Same look. Same code.
Your files, your device.
We’re excited to share the first release of the new Collabora Office for desktop – bringing the familiar, powerful Collabora Online experience, to run locally on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Open it and feel instantly at home: ODF or DOCX, quick edits or deep dives, a clean, beautiful interface that helps you get work done without getting in the way.
Like Collabora Online, but on your desktop
This isn’t only a look-alike. Collabora Office Desktop shares the same code DNA as Collabora Online. All the power of one is contained in the other, and what you learn in one transfers to the other. That means fewer surprises, fewer workarounds, and a smoother path from solo editing to team collaboration.
- One codebase in your browser, tablet, mobile, Chromebook and now desktop too
- Shared rendering engine: the same real-time rendering technology
- HTML + JavaScript-based front end, powered by your system’s native browser engine (like WebKit, Chromium, etc.)
- Synchronised updates: bug fixes, UI improvements, and new features can be rolled out to all platforms in parallel
- Based on the LibreOffice core technology under the hood for excellent standards-based compatibility
So whether you’re editing a spreadsheet offline on the train in Collabora Office Desktop, or later collaborating with your team online – it’s the same experience, just in a different wrapper.
Compare That to Microsoft Office…
To see why this matters, let’s look at Microsoft’s suite:
Microsoft 365 for web (O365) runs in your browser and is largely built in JavaScript, using a dramatically simplified, stripped-down feature set for web collaboration, assisted by a server-side Office in some cases.
Microsoft Office 2024 (desktop) is a legacy-rich C++-based application with a completely different architecture, behaviour, and sometimes even different rendering quirks.
Result: differences in UI, performance, feature sets, even how documents behave between web and desktop.
In contrast, Collabora Office Desktop and Collabora Online are one and the same – meaning:
- No feature fragmentation
- No interface learning curve
- No training complexity of “it works online but not offline”
- No duplication of engineering effort
- No recommendations to “use the desktop version”
- Just one clean, modern, open-source office suite – anywhere you need it
Instantly productive, no learning curve
Collabora Office Desktop is built to feel like home from the moment you open it. If you’ve used Collabora Online, you’ll be right at ease: a calm, consistent interface that lets you focus on the work, not the software.
- Consistent, easily discoverable UI with intuitive toolbars and tabbed interface
- Great Document interoperability. ODF or OOXML, we want to work your way, not the reverse
- No retraining required. Open, edit, and go
- Work with local files directly. No cloud required
- Print with native system dialogs and your existing printers
- Use platform-specific shortcuts and controls you already know
Whether you’re writing a report, crunching numbers, or building a presentation, Collabora Office Desktop will get it done.
Privacy by design
Collabora Office Desktop is open source and offline-first. Your documents stay on your device unless you choose to share them – full stop. It’s productivity that respects your data, your processes, and your digital sovereignty.
- Fully open source: no hidden executables, no spyware
- Your documents never leave your device unless you say so
- Cross-platform: available on Windows, macOS, and Linux
This is productivity software that respects your freedom.
Collabora Office Desktop vs. Collabora Office Classic
We love LibreOffice. We are privileged to be the largest code contributors to the codebase, Collabora employs several founders of The Document Foundation, and many of the top committers. We offer a Long Term supported product based on LibreOffice, branded as Collabora Office Classic, and are deeply grateful for and acknowledge many skilled community contributors we work alongside, as well as the incredible range of features that LibreOffice code enables.
Collabora Office for desktop’s initial release is not (yet) enterprise supported, but we encourage our customers and partners to evaluate it for deployment in 2026 and to provide feedback.
If you need tools like the Base database module (including Java-based components) or the full Math module, Classic remains the right choice – Collabora Office isn’t trying to replicate those. Collabora Office will run macros, but for advanced macro authoring and debugging you should use Classic. . For extreme Calc workloads (think complex Solver models or analysis across hundreds of thousands of rows) Classic is likely the better fit.
Where Collabora Office differs, it does so deliberately: no Java dependency, which means a smaller, cleaner install, less baggage on startup, and a single, self-contained download. Collabora Office also focuses on a streamlined, modern UI that highlights the tools most people use every day, while Classic offers an extraordinary level of power, extensibility and configurability.
In summary – the aim with Collabora Office and Collabora Online is simple: intuitive, fast, and focused – a beautiful desktop office suite offering the workflows most professionals use every day to create, edit, and collaborate, online and offline.
| Collabora Office Desktop | Collabora Office Classic |
|---|---|
| Fresh, modern UX | Classic, established UX |
| Javascript & CSS UI to match Collabora Online | VCL-based classic UI |
| Simpler settings / streamlined defaults | Very extensive options, menus & dialogs |
| No Java | Java used for some features/wizards/DB drivers |
| No built-in Base app | Includes Base UI |
| Runs macros | Full macro editor & advanced BASIC/Python/UNO |
| Modern web tech (Canvas, WebGL, CSS) | Custom toolkit (VCL) |
| Fast to iterate (edit JS, fewer recompiles) | Core/C++ changes typically require recompiles |
| Initial release – Enterprise Support is coming | Long term Enterprise Supported (Collabora Office Classic) |
| Quick-Start guides | Extensive manuals & books |
*A Note on Early Releases
<early-release status="exciting" vibe="optimistic">
<h text:level="1">This is just the beginning...</h>
<p>This release is a <b>first step</b>, not a final destination. There will be bugs. Performance may vary. Features are still being polished. Translation may be patchy. But this is also your chance to get a preview of where we’re headed, and to help shape where we are going.</p>
<p>Try it out! Share it with your friends, share your feedback with us, and get involved in development! Find out more about the growing Collabora Office community in the link below. If you have Javascript, CSS, C++, testing, translation or documentation skills - and love working with others to change the world – get involved!</p>
</early-release>
Help Us Build the Future
We’re excited to share this preview with the community – and we’re counting on your feedback and contributions to make it even better. We hope you enjoy the new Collabora Office.
Together, we’re building a privacy-respecting, open, and elegant office suite for everyone.
Join the webinar
Join the webinar on the 3rd December to find out about the new Collabora Office, and how it fits into our ecosystem!
