Private and open-source alternatives to Google Docs
11 office suites rated against the same public privacy criteria as Google Docs (Google Workspace, Google Sheets, Google Slides), with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. Google collects activity data across its services and uses it for analytics and personalized ads.
- No ads or data sales: no. Docs shows no ads, but Google is funded mainly by advertising and uses account activity across its services for personalized ads.
- Independent audit: partial. Google Workspace, which includes Docs, has third-party SOC 2 audits. Only the SOC 3 summary report is public.
- TLS configuration: partial. Grade B
- Security headers: partial. Grade B (70/100+)
See the full Google Docs rating.
The alternatives
Calligra Grade B
Office and graphics suite from KDE with Words, Sheets, Stage, Karbon and other apps, using OpenDocument as its native file format.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Calligra scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the office suites criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Etherpad Grade B
Self-hosted, real-time collaborative text editor where several people edit the same document at once, with a plugin system and an HTTP API.
Etherpad scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the office suites criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Sandstorm Grade B
Open source platform for self-hosting web apps. Apps are installed from the Sandstorm App Market with a few clicks, and each document or chat runs in its own isolated sandbox.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Sandstorm scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the office suites criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Proton Docs Grade B
End-to-end encrypted document editor built into Proton Drive, with real-time collaboration, comments and suggestions.
Based in Switzerland. Proton Docs scores 75 out of 100 (grade B) on the office suites criteria. It meets 5 of 8 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration and security headers.
Collabora Online Grade C
Online office suite based on LibreOffice for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, with real-time collaborative editing. It is self-hosted or used through integrations such as Nextcloud.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Collabora Online scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the office suites criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
LibreOffice Grade C
Office suite from The Document Foundation with Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math, using OpenDocument as its native file format.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). LibreOffice scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the office suites criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
CryptPad Grade D
End-to-end encrypted collaboration suite with rich text, spreadsheets, presentations, Markdown, Kanban, forms, diagrams and a file drive. Use the hosted CryptPad.fr service or self-host it.
Based in France (Nine Eyes). CryptPad scores 56 out of 100 (grade D) on the office suites criteria. It meets 3 of 8 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales and TLS configuration.
Zoho Workplace Grade D
Zoho's hosted business suite with Zoho Mail, the Writer, Sheet and Show office apps, WorkDrive file storage and Cliq team chat.
Based in India. Zoho Workplace scores 47 out of 100 (grade D) on the office suites criteria. It meets 3 of 8 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration and security headers.
ONLYOFFICE Grade F
Office suite for documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs with a focus on Microsoft Office format compatibility, available as desktop editors, mobile apps, a self-hosted server and the DocSpace cloud.
Based in Latvia. ONLYOFFICE scores 35 out of 100 (grade F) on the office suites criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.
SoftMaker FreeOffice Grade F
Free office suite from SoftMaker with TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations, compatible with Microsoft Office formats. It is a reduced version of the paid SoftMaker Office.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). SoftMaker FreeOffice scores 35 out of 100 (grade F) on the office suites criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.
WPS Office Grade F
Office suite from Kingsoft with word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF tools, compatible with Microsoft Office formats. The free version shows ads.
Based in Singapore. WPS Office scores 0 out of 100 (grade F) on the office suites criteria. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit.