I've tested the best Linux office suites and these are my top 5 - most are free

Anton Smirnov/iStock / Getty Images Plus Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Linux has plenty of office suites to choose from. You'll find both open-source and proprietary options. Most of these are free to install and use. I've used Linux for so long that I remember when StarOffice and WordPerfect were the best office suite options available for Linux. StarOffice saved my hide several times, especially back in the day when I was working in an office filled with Windows and MS Office users. WordPerfect was the outlier, but man, was it powerful (considering the time). Since then, a lot of companies have hopped on board the Linux train. Others have opted to keep their heads in the sand. Those who have joined the fun have delivered some seriously powerful tools that can be employed to not only help you be creative and/or productive, but also collaborative. Also: Want to ditch Windows? This Linux distro makes that transition easy As someone who has written over 70 novels using Linux and open-source tools, trust me when I tell you that Linux has what it takes. If, however, you're one of the many naysayers who believe Linux doesn't have the necessary apps required to be functional in today's creative or business worlds, read on, because I have five different office suites that not only work on Linux but can easily replace whatever it is you're currently using. 1. LibreOffice LibreOffice is the most widely used office suite on Linux. In fact, many distributions ship with LibreOffice preinstalled. This open-source office suite includes all of the tools you need to write novels, create a resume, build a spreadsheet, create and add formulas to documents, draw, and even build and work with databases. LibreOffice is highly compatible with MS Office and can even export to the MS Office formats (as well as many other formats). Besides being an outstanding tool for creating and working with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, drawings, and formulas, LibreOffice has one of the most flexible UIs available for office suites. You can go with a traditional menu-based interface, a more Microsoft ribbon UI, a sidebar, or several other options. You can customize nearly every aspect of LibreOffice, create password-protected files, install extensions, redact files, and so much more. LibreOffice even honors my system theme on COSMIC. Jack Wallen/ZDNET LibreOffice is free to download and install on as many computers as you like, and it enjoys a very large community for support. Also: 6 ways LibreOffice is better than Google Docs for serious writing work 2. WPS Office WPS Office was created by Kinsoft Office Corporation and has become one of the best Linux office suites for collaborating with others who use MS Office. WPS Office is deeply compatible with Microsoft Office file formats and even bears a slight resemblance to MS Office of yore. WPS Office includes documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Although you won't find as many features in WPS Office as you do in LibreOffice, if compatibility with MS Office is your primary need, WPS Office is a great choice. I will say this: WPS Office doesn't generally render fonts on Linux as well as LibreOffice, so you might feel the UI isn't quite up to par. Of course, that also depends on the desktop environment you use. For example, on Pop!_OS with COSMIC, fonts are a bit pixelated. As well (at least on COSMIC), copy and paste doesn't work as expected. Since I've never experienced that on another DE with WPS Office, I'm going to chalk that up to COSMIC still being in beta. You also might run into windows with verbiage strictly in Chinese. Don't worry, that's not a piece of malware; it's just an issue that has been a part of WPS Office for some time. That being said, WPS is an outstanding choice for those who don't mind using a bit of proprietary software. WPS Office has a UI that will feel very familiar to most. Jack Wallen/ZDNET WPS Office can be installed (via your distribution's default package manager or via Flatpak) for free. 3. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors I really like ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors. In fact, I've often considered making it my default (even over LibreOffice). The only issue holding me back from making the permanent switch is that ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors are proprietary, and LibreOffice is open-source. However, each time I use ONLYOFFICE Desktop editors, I draw closer and closer to making the switch. Why? One of the best features this office suite has going for it is the ability to use it both locally and remotely (even simultaneously). I can open a local instance, and then add a remote instance and switch back and forth between them. With LibreOffice, I have to create a Samba share on a machine attached to my LAN, mount it to my desktop, and then manually save to that share. With ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, I can work locally or I can work remotely. It's my choice. Get the biggest stories in tech every Friday with ZDNET's Week in Review newsletter. You can also create a cloud account connected to a locally-installed ONLYOFFICE server, or a cloud host. Now that is flexibility. Yes, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors can work with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and even PDFs, so you shouldn't have any problems creating and collaborating on the document type you need. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors also now includes a bit of AI goodness to help you with your writing. You can work both locally and remotely in the same app window. Jack Wallen/ZDNET ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors can be installed and used for free on your Linux distribution of choice. Also: This is the fastest local AI I've tried, and it's not even close - how to get it 4. Softmaker Office First, unlike the other options here, Softmaker Office isn't free. Yes, there is a free trial (and I would suggest that you give it a try), and you can even add the required repository to your system, so the app is always up-to-date (so long as you run regular updates -- which you should). Softmaker Office includes the usual tools: documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. The Softmaker Office UI is very similar to the MS Office Ribbon interface and doesn't include numerous UI customizations found in LibreOffice. Softmaker Office does offer a touch mode (which enlarges icons so they are easier to access and plenty of customizations. Softmaker Office lacks (and why I don't use it as my default) collaboration features. If mailings are your thing, you will find that Softmaker Office includes a database feature geared specifically for the task. You won't find track changes or comments in the free version of this office suite, so if collaboration is a must, you'll need to pay the yearly subscription price of $37/year, which adds collaboration features. Softmaker Office might render fonts as if it were 2010, but it still works very well. Jack Wallen/ZDNET If you're looking for a Linux office suite that resembles MS Office and includes all the features you need, start with the free Softmaker Office version and then upgrade to the paid version to get the full package. 5. Calligra Suite Calligra is the KDE Plasma office suite, which is an all-in-one solution that includes documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and vector graphics. You'd think it would ship by default with all Linux distributions that use KDE Plasma. That is not the case. The good news is that you can install it from within your distribution's standard repositories. Do keep in mind that if you don't use KDE Plasma, the installation will add a lot of dependencies so Calligra can run. In other words, if you want to use Calligra, you should be using KDE Plasma. Calligra offers documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings. Calligra approached the UI a bit differently, at least from an app launch perspective. You can either open one of the individual components from your desktop menu, or you can open the Calligra launcher, which is a simple bar that opens and allows you to select which app you want. Once open, you'll find that Calligra is a perfectly apt office suite that might not be nearly as feature-rich or as modern a UI, but it does function well. Calligra also supports MS Office formats (such as .docx), as well as open document formats, plain text, HTML, Wiki, Mobipocket, and electronic book formats. From my perspective, Calligra is the weakest of the five, but if you're really into KDE Plasma, this is a worthwhile contender. Calligra looks a bit long in the tooth, but it's still a viable option for KDE Plasma fans. Jack Wallen/ZDNET Callibra is free to install and use. Also: 4 reasons why LibreOffice downloads are way up (hint: you'll relate)