How to Get Microsoft Office Running on Linux

As a Linux user, you may occasionally need to use Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. In the past, it was difficult or impossible to run Microsoft Office on Linux. But nowadays, there are several good options to get Office apps working on a Linux operating system.

In this comprehensive guide, I will walk you through the best methods for installing Microsoft Office on Linux, including:

1. Using the Microsoft Office web apps
2. Installing Office 365 in a virtual machine
3. Running Microsoft Office with Wine/CrossOver

I‘ve tested all these methods personally on Ubuntu 20.04. The instructions should work for any Debian-based distro like Linux Mint, Elementary OS and Pop!_OS.

1. Use the Microsoft Office Web Apps

The easiest way to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on Linux is to just use the free Microsoft Office web apps available at Office.com.

The Office web apps allow you to:

• Create, view and edit Word documents
• Make Excel spreadsheets
• Build PowerPoint presentations
• Access Outlook email and calendars

Inside your web browser, the Office web apps provide a surprisingly full-featured Office suite experience. And they can handle most everyday office tasks like writing documents and making simple spreadsheets.

The benefits of the Office web apps include:

• Totally free – Anyone can use them without an Office license
• Cross-platform – Work on any device and operating system with a browser
• Latest files – Documents sync and save to your Microsoft OneDrive account
• Real-time collaboration – Simultaneously co-author docs with other users

Here‘s a quick example of using the Word web app on Linux:

The main downside of the web apps is they lack some advanced features only available in the desktop Office suite programs. But for most basic office work, the free Office web apps are a great solution for Linux users.

2. Install Office 365 in a Virtual Machine

If you need the full desktop Office suite with access to all advanced features, the best way is to install Office 365 in a Windows virtual machine.

A virtual machine (VM) allows you to run a full Windows operating system virtually inside your Linux distro. Software like VirtualBox or VMware Workstation make it easy to set up a Windows VM.

Once Windows is virtually installed, you can then install the real Microsoft Office desktop programs just like in Windows. This provides you the complete Office experience with 100% feature compatibility.

Here are steps to install Office 365 in a Windows 10 VM on Linux:

1. Download and install VirtualBox on your Linux distro
2. In VirtualBox, create a new Windows 10 virtual machine
3. Mount your Office 365 installer ISO file to the VM
4. Go through the Office 365 setup process in Windows 10
5. Launch Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc from the Windows start menu

Running Office 365 only in the VM environment allows you to keep your host Linux system clean. You can access your Office documents and files from both your Linux file system and inside Windows.

And thanks to shared folders, you can seamlessly open and edit Office documents stored on your Linux user accounts.

The main downsides of using Office 365 in a VM are:

• Requires more system resources to run two OSes
• Office 365 license is needed for full versions
• Switching between Linux and the VM has minor lag

But if you absolutely require the full Microsoft Office desktop suite, a Windows VM is currently the best solution.

3. Install Microsoft Office with Wine or CrossOver

An alternative to using a virtual machine is to leverage Wine or CrossOver to natively run Office apps on Linux.

Wine and CrossOver use Windows API compatibility layers to translate Office‘s system calls to Linux. This allows most Office features to work directly in your Linux desktop environment.

Installing Microsoft Office with Wine

Wine is an open source implementation of the Windows API compatibility layer. The main steps for installing Office 2013/2016 with Wine are:

1. Install Wine on your Linux distro
2. Download the Microsoft Office 2013 or 2016 installer executable
3. Right click the installer -> Open With Wine Windows Program Loader
4. Walk through the normal Office setup wizard in Wine

Once installed via Wine, you can launch the full Office desktop programs directly from your Linux app menu.

Wine is completely free to use. But getting Office configured properly requires adjusting Wine settings and installing some Windows libraries. So the setup process can be tricky with lots of trial and error.

Overall though, Office 2013 and 2016 tend to work pretty well in Wine once configured. Just be prepared for some tweaking to work out any compatibility issues.

Installing Microsoft Office with CrossOver

CrossOver is a commercial version of Wine designed specifically for easily running Windows apps on Linux and macOS.

The key advantages of CrossOver over regular Wine include:

• Easier setup wizards tailored for Office
• Extra Wine configurations tuned for Office compatibility
• Enhanced graphics and font support
• Integrated Bottle management of Windows environments
• Official support staff to help resolve issues

Here‘s a quick overview of installing Office 365 on Linux using CrossOver:

1. Install CrossOver on your Linux distro
2. Open the CrossTie install wizard in CrossOver
3. Walk through their specialized steps for Office 365
4. Microsoft Office apps then launch directly on Linux

In my experience, Office setup tends to work more smoothly with fewer glitches using CrossOver versus standard Wine. You still get native Office desktop apps on Linux. But the improved compatibility makes it less likely for random Office features to break.

The main downside is CrossOver is a paid software priced at $39.95 per year (or $59.95 one-time purchase). So it‘s not free like regular Wine. But for easier Office 365 setup and usage, CrossOver may be worth the cost.

They also offer a free 14-day trial to test it out.

Which Method is Best for You?

There is no single best solution for everyone to use Microsoft Office on Linux. It mainly depends on your specific Office usage requirements and any compatibility needs.

The Office web apps are the easiest method that works fairly well for basic document editing. This free browser-based option handles most simpler Office tasks.

Using Office 365 in a Windows VM provides the full, true desktop Office experience identical to Windows. But it requires more system resources to run the VM.

Installing Office natively with Wine or CrossOver is nice since it avoids a VM. If you get it configured properly, Office 2013/2016 integrate directly into Linux. But Wine can involve troubleshooting compatibility issues during/after install.

Personally, my recommendation is first trying the free Office web apps to see if they meet your needs. I rely on the Office apps in Edge/Chrome/Firefox for 75% of my document tasks using Linux.

For the other 25% of times I need the complete Office desktop programs, I use Office 365 installed in a Windows 10 VM via VirtualBox. This handles the advanced Office features the web apps lack.

Plus with shared folder access between the host Linux system and VM, my Office documents seamlessly sync both places. So I get the best of both worlds!

I hope this guide has shown you all your options to leverage Microsoft Office apps while running Linux. Let me know if you have any other questions!