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24 of the best free alternatives to the most popular paid software

Note that these are not all FOSS.

  • Photo Editing:

    • GIMP
    • Krita
    • Paint.NET

  • Video Editing:

    • DaVinci Resolve
    • CapCut
    • Shotcut

  • Audio Editing:

    • Audacity
    • Cakewalk
    • GarageBand

  • 3D Graphics:

    • Blender
    • Spline
    • Rumba

  • Office Software:

    • LibreOffice
    • Microsoft 365 Free Apps
    • WPS Office

  • Antivirus Software:

    • Windows Security
    • Avast Free Antivirus
    • Malwarebytes

  • Productivity Tools:

    • Bitwarden
    • VSCodium
    • PDF-XChange Editor
    • 7-Zip
    • OBS Studio
    • LanguageTool
nerdschleife ,
@nerdschleife@lemm.ee avatar

*Tenacity, not Audacity

capt_wolf ,
@capt_wolf@lemmy.world avatar

Gonna share this, because I had no idea... I think the last time I updated Audacity was, like, 10 years ago...
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7dca550e-1910-4533-94fe-8676b33246a5.png

Here's Tenacity, which I'll be checking out shortly...

wagesj45 ,
@wagesj45@kbin.run avatar

Doesn't that apply to every project hosted in America, too, though? Every project is subject to the jurisdiction in which it is hosted. And I know they're not the only project that accepts error reports and in-app updates. Unless there is more telemetry involved or tracking of out-of-app activity, I'm not seeing cause for alarm here. Though I'm open to evidence that there is.

capt_wolf , (edited )
@capt_wolf@lemmy.world avatar

From what I've seen on their site since is that they're saying they are now GDPR compliant. And I suppose, since they are still open source, that anyone finding anything seriously malicious would have pointed it out by now. Maybe just a bit of bad press and people jumping to conclusions because "Russia bad."

I do still plan to check out Tenacity though and see if it's a better project.

Vorticity ,

As someone who contributes to FOSS projects, I think you put too much trust in the ability of the community to police such things. There simply aren't enough people reviewing project code to ensure it's safety and compliance if a maintainer or team decide to follow bad local laws or act explicitly in a malicious way. Some things get caught but I'm sure there are things thst slip through.

PM_Your_Nudes_Please ,

Yeah, it’s actually a major issue with FOSS in general. It’s essentially the bystander effect in code review; When everybody is reviewing the code, nobody is.

NeoNachtwaechter ,

Photo Editing:
Gimp

I found "Darktable" so much more useful.

KISSmyOSFeddit ,

They serve completely different purposes.
I use Darktable for adjusting brightness, color, contrast, etc. and Gimp for actual editing (selection tools, brushes, filters, effects, etc.)

NeoNachtwaechter ,

I have tried for very long time to do exactly what you describe here, without much success. Gimp was soo inconvenient to use.

Darktable is built for efficiency, like "Do these favorite filters on every picture at startup" or "Repeat my last editing steps on these 25 photos"

ClockworkOtter ,

I think you're underselling Darktable somewhat. Being able to use drawn and parametric masks for basically all the tools, and the granularity at which you can adjust the variables across the entire image makes it incredibly powerful for non-destructive editing of photos. There are also numerous filters and tools which can be used artistically.

But yes, for "photo-shopping" as opposed to photo editing you probably will want GIMP as well.

xenspidey ,

I think there is an important distinction here between photo editing and image manipulation. Similar the the relationship between Lightroom and Photoshop

Lombaxter_Stockman ,

Although not technically free, I would add Reaper to the list for audio editing. It gives you a pop-up asking if you want to buy the program, but it's not required. I know people who have been using it for years without actually purchasing it. (I have since purchased a license because I use it professionally). No features are locked behind the paid license.

net00 ,

I recommend Okular for PDF reading. No ads, no upsells, no BS. It also has native dark mode

Telodzrum ,

Gwenview has always worked well for me.

PenisWenisGenius ,

I like Atril too. It has easier and more fluid zoom in/out capabilities than Okular but Okular has a dark mode. I keep both installed because they're both really good.

neme ,
@neme@lemm.ee avatar

Avast is virus itself

sugar_in_your_tea ,

Yeah, just use the one built-in to Windows, or don't use Windows.

andrew_bidlaw , (edited )
@andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works avatar

Audio editing is still shit. GarageBsnd is on Mac, Audacity has a stupid interface, Cakewalk is the first time I hear that name. On Linux, video editing tools are probably the only way to edit audio, and it's obviously lacking.

edit: Now I have stuff to try, thank you guys.

bmeffer ,

Cakewalk has been around for decades. It was a popular paid daw in the late 90s and 2000s. It became free a few years ago. Haven't used it lately. But, used it a lot many years ago. It was a top daw back in its day. I hear it's still pretty good.

TheFonz ,

Fairlight, which is part of Da Vinci Resolve, is pretty powerful. I don't use Audacity because it's mostly a destructive workflow.

youngalfred ,

Have you tried Ardour?

Zos_Kia ,
@Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com avatar

Agreed, I've had to mix an entire live show recently and Ardour + a few open source VSTs did the job wonderfully. Took me maybe an hour to get my bearings but it is very well done.

chraebsli ,
@chraebsli@programming.dev avatar

you forgot linux as an alternative to windows and mac;)

einlander ,

OnlyOffice for office software.

lepinkainen ,

Blender is hardly an alternative, it’s the clear #1

Joelk111 ,

These are alternatives? This is essentially a list of software that I use.

kennebel ,

2D/3D Simulation/Game creation
Godot :)

rekabis ,

About the only problem I have with Paint.NET is that it doesn’t keep text as editable sprites, but immediately rasterizes them the moment focus is removed off of them. This sets text in stone, preventing any further modification (font changes, etc.) and forcing you to completely delete the text and start over from scratch for even the tiniest alteration after the fact.

In every other respect this is a brilliant program, but for the text issue which is a complete retard sniffing glue and chewing on crayons.

tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

I've never been super happy with Ardour. Using the in-distro build used to crash some years back, and more recently wasn't able to get it using some audio interface. And I'm not in love with the interface. But my impression from what I've read is that it's more on-par with other DAWs than Audacity is, does stuff like non-destructive editing. Audacity is, as I understand it, considered something of a lightweight application. If someone is looking for something more on par with some other DAW that they're familiar with, Ardour might be preferable.

jabathekek ,
@jabathekek@sopuli.xyz avatar

I know it's not a category in this post, but I just want to mention Audacious as a the best open source music player and also to confuse people with Audacity and Tenacity.

over_clox ,

I'd like to add OpenShot to the video editing category

https://www.openshot.org/

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