WPS Office
Free office suite that looks like Microsoft Office, with a writer, spreadsheet, presentation app and PDF tools.
Our verdict
WPS Office is the closest thing on Linux to the look and feel of Microsoft Office. If the reason you are hesitating about switching is that LibreOffice menus look unfamiliar, this is worth a try first, because the ribbon layout means you already know where most things are.
Kingsoft publishes .deb and .rpm installer files for Linux on its own site, and there is also a Flathub listing put together by the community. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are its native formats, so documents you bring from Windows usually open looking right.
The trade-offs are worth knowing. It is closed source, the free version nudges you towards a paid plan, and the Linux edition is updated less often than the Windows one. If you would rather have something open and maintained in the open, LibreOffice or ONLYOFFICE is the safer home.
What's good
- The ribbon and menus sit almost exactly where Microsoft Office puts them
- Handles .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files as its everyday formats
- Kingsoft makes the Linux version itself, so it is not a community port
- Includes PDF viewing and conversion in the same program
What to know first
- Closed source, made by a Chinese company, so you are trusting someone else with your documents
- Free version shows adverts and pushes you towards a paid plan for some features
- The Linux release usually trails the Windows one and gets fewer updates
- Not installed by default anywhere, so you have to go and fetch it
The details
- Cost
- Free with paid extras
- Open source
- No (Proprietary)
- How you install it
- .deb installer, .rpm installer, App store (Flatpak)
Windows apps it can replace
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