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Announcements Mar 28, 2026 at 8:48 PM

What free software is so good you can't believe it's free?

Posted by ComprehensiveNorth1

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Vindicare605 Mar 29, 2026 +10219
UBlock Origin. the amount of headache it saves me is crazy and it costs nothing.
10219
itwasntme967 Mar 29, 2026 +4257
Even more: Some time ago YouTube decided they really wanted to wage war on Adblockers. Over the course of two weeks every couple of hours you would see ads on YouTube again, then two hours later you could refresh the filter lists on UBlock and it would work again. Again, this would go on for two weeks before Google just gave up. I really wanted to donate to the Devs then, but they explicitly state that they *don't want any money*. Argument they provided is that as soon as they took money there would be expectations and they didn't want to deal with that.
4257
asianfatboy Mar 29, 2026 +1591
The sole dev said to donate to the Maintainers of the Block/Filter Lists instead. Dude's a Legend.
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ours Mar 29, 2026 +464
And the list maintainers are unsung heroes.
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The_One_Returns Mar 29, 2026 +58
Guessing he'a a super smart nerd who already has a killer job and is just doing it for the love of destroying Google's shitty ads.
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TuxedoMasked Mar 29, 2026 +688
This is the problem with all security. It will always be faster to build a taller ladder than a taller wall.
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mrfakefakefake Mar 29, 2026 +122
perfect way to describe it, it’s just an endless arms race
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GoabNZ Mar 29, 2026 +123
Not only that, but its one of motivation. Corporations have to pay people, who don't really support the mission, to keep in the race. And they only work 9 to 5 while being paid. Meanwhile, countless people are willing to work together, for free, out of spite. Many of the same people employed to fight for the corpos, themselves find ads a nuisance and have the knowledge to help fight them. And what we get is a positive feedback loop. Because fighting that hard to get ads in the faces of adblocker users, when we are less likely to engage with ads, just weakens the value of the ads and make the people paying to have their ads shown, pay less per ad shown. So the only way they can maintain revenue, is to force more ads onto the people who don't adblock, making them more likely to get an adblocker that makes ads of even less value. And since there is such little moderation of ads, even the FBI recommends you block them for your own security. It is just lose lose lose situation for the corpos, yet they keep fighting, at this point just to be obnoxious. Like making longer waits for browsers they can't control.
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mrfakefakefake Mar 29, 2026 +356
uBlock is literally essential at this point, internet feels broken without it
356
cgaWolf Mar 29, 2026 +106
At this point uBlock is a necessary security measure
106
veeyo Mar 29, 2026 +149
I uninstalled chrome because they blocked the UBlock Origin extension.
149
BrilliantBet6021 Mar 29, 2026 +2772
Wireshark
2772
fly_raven Mar 29, 2026 +260
Wireshark is crazy powerful, but also the fastest way to realize how little most people understand networking
260
syphilisticcontinuum Mar 29, 2026 +98
Fun fact: it can also expose how little you know about USB and the protocols layered on top of it
98
FeanorBlu Mar 29, 2026 +35
But I mean. Why would any normal person understand even a single thing about networking?
35
dingbatmeow Mar 29, 2026 +498
Finally a mention for Wireshark. So useful for network testing.
498
kombiwombi Mar 29, 2026 +278
Wireshark replaced software+hardware combinations which retailed for over $10K.
278
tonitacker Mar 29, 2026 +31
Wireshark helped me prove to my IT department that our 3D printer is too dumb for WPA3. Probably saved us weeks of outage by not playing dumb and saying „The printer doesn’t work“.
31
Mission_Scale_860 Mar 29, 2026 +3140
ffMPEG
3140
Hylian_might Mar 29, 2026 +795
The backbone of all modern video infrastructure
795
tommyk1210 Mar 29, 2026 +482
And one that I’d wager most people are blissfully unaware of. People recognise things like Linux, but I don’t think 90% of even tech-oriented people understand just how pivotal ffmpeg is. It’s in EVERYTHING around video streaming and hosting, as well as a large number of software tools that handle any kind of video. Funnily enough, many of the tools that have been posted here like OBS and DaVinci resolve are basically sat on top of FFMPEG. It’s used in TV broadcasting, audiobook production, your phone when you receive a video message, TikTok and other social media. It’s EVERYWHERE.
482
MrDenver3 Mar 29, 2026 +150
As a software engineer, I didn’t realize this until I worked for a media company. For some reason, I just figured there would be proprietary or COTS products used in its place. Nope, instead they build wrapper services around ffmpeg. Incredible.
