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.
Teams, nonprofits, schools, and privacy-conscious individuals who need to create and collaborate on documents without exposing content to the hosting provider.
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.
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.
Where CryptPad stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave CryptPad
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Office suites checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
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| Office suites checklist | CryptPad | OnlyOffice | Collabora Online | Microsoft 365 | Apple iWork | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
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| Word processor | ||||||
| Spreadsheets | ||||||
| Presentations | ||||||
| Real-time collaboration | ||||||
| Desktop apps (offline) | ||||||
| MS Office format fidelity | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| E2E encrypted option | ||||||
| Free tier limits | ||||||
| PDF export & editing |
Every fact and feature listed for CryptPad is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License AGPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-11
GNU AFFERO GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 19 November 2007
https://github.com/cryptpad/cryptpad/blob/main/LICENSE -
Pricing model OSS + paid hosting verified 2026-07-11
€5 to €100 /month
https://cryptpad.org/pricing/ -
Starts at €5/month verified 2026-07-11
€5 to €100 /month
https://cryptpad.org/pricing/ -
Platforms Web verified 2026-07-11
No installations required. Access and edit your presentations from any device with a web browser.
https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
Frequently Asked Questions — CryptPad 2026.5.0 documentation
https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/FAQ.html -
Word processor Yes verified 2026-07-11
a privacy-first Microsoft Word and Google Docs alternative that allows you to create and collaborate in real time
https://cryptpad.org/apps/document/ -
Spreadsheets Yes verified 2026-07-11
CryptPad Spreadsheet is the Google Sheets alternative for secure, end-to-end encrypted collaboration.
https://cryptpad.org/apps/sheet/ -
Presentations Yes verified 2026-07-11
Create and collaborate on slide decks in real time with full end-to-end encryption.
https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/ -
Real-time collaboration Yes verified 2026-07-11
Work simultaneously on the same spreadsheet with teammates, students, or partners, in an encrypted pad.
https://cryptpad.org/apps/sheet/ -
Desktop apps (offline) No verified 2026-07-11
No installations required. Access and edit your presentations from any device with a web browser.
https://cryptpad.org/apps/presentation/ -
MS Office format fidelity Partial verified 2026-07-11
results may vary depending on the layout of the document
https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/apps/document.html -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-11
CryptPad is free software. Anyone can host the platform in a personal or professional capacity.
https://cryptpad.org/about/ -
E2E encrypted option Yes verified 2026-07-11
All data on CryptPad is encrypted in the browser. This means no readable data leaves the user's device.
https://cryptpad.org/about/ -
Free tier limits Yes verified 2026-07-11
When reaching the storage limit, you can still edit existing documents but you cannot create new ones.
https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/drive.html -
PDF export & editing Partial verified 2026-07-11
.bin, Word .docx, .odt, .pdf.
https://docs.cryptpad.org/en/user_guide/apps/document.html
FAQ
Yes. Apple iWork, LibreOffice and WPS Office have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
OnlyOffice, Collabora Online and LibreOffice — every license claim links its source.