Microsoft 365 alternatives: where to go and how to switch without losing an email
Six destinations in detail, one for each reason to leave, plus an eight-step migration plan.
The short answer: Google Workspace if you want a full suite and the most complete migration tooling, Zoho Workplace if price comes first ($3 per user per month, billed annually), Proton Workspace if your email has to stay private, kSuite by Infomaniak if you want everything hosted in Switzerland, ONLYOFFICE DocSpace if you mostly edit Word and Excel files with clients, and Nextcloud if you'd rather host it yourself. One thing to know before you choose: mail, contacts and calendars move between suites without much trouble. Teams chats, SharePoint sites, Excel macros and Outlook delegate access each need their own plan. We compared these six destinations and their import tools in 2026.
Our ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why so many teams are shopping around in 2026
Microsoft 365 is still the default office suite. Nothing beats Excel on a heavy workbook, and almost every line-of-business app knows how to talk to Outlook. Nobody leaves because Word got worse. People leave over the bill, the licensing maze, and more and more over who can get at their data. Here are six reasons, all checked in 2026.
Up to 17% more at renewal
Microsoft raised its US business prices in mid-2026. Business Basic went from $6 to $7 per user per month (+17%), Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 (+12%). Business Premium stayed at $22. On the enterprise side, Office 365 E3 moved from $23 to $26, Microsoft 365 E3 from $36 to $39 and E5 from $56 to $60. For a 10-person team on Standard, that's $140 a month, $1,680 a year. Existing customers keep the old price until their first renewal after the change, and not a day longer.
Copilot is the excuse
In return, the plans now include Copilot Chat, an extra 50 GB of mailbox on Business plans, and link checking at the moment you click. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot, the one that works inside your documents and inbox, is still a paid add-on: Business Standard with Copilot runs $23.50 per user per month, against $14 without it. If your team doesn't use Microsoft's AI, you're paying more for a feature nobody asked for.
Licensing nobody can explain
Business, Enterprise, Frontline, plans with or without Teams (unbundled in Europe since 2023, then for large customers worldwide), Copilot add-ons, resellers that apply price changes on their own schedule. On Microsoft's own partner feedback portal, the complaint is blunt: licensing is too confusing. Admin is split between the Microsoft 365 admin center and Entra, which hurts in a small shop with no IT person.
Data access and the CLOUD Act
In 2025, Microsoft France's head of legal told the French Senate he could not guarantee that European customer data would never be handed to US authorities if a US court required it. Microsoft points to its EU Data Boundary, but the admission stuck. If you sell to European public bodies, law firms or healthcare clients, that question will come up in procurement.
Support that's hard to reach
Public reviews of Microsoft 365 email are harsh: 1.2 out of 5 across 82 Trustpilot reviews, 89% of them one star (Microsoft doesn't invite customers to review, which skews things low). The complaints repeat: "half an hour of phone prompts and an AI gatekeeper", and "Cancelled subscription. Still charged me next month." If you leave, check the next statement.
What holds you back isn't Word
The real blockers sit elsewhere: VBA macros and big Excel models, shared calendars and Outlook delegates, Teams for meetings and channels, SharePoint for team folders, and above all the line-of-business apps wired into Exchange. Law, accounting and medical practices often stay on Outlook for that reason alone. List those dependencies before you shop. They decide your destination, not the word processor.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Microsoft 365 alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually one card fits. Each one jumps to the full write-up below.
Exchange and OneDrive import built into the admin console. Business Starter at $7.
Price per seat matters mostZoho WorkplaceStandard at $3 per user per month billed annually, with mail, calendar and docs.
Your email has to stay privateProton WorkspaceEncrypted mail, calendar, Drive and docs. Standard at $12.99 billed annually.
You want your data hosted in EuropekSuiteMail, calendars and files hosted in Switzerland. Business at CHF 3.67 in year one.
You mostly work on Office files with clientsONLYOFFICE DocSpaceDocument rooms that keep Word and Excel layouts, unlimited guests on Business.
You'd rather run it on your own serverNextcloudOpen source and free to self-host. Enterprise plans start at 100 users.
Microsoft 365 alternatives, one by one
For each tool: why you'd move there, who it's for, its catch, how to migrate from Microsoft 365, and what it costs. The first four replace the whole suite (mail, calendar, files, documents). The last two are building blocks: they replace documents and storage, not Outlook. Prices are 2026 list prices, before tax, in the vendor's currency.
