Docs by Suite Numerique vs LibreOffice Online
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Docs by Suite Numerique | LibreOffice Online |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 51 · Fair |
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,854 | ★ 654 |
| First released | 2024 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Docs | Microsoft 365, Google Docs |
What are Docs by Suite Numerique and LibreOffice Online?
Docs by Suite Numerique
Docs is an open-source collaborative document editor for teams to write and share rich-text documents. It supports real-time co-editing, comments, and a clean block-based writing experience.
- Block-based editor
- Real-time co-editing
- Inline comments
- Document sharing
LibreOffice Online
LibreOffice Online is the cloud-based document editing engine maintained by The Document Foundation, providing collaborative editing of text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It is the upstream that powers several integrations.
- Collaborative editing
- Documents, sheets, slides
- Open file formats
- Web-based access
Docs by Suite Numerique vs LibreOffice Online: key differences
Docs by Suite Numerique is written in Python, while LibreOffice Online is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Docs by Suite Numerique versus MPL-2.0 for LibreOffice Online. Docs by Suite Numerique is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for LibreOffice Online. LibreOffice Online is the more established project (first released 2015), while Docs by Suite Numerique arrived in 2024. Docs by Suite Numerique has the considerably larger community, at 16,854 GitHub stars versus 654.
Why pick each one
Choose Docs by Suite Numerique if…
- Real-time co-editing
- Clean block editor
- Government-backed development
Watch out for
- Requires OIDC provider
- Young project
Choose LibreOffice Online if…
- True open-source office
- Strong format support
Watch out for
- Heavy resource use
- Complex to deploy standalone
Frequently asked questions
Is Docs by Suite Numerique or LibreOffice Online better?
Docs by Suite Numerique is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider LibreOffice Online if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Docs by Suite Numerique and LibreOffice Online free and open-source?
Yes. Docs by Suite Numerique is licensed under MIT and LibreOffice Online under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Docs by Suite Numerique and LibreOffice Online with Docker?
Docs by Suite Numerique: yes. LibreOffice Online: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Docs by Suite Numerique or LibreOffice Online?
Docs by Suite Numerique has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for LibreOffice Online. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.