Whether you do your work on the latest iPad Pro, one of the best laptops, or a custom PC, you still need software to get those tasks done. Unfortunately, it feels like everything is a subscription these days, from the movies and TV shows we watch to the software that we run on our computers. That's fine if you only use a few specialist programs, but the snowball effect adds up as you add more software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions.

The good news is that most paid software packages have alternative options, with many of them being free to use. These free versions of paid software might be a little rough around the edges or not come with the full depth of features, but they will help you get your tasks done without spending more cash, which is a win.

Photo editing

Photoshop isn't necessary for most tasks

One of the things I've learned over the years is that the number of people who actually need the full functionality of tools like Adobe Photoshop is pretty small. For the rest of us, there are plenty of single-task websites that will help with simple edits, like remove.bg for background removal or the free version of Pixlr for basic image manipulation. The benefit of web apps is that they work on any device with a browser, and you might find that's all you need.

If you prefer to have an installed program on your computer to retouch photos or manipulate images, Krita is great for digital painters, while GIMP and Paint.NET are more fully-featured image manipulation tools that can replace most of the features you'd think about reaching for paid software to do.

• Editor's choice

  GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)

  GIMP is a great replacement for Photoshop, with powerful tools for retouching, editing, painting, and almost any other function you would want to do with a digital image. It works on Windows, Linux, and macOS and has a thriving community for plug-ins and scripts to extend the program's usefulness.

  See at GIMP
• Best for painters

  Krita

  Krita is one of the best tools for digital artists, whether the medium is cartoons, concept art, illustrations, or animation. It's aimed at creating from scratch, and as such, it doesn't have some of the features that you might want in an image editor, like stitching together photos. What it does have is a deep, layer-based painting canvas for your imagination to run wild.

  See at Krita
• Best for drawing tablets

  Paint.NET

  Paint.NET was originally intended to be a direct replacement for MS Paint, but has grown over two decades into a fully-featured image and photo editor for Windows PCs. It's layer-based, has unlimited undo memory, and supports pens and drawing tablets, and in addition to the in-built tools, there's a thriving community of plug-in makers.

  See at Paint.NET

Video editing

You can get a pro editor for free

Video editing is another software category that's dominated by a few big players who charge large sums of money for licenses. The thing is, if you're only just starting out on your creative journey, you don't want to be paying for the software while you're learning. Whether you're creating for social media, work, or as a hobby, you can get professional results from many video editors that are free to use. The biggest of these is Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve, which is used by Hollywood studios. That means you can learn with the pro tools and decide if you need the additional paid features at the end of the day. That sounds like a win to us.

• Professional level

  DaVinci Resolve

  This is a fully-featured professional-level non-linear editor focusing on color grading tools. It's free to download and use by anybody, and the only features locked behind the licensing fee are ones that the majority of home users won't need. Use the free version to learn, and pay for the license if or when you actually need the other features.

  See at Apple Apps (Free) See at Blackmagic
• Best for vertical video

  Capcut

  CapCut is a powerful video editor for vertical video formats, like the ones you'd use on social media apps. It's owned and developed by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, and has a huge library of free templates, tutorials, and everything you need to make snappy, catchy vertical flicks for your social shares.

  See at CapCut
• Best open source

  Shotcut

  Shotcut is a multi-track video editor that can handle 4K or 8K footage for professional-level results. It supports the latest audio and video formats like ProRes and DNxHD, and can work with HDR content. It works on Linux, Windows, and Mac, so you can use it wherever you are, and has a customizable UI to make your workflow easier.

  See at Shotcut

Audio editing

Pick the complexity you need

Audio editing is the other half of producing polished videos. There is a wide variety of free software packages out there, depending on your needs. Some are simple recording tools to get basic recording tracks on your computer, while others come with advanced tools to make your voice sound its best. Whether it's for a podcast or for video, getting your audio right is crucial for audience retention. You don't need to pick up the paid software packages to get a pro sound, though, and one of these free options will get you going in the right direction.

