Skip to content
Start free
Start free

An ONLYOFFICE alternative with no document server and no connection cap

ONLYOFFICE Docs runs as a document server with a cap on simultaneous connections per licence. Runstamp's Word editor runs inside your app from one npm package. What each needs, and when to keep ONLYOFFICE.

Jake Jinyong Kim · Last checked 2026-10-28

Keep ONLYOFFICE if you need spreadsheets, slides and Word files in one self-hosted office suite and already run its document server. Use Runstamp when your users edit .docx files inside your own product and you do not want to run, license or scale a document server for it.

Comparison at a glance

ONLYOFFICE Docs Developer Edition Runstamp editor
Where it runs A document server you host; your app embeds it Inside your app: npm install https://runstamp.com/dl/runstamp-editor-0.1.0.tgz, layout in a web worker
Simultaneous editing limit Development Server licence: 20 simultaneous connections, $3,500 per server for 20 sessions on the Plus on-premises line; Single Server: 250, 500 or 1,000; Cluster: custom No connection count in the editor
Shipping it to your customers The Development Server licence does not allow it; a Single Server or Cluster licence is needed, renewed each year Free editor under Apache-2.0; editor-pro (suggest mode, comments, live rooms, history) is $99 a month per app plus applicable sales tax
Word page layout Its own renderer Same page count as Microsoft Word on 82 of 82 test documents; 99.6% of page breaks in place

Checked 2026-10-28 from the ONLYOFFICE Developer Edition licence FAQ, its price list and the Runstamp Word-fidelity bench.

What the connection limit means

ONLYOFFICE counts a connection for every browser tab with a document open for editing; one document opened by two people is two connections. Its Developer Edition FAQ lists 20 simultaneous connections for the Development Server licence and says that licence "does not allow providing Document Editors integrated with your service under your brand to end users." To offer the editors to your own customers it points to a Single Server licence (250, 500 or 1,000 connections) or a Cluster licence, and says those "must be prolonged each year." In ONLYOFFICE's DocumentServer discussion 1784, a builder asked how the connection number is counted; the reply was "Buy license".

What changes with Runstamp

The Runstamp editor is a package, not a server. It opens the customer's .docx in the browser, lays pages out the way Word does, and saves the file back with only the edits changed. There is no connection count to buy: every user who opens the page runs the editor in their own tab. When people need to review together, editor-pro adds tracked changes, comment threads, live rooms and version history for $99 a month per app plus applicable sales tax.

When to keep ONLYOFFICE

Keep it if you need full spreadsheet and presentation editing beside Word files, or an office suite your staff use outside your product. Keep it if you already run its document server and your licence covers your connection peak.

Sources