MS365 vs LibreOffice: A Cost-Benefit Spreadsheet Template for IT Decision-Makers

Stop guessing: quantify MS365 vs LibreOffice for your org in minutes

IT teams are drowning in tool choices and pressure to cut costs without breaking productivity. The core question keeps coming back: do we keep Microsoft 365 for its collaboration and AI features, or switch to LibreOffice to save license fees? This article gives you a practical, datadriven approach — and a downloadable spreadsheet template — to quantify license costs, migration effort, productivity delta, and hidden operational costs so you can make a defensible decision.

Why this matters in 2026

Recent developments through late 2025 and early 2026 changed the calculus for many IT teams: Microsoft expanded Copilot features across M365 apps, enterprise licensing tiers saw granular AI add-ons, and open-source ecosystems (LibreOffice, Collabora, Nextcloud) matured their browserbased coauthoring. That means cost alone is no longer the only variable — productivity gains from AI and integrated collaboration can shift ROI materially.

"Tools should lower cognitive load, not add to it." — a line IT leaders quoted in 2025 when evaluating their stacks.

What this article gives you

• A downloadable, editable Cost-Benefit Spreadsheet Template (XLSX + Google Sheets) that models 3-year TCO, ROI, payback, and sensitivity scenarios for Microsoft 365 vs LibreOffice.
• Step-by-step guidance for populating the model with reliable inputs.
• Default values and 2026-informed assumptions you can adapt.
• Actionable recommendations and a migration readiness checklist.

How the spreadsheet model is structured

The template is built around four core buckets you must quantify:

1. Licensing & subscription costs — per-user price, add-ons (e.g., Copilot seats), enterprise agreements, and vendor support contracts (e.g., Collabora/LibreOffice support).
2. Migration effort — project hours, file conversion and macro porting, pilot and staged rollout, and third-party migration tools.
3. Productivity delta — net gain/loss in hours per user per month due to feature gaps or gains (coauthoring, AI-assisted drafting, macro support).
4. Hidden operational costs — admin overhead, helpdesk ticket delta, security/compliance adjustments, storage and backup, and vendor lock-in risk premiums.

Key model outputs

• 3-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for each option
• Net Present Value (NPV) and simple ROI versus baseline
• Payback period (months until cost savings cover migration)
• Sensitivity analysis — break-even productivity delta and license price points

Download the spreadsheet template

Download the model (XLSX and Google Sheets compatible): /downloads/ms365-vs-libreoffice-tco-template.xlsx

If you prefer a customized version for your environment (populated with sample pilot data or enterprise pricing), request a customization using the contact link at the bottom.

How to use the template — quickstart (10–30 minutes)

1. Open the template and navigate to the Inputs tab.
2. Fill in your headcount, average fully loaded hourly rate, and current annual M365 spend.
3. Set migration assumptions: conversion hours per 1,000 documents, macro porting hours per macro, pilot user count, contractor rates.
4. Estimate productivity delta: enter the expected change in hours per user per month for each persona (e.g., developers, HR, finance).
5. Adjust hidden cost items: expected change in helpdesk tickets/month, security/compliance remediation hours, cloud storage changes.
6. Review outputs on the TCO Summary tab. Run sensitivity sliders for productivity delta and license price.

Sample default assumptions (2026-informed)

Use these as starting points — we based them on observed pilot projects and market movements through late 2025:

• Average fully loaded IT staff hourly cost: $80/hr
• M365 E3 per-user list price (core seat) — enter your contract price; template includes a placeholder for Copilot add-on per-seat.
• LibreOffice desktop: $0 license but budget for support/subscription: $15–$40/user/year for commercial support (collaborator/third-party).
• Migration: 0.25–1.5 hours/document for basic conversion; macro porting 2–20 hours/macro depending on complexity.
• Helpdesk delta: migrating to LibreOffice may initially increase tickets by 5–20% for nontechnical users; include a 6–12 month rampdown.
• Productivity delta: conservative default = -0.25 to +0.5 hours/user/month (negative if LibreOffice reduces productivity due to collaboration gaps; positive if Microsoft Copilot delivers time savings).
• Discount rate for NPV: 5–8% (customizable).

Example scenarios — what the model reveals

Two brief, simplified scenarios from the template illustrate typical outcomes.

Scenario A: Small org (100 seats) seeking immediate license savings

• M365 annual per-user cost: $120
• LibreOffice support: $25/user/year
• Migration cost (one-time): $18,000
• Productivity delta: -0.1 hours/user/month (small loss from collaboration)

Result: 3-year TCO favors LibreOffice if ongoing license savings exceed migration and helpdesk costs. Payback often occurs within 9–18 months for small orgs when license fees are high and Copilot/AI add-ons are not in use.

Scenario B: Mid-size org (1,000 seats) with knowledge workers

• M365 including Copilot add-on: $240/user/year
• LibreOffice support: $30/user/year
• Migration cost (one-time): $220,000
• Productivity delta: +0.3 hours/user/month favoring M365 due to AI and integrated Teams workflows

Result: In this scenario the model shows M365 producing a positive ROI over 3 years despite higher licensing because the productivity gains from Copilot and collaborative features offset license savings. The break-even productivity delta and price sensitivity charts in the template make that tradeoff explicit.

