OnlyOffice vs Collabora: which one fit small VPS?

OnlyOffice vs Collabora: answer for small VPS

OnlyOffice vs Collabora na choice between two document engines wey fit connect to file server wey you don already dey run, and for most readers na Nextcloud be that. For 2 GB VPS, choose Collabora and use the copy wey Nextcloud bundle, because e no add second container or another web address. For 4 GB or more, ONLYOFFICE Docs worth the extra memory if your team dey work mostly with .docx and .xlsx, because na formats wey the editor fit handle directly.

Another name dey show for every search about this question. ONLYOFFICE DocSpace na separate product wey get its own interface, and e no be the component wey Nextcloud dey connect to. To install DocSpace because tutorial talk say "OnlyOffice" na the commonest reason people dey think say edit button for Nextcloud need big server.

Di three products wey people dey often confuse

• ONLYOFFICE Docs, wey dem dey also call Document Server, na the editing engine by itself. E no get file manager. Nextcloud connector dey talk to this one. Community Edition free, under GNU AGPL v3.
• ONLYOFFICE DocSpace na workspace: rooms, member management, sharing, and im own web interface, with Docs bundled inside am. E dey overlap with Nextcloud instead of extending am. The published minimum, as read for August 2026, na 6 CPU cores and 12 GB of RAM.
• Collabora Online na LibreOffice wey dey run for server. The document dey arranged and rendered for server, then dem send am go browser as images. The free build na CODE, short for Collabora Online Development Edition.

Nextcloud ships two apps for the Collabora side. richdocuments, wey dem list for app store as Nextcloud Office, na the connector to Collabora server. richdocumentscode carry CODE inside the Nextcloud installation, so you no need run container and you no need write proxy rule. Nextcloud own manual talk say this built in server fit personal use or small teams, and e recommend dedicated Collabora install for better performance.

If you never decide the file server matter, Seafile compared with Nextcloud na the decision wey come first, because the office server na attachment to whichever one you dey run. If Nextcloud don already dey up, a Nextcloud instance on a VPS with TLS and backups na the box wey this guide assume.

How much RAM each one need?

[
  {
    "label": "Collabora CODE",
    "min_ram_gb": 1
  },
  {
    "label": "ONLYOFFICE Docs",
    "min_ram_gb": 4
  },
  {
    "label": "ONLYOFFICE DocSpace",
    "min_ram_gb": 12
  }
]

Na be the figures each vendor publish, as we read am for August 2026. Each figure na for the office server alone, with nothing else running. Collabora quick start for the CODE container talk say e need 1 GB. ONLYOFFICE need 4 GB for Docs under Docker, plus 4 GB swap and 40 GB free disk. DocSpace need 12 GB and six CPU cores.

Now add Nextcloud to the same machine. PHP-FPM (FastCGI process manager) workers, the database, and the background job runner all need memory. The kernel page cache wey make file listings feel fast need memory too. For a 2 GB VPS, no memory remain for standalone office container. So the box go use swap, and server wey dey swap fit look like say e spoil: the editor spinner go turn for thirty seconds, then e go give up. Na why the built-in CODE app dey exist. E package the Collabora binaries inside the Nextcloud app, and Nextcloud proxy the editor traffic go am locally. This one reduce speed, but e save you one complete service.

Why the two engines dey use memory different ways

Collabora dey render for server. Every document wey person open get e own process inside the container, and you fit monitor am with docker exec collabora ps -ef while person dey edit. Memory dey increase as the number of documents wey people open at the same time increase. So idle server no dey cost plenty memory, but ten people editing at once no be the same thing.

ONLYOFFICE Docs dey push layout work go browser. E editor na JavaScript, while the server dey store the file, coordinate co-editing, and run format conversions. The container still dey run nginx, node.js services, PostgreSQL, and RabbitMQ. Na this baseline make the minimum memory be 4 GB when nobody connect.

The two curves no get the same shape. Collabora dey start low and dey rise with every document wey person open. ONLYOFFICE dey start high and dey rise more slowly because part of the work dey happen for your users' laptops.

Wetin free builds limit

CODE allow 10 documents make dem open at di same time, from 20 connections. Collabora set dis limit deliberately, so development build no quietly turn to company infrastructure. Once e pass di limit, di next document no go open until one slot free. Di paid Collabora Online build remove di limit and add support.

ONLYOFFICE Docs Community Edition no publish any connection limit. E Docker requirements page give sizing tiers instead: 100 to 200 users for dual core 2.8 GHz machine wey get 4 GB RAM, and 200 to 400 users for quad core, with note say di real number depend on di size and type of documents wey people open. Take dem as vendor ceilings wey dem measure under vendor conditions.

