Welcome to Incremental Social! Learn more about this project here!
Check out lemmyverse to find more communities to join from here!

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
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

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.

variants ,

What would one use for something like editing photos into gifs. I would edit a lot of still images in photoshop using the puppet warp and the animation but haven't really found anything to do that

Xatolos ,
@Xatolos@reddthat.com avatar

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vgzdj1xGw8

variants ,

Oh that's perfect thank you!

EarthShipTechIntern ,

Krita & gimp both can handle that

11111one11111 ,

I love Gimp. I was even using it as a sort of workaround free pdf editor for image/graphics h3avy pdf edits.

ThePowerOfGeek ,
@ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world avatar

I only discovered Krita recently, but holy shit does it fill the Photoshop void very well. The UI isn't the same as PS, obviously. But I find it much easier to navigate than Gimp's UI. And Krita is surprisingly feature-rich.

variants ,

I've just found out about kitra right now but from the site it says it's mostly focused are drawing and stuff like that so would photo editing be netter with something like rawtherapee?

KISSmyOSFeddit ,

If you're working with RAW files, neither Gimp nor Krita are the tool for you.
I use Darktable to adjust global things like brightness, contrast, white balance and so on, then export to Krita or Gimp for more granular local modifications.

altima_neo , (edited )
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Yeah it's definitely more of a souped up Paint app than photo editor.

altima_neo , (edited )
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

If you don't mind paid, Affinity is pretty nice too.

tobbue ,

Desperately needs Linux support though.

AnActOfCreation OP ,
@AnActOfCreation@programming.dev avatar

Didn't they recently get bought by Canva? Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it's something to keep in mind.

altima_neo ,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Yeah but it's also a one time purchase

Plopp ,

...for now.

Adderbox76 ,

I like Krita. But to be honest, after years and years of using GIMP, I ironically have nothing but trouble trying to rewire my brain to do things any other way. The same problem that many people have when moving from Photoshop to GIMP.

Also, i fundamentally need DDS files, which Krita (AFAIK) doesn't handle.

morriscox ,

Maybe https://krita-artists.org/t/python-plugin-dds-support-windows-only/73488

Adderbox76 ,

Windows only sadly. I'm on Linux

Churbleyimyam ,

You should totally get on some PS forums and start bitching about its UI being 'backward and unusable' compared to GIMP :)

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.

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.

asbestos ,
@asbestos@lemmy.world avatar

Avast? Bruh

NateNate60 ,

I always recommend Windows Defender and a good sense of Internet security to anyone who uses a computer.

If you're dumb, no antivirus can protect you. If you're reasonably intelligent, any antivirus will protect you.

airglow ,

Avast should not be recommended.

In late 2019, Avast browser extensions were found to collect user data, including browsing behavior and history, and send it to a remote server. The discovery led to the extensions of the Avast and AVG brands being temporarily removed from the Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera extension stores, however, they returned a short time later as there was no concrete evidence that demonstrated a breach of private data of the users.

In January 2020, a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag found that the Avast Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free version were collecting user data, which was being resold to personalize advertising through a subsidiary, Jumpshot. The leaked documents showed that Jumpshot offered to provide its customers with "Every search. Every click. On every site." from more than 100 million compromised devices. In response, Avast announced on January 30, 2020, that it would immediately shut down Jumpshot and cease all operations due to the backlash of its users' data privacy.

On the basis of the information revealed, on 11 February 2020 the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection announced that it had initiated a preliminary investigation.

In February 2024, the Federal Trade Commission fined Avast $16.5 million for collecting user data and reselling that data. The collection was done under their program to ensure that such collection of user data was not happening.

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.

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.

over_clox ,

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

https://www.openshot.org/

jeena ,
@jeena@jemmy.jeena.net avatar

I'd like to add KdenLive to the Video Editing point.

jabathekek ,
@jabathekek@sopuli.xyz avatar

I successfully edited a video with it having never done so before, which I think speaks to how well it's designed. There's definitely a tiny learning curve, but it's a kiddy coaster.

xenspidey ,

KDEnlive is way easier then divinci

theonyltruemupf ,

I love KdenLive!

auzas_1337 ,
@auzas_1337@lemmy.zip avatar

How’s the performance, size and features compared to Premiere?

I find Premiere to be a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes and pretty slow, but I didn’t like Davinci + I’m paying for Adobe anyway.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • technology@lemmy.world
  • random
  • incremental_games
  • meta
  • All magazines
    •