Why pay
when free
187 free versions and free alternatives for 91 paid apps, ranked best first. No free option? See the cheapest ones.
1Password, free options: Unlimited passwords synced across unlimited devices.Ableton Live, free options: Multitrack recording, MIDI editing and a built-in set of effects and instruments.Adobe Acrobat Pro, free options: Free desktop and browser tools to merge, split, compress and convert PDF files.Adobe After Effects, free options: Node-based compositing, motion tracking and a built-in video editor, plus 3D.Adobe Audition, free options: Multitrack editing, noise reduction, effects and spectral tools, free and open source.Adobe Fonts, free options: Hundreds of free open-licensed font families for web and desktop use.Adobe Illustrator, free options: Vector drawing with paths, text on path, layers and SVG editing, free and open source.Adobe InDesign, free options: Multi-page layout, master pages, CMYK color and PDF export for print, free and open source.Adobe Lightroom, free options: RAW processing, non-destructive edits, tagging and a darkroom workflow, free and open source.Adobe Photoshop, free options: Layers, masks, filters and PSD support, right in your browser.Adobe Premiere Pro, free options: Pro editing, color grading, audio and effects up to 4K.Ahrefs, free options: Free backlink and site audit reports for your own verified site, with no competitor data.Airtable Team, free options: Spreadsheet-style databases with grid, form and kanban views, plus linked records.Alfred Powerpack, free options: Free Mac launcher with app search, snippets, a calculator and a store of community extensions.Asana Starter, free options: Tasks with list, board and calendar views for personal projects and small groups.Audible, free options: Borrow audiobooks from your public library for free with a library card.AutoCAD, free options: Parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting for mechanical and architectural work.Autodesk Maya, free options: Modeling, sculpting, rigging, animation and rendering in one open source app.Bartender, free options: Free, open-source Mac menu bar manager that hides icons behind a toggle, Mac only.Calendly Standard, free options: One event type, unlimited one-on-one bookings and Google or Outlook calendar sync.Calm, free options: Free meditations, music and talks from a large community of teachers, with timers.Camtasia, free options: Free screen and window recording with scenes, sources and streaming.Canva Pro, free options: Thousands of templates, free photos and easy drag and drop design.ChatGPT Plus, free options: General chat and writing help, with image uploads and limited access to newer models.Cinema 4D, free options: Modeling, animation, simulation and Cycles rendering in one free open source app.Confluence Standard, free options: Team wiki pages, templates and page editing for small teams.Coursera Plus, free options: Free courses in math, science, computing and test prep, with practice exercises and progress tracking.DocuSign, free options: Open source e-signature with reusable templates, document filling and a self-hosted option.Dropbox Plus, free options: Cloud file storage with a free tier, Docs and Sheets integration, and shareable links.Duolingo Super, free options: Core lessons, streaks and leagues in every course, with ads between some lessons.Evernote Personal, free options: Local Markdown notes with backlinks, graph view and community plugins, stored as plain files.ExpressVPN, free options: Free servers in a few countries with unlimited bandwidth and no ads.Figma Professional, free options: Core Figma design and prototyping with a cap on the number of files.Final Cut Pro, free options: Editing, color grading, Fairlight audio and Fusion effects in one free app.FL Studio, free options: Pattern-based beat making with synths, a sampler and MIDI support.Font Awesome Pro, free options: An open-source icon set with consistent stroke icons for web and app UI.GitHub Copilot Pro, free options: A monthly allowance of code completions and chat requests.Grammarly Premium, free options: Grammar, spelling and style checks in 30+ languages.Headspace, free options: Free guided meditations and talks from many teachers, with timers and sleep tracking.Heroku, free options: Free for non-commercial projects, with Git deploys and serverless functions.Hootsuite, free options: Schedule posts to a few social accounts with a simple calendar and basic analytics.Intercom, free options: Live chat widget with a shared inbox and basic chatbot flows for a few seats.JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, free options: Free editor with Git, debugging and a terminal, with Java support added through extensions.Jira Standard, free options: Scrum and Kanban boards, backlogs and issue tracking for small teams.Kindle Unlimited, free options: Borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your public library for free with a library card.LastPass Premium, free options: Unlimited passwords, 2FA codes and encrypted vault sync across all your