Wich one dey handle .docx and .xlsx better?

ONLYOFFICE dey work directly with Office Open XML (OOXML), so dem open, edit, and write .docx file back for the same format wey e arrive with. Collabora na LibreOffice underneath, and e native format na OpenDocument (ODF), so every OOXML file go pass through import step when dem open am and export step when dem save am. Both good enough for everyday documents. The difference dey show for files wey dem build for Microsoft Word or Excel with plenty formatting. E dey show as small layout shifts, no be lost data.

No use comparison pages, including this one, take decide this matter. Take your two worst files: the one wey get tracked changes and the one wey get pivot table. Open each one for both editors, save, download, then compare am with the original. Twenty minutes of this go answer the fidelity question for your documents. Na this specific version of the question matter.

If na one person dey edit file once in a while, one single-file office suite fit help you avoid running document server at all.

Licensing, and where the paid line dey

ONLYOFFICE Docs Community Edition dey under GNU AGPL v3 license. Collabora Online source code dey under Mozilla Public License 2.0. Both projects na open source, and both companies dey sell build wey get support.

Wetin each free build no include dey different. Collabora free build complete, but concurrency numbers dey cap am as we talk before. ONLYOFFICE free build no get cap, and ONLYOFFICE dey sell Enterprise and Developer editions wey add support and more features. For house or small team, both free builds dey enough. For company, read the license terms before you plan rollout, because AGPL obligations and per user pricing na separate problems wey get separate answers.

Installing either one na one container

ONLYOFFICE Docs, wey bind to loopback because reverse proxy go terminate TLS (transport layer security) for front:

sudo docker run -i -t -d -p 127.0.0.1:8081:80 --restart=always \
  -e JWT_SECRET=replace_this_with_a_long_random_string \
  onlyoffice/documentserver

Set JWT_SECRET by yourself. JWT (JSON web token) signing don dey on by default since ONLYOFFICE Docs 7.2, and if you no provide secret, the container go generate one. Generated secret fit change when you recreate the container, and the connector go stop working without useful message for screen.

First start fit take some minutes. Check am:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8081/healthcheck

That endpoint go answer true once database, message broker and storage inside the container don ready. Anything else, including false, means make you read docker logs for the container before you change Nextcloud settings.

Collabora CODE:

docker run -t -d --name collabora --restart always \
  -p 127.0.0.1:9980:9980 \
  -e "aliasgroup1=https://cloud.example.com:443" \
  -e "extra_params=--o:ssl.enable=false" \
  collabora/code

aliasgroup1 na the list of Nextcloud addresses wey this container go accept work from, and the port must dey inside am. Setting ssl.enable=false makes coolwsd, the Collabora server process, speak plain HTTP inside the container because reverse proxy for front dey handle TLS. Check am:

curl http://127.0.0.1:9980/hosting/capabilities
curl http://127.0.0.1:9980/hosting/discovery

The first one returns JSON, while the second one returns XML. Refused connection means the container still dey start or e don exit, so read docker logs collabora.

Connect editor go Nextcloud

For Collabora, install Nextcloud Office app, open Administration settings, then Office, choose option to use your own server, and enter address wey your users' browsers fit reach, like https://office.example.com. Nextcloud dey hold the files, while Collabora dey fetch dem through WOPI (web application open platform interface), so four separate network paths must work:

• Browser reach Nextcloud.
• Browser reach Collabora server.
• Nextcloud reach Collabora server.
• Collabora reach Nextcloud.

Test the last two by hand. From Nextcloud server, curl https://office.example.com/hosting/capabilities suppose print JSON. From inside Collabora container, curl https://cloud.example.com/status.php suppose print Nextcloud status JSON. Any one wey fail na the path wey you need fix.

For ONLYOFFICE, install connector app, then fill ONLYOFFICE Docs address and secret key for its settings. The secret must match JWT_SECRET exactly. If container generate its own secret, read am from inside the container with /etc/onlyoffice/documentserver/local.json, under services.CoAuthoring.secret.inbox.string. Then verify from your Nextcloud directory, as the web server user:

php occ onlyoffice:documentserver --check

E either confirm the connection or print the error wey connector dey encounter. This one faster than reading browser console. Both connectors also get advanced fields for cases where browser address and server-to-server address no be the same, for example when Nextcloud reach editor through private network. Fill those fields instead of sending internal traffic go public address and back.

Wetin dey make editing break behind reverse proxy

Almost every report of “e no go open” na one of these.

