Best open-source alternatives to Google Docs

Etherpad is a web-based collaborative editor designed for real-time shared writing. It is intended for self-hosting on a user's own server and is described as scalable to thousands of simultaneous users. The project emphasizes extensibility through a plugin framework, allowing administrators to add features such as Markdown support, comments, hyperlinks, WebRTC-related enhancements, and custom authentication flows. The software is aimed at teams or organizations that need a lightweight, highly customizable pad system with strong data portability. It includes an administrative interface for plugin management, supports multiple instances from one installation via separate settings files, and exposes an HTTP API with OpenAPI definitions for integration into other web applications. The README also highlights localization support and skin customization for tailoring the user experience.

Nextcloud Server is a self-hosted collaboration and file platform for individuals, teams, and organizations that want control over their data. It provides a central place to store files and also supports contacts, calendars, communication features, and sharing across devices. The project is designed for users who want cloud-like functionality on infrastructure they control, whether at home or in a company environment. It is extensible through a large app ecosystem, includes security features such as encryption and two-factor authentication, and can be deployed by self-installation, through hosting providers, or via appliances and preinstalled devices.

CryptPad is a self-hostable collaboration suite focused on privacy and end-to-end encryption. It lets people work together on shared content in real time while keeping the stored data encrypted, so the service operators cannot read the content if the server is compromised. The project is open source and is intended for users and organizations that want collaborative editing without giving the hosting provider access to the underlying documents. The platform includes several collaborative applications such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, code, rich text, and whiteboards. It supports deployment for development and production, with Docker-based setup available and separate installation guidance for administrators. The README also points users to documentation, release notes, translation infrastructure, community forums, and security guidance for using instances safely.

HedgeDoc is a collaborative markdown note-taking application designed for teams and communities that want to write and edit notes together in real time. The README presents HedgeDoc 2 as an in-progress rewrite split into backend and frontend components, while noting that HedgeDoc 1.x is stable and widely used. The project is self-hosted and open source, with installation guidance, a public demo instance, and separate documentation for setup and development. It also provides community channels for questions and contributions. The README emphasizes that the latest development branch does not yet implement all features, and that the project is actively evolving toward HedgeDoc 2.

Docs is an open-source collaborative text editor designed for teams, public organizations, companies, and open communities that need to write and manage shared knowledge. It positions itself as an alternative to tools such as Notion or Google Docs, with an emphasis on real-time coauthoring, structured documents, and data ownership through self-hosting. The project combines document editing, knowledge organization, and sharing features in a web application built on a modern stack. The README highlights live cursors, comments, access control, subpages, search, and import/export support, and it also mentions optional AI-assisted writing tools. Docs can be tried through a live demo or deployed via self-hosting options including Docker Compose and Kubernetes, with additional community deployment methods referenced.

Sync-in Server is a self-hosted collaboration platform designed for organizations and privacy-focused users who want to keep ownership of their files and documents on their own infrastructure. It provides a modern web interface for managing collaborative spaces, secure sharing, and access-controlled document workflows. The project emphasizes interoperability and open standards, with support for multi-editor document collaboration, WebDAV access, and integration with desktop and CLI clients. It also includes enterprise-style identity features such as OpenID Connect single sign-on, LDAP integration, and multi-factor authentication, making it suitable for managed environments that need centralized authentication and fine-grained permissions.

ONLYOFFICE Docs is a self-hosted online office suite intended for teams and organizations that need collaborative document editing inside their own infrastructure or within third-party platforms. It provides editors for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, PDFs, and diagrams, with compatibility for Office Open XML formats. The project is designed to integrate with products such as ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, ONLYOFFICE Workspace, and external sync-and-share systems like Nextcloud, Moodle, ownCloud, Seafile, and Odoo. It emphasizes real-time co-editing, review and change tracking, version history, plugins, and a range of editor features such as spell-checking, accessibility options, and dark mode. The README also describes multiple editions, including a free community edition and paid enterprise/developer offerings.

Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE) is a powerful LibreOffice-based online office that supports all major document, spreadsheet and presentation file formats, which you can integrate in your own infrastructure.