• Editor's choice

  Audacity

  Audacity has been the best free audio editor for years, and it's not even close. It's not a DAW if you need to create multi-instrument songs, but the two-track editor is enough for most needs. It now has non-destructive editing so that your original files are untouched, and it has a huge library of plug-ins for additional features.

  See at Audacity
• Best for Windows users

  Cakewalk

  For Windows users, the powerful Cakewalk is a free DAW with unlimited tracks, plug-ins, and MIDI capabilities for advanced audio creation. It's a one-stop software package for composing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering, so the entire audio chain can be handled without learning multiple programs. Oh, and the interface has won awards for its design, so it's easy to learn and use.

  See at BandLab
• Best for Apple users

  GarageBand

  Apple users have one of the best free DAWs already installed on their devices, in the form of GarageBand. This pro-level audio studio can handle multiple tracks, instruments, and vocals and comes with a sound library to use in your own creations, including session drummers and percussionists to jam out with.

  See at Apple App Store

3D graphics alternatives

If you're just starting out, free software is better to test it out

If you need to do any 3D graphics work, you know that along with the steep learning curve comes a steep purchase price. Or it would, if you didn't pick one of the free alternatives that are used by professionals in many industries. Whether you want 3D models to 3D print, or to animate, or for static images for promotional use, you can find a free alternative that will work for you. The only thing is that most of these tools have a steep learning curve, but they're also widely used, so a quick search will find a host of tutorials to help you get started.

• Editor's choice

  Blender

  Blender is free and open source software, and will be forever. It's an incredibly powerful 3D CG program that rivals the paid options out there. That's because not only does it support the full 3D pipeline from modeling through to motion tracking, it has a huge community making improvements and tutorials in case you get lost.

  See at Blender
• Web-based

  Spline

  Creating 3D assets doesn't have to be hard, and you don't even need to install a program on your computer anymore. Spline runs on your web browser, so you can create from any device, and has generative AI, so you can build from text prompts - or learn the ropes of 3D design the hard way.

  See at Spline
• Best for animators

  Rumba

  Rumba is completely free for enthusiasts to learn 3D animation with a fully-featured pro-grade program. It's more geared towards the animating part of 3D, so you will need to find or make 3D models elsewhere, and bring them into the program to make your masterpiece. And it's compatible with (most) Autodesk Maya rigs, so you don't have to start from scratch if that's what you're used to.

  See at Rumba

Office software

Even Microsoft has a free version

Office software is an essential part of modern computing, and paid programs keep adding advanced features every year so that they stay ahead of the competition. That's good to know, but think about the last time you used a pivot table, or any of the other advanced tools you paid for. For most users, all they need is the ability to create and edit office documents or spreadsheets, and that basic functionality is baked into every free alternative to office software.

• Editor's choice

  LibreOffice

  Individual pricing

  Free

  Platforms

  Windows, macOS, Linux

  The big feature for LibreOffice isn't compatibility with every Microsoft 365 document format. That's nice to know, but it's also free to use commercially, which is something that free software often has a proviso about. The suite has a word processor, a spreadsheet tool, and a presentation maker, and also ones for vector diagrams, math functions, and even a database which is something most free office suites leave out.

  Download LibreOffice
• Office on the web

  Microsoft 365 Free Apps

  Even Microsoft has a free version of Office, that lives on the web in much the way Google Docs does. The versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint included here might not feature advanced tools like pivot tables, but the basic functionality is and that's all most users care about. And with full compatibility with Microsoft 365, it's a direct replacement.

  See at Microsoft
• Best freemium

  WPS Office

  WPS Office covers all the bases for replacing your paid office suite, with a word processor, spreadsheet, and presention tool in one app. It's a slick interface, and also includes a free PDF reader. The paid version of the software adds PDF editing powers, but if you don't need that this is a great office suite for free.

  Download WPS Office

Antivirus software

Protect yourself from malware for free

With online threats getting more and more sophisticated, you should be running some form of antivirus even if you think you're not a target. That's because everyone on the internet is a target, so every time you browse around, you're at risk. That sounds a little gloomy, but the good news is that even the free antivirus software packages can keep you safe from threats. Some free options even beat the paid packages, and our favorite free antivirus programs are below.

