Instead of {$program}

A curated list of free and open-source alternatives to common proprietary software.

Index

• Instead of Windows, MacOS
  
• Instead of Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera
  
• Instead of Microsoft Suite
  
• Instead of Adobe Suite
  
• Instead of Google Suite
  
• Instead of Teams, Discord, Slack
  
• Instead of using Evergreen, OneNote, Notion
  
• Instead of 1Password, LastPass
  
• Instead of NordVPN, Surfshark
  
• Instead of Plex, Netflix
  
• Instead of Lightshot
  
• Instead of Windows Media Player
  
• Instead of AutoCAD
  
• Instead of CCleaner
  
• Instead of VSCode
  
• Instead of Figma
  

Instead of Windows, MacOS

• Linux

  Linux is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel.

  

Instead of Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera

• Brave Browser

  Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser.

  

• Firefox Browser

  Mozilla Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation.

  

• Chromium

  Chromium is a free and open-source web browser project, primarily developed and maintained by Google.

  

• Ungoogled Chromium

  ungoogled-chromium is a free and open-source variant of the Chromium web browser that removes all Google-specific web services.

  

• Librewolf Browser

  LibreWolf is a free and open-source web browser and fork of Firefox, with an emphasis on privacy and security.

  

Instead of Microsoft Suite

• Word > LibreOffice Writer

  LibreOffice Writer is the free and open-source word processor and desktop publishing component of the LibreOffice software package

  

• Excel > LibreOffice Calc

  LibreOffice Calc is the spreadsheet component of the LibreOffice software package.

  

• Powerpoint > LibreOffice Impress

  A presentation program resembling Microsoft PowerPoint. Impress has support for multiple file formats including PPTX, ODP, and SXI.

  

Instead of Adobe Suite

• Photoshop > GIMP

  GNU Image Manipulation Program, commonly known as GIMP, is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation and image editing,

  

• Illustrator > Inkscape/Krita

  Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS.

  

  Krita is a free and open-source raster graphics editor designed primarily for digital art and 2D animation.

  

• After Effects > Blender

  Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D-printed models, motion graphics & more.

  

• Premier Pro > KdenLive/Shotcut

  Kdenlive is a free and open-source video editing software based on the MLT Framework, KDE and Qt.

  

  Shotcut is a free and open-source, cross-platform video, audio, and image editing program for Linux, macOS and Windows.

  

• Lightroom > Rawtherapee/Darktable

  RawTherapee is application software for processing photographs in raw image formats, as created by many digital cameras.

  

  Darktable is a free and open-source photography application and raw developer.

  

Instead of Google Suite

• Google Cloud > Nextcloud

  Nextcloud is a suite of client-server software for creating and using file hosting services.

  

• Google Photos > Immich

  High performance self-hosted photo and video management solution.

  

• Google Workspace > Collabora Online

  Collabora Online is an open source online office suite built on LibreOffice Technology

  

Instead of Teams, Discord, Slack

• Zulip

Open-source team chat that helps teams stay productive and focused.

• Mattermost

  Mattermost is an open source platform for secure collaboration.

  

Instead of using Evergreen, OneNote, Notion

• Trillium

  Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note taking application with focus on building large personal knowledge bases.

  

• Joplin

  Joplin is a free and open-source desktop and mobile note-taking and to-do list application written for macOS and Linux and Windows.

  

• Affine

  AFFiNE is a workspace with fully merged docs, whiteboards and databases.

  

Instead of 1Password, LastPass

• Bitwarden

  Bitwarden is a freemium open-source password management service that stores sensitive information, such as website credentials, in an encrypted vault.

  

• Proton Pass

  Open-source password manager for effortless protection.

  

• Hashicorp Vault

  A tool for secrets management, encryption as a service, and privileged access management.

  

Instead of NordVPN, Surfshark

• ProtonVPN

  Proton VPN is a VPN service launched in 2017 and operated by the company Proton AG, the company behind the email service Proton Mail.

  

• OpenVPN

  OpenVPN is an open-source virtual private network (VPN) system.

  

• Wireguard

  WireGuard is a communication protocol and free and open-source software that implements encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs).

  

Instead of Plex, Netflix

• Jellyfin

  Jellyfin is a free and open-source media server and suite of multimedia applications

  

• Kodi

  Kodi is an foss home theater/media center software and entertainment hub for digital media.

  

Instead of Lightshot

• ShareX

  ShareX is a free and open-source screenshot and screencast software for Windows.

  

Instead of Windows Media Player

• VLC

  VLC media player is a free and open-source, portable, cross-platform media player software.

  

• MPV

  mpv is free and open-source media player software based on MPlayer, mplayer2 and FFmpeg.

  

Instead of Adobe Acrobat Pro

• Okular

  Okular is a multiplatform document viewer developed by the KDE community.

  

Instead of AutoCAD

• FreeCAD

  FreeCAD is an open-source CAD modeler and a BIM software application.

  

• OpenSCAD

  OpenSCAD is a free software application for creating solid 3D computer-aided design (CAD) objects.

  

Instead of CCleaner

• Bleachbit

  BleachBit is a free and open-source disk space cleaner, privacy manager, and computer system optimizer.

  

• Bulk Crap Uninstaller

  Remove large amounts of unwanted applications quickly.

  

Instead of VSCode

• VSCodium

  VSCodium is an open-source telemetry-less distribution of Microsoft’s editor VS Code.

  

Instead of Figma

• Penpot

  The open-source design tool for design and code collaboration.