Collabora Online vs ONLYOFFICE Docs
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Collabora Online | ONLYOFFICE Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,347 | ★ 6,928 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Docs, Microsoft 365 | Google Docs, Microsoft 365 |
What are Collabora Online and ONLYOFFICE Docs?
Collabora Online
Collabora Online is an open-source, self-hosted online office suite built on LibreOffice technology. It enables collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations within file platforms.
- LibreOffice-based editing
- Real-time collaboration
- Wide format support
- Integrates with Nextcloud and more
ONLYOFFICE Docs
ONLYOFFICE Docs is an open-source office suite for collaborative editing of text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It can be self-hosted and integrated with file storage and DMS platforms.
- Real-time collaborative editing
- High Microsoft format fidelity
- Integrates with many DMS apps
- Documents, sheets, and slides
Collabora Online vs ONLYOFFICE Docs: key differences
Both projects are written in Shell. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Collabora Online versus AGPL-3.0 for ONLYOFFICE Docs. Collabora Online is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for ONLYOFFICE Docs. ONLYOFFICE Docs has the considerably larger community, at 6,928 GitHub stars versus 3,347.
Why pick each one
Choose Collabora Online if…
- Strong ODF support
- Mature LibreOffice engine
Watch out for
- Resource intensive
- Setup can be fiddly
Choose ONLYOFFICE Docs if…
- Excellent format compatibility
- Strong collaboration features
Watch out for
- Heavy resource requirements
- Complex to scale
Frequently asked questions
Is Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE Docs better?
Neither is universally better. ONLYOFFICE Docs has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Collabora Online and ONLYOFFICE Docs free and open-source?
Yes. Collabora Online is licensed under MPL-2.0 and ONLYOFFICE Docs under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Collabora Online and ONLYOFFICE Docs with Docker?
Collabora Online: yes. ONLYOFFICE Docs: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE Docs?
Collabora Online has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for ONLYOFFICE Docs. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.