150
Noooo_ooope Mar 29, 2026 +105
This is really the hilarious irony if it. Not long ago I was met with a bothersome problem that felt unsolvable, most places I looked pointed me to some paid service or another that would probably do what I needed. I searched around so much, that I eventually learned enough of the technical terminology to finally do a CORRECT search and find that the answer has always been just using a singular command with ffmpeg
105
PopularSecret Mar 29, 2026 +76
If people realised the impact this has on their daily lives it would be number 1 for sure
76
Earmilk987 Mar 29, 2026 +80
FTM MPREG
80
cenacat Mar 29, 2026 +31
You are joking but there is a Rust-port of ffmpeg and it‘s called ffmpREg.
31
VisualCauliflower783 Mar 28, 2026 +11048
Blender, the fact that it's free is honestly insane for what it can do
11048
thatfreakingmonster Mar 29, 2026 +1272
The thing that baffles me most about Blender (other than how feature-packed it is for an open source project, or how strable it is compared to Maya or 3DS Max) is the fact that it's **really, really good software design.** - It's context-sensitive, meaning keyboard shortcuts will apply to wherever your mouse is hovering, instead of requiring to click on specific parts of the window to grab the focus (which can make you accidentally change/move things) - Mousewheel lets you scroll through menus but if your mouse suddenly hovers over an option, it *won't* stop to scroll through the options (looking at you, Premiere and After Effects). Instead you have to do CTRL+Mousewheel to scroll through options, that way you can't do it accidentally - Keyboard shortcuts are consistent across the whole program (Hitting R several times to rotate an object in trackball mode also works... when rotating keyframes, and nodes?!) - You can assign keyboard shortcuts to *anything*, a lot of programs don't let you (looking at you, FL Studio) - You can go into "walk navigation" at any point which lets you explore your scene in first person with WASD, collision and all?? - If you select several objects and hold Alt while changing one of their properties, it changes it for all objects at once - Selecting objects is considered an action, so if you were painstakingly selecting stuff, accidentally misclicked and lost everything, you can just CTRL+Z and you'll get your selection back, unlike most other programs (Premiere...) - Bugs often get fixed in a matter of days. Meanwhile, my Maya teacher in school was telling the class "Don't mind this bug, it's been in there since 2004..." So many little things everywhere that just make *sense* and make me realize how awful Adobe and Autodesk are at software design in comparison, and we're only putting up with this shit because they have a monopoly...
1272
Joeyfingis Mar 29, 2026 +119
I can't figure out how to align edges or faces of objects in blender, that's where I always rage quit. Like if I make a shelf and then want to make a bunch of objects that sit on the shelf, not in the shelf, not slightly hovering above the shelf. Then let's say I want to fuse one of the objects with the shelf, make it a part of the shelf. I cannot for the life of me figure out a tutorial on how to accomplish this without excruciatingly just eyeballing the movement of the objects. I feel like an idiot. F****** PowerPoint has snap to objects and align objects.
119
Blender_platypus Mar 29, 2026 +182
You have to turn on snapping! There’s a little magnet icon on the top you can enable, and then choose a bunch of options like snap to the grid, snap to faces, etc. There’s also an addon called drop it I believe that is very useful for “dropping” objects on a ground plane
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flavasava Mar 29, 2026 +56
You can also just hold control while moving it to snap to the active snap element without having to click on the magnet
56
myleftearfelloff Mar 29, 2026 +24
Click that little magnet icon on the top bar and go through its options in the drop down(icon to the right of it). That turns on snapping, objects will then snap to the nearest surface, based on their point of origin and your snapping selection ;)
24
Pic889 Mar 29, 2026 +2233
This is because Blender was developed to be used in real production by people with experience in 3D animation, in contrast with The GIMP, which is what a bunch of people with no experience in digital photo manipulation think real users want (CMYK? They won't need that).
2233
CleverMonkeyKnowHow Mar 29, 2026 +1217
I've always wondered why GIMP is such a pile of shit. The hubris is takes to try to create a Photoshop competitor without having an intimate understanding of photography, publishing, color theory, etc. is truly exceptional.
1217
SinisterPixel Mar 29, 2026 +733
GIMP is almost entirely built on hubris. There have been plenty of really fantastic commits to the project, such as a refined UI, and many other features that would have really made it a top tier piece of software, but the people controlling the main build automatically veto a ton of commits that focus on usability. That's why every single interface feels like it's from a different era of computing. A lot of elements have barely changed since the 90s when the first releases started coming out, and have just been tacked onto ever since.
