Microsoft Office versus Open Office
If you've ever had to type some type of homework, project or report on your computer, then chances are that you have run into, and more than likely used a text processor, some type of spreadsheet application and a presentation maker. Chances are that you have used Microsoft Office for all of these things, seeing as how not only it contains a program which deals with each afore-mentioned necessities. Being a very popular product, Microsoft Office overshadows most of its competition and seems like the best possible option… there is however a competitor worthy of looking at: Open Office. Made by various developers collaborating together from all over the world, Open Office basically offers the same programs as its Microsoft counterpart, so where do the differences lay exactly?
Financial Comparison
The first and most obvious advantage in our comparison of Microsoft Office versus Open Office is the fact that while the cheapest Microsoft Office package is available at a price of $149.99, Open Office comes absolutely free. If you are a person who has a lot of extra money to spend and does not see $150 as being a detriment in this case, then keep in mind that you will have to pay a lot more to use all the available features of the program, and when it comes to getting the product for multiple computer such as an offices and school computer labs, the costs will add up and become significant.
For this reason, various Universities around the world have opted for Open Office, not to mention various private companies such as Sumitomo as well as the City Government of Berlin for example. On the other hand however, a lot of institutions overlook the financial factor and still go with Microsoft Office mostly because it is popular, a lot more recognizable and is somewhat easier to operate than Open Office.
What the Programs have to Offer
While Microsoft Office only gives you access to Excel, Word and Powerpoint at the price of $149.99, with Open Office you not only gain access to not only the equivalents of the afore-mentioned programs in Writer, Calc and Impress, but also an equation editor called Math, an HTML editor, a database management program titled Base, as well as Draw, a vector graphics editor. If you want to gain access to the equivalent of these tools with Microsoft Office, you are going to have to spend more than $499.99.
However, while Open Office offers the same services at a lower price, it should be noted that the support offered by Microsoft is much more comprehensive than the Open Office one, with the former being done over the phone and the latter being offered only in the form of forum-based supports.
All in all, if you are simply a very casual user who has money to spend and prefers familiarity, ease of use and comfort, then you should maybe go for Microsoft Office. If on the other you are looking to save some (or a lot) of money and are willing to spend a little time learning and figuring out a slightly different system, then by all means give Open Office a shot… after all, its free.