Difference between Microsoft Office and Open Office

Key Difference: Microsoft Office is a suite of different applications, servers and services that was developed by Microsoft Company for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems in1989. OpenOffice is open-source, free software that is available to everyone on the market for download.

Microsoft Office and OpenOffice offer products that are used for similar purposes. However, both systems differ from each other. Microsoft Office belongs to the Microsoft Company, while OpenOffice is free-source software, meaning it is open to general users for free use and development. Microsoft is more popularly used than OpenOffice.

Microsoft Office is a suite of different applications, servers and services that was developed by Microsoft Company for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems in1989. Microsoft Office is wholly owned by the Microsoft Corporation and is developed, tested, marketed and sold by the company. Though initially, MS Office only comprised Word, Excel and PowerPoint, it now offers various different applications and programs such as Outlook/Entourage, Access, InfoPath, OneNote, Project, Publisher, SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Groove), Visio, Office InterConnect and Office Picture Manager.

Microsoft Word created the doc format, which is de facto format for storing document files on the computer. The new versions from Office 2007 started using a new XML-based format (docx). The Office system is available in different versions for different users, such as Professional, Home and Student. The MS Office software charges a price on its software on the basis of the cost incurred plus profits. The new Office 2013 has been rumored to release around December 2012. MS Office is the best software believed to be available on the market for professionals who require more advanced features and facilities.

OpenOffice is open-source, free software that is available to everyone on the market. Open Office, previously named as StarOffice, was originally developed as proprietary software, similar to MS Office, by StarDivision. In 1999, StarDivision was acquired by Sun Microsystems and in 2000 Sun announced that it was making the source code of StarOffice available for free download to build an open-source development community for the software and as a free and open alternative to MS Office. It was renamed as OpenOffice.org. Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle in 2010, who continued developing the software and it is now sold under the name Apache OpenOffice.

Apache OpenOffice offers software applications such as word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, formula editor, and database management applications. OpenOffice’s default document format is the OpenDocument Format (ODF) for files, though it also has the ability to open and read MS Office formats. OpenOffice also offers the option of saving files and documents in MS Office 2003 formats. The user interface of the Open Office is similar to that of the MS Office 2003. OpenOffice is supported on various platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, OpenVMS, OS/2 and IRIX and can also support over 120 languages. The next major release on Open office will version 4 and will include codes from IBM from its Lotus Symphony suite. MS Office offers applications such as Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw, and Math.

The user interface of OpenOffice is similar to the MS Office 2003, while many shortcuts on MS Office are also same as the shortcuts on OpenOffice. OpenOffice is available for free download, while MS Office charges a price. However, a drawback of OpenOffice is that it has limited features compared to the vast array of features that is offered by MS Office. It will also be a little difficult for users to shift from MS Office to OpenOffice as the layout differs. Although many users have also stated that the OpenOffice Impress is much better compared to MS Office PowerPoint.

	Microsoft Office	Open Office
Definition	Microsoft Office is a suite of different applications, servers and services such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc	Open Office is a suite of open-source office productivity software suite that contains word processor, spreadsheets, presentations, etc
Developer	Microsoft	StarDivision, later acquired by Sun Microsystems
Costs	Starts from US$20; prices may vary depending on version	Is a free software
Operating Systems	Supports Windows and Mac platforms	Supports almost all platforms including Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, OpenVMS, OS/2 and IRIX
Interface	Office versions after 2007 included a ‘ribbon’ interface	The current version of Open Office is similar to the MS Office 2003
Documents	Opens all Microsoft document files, such as doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx	Supports all MS Office files
Support	Is developed professionally and if you have a licensed program you can receive professional support	Is an open software, a user can receive help from open forums online
Sharing	MS Office has the ability to share its documents; although a person who has Office 2003 may need to convert documents from 2007 and 2010 to 2003 format in order to read it	Open Office also allows users to share documents. However, a document created in Open Office will only be supported by MS Office 2003 versions
Components	Word, Excel, Outlook/Entourage, PowerPoint, Access, InfoPath, OneNote, Project, Publisher, SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Groove), Visio, Office InterConnect, Office Picture Manager	Writer, Calc, Impress, Base, Draw, Math