Breaking down hidden operational costs

Hidden costs are where simple license comparisons fail. The spreadsheet includes granular line items so you can capture these effects:

• Admin and governance: policy configuration, DLP, retention, eDiscovery. M365 may reduce third-party tooling; LibreOffice requires alternate controls.
• Support volume: initial tickets, training sessions, knowledge base creation; measure tickets/month and $/ticket.
• Interoperability: time spent fixing formatting loss, emailing documents, or reverting to PDFs. Multiply expected weekly reworks by average hourly cost.
• Macro & workflow porting: VBA-heavy spreadsheets often need manual porting or replacement automation; estimate hours per macro and risk of functional loss.
• Security/compliance: certification, encryption, audit logs; extra effort if moving away from centralized Microsoft controls.
• Vendor support and upgrades: LibreOffice community updates vs. paid support — model annual support fees and SLA costs.

Measuring productivity delta — a practical method

Productivity impact is the most subjective input, yet it drives ROI. Here are practical ways to estimate it with minimal bias:

1. Run a 30–90 day pilot with representative users in small cohorts (finance, HR, devs). Track time spent on common tasks before and during pilot.
2. Use helpdesk metrics: compare ticket volumes and average resolution times for document/office-suite issues.
3. Measure rework time: count weekly instances where users had to fix formatting, lost track changes, or convert documents to preserve layout.
4. Quantify AI-enabled gains: if you plan to use Copilot or other AI features, estimate time saved per task (drafting emails, summarizing meetings) and validate in a pilot.
5. Use conservative estimates in the template and run sensitivity analysis — identify the productivity delta at which the decision flips.

Advanced strategies included in the template

• Scenario comparison — side-by-side 3-year TCO for up to four scenarios (e.g., full M365, M365 without Copilot, LibreOffice desktop + Collabora cloud, hybrid split by persona).
• Sensitivity sliders for productivity delta, license price, and migration hours so you can find the break-even points instantly.
• NPV and payback calculations using a customizable discount rate.
• Persona-based analysis so you can allocate different productivity deltas by role (devs vs. HR vs. finance).
• Risk buffer line items for data loss, legal review, or extended rollout delays.

Recommendations — which path to choose (practical rules of thumb)

Every organization is different. Use these pragmatic heuristics while you populate the model:

• If >40% of your users are knowledge workers who rely on real-time collaboration, Teams integrations, and AI-assisted drafting, M365 is more likely to justify its cost (especially with Copilot benefits realized).
• If your primary drivers are offline privacy, constrained budgets, or public sector open-source mandates, and your workflows are document-centric with few macros, LibreOffice can deliver fast savings.
• If you have extensive VBA macros or Office-integrated LineofBusiness apps, plan for significant migration engineering and include that cost explicitly — it often tilts the decision to keep M365.
• Consider hybrid approaches: keep M365 for knowledge worker seats and move task workers to LibreOffice. The template supports hybrid licensing mixes and shows seat-level ROI.

Migration readiness checklist (practical)

• Inventory: catalog files, macros, templates, and integrations. Prioritize by volume and criticality.
• Pilot: select crossfunctional users and measure baseline metrics (time per task, ticket volume).
• Training: budget for 6–12 months of training materials and live sessions for early adopters.
• Fallbacks: define rollback plans for mission-critical workflows that fail conversion.
• Security: map M365 controls to your new stack (DLP, retention)—document gaps and remediation hours.
• Governance: set policy owners, change management cadence, and success metrics (adoption, tickets, time saved).

Real-world example (condensed case study)

A European municipality piloted a LibreOffice migration in early 2025. They had 1,200 seats, low macro usage, and strict privacy requirements. Using a similar model to this template, they:

• Quantified a 3-year TCO reduction of ~35% after accounting for migration, training, and paid community support.
• Found initial helpdesk tickets rose 18% for 6 months, then dropped below baseline after internal champions and updated templates.
• Kept a small cohort of knowledge workers on Microsoft 365 for Teams and AI features — a hybrid approach that matched the model’s suggested break-even analysis.

That project illustrates the value of modeling both hard and soft costs before committing.

Limitations & assumptions you should be aware of

• Templates are as accurate as the inputs. Use pilot data where possible.
• AI value (Copilot) is still evolving; quantify observed gains in pilots and be conservative.
• Interoperability edge-cases (complex macros, proprietary file formats) create tail-risk. Model those separately if they exist in your environment.
• Pricing variability: enterprise agreements and negotiated discounts materially change outcomes — use your contract numbers not list prices.

Next steps — run the model and engage stakeholders

1. Download the template and populate it with your headcount and contract prices.
2. Run a 60-day pilot with representative users and feed measured productivity and ticket data back into the model.
3. Produce a 1-page executive summary from the TCO Summary tab showing payback, 3-year TCO delta, and recommended path (keep, switch, hybrid).
4. Use the sensitivity charts in stakeholder conversations to show the thresholds where the decision flips.

Final thoughts — balancing cost, productivity, and risk in 2026

In 2026 the decision between Microsoft 365 and LibreOffice is rarely binary. The modern evaluation must include AI productivity gains, collaboration tightness, privacy needs, and longtail migration costs. This spreadsheet template helps you convert those qualitative concerns into defensible numbers.

Actionable takeaway

Download the MS365 vs LibreOffice Cost-Benefit Spreadsheet Template, run a pilot, and use the model’s break-even analysis to present a data-driven recommendation to stakeholders. If you want a tailored version pre-filled with pilot metrics or enterprise pricing, reach out for a customized assessment.

Call to action

Ready to quantify your TCO? Download the template now: /downloads/ms365-vs-libreoffice-tco-template.xlsx. Want help running the pilot or customizing the model for your org? Contact our team to schedule a 1-hour workshop and get a pre-filled analysis for your environment.

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