733
SouthHistorian1162 Mar 29, 2026 +456
From my perspective, GIMP always felt powerful but oddly exhausting to use. I feel like the core capability is there, but the experience can make simple things feel harder than they need to be. For me, when usability improvements keep getting pushed aside, it creates this weird gap where the software is technically strong but practically frustrating.
456
Luminsnce Mar 29, 2026 +275
I just kept pirating photoshop because everytime I tried GIMP nothing seemed to work and I felt like an idiot not understanding how computers work
275
thinsoldier Mar 29, 2026 +80
There are computers in libraries throughout the caribbean that run a portable Photoshop 6 or 7 from 20 years ago. Nobody has the patience for GIMP.
80
Altruistic-Slide-512 Mar 29, 2026 +162
Oh good.. I felt the same, and I'm deeply technical. Gimp makes me feel like I've had a stroke and woke up stupid..
162
Uraneum Mar 29, 2026 +58
Holy shit so it’s not just me. A few months ago I had to use GIMP and I nearly cried because it was so frustrating. Even simple things made no sense.
58
digitaljestin Mar 29, 2026 +139
GIMP is heavily plugin-based (basically each menu option), and those plugins actually _are_ from different eras and conform to the different capabilities of the product over the past 30 years. GIMP 3 attempts to fix this by requiring plugins to conform to a standard that allows things like previewing changes in the main view with GEGL rendering. While this is a good move, it also means lots of plugins aren't available in the latest version because the maintainers basically have to rewrite them. -- a somewhat annoyed maintainer of a GIMP plugin
139
PineappleOnPizzaWins Mar 29, 2026 +60
As a highly experienced infrastructure administrator and developer who has used/maintained/and developed for Linux a *lot* over the last few decades... yep. The Linux communities biggest issues are constantly refusing to get the f*** out of their own way. *So* many projects are held back because the maintainers went "we have decided the right way to do this and if you disagree, you are wrong". Or they'll enforce a specification to the letter, ignoring that in the real world it's *never* implemented like that and thus they are now incompatible with everything/everyone. I love Linux, I love open source, but there's a reason real progress tends to come from a select few projects that are usually backed by some pretty big commercial interests and it's not just because that lets people get paid.. it's because once money gets involved the focus stops being "I'm right f*** you" and actually "what do the people *using this* actually want?".
60
Confident_Dragon Mar 29, 2026 +130
Yes, Gimp would need the Tantacrul treatment. (He's the guy managing development of MuseScore and Audacity. And he has pretty good videos on YouTube shitting on other's interface design.)
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Agret Mar 29, 2026 +14
I hate how after Audacity was acquired they have filled it with ads for cloud services. There's a few things you need to disable and change in the options to cleanup all the BS they added. It's a shame to see such a great free software become enshittified. I hope the new redesign is not going to be even more filled with that nonsense.
14
_Lucille_ Mar 29, 2026 +104
is there another option? I barely do any imaging work and GIMP is "good enough". It fills the role of "something more powerful than mspaint". I am sure PS is a better product, but I have no clue how to even draw a line or a box in gimp already....
104
ManamiVixen Mar 29, 2026 +94
There is Krita. A more professional art studio app.
94
Gendryll Mar 29, 2026 +26
I'm surprised I had to scroll this far to find this answer.
26
Arucious Mar 29, 2026 +133
[Affinity](https://www.affinity.studio/photo-editing-software) has been a photoshop competitor for years at a fraction of the cost and maybe 75% as good. Now it’s free after Canva bought them.
133
bt123456789 Mar 29, 2026 +55
I used to use paint.net. It was really good. if you use an android tablet, there is sketchbook (formally autodesk sketchbook), it's on iOS too. Sketchbook is insanely good, honestly I wish it had a PC version.
55
Ferenik Mar 29, 2026 +67
Photopea is pretty good and browser based.
67
digitaljestin Mar 29, 2026 +170
GIMP wasn't created to be a photo editor. It was created to be an _image_ editor. GIMP was created because people needed to draw things, not edit photos that they already took. It was created in conjunction with the GTK GUI libraries. The G in GTK doesn't even stand for GNU (not directly) as you might expect; it stands for GIMP. It is the GIMP Tool Kit; a graphical interface library created to build GIMP, so they could _use_ GIMP to draw new GUI resources. Editing photos was just a side effect, and no, CMYK wasn't needed for its intended purposes. They didn't expect the images created with it to be printed (the reason CMYK exists).
