| Major Feature Differences | LibreOffice 4.1 | MS Office 2013 |
|---|
| Cross-platform availability | Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (based on the same code base). | Windows and Mac OS X (based on different code bases resulting in some format compatibility problems and differences in the user interface). Mac OS X Version is old version "Office 2011". |
| Supported versions of MS Windows | Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 | Windows 7, 8, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012 |
| Portable version that runs on USB flash disks (without installation) | yes | no (discontinued MS Office Starter 2010 edition runs on USB flash disks) |
| Open Source | yes, licensed under GNU LGPL Version 3 | no, proprietary and closed-source |
| Full integration of all office components | supported, Start Center, creation and opening of files of other office components. | not supported |
| Availability free of charge | yes | no, proprietary programme plus additional charges for language packs. 30-day trial version available. |
| Eco-system of extensions | complex ecosystem of valuable extensions (over 180 on extensions.libreoffice.org and over 700 onextensions.services.openoffice.org) for LibreOffice (including automatic updates). | partly, no centralized extension system. |
| Localization | 110 languages | 96 languages (52 main languages for purchase, 44 more languages (in total 60) from Language Interface Packs (LIPs) for free download) |
| Changing language of the user interface on the fly | supported | supported, but requires additional purchase of language packs / download of local LIPs |
| Additional writing aids | extended support (spell-check dictionaries, hyphenation patterns, thesaurus and grammar check, specialized dictionaries as extensions (1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7)) | limited, requires additional purchase of language packs |
| Support of complex languages and special font features (ligatures, true small caps, old style numbers, proportional or mono-spaced numbers, capital spacing, true superscript/subscript) | comprehensive support of SIL Graphite font technology (not available of Mac OS X). Support of OpenType optional features limited to localized forms (locl) (bug 58941). | limited via OpenType supporting ligatures, stylistic sets, number spacing options, number forms, contextual alternates. |
| Easy access to vector clip art | yes via LO Gallery (clipart extensions (1or 2)) | selection more limited |
| Macro scripting languages | multiple languages, support for wide variety of languages (LibreOffice Basic, JavaScript, BeanShell and Python). | single language, support for Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Indirectly also Visual Basic or Visual C# by using automation. |
| CMIS protocol support to access Document Management Systems like Alfresco, Nuxeo, SharePoint | supported | inbuilt support only for SharePoint and Skydrive |
| Support of ISO standardized OpenDocument (ODF) format | advanced support, v. 1.2 extended | limited (Windows), v. 1.2, no ODF support on MacOS X |
| PDF export extended options | multiple options (Additional options: detailed image settings, watermarks, HybridPDF, embedding of standard fonts, transition effects, tagged pdf, extended security and permission options, PDF forms, initial view settings, extended handling of URLs, digital signatures) | no additional options |
| Creation of HybridPDFs (ODF file embedded in PDF for full editing) | supported | not supported |
| Import of graphics formats SVG vector graphics, PSD Photoshop and CorelDraw | supported | not supported |
| Import of MS Visio files | supported | not supported (only via MS Visio which is not part of MS Office) |
| Import of video and audio formats FLAC Audio flac, Flash Video (flv), Matroska Media, OGG Audio, Ogg Video, Quicktime Video and WebM Video | supported | not supported |
| Drawing programme | LibreOffice Draw | no |
| PIM and email programme | not part of office suite, referring to Mozilla Thunderbird with Mozilla Lightning. | MS Outlook |
| Import & Export of Microsoft OOXML files | Good support of real life OOXML files (e.g. .xlsx, .docx, .pptx) | Advanced support of transitional (default) and strict OOXML files |
| PDF Import | partial, into Draw with the limitation that text is imported line-based (bug 32249). | supported, into MS Word |
| User Interface approach | Classic UI; New Sidebar currently available as experimental feature | Ribbon UI; Classic UI available as third-party paid extension |
| User interface improved to enable use on touch screen devices | no, ports for Android and iOS in development (1,2,3) | User interface improved for touch screen devices, but not redesigned |
| Online version of office suite | no, in development: experimental version. | Office 365 |
| Synchronous collaborative editing | no, in development: experimental version | supported |
| Minor Feature Differences | LibreOffice 4.1 | MS Office 2013 |
|---|
| Import of graphics formats DXF, MET, PBM, PCD, PCX, PGM, PPM, PPM, RAS, SGF, SVM, TGA, XBM, XPM | supported | not supported |
| Import of additional video and audio formats: CD Audio, Vivo Video. | supported | not supported |
| Written in language(s) | C++, Java, Python | C++, C, (ASM)1 |
| Enhanced list of recent files and folders | partial (bug 61174, 60743). Option to clear list of recent documents. | supported (option to set recent files as permanent) |
| Digital signatures / Signature Line | single signature without visual features (bug 63001) | supported |
| Ink annotations (e.g. on a windows tablet computer) | not supported, (only support for import of existing ink annotations from MS Word file format) | supported |
| Live preview while formatting | not supported (bug 37048) | supported |
| Import of graphics formats MEZ, WMZ, PCZ, CGM | not supported | supported |
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