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Free & open-source alternatives to paid software

40 popular paid apps, each with free replacements that professionals actually use. Every pick links to its official website. Licence labels tell you whether it is open source, free, or free with limits.

GIMP ↗ Open source

Deep, mature editor; the interface takes some adjustment.

Krita ↗ Open source

Best free choice for digital painting and illustration.

Photopea ↗ Free, ad-supported

Runs in the browser and opens PSD files.

Inkscape ↗ Open source

Full vector editor with SVG at its core.

darktable ↗ Open source

Non-destructive RAW workflow with a catalogue.

RawTherapee ↗ Open source

Strong RAW processing engine.

DaVinci Resolve ↗ Free version

Professional editing and colour grading in the free edition.

Kdenlive ↗ Open source

Multi-track editor that runs well on modest hardware.

Shotcut ↗ Open source

Cross-platform editor with wide format support.

Audacity ↗ Open source

The standard free audio editor for podcasts and voice.

Blender ↗ Open source

Modelling, animation, rendering, VFX and video editing in one.

FreeCAD ↗ Open source

Parametric 3D modelling for engineering.

LibreCAD ↗ Open source

Lightweight 2D drafting.

LibreOffice ↗ Open source

Full desktop suite with strong file compatibility.

ONLYOFFICE Docs ↗ Open source

Close Microsoft-style interface; self-hostable.

draw.io (diagrams.net) ↗ Open source

Free diagramming in the browser or desktop app.

Penpot ↗ Open source

Browser-based design and prototyping that you can self-host.

Bitwarden ↗ Open source, free plan

Free plan syncs across unlimited devices.

KeePassXC ↗ Open source

Offline password vault you control.

OBS Studio ↗ Open source

The standard for recording and live streaming.

Jitsi Meet ↗ Open source

Browser meetings with no account needed.

Mattermost ↗ Open source

Self-hosted team messaging.

Element ↗ Open source

Encrypted chat on the Matrix network.

Joplin ↗ Open source

Markdown notes with encrypted sync.

Obsidian ↗ Free for personal use

Local Markdown vault with plugins.

AppFlowy ↗ Open source

Notion-style workspace you can self-host.

Nextcloud ↗ Open source

Self-hosted cloud storage and collaboration.

Syncthing ↗ Open source

Peer-to-peer sync with no cloud in the middle.

Planka ↗ Open source

Trello-style boards, self-hosted.

OpenProject ↗ Open source

Full project management with Gantt charts.

Matomo ↗ Open source

Full analytics with data ownership.

Umami ↗ Open source

Simple, privacy-focused analytics.

listmonk ↗ Open source

Fast self-hosted newsletter and mailing-list manager.

n8n ↗ Fair-code, self-hostable

Visual automation you can run on your own server.

Node-RED ↗ Open source

Flow-based automation, popular for IoT.

Formbricks ↗ Open source

Surveys and forms you can self-host.

Documenso ↗ Open source

Open-source document signing.

Cal.com ↗ Open source

Scheduling infrastructure you can self-host.

Chatwoot ↗ Open source

Omnichannel support inbox.

WooCommerce ↗ Open source

E-commerce plugin for WordPress.

WordPress ↗ Open source

Runs a large share of the web; host it anywhere.

Thunderbird ↗ Open source

Mail, calendar and contacts on desktop and mobile.

7-Zip ↗ Open source

High compression ratio, handles most archive formats.

LanguageTool ↗ Open source core

Multilingual checker with browser extensions.

GNU Octave ↗ Open source

Largely compatible MATLAB-style language.

Python with NumPy ↗ Open source

The standard scientific Python stack.

JASP ↗ Open source

Friendly statistics with an SPSS-like feel.

PSPP ↗ Open source

Free replacement for much of SPSS.

Metabase ↗ Open source

Questions and dashboards for a whole team.

Apache Superset ↗ Open source

Enterprise-grade data exploration.

RustDesk ↗ Open source

Remote access with an optional self-hosted server.

Hoppscotch ↗ Open source

Fast API client in the browser.

Bruno ↗ Open source

Offline API client that stores collections in Git.

LMMS ↗ Open source

Beat-making and composition.

Ardour ↗ Open source

Professional multitrack recording.

MuseScore Studio ↗ Open source

Full notation with playback.

Visual Studio Code ↗ Free

Lightweight editor with a huge extension ecosystem.

VSCodium ↗ Open source

Community build of VS Code without telemetry.

Coolify ↗ Open source

Self-hosted Heroku-style deployments.

Dokku ↗ Open source

Git-push deploys on your own server.

Firefox ↗ Open source

Independent engine with strong privacy controls.

Before switching, check that you can export your existing files in a standard format, and try the alternative on a real task. Read open source vs freemium to understand the trade-offs.