LibreOffice vs OpenOffice: Comparing the Two Free Office Suites

LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice are the two best-known free, open-source office suites, and both grew from the same original program — OpenOffice.org. “Open-source” simply means the software’s code is public and anyone may use, copy or modify it at no cost. For a small business, community group, student or freelancer in New Zealand, either suite gives you a word processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation tool with no subscription and no licence fee. The two look almost identical because they share a common ancestor, yet in 2026 they are very different in how actively they are developed and how well they handle modern Microsoft files. This guide explains where each suite came from, how they differ today, how compatible they are with Word and Excel, and which one fits your situation.

Where LibreOffice and OpenOffice came from

Both suites descend from a single program, so understanding the split makes the rest of the comparison easy. The story begins with StarOffice, a suite bought by Sun Microsystems around 2000 and released as the open-source project OpenOffice.org. This project created the OpenDocument formats — OpenDocument Text (.odt) and OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) — that let people exchange files freely without paying for a licence.

In 2010 Oracle acquired Sun and, with it, OpenOffice.org. Many of the project’s volunteer developers were uneasy about Oracle’s control, so in late September 2010 they formed an independent non-profit, The Document Foundation, and forked the code into a new suite called LibreOffice. (“Libre” is Spanish and French for “free”, in the sense of freedom rather than price.) A year later, in 2011, Oracle stepped away and donated the original OpenOffice.org code to the Apache Software Foundation, where it became Apache OpenOffice. That is the origin of the “libreoffice vs openoffice” choice people face today: two suites, one shared starting point, two foundations, two very different speeds of development.

What is inside each suite

Both suites bundle the same core set of applications under one installer, and the menus will feel familiar to anyone who has used Microsoft Office. You install everything once and switch between the tools from a single start screen. The components are:

• Writer — the word processor, for letters, contracts, reports, rental agreements and club minutes. It supports paragraph styles, automatic tables of contents and mail merge.
• Calc — the spreadsheet, for budgets, GST returns, cash-flow tracking, charts and pivot tables.
• Impress — the presentation tool, for slide decks with transitions and speaker notes.
• Draw — a vector drawing tool for flowcharts, simple floor plans and flyers.
• Base — a database front end for building simple record systems and connecting to external database engines.
• Math — an editor for writing mathematical and scientific formulae.

Base can connect to a wide range of external database systems through standard SQL, the query language used to read and write records; there is a long reference list of compatible database software documented on Wikipedia. In practice most New Zealand small businesses and community groups spend nearly all their time in Writer and Calc, with Impress for the occasional presentation.

How far does spreadsheet macro automation go?

Calc can automate repetitive work with macros, but there is an important caveat to be honest about. LibreOffice and OpenOffice use their own scripting language, LibreOffice Basic (also called StarBasic), which runs through the suite’s own programming interface. Microsoft Excel uses Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and while LibreOffice includes a compatibility mode that can run some VBA code, the two systems are not fully interchangeable. Complex Excel macros usually need testing and partial rewriting to work in Calc. If your workflow depends on heavy, finished Excel automation, plan to adapt those macros rather than assuming they will simply run.

How the two projects differ in 2026

The biggest practical difference between the suites is how actively each is developed. LibreOffice releases new versions several times a year under a calendar-based numbering scheme; recent releases include LibreOffice 26.2.5 in July 2026 and the 26.8 line in late August 2026, which notably ships with no built-in generative AI and no telemetry or data collection. Apache OpenOffice, by contrast, is still on the 4.1 line it reached back in 2014; its most recent update, version 4.1.16, arrived on 10 November 2025 and was a maintenance and security release rather than a feature update.

That does not make OpenOffice useless — it still opens, edits and prints documents reliably — but it means new features, file-format fixes and interface improvements now land almost entirely in LibreOffice. The table below summarises the differences that matter when choosing.

Opening and saving Microsoft Word and Excel files

File compatibility is the single most important question for most New Zealand users, because you almost certainly need to exchange documents with people running Microsoft Office. Here the two suites diverge sharply. LibreOffice has invested heavily in two-way compatibility with the modern Microsoft formats — .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel) and .pptx (PowerPoint) — so you can both open and save in those formats, with generally good preservation of fonts, tables and layout.

Apache OpenOffice is more limited, and this is a decisive point: it can open .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files, but it cannot save to them. It never gained OOXML write support. If you edit a Word .docx in OpenOffice, you can only save your changes as the older .doc format or as OpenDocument .odt. For anyone who regularly returns edited files to clients, schools or government agencies that expect .docx, that alone is a strong reason to choose LibreOffice.

A few practical tips apply to both suites:

• Prefer OpenDocument for your own work. The native .ods spreadsheet format and .odt documents preserve everything perfectly between the two suites.
• Watch your fonts. Layout usually shifts because a document uses a font your computer does not have. Sticking to widely installed fonts such as Arial or a close substitute avoids most text-wrapping surprises.
• Send final versions as PDF. For quotes, invoices and reports going to clients, export to PDF so the formatting is locked. Both suites do this from a single toolbar button; see our guide to converting ODT files to PDF.

