Author replaces four Microsoft subscriptions with free alternatives

7 articles · Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · May 8

The swaps were Microsoft 365, the Office suite, OneDrive and Outlook, replaced by Obsidian, LibreOffice, Nextcloud and Mailspring.
The author said the change cut recurring costs and improved control over files and email, though Nextcloud required a weekend setup and LibreOffice can misrender heavily formatted Office documents.
The report said Microsoft may still suit users needing real-time collaboration, SharePoint or Teams, while the alternative stack better fits personal writing, storage and email workflows.

Can free, self-hosted software truly replace pricey subscriptions without creating more problems than it solves?

Is the 'local-first' movement a niche trend, or the beginning of the end for cloud-based software subscriptions?

Is your personal data actually safer on a home server you manage, or with a tech giant's security team?