Free software Free office software
Office software
An Office software suite is a bundle of computer programs for doing common tasks such as writing letters and managing budgets. If you work in an office, you have probably used an office software package, most likely Microsoft Office with it's most popular programs, Word and Excel.
Microsoft Office
Office software can be useful at home too. Several versions of Microsoft Office are available, from "Home and Student" costing £85 to "Professional" costing £350. Professional contains tools to help you create professional looking marketing materials, although Home and Student contains everything that most home users would want, including Word and Excel.
Check out our full review of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010.
OpenOffice and LibreOffice
The most well-known free Office suite is OpenOffice - it has been downloaded millions of times. It comprises Writer (equivalent of Microsoft Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (presentation program, similar to Powerpoint) and others. Now, there's a new free office suite, LibreOffice, designed by the developers of OpenOffice, and unsurprisingly very closely related. We take a look at how it stacks up against Microsoft Office, comparing word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs.
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| Office software | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head-to-head | Microsoft Office Home & Student 2010 | LibreOffice 3.4.1 |
| Price | £85 | Free |
| Word processing program |  | |
| Spreadsheet program | | |
| Presentation program | | |
| Drawing/charting program | | |
| Database program | | |
| Ease of use | | |
| Creating professional looking documents | | |
| Help | | |
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