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LibreOffice is a complete, free office suite that opens and edits Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files — a genuine alternative to a Microsoft 365 subscription. Installing it offline is straightforward, but two setup steps make the difference between "installed" and "actually usable as my office suite": making it the default app for Office documents, and configuring it to save in Microsoft formats so colleagues can open your files. This guide covers the install plus both.
1 Download the official offline installer
LibreOffice comes from libreoffice.org. The main download is a complete offline installer for Windows (.msi, around 350 MB — the whole suite), macOS (.dmg), and Linux (.deb/.rpm archives plus distro packages). The Document Foundation offers two release lines: "Community" Still (more stable, recommended for most) and Fresh (newest features). Download the Still build unless you specifically want the latest features. Get it only from libreoffice.org; the suite is large, so verify you are on the official domain before downloading.
2 Install the suite
Windows: run the .msi; the Typical install includes Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (PowerPoint), Draw, Base, and Math. macOS: open the .dmg, drag LibreOffice to Applications, and on first launch right-click → Open to clear Gatekeeper if needed. Linux: install the distro package (sudo apt install libreoffice) or the official .deb set. Optionally also grab the matching offline Help pack from the same page so F1 help works without internet.
3 Set LibreOffice as the default for Office files
Installing it does not automatically make it open your .docx and .xlsx files. On Windows 11, go to Settings → Apps → Default apps, search for the file type (e.g. .docx), click the current default, and choose LibreOffice Writer; repeat for .xlsx (Calc) and .pptx (Impress). Or right-click any such file → Open with → Choose another app → tick "Always use this app." On macOS, right-click a file → Get Info → Open with → choose LibreOffice → Change All. Now double-clicking Office files opens them in LibreOffice.
4 Save in Microsoft formats by default
LibreOffice's native format is OpenDocument (.odt/.ods/.odp), which Microsoft Office opens only awkwardly. If you share files with Office users, set LibreOffice to save in Microsoft formats by default: Tools → Options → Load/Save → General, and under "Default File Format and ODF Settings," set Document type "Text document" to "Word 2007-365 (.docx)", "Spreadsheet" to "Excel 2007-365 (.xlsx)", and "Presentation" to "PowerPoint 2007-365 (.pptx)". Now Save defaults to the format your colleagues expect.
5 Compatibility tips
LibreOffice's compatibility with Office files is very good but not perfect for complex documents. For heavily-formatted files, check the result after converting — track-changes, advanced pivot tables, and intricate slide animations are the usual trouble spots. For your own documents, working in .docx/.xlsx from the start (per the setting above) avoids round-trip surprises. When precise fidelity matters for a one-off, exporting to PDF from LibreOffice (File → Export as PDF) preserves the layout exactly for the recipient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LibreOffice a free replacement for Microsoft Office?
Yes. LibreOffice is free and open source, with Writer, Calc, and Impress replacing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It opens and saves Microsoft formats, so it is a genuine alternative to a paid Office subscription for most users.
Can LibreOffice open and save .docx and .xlsx files?
Yes. It opens them natively and can save in Microsoft formats. Set those as the defaults under Tools → Options → Load/Save → General so colleagues can open your files easily.
Which LibreOffice version should I download?
For most users, the "Still" (more stable) release line is recommended. Choose "Fresh" only if you want the very newest features and can tolerate occasional rough edges.
Does LibreOffice need internet to install?
No. The download from libreoffice.org is a complete offline installer containing the whole suite. An optional offline Help pack is also available so F1 help works without a connection.
Conclusion
LibreOffice gives you a full office suite for free, installed offline from libreoffice.org. The two setup steps that make it genuinely usable are setting it as the default for .docx/.xlsx/.pptx and configuring it to save in Microsoft formats. Do both and LibreOffice slots into your workflow as a drop-in replacement for paid Office, with PDF export as your fallback whenever pixel-perfect fidelity matters.