170
Background-Golf4397 Mar 29, 2026 +55
I’m like half convinced there are a bunch of Adobe bots loose in here
55
Confident_Dragon Mar 29, 2026 +71
This. Blender has even its own animation studio to help test it and push it further. That project is in league of its own when it comes to open-source.
71
MattyGWS Mar 29, 2026 +222
Honestly yes, I’m a 3D / VFX artist of 15 years in the game industry, I’ve used Wings3D, Rhino3D, 3DS Max and Maya, but for the last 7 years it’s been blender all the way and it’s amazing.
222
BinniesPurp Mar 29, 2026 +133
I remember when the industry used to say "nobody ever uses blender, Autodesk is the only professional product" and half the people on Listnook/4chan would take that idea to the grave and downvote anything made with blender lol I guess they were upset that open source software provided better options than their $6500 a year autodesk license, university made me learn everything on Maya but as soon as I got an internship with a studio they were all using blender anyway for unity/unreal projects
133
AngryMustache9 Mar 29, 2026 +53
Can confirm. One of my units for this term right now in my University course is a 3D Modelling course and we're required to learn Maya, and my lecturer insists that Blender is not industry standard (bullshit) and that this is the best one. I mean, Maya's alright, it gets the job done (not a fan of the frequent crashes and unresponsive UI though), but there's no way I'm using this over the free and just-as-good-if-not-better-alternative once this unit is done. Even with the little experience I had with Blender, I know it's better.
53
BinniesPurp Mar 29, 2026 +34
Yea I think the main reason you'll find/need Maya in industry is most of their home made proprietary stuff has been built as extensions for Maya from as far back as the 90s and they've just kind of stuck with it In game development you can almost entirely get away with blender outside of mocap, but for film and animation studios they'll basically make you do everything in Maya because all of the environments are designed for it already
34
thesaddestpanda Mar 29, 2026 +40
Blender wasnt free software at first. Its commercial software designed to be sold, and was sold but the company failed in the market. Then later bought by an open source fundraiser and liberated. The 100,000 euro price was matched and Blender then became open source.
40
AddWid Mar 29, 2026 +48
Especially when you look at the price of CAD packages
48
Tuck_ Mar 29, 2026 +2508
QGIS, the open source alternative to ArcGIS, is significantly more enjoyable to use. (Context: Both are software for making maps and doing geospatial analyses)
2508
HerrHanussen Mar 29, 2026 +257
Definitely! QGIS is excellent!
257
7LeagueBoots Mar 29, 2026 +175
Wouldn’t say it’s more enjoyable, but it is a fantastic piece of software.
175
ModusPwnins Mar 29, 2026 +49
I tried to read your comment and got Error 999999
49
Command_ofApophis Mar 29, 2026 +10
My job! Surprised to see this so far up. I have used countless programs for school, jobs and hobbies and I think QGIS is one of the best things ever. It would be pretty darn great as a premium product for more than a little money, but it is open source.
10
InuyoukaiMei Mar 29, 2026 +1318
Krita! It’s an open software art tool. Can also do animation. I switched like 5 years ago and haven’t looked at any other program since tbh
1318
cknappiowa Mar 29, 2026 +144
I still keep GIMP around did a few things just because I’ve used it forever across a dozen OSes, but more and more I’m pulling up Krita first when I’m just in the mood to create. It’s just a much nicer program all around.
144
agentinks Mar 29, 2026 +15
Thank you so much for mentioning Krita! I hadn't heard of it, took a look, and downloaded it to try. I've been paying for PS for a long while now and would like to give it up. As an aside, I checked out your profile to see your art. [Celestial Body is amazing](https://www.listnook.com/r/Illustration/comments/kpamdd/celestial_body/). I'm curious to see your more modern work.
15
ReliusCrowbar Mar 29, 2026 +32
Krita is the goat, i just wish the text editor was good lol.
32
Hi-Point_of_my_life Mar 28, 2026 +11776
VLC
11776
MalikVonLuzon Mar 29, 2026 +1859
Robert Evans: "I've been using your software to watch p****** media for 15 years" VLC people: "Good. Keep doing that."
1859
TinkersDebts Mar 29, 2026 +483
I know not everyone is this morally conscious, but as a poor person, I can do three things: 1. Pirate your content and appreciate it. 2. Not watch your content. 3. If your content is so good, I can selectively purchase 'winners.' This is still an upstream marketing strategy. Trust me, I would much rather buy your $120 Collector Box Set than pirate your media.
