# Alternatives to CryptPad

E2E encrypted collaborative documents.

CryptPad ranks #5 of 9 in Office suites, with an Alt Score of 82. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, open source with paid hosting from €5/month and available on the web. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cryptpad/
Category: Office suites

## Where CryptPad stands out

- **E2E encrypted option** — 2 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this
- **Self-hostable** — 4 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Teams, nonprofits, schools, and privacy-conscious individuals who need to create and collaborate on documents without exposing content to the hosting provider.
- **What you get**: A full office suite covering rich text, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, whiteboards, and code editors, all with real-time multi-user editing. Every document is encrypted client-side, so the server only ever stores ciphertext. Available as a hosted service (free tier plus paid plans) or as a self-hosted instance for full infrastructure control.
- **How it works**: Users create a document in the browser, where content is encrypted before it ever leaves the device, then share a link to invite collaborators, who can often join and edit without creating an account. Decryption happens only in participants' browsers, so the server and its operators cannot read document contents.

## Profile

- **License**: AGPL-3.0 (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: €5/month (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [OnlyOffice](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/onlyoffice.md) | 100 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 2 | [Collabora Online](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/collabora-online.md) | 86 | MPL-2.0 | Web, Android, iOS |
| 3 | [Microsoft 365](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/microsoft-365.md) | 86 | ? | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Apple iWork](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apple-iwork.md) | 82 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS, Web |
| 5 | [Google Workspace](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/google-workspace.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [LibreOffice](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/libreoffice.md) | 82 | MPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 7 | [WPS Office](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wps-office.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 8 | [Zoho Workplace](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zoho-workplace.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Office suites checklist | CryptPad | OnlyOffice | Collabora Online | Microsoft 365 | Apple iWork | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Freemium | Subscription |
| Starts at | €5/month | $1500 | €3/user/month (Business plan) | $9.99/month (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $12.99/month | $8.40/user/month (Business Starter, Flexible Plan; $7/user/month billed annually) |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 | ? | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Web, Android, iOS | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web | macOS, iOS, Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Word processor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spreadsheets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presentations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop apps (offline) | No | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| MS Office format fidelity | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| E2E encrypted option | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Free tier limits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDF export & editing | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for CryptPad. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: AGPL-3.0 — <https://github.com/cryptpad/cryptpad/blob/main/LICENSE> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 19 November 2007”
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://cryptpad.org/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “€5 to €100 /month”
- **Starts at**: €5/month — <https://cryptpad.org/pricing/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “€5 to €100 /month”
- **Platforms**: Web — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “No installations required. Access and edit your presentations from any device with a web browser.”
- **Status**: active — <https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/FAQ.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Frequently Asked Questions — CryptPad 2026.5.0 documentation”
- **Word processor**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/document/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “a privacy-first Microsoft Word and Google Docs alternative that allows you to create and collaborate in real time”
- **Spreadsheets**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/sheet/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “CryptPad Spreadsheet is the Google Sheets alternative for secure, end-to-end encrypted collaboration.”
- **Presentations**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Create and collaborate on slide decks in real time with full end-to-end encryption.”
- **Real-time collaboration**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/sheet/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Work simultaneously on the same spreadsheet with teammates, students, or partners, in an encrypted pad.”
- **Desktop apps (offline)**: No — <https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “No installations required. Access and edit your presentations from any device with a web browser.”
- **MS Office format fidelity**: Partial — <https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/apps/document.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “results may vary depending on the layout of the document”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/about/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “CryptPad is free software. Anyone can host the platform in a personal or professional capacity.”
- **E2E encrypted option**: Yes — <https://cryptpad.org/about/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “All data on CryptPad is encrypted in the browser. This means no readable data leaves the user's device.”
- **Free tier limits**: Yes — <https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/drive.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “When reaching the storage limit, you can still edit existing documents but you cannot create new ones.”
- **PDF export & editing**: Partial — <https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/apps/document.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “.bin, Word .docx, .odt, .pdf.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/