Collabora Office on Windows without paying Microsoft

Installation & Configuration
1

Hello.

I have just started looking at the offline versions of Collabora Office.
For Windows, Android and Linux.

On Android and Linux, I have no issues.
But for Wondows it seems as if the only way to install is through the Microsoft store.
Is this really true?
I can pay 119 DKK and be granted a license for 10 machines,
But I am doing this to be able to leave Microsoft 365.
So this seems kind of counter productive :slight_smile:

Best regards
Benny

2

Hey Benny!

You’re pretty spot on — and I totally get why that feels weird if you’re trying to move away from Microsoft 365!

Right now, for Windows, the officially offered Collabora Office (the standalone offline version, not CODE server) is mainly distributed through the Microsoft Store.
The price you see (around 119 DKK / ~15-16 EUR) is their small license fee, mostly to cover packaging and distribution costs on Windows.
This “Store version” model gives you updates and installation via the standard Windows system without needing complex setups.

There isn’t (currently) a freely downloadable .msi or .exe installer directly from Collabora for Windows on their public website.
On Linux and Android (like you noticed), you can just grab it freely from their repositories (Flatpak, APK, etc).

Why they do it this way:

  • They keep the business versions (like Collabora Office Professional) and mass deployments for enterprises behind a more traditional licensing model.
  • For regular users, Windows Store is the easiest way they found to offer updates, while covering a bit of maintenance cost.

thanks
Darshan