Google Workspace: the best-equipped way out
Full suiteWhy move to Google Workspace. It's the best-equipped destination for leaving Microsoft. The data migration service in the Admin console pulls mail from Exchange Online and files from OneDrive for Business into My Drive, with nothing to install. In 2026 Google added a beta that imports up to 10 Microsoft users automatically at sign-up, once your domain is verified. For a small team, that's the shortest exit there is.
Who it's for. Teams that already live in the browser, co-edit documents all day, and want one admin console for everything.
Who it's not for. A finance team that lives in Excel. Sheets doesn't replace every workbook, Slides won't take your custom fonts, and one user who moved a nonprofit to Google called its sharing permissions "a nightmare". Keep a few Microsoft licenses for those seats instead of forcing everyone across.
The catch. Google Workspace Migrate, the old tool for large projects, stops accepting Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive as sources at the end of 2026, so the Admin console's migration service takes over. You'll use that data import tool, or GWMME (a small Windows app) if you need more control. SharePoint sites have no direct equivalent.
How to migrate. Verify your domain, create accounts (or let the auto-import handle up to 10 people), run mail, calendar and contacts from the console, then OneDrive as a separate job. Switch MX records last, then run a final pass for stragglers.
Price. Business Starter $7 per user per month billed annually, Business Standard $14, Business Plus $22. At the Standard tier, Google and Microsoft now cost exactly the same, so the decision comes down to habits, not price.
- Price
- Starter $7 (annual)
- Migration
- Exchange mail and OneDrive from the console
- Best for
- teams that share everything
- Catch
- heavy Excel and SharePoint
Zoho Workplace: the cheapest full suite
CheapestWhy move to Zoho Workplace. Price. Zoho Workplace Standard is $3 per user per month billed annually, with Zoho Mail, calendar, WorkDrive storage, and editors for documents, spreadsheets and slides. Professional is $6. At 10 users, that's $30 a month versus $140 for Microsoft Business Standard. It's the cheapest complete stack you'll find.
Who it's for. Small businesses that mostly need mail and calendar plus some documents, and teams already running Zoho CRM or Zoho Books who want everything under one roof.
Who it's not for. People who are deeply attached to Outlook and Excel and will feel the interface change as a loss. Zoho takes some getting used to.
The catch. Moving OneDrive files to WorkDrive isn't supported for OneDrive for Business (Plan 1), or for Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal and Family. If that's you, files get downloaded and re-uploaded by hand or with a third-party tool.
How to migrate. Zoho Mail's migration tool brings over mail, calendars and contacts from Microsoft 365 or Exchange. Its real strength is coexistence: you can run Microsoft and Zoho on the same domain during the transition (routing, MX, SPF, DKIM) and move people in small groups instead of in one weekend.
Price. Standard $3, Professional $6 per user per month billed annually; $4 and $7 month to month.
- Price
- Standard $3, Professional $6 (annual)
- Migration
- mail, calendars, contacts, coexistence
- Best for
- tight budgets
- Catch
- OneDrive Plan 1 and Basic not migrated
Proton Workspace: when privacy comes first
EncryptedWhy move to Proton Workspace. Proton launched a business suite in 2026 that bundles Mail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, a VPN and a password manager. Encryption is the product, not an add-on. For a law firm, a therapist, a newsroom or an HR team, it's the alternative that best answers "who can read my email?"
Who it's for. Small teams handling sensitive data that want a single subscription, password manager and VPN included.
Who it's not for. Teams that build lots of slide decks or complex spreadsheets: Proton's editors are young. Encryption also costs some convenience, for example when you want to plug third-party tools into the mailbox.
The catch. The importer has limits: one migration at a time per account, a maximum of 20 calendars per account, and Outlook contacts that go through a CSV or vCard file and lose their photos. On an organization account, your Microsoft admin may have to approve the app before the import can start.
How to migrate. Easy Switch, Proton's import assistant, pulls mail, calendars and contacts from Outlook. Give your Microsoft admin a heads-up, migrate mailboxes one at a time, and leave contacts for last.
Price. Workspace Standard $12.99 per user per month billed annually ($14.99 monthly), Premium $19.99 ($24.99). If you only need files and documents, Drive Professional is $7.99.
- Price
- Standard $12.99 (annual)
- Strength
- end-to-end encryption
- Migration
- Easy Switch, one mailbox at a time
- Catch
- 20 calendars max per account
kSuite: your mail and files hosted in Switzerland
Swiss hostingWhy move to kSuite. Infomaniak hosts mail, calendars, contacts, kDrive files and documents in Switzerland. It's less known in the US, but it's a strong pick if you work with European clients who ask where their data lives. kSuite Pro Business costs CHF 7.34 per user per month, and CHF 3.67 in year one on an annual plan.