483
TM761152 Mar 29, 2026 +117
I found a boxed set of Band of Brothers DVDs at an op shop once for $10. I happily bought it. Still pirate them, since the 1080p versions are higher quality than the 480i DVDs 😂
117
WraithCadmus Mar 29, 2026 +1974
A great open-source project, and it could probably get a playable video out of a rock.
1974
graywolfman Mar 29, 2026 +947
The number of "unplayable" videos I've salvage by using VLC to open and then convert makes me happy
947
Feeling_Inside_1020 Mar 29, 2026 +475
VLC has never met a video file it couldn’t play. Or at least anecdotally speaking and I used to throw a lot of broke files at it that wouldn’t play in other players, it quickly became my default media player because why even bother?
475
hotcococharlie Mar 29, 2026 +436
If VLC can’t play it. It isn’t a video file
436
Finkarelli Mar 29, 2026 +166
Also, sometimes VLC *can* play it, and it isn’t a video file (because VLC is also my default .flac player).
166
total_cynic Mar 29, 2026 +28
It also does a decent job of playing media in part downloaded .rar files
28
_Cinnabar_ Mar 29, 2026 +74
wanted to watch a movie on my tablet, told me I can either watch the movie or hear sound, not both, and I'd habe to buy a codec to be able to lol. installed VLC, player like a charm, no codec needed (kinda scammy to ask that from the default app tbh)
74
sneezyo Mar 29, 2026 +48
Technically your cpu is a rock
48
li0_oj Mar 29, 2026 +227
*and FFmpeg
227
sensors Mar 29, 2026 +111
ffmeg is one of the most unknown and underappreciated pieces of software in existence that almost everyone uses.
111
HeyItsTheJeweler Mar 29, 2026 +261
Been using VLC for over 20 years and it hasn't aged a second. I feel like it's been the only stable thing in the entire world during that time. Think about all the change that's happened and yet when I want to watch literally any video I open up the same program that looks the same. It's f****** insane.
261
AussieArlenBales Mar 29, 2026 +124
The more I have to deal with enshittification the more I appreciate stable products like VLC.
124
Khage Mar 29, 2026 +31
VLC and winrar. 2 constants that, I hope, never change.
31
braytag Mar 29, 2026 +58
Of vlc can't play it, delete it.
58
Trax-M Mar 29, 2026 +3506
Handbrake is pretty good for video file conversions
3506
atoolred Mar 29, 2026 +387
Same with ShutterEncoder
387
psaux_grep Mar 29, 2026 +244
Don’t know about SE, but typically _ffmpeg_ underpins all of these. Honestly one of the best things we’ve gotten from AI is making ffmpeg more accessible (minus the hallucinations). Instead of trying to find the command I used 3 months ago or re-reading the manual and the Internet I can get really close really quick and tune it from there.
244
Valerian_ Mar 29, 2026 +227
Handbrake is just the tip of the iceberg, we should thank FFMPEG, which is what Handbrake mostly is a UI for.
227
Edziss101 Mar 28, 2026 +4304
Git
4304
ProtocolX Mar 29, 2026 +1303
… and we can thank Linus Torvalds for it. (creator of Linux also created Git)
1303
SirPeterODactyl Mar 29, 2026 +542
I love how both instances the driving factor was "I want this so I'll just write it myself"
542
fubo Mar 29, 2026 +383
Linux was a hobbyist project at first ... but git was a response to a threat. Linux development was for a while hosted on a proprietary system called [BitKeeper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitKeeper), whose developer threatened to kick other people off of it if they also worked on potentially competing software. This threat was intolerable to Linus, who immediately started work on git to replace BitKeeper. The company behind BitKeeper subsequently went out of business, and (for better or worse) source code management today is now largely synonymous with git-based systems. In gist: If you threaten Linux developers, Linus will destroy not just your business, but your entire sector of the tech industry ... and replace it with something whose name means "b******", too.
