The Collabora Online Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Collabora Online in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Collabora Online
The Insider’s Guide
Self-hosted, open-source office suite based on LibreOffice
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among docs and wiki tools, read from Collabora Online’s own pages.
Made by Collabora Productivity Ltd · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Collabora Online’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Collabora Online’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 13 of the 51 other docs and wiki tools we grade
Collabora Online is an open-source online office suite based on LibreOffice, with Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw for text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings. The vendor does not host it: organizations run it on their own servers or get it through a hosting partner, connected to a platform such as Nextcloud or ownCloud that handles file storage and access. Supported subscriptions are priced per user, and a free development edition is available.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Collabora Online, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for an office suite on your own servers
The desktop version and mobile support need an Enterprise quote.
- 2
Paid plans start at $3.40 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $3.40 per user / month on a yearly subscription (up to 99 users).
- 3
There is a free plan
Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE): free, self-hosted rolling release with no SLA or long-term support. The vendor suggests it for testing, home use or small teams, not production.
- 4
It runs on 6 platforms
Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
- 5
Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw
Four browser-based editors cover text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings, with pivot tables and charts in Calc and Visio files opening in Draw.
- 6
Collaborative editing
Several people can edit one document together. The FAQ sets no formal limit and calls 20 people in a session normal, and external users without an account are not charged for.
- 7
Microsoft and OpenDocument formats
Opens and saves DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, the older DOC, XLS and PPT formats and the OpenDocument equivalents, and offers PDF download.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 13 of 51
That is against the other docs and wiki tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Collabora Online you would be making a spreadsheet engine with its formulas. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Collabora Online at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $3.40 per user / month on a yearly subscription (up to 99 users)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Collabora Productivity Ltd
- Category
- Docs & Wikis
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for an office suite on your own servers
Collabora Online is LibreOffice in a browser: documents, spreadsheets, slides and drawings several people can edit at once, on servers you control, at $3.40 a user a month for up to 99 users. Collabora won't host it for you, it needs Nextcloud, ownCloud or SharePoint beside it to store files, and the free CODE edition has no SLA or long-term support. The desktop version and mobile support need an Enterprise quote.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | $3.40 a user a month on a yearly subscription for up to 99 users, with long-term support, a service level agreement and signed security updates. Set against the office suites it names as rivals that undercuts the lot, and outside users without an account aren't charged for at all. |
| Free plan and trial | B | The free CODE edition is the whole suite, self-hosted and updated about once a month, and a household or a small team could live on it indefinitely. No SLA, no long-term support, and Collabora itself says not to run a business on it. |
| Features | D | Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw in a browser, several people editing at once, opening and saving Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as OpenDocument. But by the vendor's own account it only edits documents: pair it with Nextcloud, ownCloud or SharePoint to store files and control access, or it's no use at all. |
| Ease of use | D | You host it yourself on Linux, a virtual machine or Docker, or find a hosting partner, and then connect it to a platform like Nextcloud or ownCloud before anybody can open a file. There is no sign-up-and-start version. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | In a browser it runs anywhere, with ready integrations for Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenCloud, Moodle, Alfresco, SharePoint, Mattermost and Drupal and the WOPI protocol for anything else. The catch is that the desktop version and mobile support arrive with the Enterprise plan. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Collabora Online is for
- Fits if your documents have to stay on servers you control
- Works for teams already running Nextcloud, ownCloud or OpenCloud who want editing inside it
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want to sign up and start typing, because Collabora doesn't host it for you
- Not for you if you're after a wiki or knowledge base, since it only edits office documents
- Tight if you're a business on the free edition, which has no SLA or long-term support
- Watch out: it needs Nextcloud, ownCloud, SharePoint or similar to store files and handle access
- Pricey if you have 100 or more users, or want the desktop version or mobile support: those need an Enterprise quote
Good to know
Good for
- Organizations that must keep documents on their own servers
- Nextcloud, ownCloud or OpenCloud users adding document editing
- Software vendors embedding an office editor in their own product
- Home users and small teams running the free CODE edition
Worth knowing
- Collabora does not host the product: you run the server yourself or go through one of its hosting partners.
- It only edits documents, so it has to be paired with another product that handles file storage and user access.
- The free CODE edition has no SLA or long-term support, and the vendor does not recommend it for business or production use.
- Business stops at 99 users, at $3.40 per user a month on a yearly subscription; 100 or more users need an Enterprise quote.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$3.40
A month to start, for each person. There is a free plan too
Collabora Online has a free plan. Paid plans start at $3.40 per user / month on a yearly subscription (up to 99 users).
Set against the office suites it names as rivals that undercuts the lot, and outside users without an account aren't charged for at all.
Collabora Online Development Edition
Free
Self-hosted rolling release, updated about once a month, for testing, home use and small teams. No SLA or long-term support.
Collabora Online for Business
$3.40
per user / month, on a yearly subscription
Up to 99 users, self-hosted, with long-term support, a service level agreement, signed security updates and a customer portal.
Collabora Online for Enterprise
Custom
100 or more users with volume discounts, adding roadmap input, integration support, customization, and the desktop version and mobile support.
The free plan
Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE): free, self-hosted rolling release with no SLA or long-term support. The vendor suggests it for testing, home use or small teams, not production.
Read from collaboraonline.com on Oct 6, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Education
Special pricing for educational institutions
The subscriptions page asks educational institutions to get in touch for special pricing. No rate is published.
Stated on collaboraonline.comNonprofit
Special pricing for NGOs
The subscriptions page asks NGOs that want to deploy Collabora to get in touch for special pricing. No rate is published.
