Collabora Online

Collabora Online
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Software
Founded	2015; 11 years ago
Founder	Collabora Productivity
Headquarters	Cambridge, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Collabora Online, Collabora Office, Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE)
Owner	Collabora Productivity
Website	www.collaboraoffice.com/collabora-online/

Collabora Online (abbreviated as COOL) is an open-source online office suite created by Collabora, built upon the foundation of LibreOffice Online. It facilitates simultaneous editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and vector graphics directly within a web browser. Users can optionally utilize apps that allow offline functionality on platforms such as Android, ChromeOS, iOS, iPadOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. The suite primarily supports the OpenDocument format and maintains compatibility with widely used file types, including those from Microsoft Office. Collabora serves as a commercial collaborator with The Document Foundation (TDF), which acknowledges that the majority of LibreOffice development contributions come from partners like Collabora.

Marketed as an economical, open-source substitute to proprietary solutions such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, Collabora Online can be hosted independently or accessed through third-party service providers. Its primary audience includes businesses and public sector organizations aiming for digital autonomy and reduced reliance on U.S.-based "big tech" corporations.

In addition, Collabora provides Collabora Office, a standalone desktop suite derived from LibreOffice. These two products are designed to complement each other, similar to how Microsoft Office relates to Microsoft 365.

The Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE) is a complimentary version intended for individual users, small groups, and developers. CODE offers early previews of new features and acts as a development environment for contributors to the open-source project. Since TDF does not offer a free LibreOffice Online variant, CODE remains the principal no-cost option for deploying LibreOffice in a collaborative web environment.

Applications

Collabora Online includes a variety of document editing tools accessible via web browsers and optional desktop or mobile applications:

Collabora Writer – A word processing tool based on LibreOffice Writer, comparable to Microsoft Word and Google Docs, supporting WYSIWYG editing, styles, comments, and track changes.
Collabora Calc – A spreadsheet editor derived from LibreOffice Calc, analogous to Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, featuring pivot tables, formula support, data validation, conditional formatting, advanced sorting and filtering options, chart creation, and compatibility with up to 16,000 columns. Partial support for VBA macros is provided.
Collabora Impress – A presentation software based on LibreOffice Impress, similar to Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides, offering master slides, transitions, speaker notes, and multimedia integration.
Collabora Draw – A vector graphic editor built upon LibreOffice Draw, comparable to Microsoft Visio and Google Drawings; its online drawing capabilities are embedded within Writer and Impress.

Features

Designed to operate in modern web browsers without requiring plug-ins, Collabora Online enables real-time collaborative editing across documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and vector graphics. Collaborative functionalities include commenting systems, version control with document comparison and restoration capabilities, as well as integration with communication tools such as chat or video conferencing—often facilitated through enterprise open-source cloud platforms like Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile, and EGroupware. Additionally, it can be embedded into various third-party software solutions.

Offline usage is supported through optional client applications available on Android, ChromeOS, iOS/iPadOS, Linux distributions, macOS, and Windows. These clients share the same LibreOffice-based core engine as the server version to guarantee consistent document compatibility across platforms. Mobile versions provide interfaces optimized for touch input and adaptable screen sizes while optionally integrating cloud storage services.

Collabora Online fully supports OpenDocument formats (ODF; .odt, .odp, .ods, .odg) compliant with ISO/IEC 26300 standards. It also offers compatibility with Microsoft Office formats including Office Open XML (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx) along with legacy binary formats (.doc, .ppt, .xls). Additional supported formats include PDF, PNG, CSV, TSV, RTF, EPUB; it can import files from Microsoft Visio, Publisher; Apple Keynote/Numbers/Pages; plus legacy Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Works documents.

The software’s core is developed in C++ utilizing LibreOfficeKit for document processing. Collabora Online functions by storing documents on the server while users interact through tile-rendered images; all edits are transmitted back to the server. The user interface is implemented in JavaScript. For file management and authentication with hosting services, it employs Microsoft's WOPI protocol ensuring interoperability with platforms supporting Microsoft 365 integration.

Server

The server module can be hosted internally or deployed through third-party enterprise open-source cloud solutions, allowing organizations to maintain control over their data and infrastructure. It is compatible with multiple Linux distributions and is also distributed as a Docker container. This server supports features such as editing documents directly within the browser, synchronizing files, and enabling real-time communication.

These cloud services provide capabilities similar to those found in Dropbox, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Zoom, including functionalities like file sharing, calendar management, email handling, contact organization, chat, and video conferencing. Collabora Online seamlessly integrates with these platforms and extends compatibility to other systems such as learning management tools and enterprise content management platforms via open APIs and a dedicated SDK.

Reception

Collabora Online has received recognition for its collaborative editing features and integration options. In December 2016, Softpedia highlighted the introduction of collaborative editing in version 2.0 along with its compatibility with ownCloud, Nextcloud, and other file-sharing services. By June 2020, ZDNET reported that Collabora Online was established as the default office suite in Nextcloud version 19, featuring the ability to edit documents directly within Nextcloud’s native video conferencing tool, Talk. The technology-focused blog OMG! Ubuntu! underscored the offline capabilities of Collabora’s applications on Android and iOS devices.

In September 2020, Linux Magazine conducted a comparison between Collabora Online and OnlyOffice, emphasizing both solutions' adaptability and cross-platform support while noting Collabora’s comprehensive feature set derived from LibreOffice.

Digital sovereignty

Thanks to its open-source framework and support for self-hosting, Collabora Online has become a prominent solution in the realm of digital sovereignty, enabling organizations to retain full control over their data. This aspect holds particular importance across Europe, where growing apprehension surrounds dependence on U.S.-based big tech corporations and data privacy concerns.

On 10 June 2025, Microsoft representatives appeared before the French Senate and acknowledged their inability to assure data sovereignty. They indicated that under the Cloud Act—legislation permitting U.S. authorities access to digital information managed by American technology firms regardless of server location—French and EU data might be subject to U.S. government scrutiny.

A 2020 briefing from the European Parliament underscored the vulnerabilities associated with reliance on dominant technology companies that harvest and utilize user data. Judicial decisions such as Schrems II have further emphasized these challenges. As a result, numerous European governmental bodies have implemented private cloud infrastructures incorporating Collabora Online and similar platforms to bolster data protection and uphold strict control over confidential information.

History

In September 2013, the LibreOffice development team previously employed by SUSE transitioned to Collabora, leading to the establishment of the subsidiary Collabora Productivity. By 2015, Collabora collaborated with IceWarp to launch an enterprise-grade iteration of LibreOffice Online, aiming to rival services like Google Docs and Office 365 (currently Microsoft 365). Later that year, in December 2015, Collabora joined forces with ownCloud to introduce CODE (Collabora Online Development Edition) via the Joinup portal.

The following year, November 2016 saw Nextcloud incorporate version 2.0 of CODE, emphasizing improvements in scalability, security, performance, and functionality alongside Collabora Online. By October 2020, Collabora shifted its Collabora Online development efforts from The Document Foundation’s infrastructure to GitHub, thereby establishing a distinct brand presence and facilitating more efficient project oversight.

The development release named Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE) continues to be accessible for on-premises deployment through virtual appliances, Docker containers, or Linux package installations.

External links

Official website