Who it's for. Small businesses, practices and nonprofits that want out of the US giants without giving up mail, calendar and storage. A case study published by an Infomaniak integration partner (client name withheld) describes a 50-person company that moved from Microsoft 365 to kSuite in three weeks and cut its bill from €11.20 to €5.87 per user per month. It's a promotional story, but the problems it lists are useful (see the migration steps).
Who it's not for. Teams that live in Teams and third-party integrations. kSuite has few of them, and in that case study, missing Teams was the first pain point.
The catch. Shared calendars with Outlook delegates don't carry over as they are: you rebuild them over CalDAV. Any business app that sent mail through Exchange has to be switched to SMTP.
How to migrate. Infomaniak has an online IMAP import tool. Classic trap: POP, IMAP and SMTP are off by default in Microsoft 365, so turn them on in the admin center first. Duplicates are copied only once, so you can rerun the import after the MX switch. For larger moves, Infomaniak sells a done-for-you migration service.
Price. my kSuite free for personal use; kSuite Pro Standard CHF 1.76 per user per month; Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 in year one, annual); Enterprise CHF 13.83 (CHF 6.92 in year one).
- Price
- Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 year one)
- Data
- hosted in Switzerland
- Migration
- IMAP import, enable it in Microsoft
- Catch
- few integrations, no Teams
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace: Word and Excel files, without Microsoft
DocumentsWhy move to ONLYOFFICE DocSpace. If what you really need is to open, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint files without breaking the layout, ONLYOFFICE is the most faithful editor to the Office formats. DocSpace organizes work in rooms, one per client or project, with guests who don't need a license.
Who it's for. Agencies, consultancies and engineering firms that trade a lot of documents with outsiders and want to keep .docx and .xlsx.
Who it's not for. Anyone after a full suite. DocSpace has no mail and no calendar. It replaces Word, Excel, OneDrive and part of SharePoint, not Outlook, so pair it with an email host such as Zoho Mail or kSuite.
The catch. Billing is per admin, not per user. That's a bargain when a few people manage the rooms, less so when everyone needs to create them.
How to migrate. There's no automatic OneDrive import. You download your folders and drop them into rooms. Use the move to clean up: most OneDrives hold years of duplicates.
Price. Startup is free for up to 3 admins. Business is $20 per admin per month, with unlimited users and guests and 250 GB per admin.
- Free
- Startup, 3 admins
- Paid
- Business $20 per admin
- Best for
- docs shared with clients
- Catch
- no mail or calendar
Nextcloud: run it yourself, like a German state did
Self-hostedWhy move to Nextcloud. Nextcloud is open-source file sync and collaboration software you install on your own server or with a host you pick. Paired with Collabora Online (Nextcloud Office, with a free basic edition), it replaces OneDrive and SharePoint with in-browser document editing. It's what public bodies leaving Microsoft reach for: the German state of Schleswig-Holstein is swapping SharePoint for Nextcloud, after moving about 40,000 mailboxes from Exchange to Open-Xchange and Thunderbird, and nearly 80% of its desks to LibreOffice by the end of 2025.
Who it's for. Organizations with an IT person or a managed service provider, and anyone who wants full control over hosting.
Who it's not for. A five-person shop with nobody to run updates. An unmaintained Nextcloud turns into a security problem fast.
The catch. Like ONLYOFFICE, it isn't an email service. You'll need mail on the side, and the whole setup takes more work than a hosted suite.
How to migrate. For files, the Nextcloud desktop sync client on each machine does most of the job: copy the OneDrive folder into the Nextcloud folder. Design a clean folder structure first instead of copying SharePoint's mess.
Price. Free to self-host. Nextcloud Enterprise, from 100 users: €71.29 per user per year on Standard, €104.99 on Premium, €204.75 on Ultimate.
- Price
- free; Enterprise €71.29 per user/yr, 100+ users
- Hosting
- your server or your host
- Best for
- teams with IT support
- Catch
- no mail, upkeep required
Microsoft 365 and its 6 alternatives, compared
Our default pick: Google Workspace for the smoothest exit, Zoho Workplace if every dollar counts, Proton Workspace if privacy is non-negotiable. For a sense of scale, take 10 users on annual billing: Microsoft Business Standard is $140 a month, Business Basic $70, Google Business Starter $70, Google Business Standard $140, Zoho Workplace Standard $30, Proton Workspace Standard $129.90, kSuite Business CHF 73.40 (CHF 36.70 in year one). The table gives one row per tool: entry price on the left, what moves over from Microsoft 365 on the right.