Stated on collaboraonline.comOther savings
Multi-year contract discounts
Subscriptions are priced yearly, and the vendor says discounts for three-year contracts are available on request.
Stated on collaboraonline.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
6
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Self-hosted, open-source office suite based on LibreOffice. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, real-time collaboration, documents, spreadsheets, presentations.
The catch is that the desktop version and mobile support arrive with the Enterprise plan.
- Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw
- Four browser-based editors cover text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings, with pivot tables and charts in Calc and Visio files opening in Draw.
- Collaborative editing
- Several people can edit one document together. The FAQ sets no formal limit and calls 20 people in a session normal, and external users without an account are not charged for.
- Microsoft and OpenDocument formats
- Opens and saves DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, the older DOC, XLS and PPT formats and the OpenDocument equivalents, and offers PDF download.
- Deployment on your own servers
- The server runs on a Linux system, a virtual machine or a Docker container, so documents stay on infrastructure you control. Large Kubernetes deployments scale through the COOL Controller.
- Integration through WOPI
- Ready integrations cover Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenCloud, Moodle, Alfresco, SharePoint and Mattermost, and other web applications connect by implementing the WOPI protocol.
- Admin console
- An admin console shows the users connected, the documents open and their resource usage, and can pass monitoring data to external services.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Nextcloud
- ownCloud
- OpenCloud
- Moodle
- Alfresco
- SharePoint
- Mattermost
- Drupal
Collabora Online is made by Collabora Productivity Ltd.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
13/51
Other docs and wiki tools it is graded above
Collabora Online's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 13 of the 51 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 11.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 38 of 51) and worst on features (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $3.40 a month for each person, against a middle price of $16.50 for the category: 2 of the 41 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 52 docs and wiki tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Collabora Online’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 38 of 51
- BFree plan and trialAbove 27 of 51
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 51
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 51
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 10 of 51
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 47 docs and wiki tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Collabora Online is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Collabora Online you would be making a spreadsheet engine with its formulas. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 27 of the 51 other docs and wiki tools grade higher. It costs $40.80 a year. Collabora Online is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Documents: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A spreadsheet engine with its formulas.
- A slide editor.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- It plugs into other products, Nextcloud, ownCloud and OpenCloud among them.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
What this rests on. Collabora Online’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, Zoho Writer and CryptPad
The 4 tools Collabora Online is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.4GPA
ONLYOFFICE
Free plan · from $20/mo
Open-source office suite for documents, sheets, slides and PDFs.
- 3.4GPA
Google Docs
Free plan · from $7/mo
Browser-based word processor, free with a Google Account.
- Only Collabora Online lists Windows, macOS and Linux apps.
- Only Google Docs lists a browser extension.
- Collabora Online is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 3.6GPA
Zoho Writer
Free plan · from $2.50/mo
Free online word processor with AI and document automation.
- Only Zoho Writer lists a browser extension.
- Collabora Online is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Collabora Online also covers spreadsheets and presentations.
- 3.0GPA
CryptPad
Free plan · from €5/mo
End-to-end encrypted, open-source collaborative office suite.
- Only Collabora Online lists Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- CryptPad is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Collabora Online also covers presentations.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Collabora Online free?
Collabora Online has a free plan. Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE): free, self-hosted rolling release with no SLA or long-term support.
How much does Collabora Online cost?
Collabora Online lists 3 plans. Collabora Online Development Edition: Free.
What platforms does Collabora Online work on?
Collabora Online is available on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
Does Collabora Online offer any discounts?
Collabora Online publicly lists the following: Special pricing for educational institutions; Special pricing for NGOs; Multi-year contract discounts.
Is Collabora Online open source?
Yes. Collabora Online is open source, according to its own site.
What does Collabora Online integrate with?
Collabora Online's listing names Nextcloud, ownCloud, OpenCloud, Moodle, Alfresco, SharePoint, Mattermost and Drupal.
Does Collabora Online have a student discount?
Special pricing for educational institutions. The subscriptions page asks educational institutions to get in touch for special pricing.
Who makes Collabora Online?
Collabora Online is made by Collabora Productivity Ltd.
What are the alternatives to Collabora Online?
The closest alternatives to Collabora Online in our directory are ONLYOFFICE, Google Docs, Zoho Writer and CryptPad.
How does Collabora Online compare with other docs and wiki tools?
Collabora Online's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 13 of the 51 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 11.
Is Collabora Online good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Collabora Online A for value for money. Its paid plans start at $3.40 a month for each person, against a middle price of $16.50 for the category: 2 of the 41 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Collabora Online?
To replace Collabora Online you would be making a spreadsheet engine with its formulas.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Collabora Online’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Collabora's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-09-17.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Collabora Productivity Ltd. Prices change, so check collaboraonline.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Collabora Online, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/collabora-online
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Collabora Online: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/collabora-online
Know someone choosing between docs and wiki tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/collabora-online/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded docs and wiki tools after Collabora Online, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Docs & Wikis Insider's GuideEvery one of the 52 docs and wiki tools we grade, compared
- Zoho Writer Insider's GuideFree online word processor with AI and document automation3.6 GPA
- Google Docs Insider's GuideBrowser-based word processor, free with a Google Account3.4 GPA
- ONLYOFFICE Insider's GuideOpen-source office suite for documents, sheets, slides and PDFs3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Collabora Online’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Collabora Online is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Collabora Productivity Ltd. Prices and plans change: check collaboraonline.com before you buy.