• Editor's choice

  Windows Security

  For most users, the best free antivirus is the one that their computer already has. That's Windows Security, which is the new name for Windows Defender, and it does a good job of protecting against most attacks. While it does protect against malicious websites, it only does so in the Edge browser.

  See at Microsoft
• Award winning protection

  Avast Free Antivirus

  For a more comprehensive free solution, Avast has you covered. The always-on antivirus is free, and you also get ransomware protection, a firewall, and a VPN with bandwidth limits. That's a lot of features for free, and you might find that you don't need the paid package which adds advanced things like keeping your apps automatically updated.

  See at Avast
• Banish malware

  Malwarebytes

  While Windows does a decent job of antivirus, sometimes you need malware removal as well. That's the job of dedicated programs like Malwarebytes Free, to clean up the malware once it's already on your computer. It even clears out tracking cookies or other potentially unwanted visitors to your PC, and is a recommended second line of defense against attack.

  See at Malwarebytes

Productivity tools

Be more efficient, for less

The best productivity apps make you better at whatever task you are doing, but that means there isn't really a one-size-fits-all solution. From password managers that keep your secrets safe to grammar checkers and coding environments, productivity apps come in all sorts of flavors. We've picked a few of our favorite free productivity tools below, but this is a tiny cross-section of the apps available. The only thing you need to know is that if you have a specific task to do, there's likely a free software alternative to the paid programs.

• Best free password manager

  Bitwarden

  Everyone, and I mean everyone, should be using a password manager by now, with unique passwords for every service. Your bank might have good security practices, but what about those tiny websites you buy things from? If one of those gets breached, every site you have an account on can be breached with a credential stuffing attack. Stay safe, use a password manager.

  See at Bitwarden
• Best FOSS code editor

  VSCodium

  VSCodium is a fully-featured code editor with all the features of Microsoft's VS Code except without the tracking and telemetry that some users find objectionable. That makes it a no-brainer replacement, as it's the same core product. Oh, and it's free, to use, modify, copy, or even use for commercial use, providing the MIT License is mentioned.

  See at VSCodium
• Best for PDFs

  PDF-XChange Editor

  Most users don't need the complexity of Acrobat for PDF use, and PDF-XChange Editor is perfect as a replacement. It allows for many common editing functions like digital signatures to be added, while retaining compatibility. If you find you require the advanced features, it's a one-time fee to upgrade to the paid version.

  See at PDF-XChange
• Best for working with archives

  7-Zip

  While the ZIP function baked into Windows works, it's slow and can't handle quite as many file types as more complete solutions like 7-Zip. This free archiving program integrates into the right-click menu of Windows so it's easy to use and can open pretty much any archive file you can get.

  See at 7-Zip
• Best for content creators

  OBS Studio

  OBS Studio is the best game recording and streaming app for anyone, even above the paid options. It's more user-friendly than ever, with a simple configurator that gets you going, but has the depth you need once your skill level improves to add plugins, effects, and more advanced tools to your streams.

  See at OBS Project
• Best grammar checker

  LanguageTool

  There's no excuse for incorrect grammar these days, with useful and free software packages like LanguageTool. It lives in your browser as an extension and proofreads your words so that you can be the best you can be, without worrying about pesky rules. The basic checking is some of the best, and it supports over 30 languages, when most checkers only support a few.

  See at LanguageTool

There are many, many more options out there for free software

We've only scratched the surface when it comes to alternatives for the best paid software programs. If you didn't see the category you're trying to replace, we found some sites that can function to help you find alternatives to the various programs you use, paid or otherwise.

• AlternativeTo: Search through the crowdsourced recommendations for a huge number of Windows, Mac, web app, and Linux software packages to find alternatives to well-known programs.
• Osalt: Similar to AlternativeTo, this site only shows open source alternatives to the programs you want to find.

With the variety of free software packages out there (many of which are in web app form, so they can be used from almost any device) there's really no need to pay for expensive software when you're only going to be using a few of the features. That's doubly true for any subscription-based package, as the fees for those add up faster than you think.