Endless OS comes with a ton of apps out of the box for productivity, office, creativity, and more. In addition, Endless OS is compatible with thousands of apps from App Center, including Google Chrome, Spotify, Discord, Telegram, Steam, Zoom, and many more. You can view compatible apps on Flathub.
Since it's a Linux-based operating system, Endless OS does not have direct support for apps that are only built for other platforms such as Microsoft Windows; however, Endless OS App Center provides many cross-platform apps as well as suitable replacments for many other common apps.
If you have a favorite app from another platform that is not available on Endless OS, feel free to reach out on our Community Forums for suggestions as to which app may be a suitable alternative.
¶ Office suite
Several office suite options are available on Endless OS:
¶ LibreOffice
LibreOffice comes with most editions of Endless OS and can be downloaded from App Center for free. It includes Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), and more.
LibreOffice works completely offline and provides a high level of compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats such as Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx), and more.
While compatibility with Microsoft formats is high, some of the more advanced features may not be completely preserved; before you edit Microsoft Office files on Endless OS, we recommend you create a backup of the originals—just in case.
¶ Google Drive
Google Drive and its office web apps Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides can be accessed through the web browser.
You can start a new document, spreadsheet, or presentation or upload an existing on in various formats including Microsoft Office file formats such as Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx), and more.
While Google Drive requires an Internet connection, an advantage is that your changes are instantly saved and your documents are backed up and can be shared with others online.
¶ More
Microsoft Office 365 can be accessed through the web browser. This is the official Microsoft Office offered by Microsoft on the web.
Several alternative office suites such as WPS Office are also available in App Center for free.
¶ Images & photography
While Adobe Photoshop is not available, alternative image editors such as GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) are available for free from App Center.
Editing a photo with GIMP
Similarly, Adobe Illustrator is not available, but you may find Inkscape to be a suitable alternative; it's also available for free from App Center.
Illustrating with Inkscape
Other popular options available for free from App Center include Krita, Pinta, darktable, and even Blender, depending on your needs.
¶ Games
Endless OS is built on Linux, just like the Steam Deck and SteamOS. As a result, many popular video games run on Endless OS via Steam.
There are also hundreds of games available directly from App Center.
- Learn more: Gaming on Endless OS
¶ Running Windows & Endless OS together
If you have an inflexible requirement to run a specific Windows app, you could explore running Windows within Endless OS virtualized in Boxes (available in App Center), or by dual-Booting Windows and Endless OS.
¶ See Also
- Flatpak - Endless OS underlying app technology
- Gaming on Endless OS
- All Apps topics