| Entry price (annual, before tax) | From Microsoft 365: what moves | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365Starting point | Basic $7, Standard $14, Premium $22 per user | Old price kept until your first renewal |
| Google WorkspaceFull suite | Starter $7, Standard $14 | Exchange mail and OneDrive from the console; GWMME for more control |
| Zoho WorkplaceCheapest | Standard $3 ($4 monthly) | Mail, calendars, contacts; coexistence on one domain; OneDrive Plan 1 not supported |
| Proton WorkspaceEncrypted | Standard $12.99 ($14.99 monthly) | Easy Switch: mail, calendars, contacts; 20 calendars max, one job at a time |
| kSuiteSwiss hosting | Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 year one) | IMAP import, enable it in Microsoft; delegates rebuilt over CalDAV |
| ONLYOFFICE DocSpaceDocuments | Startup free; Business $20 per admin | No mail; OneDrive files dropped into rooms |
| NextcloudSelf-hosted | Free; Enterprise €71.29 per user per year, 100+ users | No mail; files copied by the sync client |
Prices before tax, in the vendor's currency, subject to change. Always check against your own seat count.
Leaving Microsoft 365 in eight steps
Order matters. Most failed migrations fail on timing or on something nobody listed, not on the tech. Each step protects something: your budget, your mail, your calendars, or your team's patience.
Find your renewal date
FirstOpen the admin center, go to Billing, and write down the end date of every subscription. The 2026 increase hits at that point: until you renew, you pay the old price. If you buy through a reseller or a cloud solution provider, ask for their schedule, since each one applies the change on its own date.
Give yourself three to six weeks of project time before that date. If it's too tight, renew month to month rather than for a year. It costs more per month, but it doesn't lock you in for another twelve.
- Where
- admin center, Billing
- Trap
- annual term auto-renewed
Map everything that depends on Microsoft
Week 1List mailboxes, aliases, distribution lists, shared mailboxes, shared calendars and delegates, and meeting rooms. Add Teams teams, SharePoint sites, macro-driven Excel files, and above all every app or device that sends mail through Exchange: the ERP, the point-of-sale system, the copier that scans to email.
That sheet picks your destination. A company that finds three business apps wired into Exchange the night before cutover loses a week.
- Time
- half a day to two days
- If you skip it
- a silent business app
Open your critical files in the new suite
Week 1Take your five most important files: the big tracking workbook, the quote template, the macro-driven model, the sales deck. Open them in the destination's editor during the trial. VBA macros don't run reliably in Google Sheets or LibreOffice, and complex layouts can shift.
If a file breaks, you have two options: rebuild it, or keep a Microsoft license for whoever needs it. Mixing is common, and often the sensible call.
- Check
- macros, layouts, fonts
- Fallback
- a few Microsoft seats
Set up the destination without touching MX
Week 2Verify your domain with the new provider, create accounts, aliases and groups, but leave your MX records alone: mail keeps landing in Microsoft. Depending on the destination, enable IMAP and POP in Microsoft (kSuite), get your Microsoft admin to approve the import app (Proton), or set up coexistence (Zoho).
- Don't
- switch MX too early
- You need
- a Microsoft admin account
Copy mail, calendars and contacts
Week 2Run the destination's import tool on one or two pilot accounts first, then on everyone. Start big jobs at the end of the week: in the 50-person kSuite case published by an Infomaniak integrator, the mail copy ran over a single weekend, about 48 hours.
Then check shared calendars and delegate access. They're what breaks most often. Rebuild them by hand before cutover if needed.
- Order
- pilot accounts, then everyone
- Weak spot
- shared calendars
Handle Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive separately
Weeks 2 to 3No tool moves Teams and SharePoint as a turnkey job. SharePoint files get downloaded and re-uploaded into the new folder structure; Teams chats are exported separately, before you cancel. Our Microsoft Teams alternatives page covers the export and the chat and video tools that replace it.
OneDrive goes through the destination's importer when there is one (Google), otherwise by download. Use the step to delete duplicates.
- Teams
- export before you cancel
- SharePoint
- files re-uploaded
Switch MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC
D-dayOn a Friday evening, point MX to the new provider, update SPF, turn on DKIM and check DMARC. A few messages will still land in Microsoft while DNS propagates, so run one more import pass on Monday. Send yourself a message from an outside address and make sure it arrives.
- When
- end of the week
- After
- a second import pass
Reconfigure, train, then cancel
Week 4Switch the apps that sent mail through Exchange to SMTP, update signatures and phones. Budget an hour of hands-on time per team: in the kSuite case, 82% of staff rated the new setup as good or better afterward, but people missed Teams for a long time.
Keep Microsoft read-only for a month, then cancel, and check the next statement to make sure the charges actually stopped.