383
SomeRandomSomeWhere Mar 29, 2026 +98
Didn't bitkeeper blacklist / ban / something one of the Linux devs before Linus decided to step in and make git? If I recall it only took him a couple of weeks to make git and change an entire tech sector. Just hope Linus doesn't get irritated by you. He may just decide to spend a couple of weeks and change your whole industry. ;)
98
xenotrope Mar 29, 2026 +71
This isn't quite right. BitKeeper developer Larry McVoy didn't threaten Linus or the Linux project. BitKeeper was a proprietary tool designed and maintained by McVoy's for-profit company called BitMover. Linus liked the tool and McVoy allowed Linux devs to use it for free via a handshake non-compete agreement with BitMover. "Don't use BitKeeper to try to write another source control tool" basically. Andrew Tridgell (the guy who developed rsync and Samba) allegedly reverse engineered the over-the-wire BitKeeper communication protocol and McVoy didn't take kindly to that. Linus wasn't involved, Tridgell swears he did nothing wrong. McVoy knows his agreement was breached because Tridgell published a BitKeeper-extraction tool called SourcePuller. No one was happy with the situation. E-mails were exchanged. It devolved to phone calls. Eventually, Linus and Larry agreed to end their cooperation on BitKeeper. Linus spent several days looking at replacements before announcing that he was ending his use of BitKeeper on the LKML. He would announce the first proof-of-concept of Git about four days later. BitKeeper went open source in 2016 and then out of business a few years after that. Larry McVoy is retired now.
71
ihateusednames Mar 29, 2026 +23
That is \*very\* on brand with Linus's scorched earth PR feedback
23
MulfordnSons Mar 29, 2026 +137
yeah this is a big one
137
NiteShdw Mar 29, 2026 +121
I actually can believe it's free, though.
121
Scirocco-MRK1 Mar 29, 2026 +428
MP3TAG. Made by some German fella. I use it nearly daily. Paid $20 donation years ago, forgot and made another donation. He emailed to remind me i already paid. Keep it man!
428
SlimJimPoisson Mar 29, 2026 +101
Florian Heidenreich. Amazing fellow.
101
UX_Strategist Mar 29, 2026 +38
Completely agree! I use MP3Tag on my vast music and sound library, and it's invaluable! I've donated to Florian Heidenreich several times over the years, just because I sincerely appreciate the capabilities of that software.
38
grantrules Mar 28, 2026 +4995
Linux. It runs on (nearly) every Internet connected device smarter than a lightbulb. A free (as in speech and as in beer), incredibly stable OS that runs on even the most meager hardware.
4995
Amonamission Mar 29, 2026 +1164
It’s why Linus made it free: he wanted a free kernel.
1164
mofugginrob Mar 29, 2026 +238
Dude must love popcorn.
238
Feeling_Inside_1020 Mar 29, 2026 +320
Most servers online are running some flavor of Linux too. Insane the reach.
320
balls2hairy Mar 29, 2026 +306
Not just servers. Most *everything* in the entire **world** is running on Linux. If it's a smart device that isn't a Windows laptop or iPhone/macOS it's almost certainly Linux. From cars to control systems to lighting.
306
theLorknessMonster Mar 29, 2026 +92
There's a decent amount of freebsd out there as well, especially on network devices.
92
imme40 Mar 29, 2026 +198
Apple stopped supporting x86 laptops. I couldn't install Minecraft or Firefox, or anything else for that matter, on my wife's Mac book. Loaded Debian onto it, it runs super smooth, and does everything she'll ever need. Only had to load the Wi-Fi driver onto it, which should be a non issue now with their installer that included non-free drivers and such
198
spoothead656 Mar 29, 2026 +94
Me reading this comment in Firefox on a Mac: “Macs can’t run Firefox??”
94
SinisterPixel Mar 29, 2026 +2873
I can name so many: OBS - Literally why would you ever need a different piece of software for recording? If it doesn't have a feature you want, there's a pretty good probability that someone's made a plugin for it DaVinci Resolve - For most people, all the editing tools they'll ever need for video editing Kdenlive - Open source video editor that has full Windows, Mac, and Linux support Audacity - Incredibly powerful DAW that's basically an industry standard Blender - Another industry standard piece of software. One of the most versatile bits of 3D software out there. Godot - A really crazy versatile game engine which I highly encourage learning over alternatives like Unity or Unreal if you're just starting out.
2873
r2b2_nz Mar 29, 2026 +625
I wouldn't say Audacity is a DAW, more of a great audio editor. If people are looking at free DAWs then Ardour is always worth a shot.
625
Beefkins Mar 29, 2026 +168
What about Reaper? Do people still use that? I think maybe it's not *technically* free, but it's functionally free.
168
ancientblond Mar 29, 2026 +81
Hell yeah people use Reaper still, but for faith of the question I disqualify it just cause as you said, its not *actually* free, they've just got an amazing f****** trial Im gonna throw LMMS in the ring too; its essentially open source and slightly weird FL Studio, the GUI and everything is similar. Going from LMMS to FL Studio was *so easy* when I finally could. It just lacks some major features like recording ability and some QoL shit FL has.
