Both ONLYOFFICE for iOS and Microsoft Office for iOS can render and display documents while offline, but they differ significantly in how they handle offline editing and where the files are stored.
📱 ONLYOFFICE for iOS
ONLYOFFICE is built for offline work from the ground up. The App Store listing explicitly states you can “manage documents on the device and edit them offline.” It creates a local “On Device” section where you can create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations without any network connection.
A key technical advantage is that ONLYOFFICE uses the same rendering engine across its online, desktop, and mobile editors. This is designed to ensure seamless switching from offline to online while maintaining consistent formatting and layout fidelity.
🪟 Microsoft Office for iOS
Microsoft Office for iOS also supports offline work, but with caveats. According to Microsoft's support documentation, you can create, open, and save files offline as long as the files are stored directly on your device.
The main limitation involves cloud storage. For files stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox, or Google Drive, you must open the file at least once while online before it becomes available for offline work. Furthermore, Microsoft's own Q&A notes that files marked for offline access in OneDrive for iOS may be read-only—you can view them offline, but editing typically requires a connection.
💎 Summary
If your priority is reliable, unrestricted offline editing directly on the device, ONLYOFFICE is the more straightforward choice. It treats local files as first-class citizens for editing without any online initialization.
Microsoft Office is perfectly capable of rendering and editing local files offline, but its behavior with cloud-stored documents can be more restrictive, sometimes requiring an initial online connection or limiting offline actions to viewing only.