devices, for free.Logic Pro, free options: Free multitrack recording, Apple loops, software instruments and effects on Mac and iOS.Loom Business, free options: Free screen and camera recordings with shareable links, with length and count limits.Magnet, free options: Free, open-source window snapping for Mac with keyboard shortcuts for halves, thirds and fullscreen.Mailchimp Standard, free options: Email campaigns, a signup form and basic templates for a small contact list.McAfee Total Protection, free options: Built-in antivirus, SmartScreen phishing filter and firewall on Windows, at no cost.Microsoft 365, free options: Browser-based documents, spreadsheets and slides with real-time co-editing and version history.Microsoft Project, free options: Desktop Gantt charts, task dependencies, resource assignment and critical path scheduling.Microsoft Visio, free options: Free diagrams for flowcharts, UML and network layouts, with offline use and local file storage.Midjourney, free options: Text-to-image generation with readable text inside images, on a free tier.Miro Starter, free options: An infinite online whiteboard with sticky notes, shapes, templates and real-time collaboration.Monday.com, free options: Tasks, docs, whiteboards and chat in one workspace, with list, board and calendar views.MyFitnessPal Premium, free options: Calorie and macro tracking with a large food database, barcode scanning and workout logging.Netflix, free options: A large library of free movies and TV shows, with no subscription, supported by ads.NordVPN, free options: Unlimited data on free servers in a few countries, with no ads and a no-logging policy.Norton 360, free options: Built-in real-time antivirus, firewall and ransomware protection on Windows, at no cost.Notion Plus, free options: Unlimited pages and blocks for one person, plus basic sharing.Parallels Desktop, free options: Free, open-source virtual machine app for Mac that runs Linux, Windows and other guest systems.Postman Professional, free options: Free API client with collections, environments, mock servers and basic team sharing.Power BI Pro, free options: Free report building with data modeling and DAX on Windows, though reports stay on your PC.QuickBooks Online, free options: Free invoicing, receipt capture, income and expense tracking, and core accounting reports.Rosetta Stone, free options: Free lessons in many languages with short daily exercises, streaks and speaking practice.Salesforce Sales Cloud, free options: Free contact, company and deal tracking with email logging and a basic sales pipeline.Semrush, free options: Free data from Google on search queries, clicks, indexing status and page errors.Shutterstock, free options: High-resolution photos under the Unsplash License, free to use.Sketch, free options: Vector UI design with components, boards and prototyping in the browser.SketchUp Pro, free options: Browser-based 3D modeling with access to the 3D Warehouse model library.Slack Pro, free options: Unlimited one-to-one and group chat, but only the last 90 days of message history.Snagit, free options: Free screen capture, annotation, GIF recording and upload tools, Windows only.Spotify Premium, free options: The full catalog and podcasts, on every device.Squarespace, free options: Free multi-page sites with templates and Google Workspace sharing, plus free hosting.Sublime Text, free options: Free editor with built-in Git, debugging, a terminal and a large extension marketplace.SurveyMonkey, free options: Forms with response spreadsheets, branching, and automatic summaries, free with a Google account.Tableau, free options: Drag-and-drop charts and dashboards, but every workbook you publish is public.TeamViewer, free options: Free remote access to your computers from Chrome, signed in with a Google account.Todoist Pro, free options: Tasks, projects and labels with recurring due dates, across web, mobile and desktop apps.Toggl Track Starter, free options: Unlimited personal time tracking with projects, timers and basic reports across devices.Tower, free options: Free Git GUI for branches, diffs and commits, best suited to GitHub-hosted repositories.Trello Premium, free options: Boards, lists and cards with checklists, due dates and basic automation.Typeform, free options: Forms with conditional logic, file uploads, and integrations including webhooks.Udemy, free options: Free coding curricula with hands-on projects and certifications, with no ads.WinRAR, free options: Free archiver with high-ratio 7z compression, ZIP and RAR extraction on Windows.Wix Premium, free options: Drag-and-drop site builder with hosting on a Wix subdomain, but Wix ads appear on pages.Zapier Professional, free options: Simple two-step automations between thousands of apps, with a limited number of monthly tasks.Zendesk, free options: Shared ticket inbox for email, web forms and chat, with a basic knowledge base.Zoom Pro, free options: Browser-based video meetings with screen sharing and a Google account, no install needed.
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