LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite available across multiple platforms.
So, it will always remain among the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office.
Abhishek Prakash
If that is the case, why am I talking about purchasing LibreOffice here?
The Document Foundation Intends to Market the Project for Better Funding
The Document Foundation has been trying to improve the monetization and marketing strategies to encourage people to help support the development of LibreOffice.
Of course, the enterprise edition is one of the best ways they manage to do it.
But how can this opportunity be extended to its end users by providing similar perks?
One of the easiest ways is to make LibreOffice through proprietary sale channels like Mac App Store.
The Document Foundation recently announced making LibreOffice available on Mac App Store; here's what they mentioned:
TDF releasing on the Mac App Store is an evolution over the previous situation, which reflects the project’s new marketing strategy: The Document Foundation is focused on the release of the Community version, while ecosystem companies are focused on a value-added long-term supported versions targeted at enterprises.
Many users trust and rely on the official store of their platform. So, making LibreOffice available at the official software store gives users convenience. You can automatically update LibreOffice to its latest stable version without downloading it separately.
To avail of the convenience of downloading LibreOffice from the Apple Mac Store, you need to purchase it for a one-time fee.
It is available for $8.99 on macOS App Store.
Wasn't it already available on Mac App Store?
Well, yes, and no.
Collabora Office (the enterprise version based on LibreOffice) is available on the Mac App Store for $8.99.
While it is based on LibreOffice, it is not precisely the LibreOffice community version. So, now, The Documentation Foundation has made the LibreOffice community version available on the Mac App Store.
In the announcement, they also mention:
“We are grateful to Collabora for having supported LibreOffice on Apple’s Mac App Stores for quite a long time”
- Italo Vignoli, LibreOffice Marketing
How does this fee help LibreOffice?
LibreOffice is a massive open-source project as of now. It is not surprising why many Linux distributions include it by default, and several education institutes have decided to switch to it by ditching Microsoft Office.
Of course, it may not be perfect in every sense. But, it is making good progress and should fit the likes of many users who want essential features in a document, spreadsheet, or presentation program.
So, the fee will help support the project by covering the costs involved in maintaining it and further generating revenue to help contributors and people working with The Document Foundation.
LibreOffice on Microsoft Store?
LibreOffice is not yet available directly on the Microsoft Store.
You can purchase the Collabora Office on the Microsoft Store for $14.99. But, The Document Foundation has yet to make an official community version available.
There is also Allo Office, previously known as LibreOffice Vanilla.
Maybe after making it available on the Mac App Store. They might bring it in for the Microsoft Store.
💬 What do you think about purchasing LibreOffice from Mac App Store?
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