European data-protection requirements.

How do I migrate from Microsoft Office to ONLYOFFICE Docs?

Start by exporting your data from Microsoft Office (most providers offer an export in their settings). Then import into ONLYOFFICE Docs using its native import tool or migration guide. Running both in parallel for a week catches any feature or workflow gaps before you fully switch.

Other European alternatives to Microsoft Office