ONLYOFFICE, Collabora, LibreOffice or Paginel?
Writing together, right now: what each one asks you to install.
ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online and LibreOffice are open source, European and proven; the first two let you write together in the browser, the third does not. The real difference is elsewhere: what you must set up for online collaboration to work, and what it becomes offline.
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In short Which one should you choose?
Use ONLYOFFICE or Collabora if…
- you want a complete open-source suite (spreadsheet, slides)
- you have, or want, a Nextcloud server of your own
- the code must be readable and auditable
Use Paginel if…
- you want to write together without setting up a server
- your guests come in with a code, without an account
- one of you writes offline: everything is merged on return
LibreOffice, alone. An excellent desktop tool, free and offline, but with no co-editing: you take turns.
In detail What really changes
Online collaboration, compared
- ONLYOFFICE and Collabora Online: you write together in the browser, provided you have set up a document server linked to storage (Nextcloud, for example).
- Paginel: nothing to set up. You open the file and share a link or a code; the browser and the desktop app write in the same document.
- LibreOffice: no co-editing; it is a desktop tool.
What the open-source suites do better
- They are open source: you can read, audit and change the code. Paginel is not.
- They are complete: spreadsheet, slides, and a richer word processor (tables, track changes).
- They are proven, in large administrations, for years.
What Paginel does differently
- Nothing to set up: an account is enough, hosting is in France. For companies, self-hosting will be a single program.
- Guests with a code, under their own name, for a time you choose.
- A desktop app that writes in shared documents even offline, then merges everything on reconnection.
- Three views: Markdown to write, Edit to polish, PDF to check.
- Sections with an owner, and AI agents kept within limits (scope, pause, exclusion).
A word on ONLYOFFICE and Euro-Office
ONLYOFFICE is published in Latvia; its origins (the project was started in 2009 by a Russian company) are debated in some administrations. In 2026, IONOS, Nextcloud and other European companies launched Euro-Office, a European, open-source version of ONLYOFFICE, built into Nextcloud.
Honestly What Paginel does not do (yet)
- Paginel is in beta, open to everyone and free. It is a young product.
- Paginel is not open source: its code is not published.
- Tables cannot be edited yet: tables in a
.docxshow as plain lines (cells separated by tabs), on screen and in the PDF. Saving into the original file keeps them intact. A document full of tables is not for Paginel yet. - No track changes and no suggestion mode. Comments exist in Paginel, but are not yet written into the
.docx. - A word processor, nothing else: no spreadsheet, no slides, no email.
- Installing Paginel on your own servers (Enterprise plan) is planned after the beta: it is not available yet.
The table The open-source suites and Paginel
| Paginel | ONLYOFFICE | Collabora Online | LibreOffice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing together, right now The heart of the comparison. | ||||
| Co-editing | Yes Yes, across desktop and browser. | Yes | Yes | No |
| To install | Nothing: hosted; self-hosted as a single program (planned). | A document server, with storage (Nextcloud…). | A server, with storage (Nextcloud…). | On every computer. |
| Offline, then merge | Yes (lead) Yes, no conflicts to resolve. | Partly Desktop apps, on local files. | No Online. | Partly Local files. |
| The product Yours to weigh. | ||||
| Company, country | France. | Ascensio System SIA, Latvia. | Collabora Productivity, United Kingdom. | The Document Foundation, Germany. |
| Licence | No Proprietary. | Yes AGPL 3.0, plus paid editions. | Yes MPL 2.0. | Yes MPL 2.0. |
| Price | Free in beta; planned: free or €20 a year. | Free community edition; paid cloud and enterprise. | CODE free; Business €3 per user per month. | Free. |
| .docx fidelity | Partly Good; tables not editable yet. | Yes (lead) Built around Word’s format. | Partly That of LibreOffice. | Partly Good, known differences. |
| Spreadsheet, slides | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Markdown, AI agents | Yes (lead) Markdown view; agents via MCP, with limits. | Partly AI plugins. | — | — |
Yes : the highlighted word marks the lead on that point.
. Our rule: say when another tool will suit you better, and what Paginel does not do yet. Spotted a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
ONLYOFFICE or Collabora?
ONLYOFFICE is known for better fidelity to Word’s format; Collabora Online is based on LibreOffice and has a more permissive licence (MPL). Both install with Nextcloud.
Why choose Paginel over an open-source suite?
For simplicity (nothing to install), guests with a code, offline work on shared documents, and the Markdown and PDF views. If you need a spreadsheet, or open-source software, choose an open-source suite.
Try Paginel
The beta is open and free: create your account in a minute.
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Other comparisons
- Word alternatives Free, online, offline: six ways to work without a Word subscription.
- Google Docs alternatives European, French or open source: who does what, and for whom.
- Word vs Google Docs The classic match-up, with Paginel as a third column.
- Word vs Paginel The same .docx file, two ways of working.
- Google Docs vs Paginel Google Docs-style co-editing, on real Word files.
- A European Word European alternatives to Word, and what “sovereign” means.
- A sovereign Google Docs Writing together online, with data in France or Europe.
Sources
Prices and features of other products checked on the date above, on their official pages. They change often: check before you decide.