Microsoft 365 vs Collabora Online (CODE)

Fit:

Migration notes

Editor component for documents/spreadsheets/slides, requiring external file storage/authentication such as Nextcloud, ownCloud or Seafile. Does not supply the full email/calendar/meetings/storage suite; test Office-format, macro and layout fidelity. CODE rolling builds carry production stability caveat.

Sources: www.collaboraonline.com, www.collaboraonline.com · checked 2026-10-21

Microsoft 365Paid incumbent

Entry priceUSD 5.40 / seat / month

Pricing modelper-seat, billed annual

OwnerMicrosoft Corporation

Business Basic without Teams USD $5.40/user/month paid yearly; web/mobile apps. Basic with Teams $7; desktop apps require another plan. Source

Microsoft 365 plans reviewed
Business Basic (no Teams)	entry	USD 64.80 / user / yr
Business Standard with Copilot	business	USD 282 / user / yr
Microsoft 365 E7	enterprise	USD 1,188 / user / yr

Collabora Online (CODE)Open-source alternative

Fit for Microsoft 365

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0 Permissions of this weak copyleft license are conditioned on making available source code of licensed files and modifications of those files under the same license (or in certain cases, one of the GNU licenses). Copyright and license notices must be preserved. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. However, a larger work using the licensed work may be distributed under different terms and without source code for files added in the larger work. May Commercial useModificationDistributionPatent usePrivate use Must Disclose sourceLicense and copyright noticeSame license (file) No LiabilityTrademark useWarranty Summary from GitHub's choosealicense.com

Paid-feature tier A

Self-host

Paid-feature limitsNone established

Collabora Online (CODE) plans reviewed
CODE	free self-hosted development edition	Free
Collabora Online for Business	paid self-hosted supported edition	USD 40.80 / user / yr
Collabora Online for Enterprise	paid self-hosted supported edition	Quote only

What you may give up

No paid-feature limits established for this edition.

Tier A: Source and functionality remain open; commercial offering sells stable supported builds. CODE rolling builds lack SLA/LTS and are not recommended by vendor for production. September 2026 maintainer confirms default CODE has no document/connection caps; optional home mode introduces 20-connection/10-document limits. Source is now in Gerrit; GitHub source mirror used for health, not old issue-only repository. License source

What running it takes

WOPI-compatible document storage/authentication host

Hover or focus an icon for its name. Dashed means not established; struck through means no; grouped icons are alternatives.

CODE is rolling development edition, not a stable production release. Current official FAQ plus SDK25.04 installation chapter used because current HTML SDK hit bot challenge; current official Nextcloud app metadata confirms supported built-in integration. WOPI host dependencies must be budgeted separately. Infrastructure and staff time are not priced here; this page does not compare total cost.