81
joejoe347 Mar 29, 2026 +169
Not sure I would call audacity an industry standard. It's useful but it's not like you're going to find professional engineers tracking on audacity outside of some niche situations.
169
1_Pissed_Off_German Mar 29, 2026 +63
Ya, it’s pretty much a digital multi-track, and not really a DAW by today’s standards. No MIDI or virtual instruments, but great for getting started or if you just need some basic audio editing.
63
uvdotexe Mar 29, 2026 +33
Yeah while you absolutely COULD record a full length album using only audacity, it would be the most tedious and frustrating process imaginable. There'd be no legitimate reason to use it when Reaper or even Garageband exist.
33
ancientblond Mar 29, 2026 +166
Audacity? Industry standard? For super basic audio editing and ive heard some radio uses but id barely say its "standard" for anything outside of that
166
spencerasteroid Mar 29, 2026 +71
Worked at a radio station, can confirm we used Audacity but only as a backup when Audition was being weird (which was quite often).
71
OHMEGA_SEVEN Mar 29, 2026 +61
Came here to say DaVinci Resolve.
61
MedonSirius Mar 29, 2026 +22
DaVinci Resolve is crazy. Many movies have been finalized with that. And it's free!
22
redderthanthou Mar 29, 2026 +199
Darktable. I'm not a pro or even a particularly keen amateur photographer and with some tutorials I was learning all sorts about photography and making casual snaps I took RAW with a phone and a digicam into really lovely personal pictures with my own stamp on them stylistically. My favourite project was emulating polaroids. With barely any effort you can be using software film emulations, denoising, masks, all sorts. Brings back a whole darkroom feel to the process and all on your laptop.
199
xnappo Mar 29, 2026 +614
1. Ffmpeg 2. VSCode 3. Kodi 4. Home Assistant  5. VLC 6. Paint.net
614
GoatGoatPowerRangers Mar 29, 2026 +161
Surprised paint.net isn't higher on the list. It's a really solid photoshop alternative.
161
painstream Mar 29, 2026 +42
It has some good basics, and I use it for light image work, but it doesn't compare for more intensive projects. I love Paint.net for what it does and recommend getting it, but something like Krita is still free with much better toolkits.
42
kaidomac Mar 29, 2026 +1501
I have a list! Actually *useful stuff* for Windows: * **Belarc Advisor Free:** See what software & hardware your computer has * **~~Bluestacks~~****:** Android emulator (**UPDATE!** Latest version appears to be junk, that's too bad! Check out LDPlayer, Nox, or MEmu instead!) * **Davinci Resolve:** Video editor * **Ear Trumpet:** Control per-app audio * **Everything Search:** Instantly search by filename * **Freetube:** Ad-free Youtube app * **Glasswire Free:** Firewall connections viewer * **Listary**: Double-tap CTRL to search & launch apps & files * **Hyper-V:** Built into Windows; run any OS virtually. * **Kando:** Mouse rotary menu macros * **Macrium 8 Free:** Bootable backup software * **NAPS2:** App for your AIO ADF/flatbed scanner, with in-app OCR download! * **NanaZIP:** Like 7-zip, but integrated into the Windows shell * **Ocenaudio:** Like Audicity but with an easier interface * **PaperCut Mobility Print:** Print anywhere (like Google Cloud Print, but DIY!) + adds Airprint * **PDFgear:** Free PDF editor * **Parsec:** Remote desktop with gaming support (also see Sunshine & Moonlight) * **Patch My PC:** Fully automated app updated (support for 500+ programs!) * **Playnite:** Game GUI for Steam, Itchio, Epic, etc. Use fullscreem with ANIKI REMAKE, * **Photopea:** Install as a Web App; like Photoshop "Lite" * **Potplayer:** Like VLC with a modern GUI * **RUFUS:** Burn the latest Windows 11 ISO to run the OS on older computers * **Quick Assist:** Windows built-in "Teamviewer" * **ShareX:** Screenshots + basic recordings + OCR + basic markup (circles, arrows, etc.) * **Splitcam:** Stream your camera to all of your meetings (Skype, Zoom, Teams, etc.) * **Tailscale:** Mesh VPN. Accses all your stuff at home & use your home IP anywhere in the world! * **TrayStatus:** See & hear key changes (capslock, numlock, etc.) * **WizTree:** See what's taking up space on your computer * **WSL2:** Built-in Linux for Windows; run Linux. Docker, LCX containers (meh), and Kubernetes Bonus: * **Frigate:** Free video security software * **FydeOS:** Like the Chromebook OS but with Web, Android, and Linux app support * **Home Assistant:** Smarthome software * **Jellyfin:** Media server like PLEX * **OPNsense:** Free router/firewall OS * **Proxmox VE:** OS for virtual machines with GPU passthtru
1501
Rick_Ross_Big_Balls Mar 29, 2026 +118
Tailscale was surprisingly easy to setup and has given me zero problems. Use my desktop as an exit node. Stream data to the Elastic stack. Simple UI. Also love RUFUS. I’ve probably downloaded it at least 50 times. Always tell myself I’ll not need it again, then end up needing it the next week.