Other free office options worth knowing

LibreOffice and OpenOffice are not the only choices, and it helps to see them in context. The table below lists the main comparable suites with their official pages and licensing model so you can weigh the trade-offs. If you want a deeper round-up, read our guide to the best OpenOffice alternatives.

Installing and getting started in New Zealand

Both suites are quick to install and run well on modest hardware. LibreOffice needs Windows 10 or 11 (or macOS or Linux), about 512 MB of RAM for comfortable use and up to 1.5 GB of disk space; its Windows installer is around 350 MB. Apache OpenOffice is lighter, with a Windows installer of roughly 150 MB, which is part of why it still suits older machines. Neither requires ChromeOS or any special graphics card.

To get the software, always use the official source to avoid bundled adware. You can download LibreOffice or download Apache OpenOffice through our step-by-step pages, then run the installer and accept the default options.

Once installed, spend a little time localising the suite so your documents match New Zealand norms:

• Set the language to English (New Zealand) so spell-check uses local spelling.
• Build spreadsheet templates that calculate the standard 15% GST rate and show amounts in NZD.
• Add fields for your New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) on invoices and quotes.
• Set the date format to the day/month/year order used across Aotearoa.

If you mainly produce invoices, you may also find our GST invoice template guide useful for the fields Inland Revenue expects, which you can replicate in Calc or Writer.

Privacy and security: the Privacy Act 2020

Running an office suite locally has a clear privacy advantage, which matters because New Zealand organisations have duties under the Privacy Act 2020 to protect personal information they hold. Both LibreOffice and OpenOffice install and run entirely on your own computer, so your files — payroll records, customer details, contracts — stay on your hard drive rather than being streamed to a cloud server overseas. You keep physical custody of the data, which removes a whole category of risk around third-party breaches and accidental public share links.

Security maintenance, though, is where the development pace returns. Because office files are a common vehicle for malicious macros, keeping the software patched matters. LibreOffice’s frequent releases mean security fixes arrive regularly; OpenOffice’s slower cycle means patches are less frequent, so users should be especially careful about files from unknown senders. In either suite, set macro security to block unsigned macros from running automatically, keep your operating system and antivirus up to date, and prefer PDF for files you only need others to read.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few avoidable errors cause most of the frustration people report with these suites:

• Editing a client’s .docx in OpenOffice and expecting to save it back as .docx. OpenOffice cannot do this. Use LibreOffice, or send a PDF, or save as .doc and confirm the recipient can open it.
• Assuming Excel macros will just work. Test and adapt them; LibreOffice Basic is not a drop-in replacement for VBA.
• Downloading from a third-party “mirror” site. These often wrap the installer in adware. Stick to the official project pages.
• Never updating. Running a years-old build leaves known security holes open; turn on update notifications.
• Blaming the suite for shifted layouts. This is almost always a missing-font issue, not a bug — standardise on common fonts for shared documents.

Which suite should you choose?

For most people in New Zealand in 2026, LibreOffice is the better default. It is actively developed, it reads and writes modern Microsoft formats, it has a native dark mode, and it receives regular security updates. That makes it the right pick for small businesses, freelancers, consultants and students who regularly exchange .docx and .xlsx files with others.

Apache OpenOffice still has a place. It is lighter, its interface has not changed in years, and it runs comfortably on older or donated hardware — useful for community trusts, volunteer groups and families doing basic word processing and simple spreadsheets who never need to save back to .docx. If you are weighing it up, our Apache OpenOffice review covers it in more depth. Whichever you choose, both are genuinely free and legal to use for any purpose, including commercial work.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the main difference between LibreOffice and OpenOffice?

Development pace and file support. LibreOffice is updated several times a year, reads and writes modern Microsoft formats, and has a native dark mode. Apache OpenOffice has been on the same 4.1 line since 2014, receives only maintenance and security updates, and cannot save to .docx, .xlsx or .pptx.

Can I open and save Microsoft Word and Excel files?

LibreOffice can both open and save .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files. Apache OpenOffice can open them but cannot save back to those formats — it saves only to the older .doc and .xls formats or to OpenDocument. If you regularly return edited files to Microsoft users, choose LibreOffice.

Are LibreOffice and OpenOffice free and legal for a New Zealand business?

Yes. Both are distributed under open-source licences (LibreOffice primarily under the Mozilla Public Licence 2.0, OpenOffice under the Apache Licence 2.0). Any individual, school, charity or company can install and use the full suite for commercial work with no licence fee.

Do I need an internet connection to use them?

No. Both suites install their entire processing engine onto your computer, so you can create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations completely offline. This makes them reliable in rural areas or during network outages.

Which one should I install in 2026?

For most users, LibreOffice, because it is actively maintained, handles Microsoft files properly and receives regular security patches. Choose Apache OpenOffice only if you need the lightest possible suite for basic tasks on an older computer and never need to save files in Microsoft formats.