Protocol mismatch. Nextcloud for https with the office server address written as http go fail, because browser no go allow insecure frame load inside secure page. Use https for both.

Proxy rules for Collabora dey miss. Proxy must forward /browser, /hosting/discovery, /hosting/capabilities, /cool, /cool/adminws, and websocket connections for /cool/(.*)/ws go port 9980. If websocket rule miss, document frame go load then remain empty, because editor dey open websocket immediately after loading and e no dey get reply.

Wrong aliasgroup1. Container dey reject requests from address wey nobody tell am about, and docker logs collabora dey record No acceptable WOPI hosts found. The value must match the Nextcloud URL wey your users dey type, including port.

Nextcloud dey refuse to call local address. Nextcloud blocks outgoing requests to local and private addresses by default, and log line na Host violates local access rules. Set 'allow_local_remote_servers' => true for config.php when editor really dey reachable only through local address.

WOPI allow list wey too narrow. Nextcloud Office settings get allow list for WOPI requests. This list limit the addresses wey fit fetch files. E good make you use this setting, but e fit also make editing break after container come back with new IP address. If documents stop opening immediately after rebuild, check this field first.

ONLYOFFICE no fit download the file. Connector reports Error while downloading the document file to be converted.. Document server don receive instruction to fetch file from Nextcloud but e no fit: address wey dem give am no dey reachable from inside container, or Nextcloud dey present certificate wey e no accept, or the secret no match. Run curl against that exact URL from inside the container with docker exec, and the reason usually go be one line.

Wetin fit really run for 2 GB and 4 GB

For 2 GB, run Nextcloud with the built in CODE app and stop there. E slower pass standalone server, the first time you open big spreadsheet fit take several seconds, and e no need any proxy configuration. For one household, na the correct answer be that one.

For 4 GB, run Nextcloud plus standalone CODE container, and configure swap so one sudden load no go bring the server down. Na for here editing start to feel normal.

For ONLYOFFICE Docs beside Nextcloud, plan for 6 to 8 GB, or give Docs separate small server. The 4 GB minimum na for the document server alone, so if you share 4 GB server with Nextcloud, e go start swapping once real work begin.

DocSpace for small VPS na the mistake wey you need avoid. The published minimum for DocSpace itself na 12 GB RAM and six CPU cores. One provider tutorial wey plenty people dey link still dey deploy DocSpace with the vendor install script for 8 GB instance. That one dey below the published figure, and e dey answer different question from the one wey you ask. Check wetin guide dey install before you follow am. Also check when dem last confirm the requirements wey e quote against the vendor page. The install script na only one option too. Docs and CODE na single containers wey you fit start, stop, and delete by yourself. E easier to understand than script wey dey install one whole stack.

For the bigger question of wetin suppose dey on small server at all, wetin make sense to self-host for 2026 cover the shortlist.

FAQ

Collabora or OnlyOffice better pass Nextcloud?

None better for every situation, and na memory dey usually decide am. Collabora dey start for the 1 GB wey e publish for im quick start, and the free CODE build allow 10 documents open from 20 connections. This one fit household or small team. ONLYOFFICE Docs need 4 GB before Nextcloud own requirements, e no publish connection cap, and e work directly with .docx and .xlsx. So e dey keep Microsoft Office formatting closer to the original. Choose Collabora for small VPS. Choose ONLYOFFICE when team dey work with Office formats all day and you fit give the editor im own memory.

How much RAM I need to edit documents for Nextcloud?

2 GB dey work with Nextcloud built in CODE server app, because that app dey run inside Nextcloud installation instead of as another service. 4 GB comfortable for Nextcloud plus standalone Collabora CODE container. ONLYOFFICE Docs publish 4 GB minimum for the document server alone, so plan 6 to 8 GB when e share machine with Nextcloud, or put am for separate server.

Why document frame dey open, then remain blank?

The editor dey load over HTTPS and then e open websocket, so blank frame almost always mean say websocket never connect. For Collabora behind nginx, confirm say proxy dey forward /cool/(.*)/ws with connection upgrade headers, and say /browser, /hosting/discovery and /hosting/capabilities dey forward too. Then read docker logs for the container: No acceptable WOPI hosts found mean say the aliasgroup1 value no match the Nextcloud address wey browser use, including port.

I need ONLYOFFICE DocSpace to edit files for Nextcloud?

No. DocSpace na standalone workspace with im own interface and user accounts, and Nextcloud connector no dey talk to am. The thing wey Nextcloud connect to na ONLYOFFICE Docs, the document server. DocSpace publish minimum of 12 GB RAM and six CPU cores, na why guides wey install am dey make people believe say browser editing need large server.