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Etherpad vs Microsoft 365: catalog facts
Etherpad	Microsoft 365
Free Free and open source under the Apache licence. Hosting is separate.	Freemium Free web versions are available. Desktop apps require a paid subscription.
Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Web
Authorship colouring and a timeslider through the entire edit history Very light to run, with a large plugin ecosystem	The reference implementation of the formats everyone else has to match Desktop, web and mobile apps with real-time co-authoring
Plain text with minimal formatting; it is not a word processor Plugin quality varies and some conflict	Subscription pricing, with the desktop apps behind it Closed source, and heavily tied to a Microsoft account
Self-hosted, Web application	Downloadable app, Hosted service
Open source	Closed source
License: Apache-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.