- Keep Microsoft
- one month, read-only
- Last check
- the next statement
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Microsoft 365 exit go wrong
The same mistakes show up again and again in reports from small businesses, public bodies and nonprofits. None is fatal on its own. Stacked together, they turn a three-week move into a three-month one.
Missing the renewal date
An annual term that auto-renews means twelve more months at the new price. For 10 users on Business Standard, that's $1,680. Note the date on day one, and push the project back if you can't finish in time.
Forgetting apps wired into Exchange
The ERP that sends invoices, the point-of-sale system, the copier that scans to email: they all stop sending on cutover day. Each one has to move to SMTP with the new provider. Put them in the inventory, and test them before you cancel.
Assuming delegates come along
Shared calendars and assistant access (an office manager running a partner's calendar) don't travel with import tools. Rebuild them by hand, over CalDAV with kSuite. Budget an hour per person who relies on them.
Underestimating Teams
Swapping the word processor is painless. Teams isn't: meetings, channels, team files. If nobody picked the chat and video tool before cutover, the team spins up a group chat on their phones within a day. Our Slack alternatives page also compares team chat tools.
Forcing everyone off Excel
Two or three people usually have real Excel needs (macros, big financial models). Keeping them on a Microsoft license costs less than rebuilding their files. Microsoft 365 Apps for business, desktop apps only, is the cheaper way to do it.
Canceling without checking the bill
Several users report being charged the month after canceling. Screenshot the confirmation and check the next statement. For file storage, compare with our Google Drive alternatives and Dropbox alternatives, and for the full market, our ranking of the best office suites.
- Renewal date written down for every subscription
- Mailboxes, aliases, shared calendars, delegates and rooms listed
- Apps and devices that send through Exchange identified
- Five critical files opened in the new suite
- Accounts and aliases created, MX untouched
- IMAP enabled or import app approved, depending on destination
- Mail, calendars and contacts copied for pilots, then for everyone
- Teams chats and SharePoint files exported
- MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC switched, second import pass done
- Microsoft kept for a month, cancellation and next bill checked
Microsoft 365 alternatives: common questions
What is the best free alternative to Microsoft 365?
For documents alone, LibreOffice: free, open source and installed on your machine, but weak with VBA macros and big Excel models. For working together online, ONLYOFFICE DocSpace has a free Startup plan for up to 3 admins, and Collabora Online has a free basic edition. A free full suite for a business doesn't really exist. If you're a nonprofit, ask for a non-profit plan before paying list price anywhere.
How much does Microsoft 365 Business cost in 2026?
In the US, billed annually: Business Basic $7 per user per month, Business Standard $14, Business Premium $22. With Copilot bundled, Business Standard is $23.50 and Business Premium $32. Month-to-month billing costs more. Existing customers keep the old price until their first renewal after the increase.
Is Google Workspace cheaper than Microsoft 365?
Not anymore at the main tiers. After the 2026 increase, both start at $7 and both charge $14 for their Standard plan, billed annually. Google is ahead on migration tooling, Microsoft on Excel and desktop apps. Our Google Workspace alternatives page covers the move in the other direction.
Can I keep Excel and Word without paying for the whole suite?
Yes. Microsoft 365 Apps for business gives you the desktop apps without Exchange or Teams. It's the right setup for the two or three people who truly need Excel while the rest of the team moves to another suite.
How do I avoid the Copilot price increase on Microsoft 365 Personal or Family?
Microsoft added Copilot to Personal and Family in 2025 with a price increase, but still offers "Classic" plans without Copilot and without the increase. They mostly show up when you start the cancellation flow. In Australia, the regulator sued Microsoft for hiding that option from about 2.7 million subscribers, and Microsoft offered to refund the difference there.
How long does a migration away from Microsoft 365 take?
For a 50-person company, plan on roughly three weeks, including one weekend to copy mail. A team under 10 can go faster, especially to Google, which auto-imports up to 10 Microsoft users. Shared calendars, Teams and business apps stretch the timeline, not mailbox size.
Is my data safe from US government access with Microsoft?
Not fully. Microsoft keeps European customer data in the EU, but its head of legal in France admitted in 2025 that a US court order would force it to hand data over. If that's a risk for your clients, pick a provider hosted and owned outside the US, such as kSuite or a Nextcloud with a European host.
Is there an open-source alternative to Microsoft 365?
Yes, as building blocks rather than a single product. Nextcloud covers files and sharing, Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE handle documents in the browser, LibreOffice runs on the desktop, and Open-Xchange with Thunderbird handles mail. That's the stack Schleswig-Holstein chose, but it needs IT people to run it.
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