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It's not easy to find alternatives to Google Docs, we realize it. The Google universe is immense and on a technical level often done very well indeed. But if you care about yours privacy we highly recommend you look at ours alternatives to Google Docs.
Many of the alternatives to Google Docs use the Zero-knowledge encryption
One of the problems (certainly not the only one) of Google Docs, and of all Google products in general, is that the files inside can be analyzed by Google itself. Another problem is the fact that Google is, in fact, an advertising agency and is therefore very greedy for your data.
These are some of the reasons to look alternatives to Google Docs. The files are in fact analyzed and an algorithm will be able to decide whether or not it is consistent with its guidelines 1. It's at someone it has already happened that the algorithm thought it was something illegal and blocked everything 2.
Instead, we believe in freedom especially when talking about private files. The documents are your, they must be yours alone and you must be able to read them only and exclusively you.
For this article you will therefore see the alternatives they use above zero-knowledge encryption and, further down, all the others that guarantee (but only at a policy level) that your data will not be analysed.
Do you really need online collaboration?
If you don't need to collaborate online you might even think about not using these tools, but using LibreOffice and put the documents you need in one of the alternatives to Google Drive.
In this list we will instead analyze services that will allow you to keep private documents and also to real-time online collaboration.
Cryptpad
server in France for cryptpad.fr
for cryptpad.devol.it
Open source
Zero-knowledge encryption
no smartphone application
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
Service Open source, free and with encryption zero-knowledge (no one can in any way know what you write). It offers a rich service encrypted online collaboration, probably the best and only at this level. Free up to a certain threshold and paid to have more space available. It is based in France. If you need privacy and online collaboration it's theonly choice. There are no smartphone applications, it must be used inside the Browsers.
There is also a completely free version offered by Devol available at: cryptpad.devol.it
AGAINST
Few to no cons, it's a truly excellent service.
Peergos
Open source
minimal editor with online collaboration
no smartphone application
Zero-knowledge encryption
Thanks to your report on Mastodon we suggest you also take a look at Peergos. It is very recent and has just come out of the beta version, however it already seems to work reasonably well. It's a project Open source 3 and it is encrypted. Among other things, it offers a simple but effective online text editor.
Cryptee
server in Estonia
Open source
Zero-knowledge encryption
edit documents online
no online collaboration with other users
no smartphone application
We have Cryptee already talked about. Their service is fully encrypted and with Zero-knowledge encryption. You can only have documents, not spreadsheets or anything else. But theirs is an advanced editor, really well done and with attention to the smallest details, even graphically. Try it if you are looking for privacy and security!
AGAINST
Unfortunately there is not yet the possibility to share files or collaborate with someone (unless you share their account). A big flaw which we hope will be remedied sooner or later!
OnlyOffice
Open source
Zero-knowledge encryption for a fee
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
OnlyOffice it is a truly complete and immediately understandable suite for those coming from a Microsoft product. Her desktop applications they are free and Open source and they are found for Windows, macOS And Linux. However, it is an even more complete system because it also allows the use of online cloud. You can choose the their cloud (paid) or use it via Nextcloud (but not all providers use OnlyOffice, many use CollaboraOnline).
Mailbox
green servers
Zero-knowledge encryption only with your own PGP key
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
We have already known Mailbox for alternatives to GMail. It is a German encrypted email which, in addition to offer calendars and cloud also offers its own system Office online. You can therefore create and edit documents with extreme ease and you can also share them with anyone. Also with someone from the outside. It's not free (but you can try it for free for 30 days) but it doesn't cost too much. With €1 per month you have 2GB of email and 100MB of cloud. But you can easily calculate online your need.
Nextcloud
Open source
the location of the files depends on the provider you choose
no Zero-knowledge encryption
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
The absolute best alternatives for Google Docs they probably are CollaboraOnline and OnlyOffice. They are both products Open source which integrate perfectly with Nextcloud. As you know this is a site for everyone and we rarely cover the Self-Hosting although, with the necessary knowledge, it is the best way to do these things.
But don't despair. From Nextcloud we have already talked about: It's a cloud Open source really very similar to Google cloud. There are some providers that give free and paid space for Nextcloud and some also for the OnlyOffice and CollaboraOnline packages.
Excellent alternative to Google Docs where you can also collaborate online
These packages as we were saying they actually look a lot like Google Docs And allow simultaneous editing of files. It should be remembered that Nextcloud does not offer one End-to-end encryption (it is still in alpha testing) is that, potentially, server administrators could access your data (as much as Google Drive).
We tried Webo.Hosting (German) offers up to 5GB free with including the OnlyOffice package, a truly excellent offer. The Good Cloud (Dutch) instead for only €36 per year. For €60 a year you could also opt for the OnlyOffice online cloud That also promises End-to-end encryption. If you are looking for one real alternative to Google Docs, Open source and safe, this is definitely the option for you.
