A free, private alternative to google docs?

[dietcokeorchoke]

Or even just one that only costs a few bucks.  I really value the seamless switch from PC to mobile, but I haven't found a program that works as well. Evernote was okay, but it felt so clunky and not intuitive to me at all the way docs felt very straightforward. What do you use, if any, or know about in general?

[larvapuppy]

If you have a protonmail email account it comes with a similar "drive" to Google Drive, which includes built in online word processing. It works well on desktop but not sure about mobile. Proton is a privacy-focused email service owned by a nonprofit org rather than a corporation; it might suit your needs.

[dietcokeorchoke]

If you have a protonmail email account it comes with a similar "drive" to Google Drive, which includes built in online word processing. It works well on desktop but not sure about mobile. Proton is a privacy-focused email service owned by a nonprofit org rather than a corporation; it might suit your needs.

thanks! i'll check that out, I've already heard about protonmail through a friend but knowing they have something similar to google docs really seals the deal lol

[sokil]

in addition to proton drive, i also highly recommend checking out cryptpad! it's free to use and even offers some limited functionality as a guest; you can view the pricing plan here to see the difference between guest/free user/subscriber. i've heard it can be clunky on mobile, though, so proton drive might be the better option for what you need!

[Yoylecake420]

I use Ellipsus for writing fanfiction and stuff, and it's a great alternative to google docs. They also have different themes (I'm using the dark pride one)

[Loebas]

I use nextcloud for my documents need. They have a plugin so you can edit documents inside your browser, just like office 365/google docs.

I selfhost my instance, but there are also other instances you can join. So selfhosting is not a requirement, but the instance owner must have installed the plugin though.

[TheFrugalGamer]

I use nextcloud for my documents need. They have a plugin so you can edit documents inside your browser, just like office 365/google docs.

I selfhost my instance, but there are also other instances you can join. So selfhosting is not a requirement, but the instance owner must have installed the plugin though.

I've been using NextCloud as well, and I've been really happy with it. I host mine with PikaPods, which handles most of the self-hosting aspects, and I just pay for what I end up using. It's not completely free, but it's not really expensive, especially considering the management issues I don't have to deal with.

[villiersterrace]

I use libre office. It's free. It's slightly different than google docs but not that hard to figure out.

[Charlynne]

This one is good from what I've heard.

https://docs.numerique.gouv.fr/

[invader_gvim]

My preferred solution is writing the document in vim and then using ssh to transfer it over to my phone. I can then use the terminal app on my phone to run vim and read the text document. Another advantage to this is that you can do it the opposite way, and ssh to your pc from your phone to get the document.

[Blue]

If you're looking for a writing program specifically, I'd recommend Ellipsus. It's free, and while they don't have a phone app as of now, it's in the plans and should be added soon! I've been using it for a few months and it's pretty good!

[_ghost_]

I use Ellipsus for writing fanfiction and stuff, and it's a great alternative to google docs. They also have different themes (I'm using the dark pride one)

If you're looking for a writing program specifically, I'd recommend Ellipsus. It's free, and while they don't have a phone app as of now, it's in the plans and should be added soon! I've been using it for a few months and it's pretty good!

I also would recommend Ellipsus. They currently are marketing primarily to fanfic writers but it's obviously not limited to that. It's currently in beta testing and updates pretty regularly; I've had no issues with it. The major draw is that the team is incredibly opposed to ever letting users' documents be used for AI training. It's not something you have to "opt-out" of, it's the default.

[SadOldMan]

Mail.com provides their own "Google doc" with every mail account you open there.

[bodypoetic]

I've used and enjoyed both Ellipsus and Cryptpad! Ellipsus' commenting and draft tools are particularly good.

I'd also like to recommend leaflet.pub! I'd never use it for long-form writing but it's my go-to for when I just want to easily send a piece of text to somebody. Being able to change the UI colour and background of every document is so fun.

[BlazingCobaltX]

My personal pick after moving away from Google Drive was UpNote. It works more like a notepad with extra handy features, but it does the trick for me. What I liked was just having to pay once to get lifetime access to all features and synchronisation across my devices (which it does really well). The price has hiked up from when I purchased it, though (from $28 to $40).