• • • •kDrive Infomaniak
Open source
green servers
no Zero-knowledge encryption
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
kDrive Infomaniak it is an interesting product made in Switzerland. Infomaniak it is a company that has existed since 1994 and which you can trust. They also offer the OnlyOffice suite in their cloud. Therefore very useful for collaborative documents but not only. You can replace everything and everything Google Docs And Office 365. Our files will be safe in Switzerland, friend of privacy. For some time it has been possible to try the suite with 15GB free and a email address with their own domain.
Etherpad
Open source
no Zero-knowledge encryption
the location of the files depends on the provider you choose
no smartphone application
minimal editor with online collaboration
Etherpad is a real-time collaborative publisher. It is very simple to use, minimal but with a markdown editor. Open source 4 and free, anyone can open oneInstance. We recommend the one from Italian collective Devol: etherpad.devol.it where, with a free membership, it is also possible to maintain an online catalog and create work groups. You can do the same with theInstance of the French group Framasoft: framapad.org/it.
HedgeDoc
Open source
no Zero-knowledge encryption
the location of the files depends on the provider you choose
for the Devol server
no smartphone application
minimal editor with online collaboration
A very interesting new collaborative software. It uses markdown and allows you to write texts in collaboration with other people. It's free software and Devol have opened their own server that you can use for free. It is a very nice service also graphically and perfectly usable.
Koofr
green servers
edit documents online and collaborate with other users with Microsoft Office
edited documents are shared with Microsoft
no Zero-knowledge encryption
One of the best and most interesting alternatives to Google Drive is Koofr. It gives away many GB in the free version and also allows you to edit your documents online while also being able to collaborate in real time. Unfortunately, the files are opened with Microsoft Office and therefore, inevitably, your documents will also end up in the clutches of Microsoft. Decide whether it's a good compromise for you or not.
Jottacloud
green servers
server in Norway
edit documents online and collaborate with other users with Microsoft Office
edited documents are shared with Microsoft
no Zero-knowledge encryption
Jottacloud is a service Norwegian very interesting. Useful both as alternative to Drive it's at Google Photos but also how alternative to Google Docs. Jottacloud in fact allows you to use even for free there Office Online suite without having a Microsoft accounts. You can use Word Online, PowerPoint Online and also Excel Online. Clearly these files will be somehow on Microsoft servers so if you choose this option take this thing and all into account advantages they disadvantages that it can have. You can do it for free up to 5GB then it will cost around €5 per month (prices are in Norwegian crowns). We think it could be a good compromise for who needs to use the products Office for some reason but does not want create one Microsoft accounts.
Zoho
server in Holland
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
no Zero-knowledge encryption
Zoho it really is in every way the total alternative for all services online collaboration by Google. With this free platform you can do practically everything you used to do with Google Docs and company. For example theirs Writer allows you to save all documents in .docx, .txt, .pdf, .odt and so on. And if you invite someone they can collaborate online with you in drafting the text. The documents are not end-to-end encrypted but their policy is less indecent than Google's.
AGAINST
It is certainly the most complete suite in alternative to Google, however its policy on privacy it is not very clear and its programs they are not Open source. However, if you need something very similar to Google Zoho it can be an alternative.
Seafile
Open source
green servers
edit documents online and collaborate with other users
no Zero-knowledge encryption
Seafile he's in an interesting project Open source 5 with the possibility of also being self-hosted. Alternatively there are at least two companies that offer it at affordable prices. It's both located in Germany and both use 100% green servers 67. You can try it and use it with providers luckycloud And Your Secure Cloud. Ability to read and edit documents online thanks to OnlyOffice pre-installed. Nice photo display and great speed.
EtherCalc
Open source
no Zero-knowledge encryption
the location of the files depends on the provider you choose
no smartphone application
Online collaboration editor for spreadsheets
The project seems abandoned.
It's a project Open source 8 which allows you to create and edit spreadsheets online. Very interesting and less known than the others, it is still a project worth trying and following.
Editing files offline
Consider carefully the need to have a file in the cloud. Do you really need it? Do you really need someone to change it? Sometimes we do some things just out of laziness, not caring about privacy and security issues.
A simple solution is to use any alternative to Google Drive and use the best LibreOffice for your documents. You can then share the file using the cloud sharing system you have chosen.
If you are interested, there is also an association for the promotion of LibreOffice in Italy called LibreItalia.
- Why Google is reading your Docs[↩]
- A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal.[↩]
- Peergos on GitHub[↩]
- Etherpad on GitHub[↩]
- source code by Seafile[↩]
- Green luckycloud certification[↩]
- Your Secure Cloud green certification[↩]
- EtherCalc on GitHub[↩]
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