118
robbok Mar 29, 2026 +290
KiCad.
290
Majik_Sheff Mar 29, 2026 +62
Someone better list this one. KiCAD is a fantastic tool that is constantly getting better.
62
tweakingforjesus Mar 29, 2026 +38
CERN is the reason we have it. I recall paying $8k a fracking year for PCB design software.
38
mayflyman20 Mar 29, 2026 +207
Obsidian
207
TheAJGman Mar 29, 2026 +13
Absolute life changing application. Over the past 3 years, it's slowly become *the* system for managing my personal and professional life. The plugins are absolutely killer. The *only* issue I have with it is that it's not open source, though I don't see much risk with using it since everything is markdown based. The community is also chock-full of developers, so if the devs pissed everyone off somehow, an open source clone would probably released within a few weeks.
13
kixkato Mar 29, 2026 +70
OpenSSL. Everyone is using it all day everyday without even realizing it.
70
TrafficConeForADick Mar 29, 2026 +562
7-Zip is too low on this list!
562
HeyItsTheJeweler Mar 29, 2026 +91
Man i love 7zip, probably been using it nearly 20 years, still solid as ever Lol few years back i took a frontend dev class. First project I submitted as a 7zip file, didn't even think anything of it. Professor gave me a 0 on it lmao. Said he couldn't open it and boom, failed. Thankfully he was cool about it once I explained it to him, but I was (and still am) shocked that someone who had been working in software for decades had never heard of it.
91
Paralelo30 Mar 29, 2026 +53
ffmpeg?
53
Desertcow Mar 29, 2026 +156
Besides Linux which is beyond incredible, Proton. Valve developed a tool for running 90% of games made for Windows almost flawlessly on Linux. Hell, some games even run better on Linux than Windows, that's how good it is. It will translate Windows system calls into Linux ones and translate DirectX things to Vulkan with shockingly low overhead, and Proton is plug and play on Steam for the most part. In many situations, running the Windows version of a game via Proton is better than running a dedicated Linux port, and it massively reduces how much effort developers need to give to support Linux as. A platform
156
pery_jackson Mar 29, 2026 +23
I have a laptop with a 1050ti maxq, And I was trying to run Horizon Zero Dawn on windows, I barely got 20-30fps. Switching to Proton got me 60-70fps on Ubuntu with Gnome and the right drivers it's almost 300% that's insane honestly
23
tenzin Mar 29, 2026 +262
Caliber for dong a tonne of thtgs with electronic books. It also can grab various newspapers and magazines and format them and email it to your reader. It also has a web server built in and its own eReader. [https://calibre-ebook.com](https://calibre-ebook.com)
262
brokenmessiah Mar 29, 2026 +123
VLC 100% I'd probably buy it just for the fact its a one stop shop.
123
couldbefuncouver Mar 29, 2026 +41
Linux, ffmpeg, VLC. There's whole industries that rely on these tools yet they didn't cave.
41
PrudentFormal8950 Mar 29, 2026 +42
I was going through this thread and making a list of cool things I saw in case this helps anyone. Might have missed some, but: Core system + self-hosting: - Syncthing: sync files across devices without cloud - Tailscale: access your home network from anywhere - Immich: Google Photos replacement - Jellyfin: stream your own movies and videos - Nextcloud: Google Drive alternative, heavier full suite - OpenMediaVault: turns a PC into a storage server - AdGuard Home: blocks ads across your entire network - Linkwarden: save, tag, and organize bookmarks - Authentik: SSO for self-hosted apps ——— Dev + infrastructure: - Visual Studio Code: main dev environment - Git: version control - Docker: run services locally - WSL2: Linux inside Windows - Hyper-V: run virtual machines - Proxmox VE: full homelab virtualization OS ——— Files, storage, search: - Everything: instant file search - WizTree: fastest way to find large files - WinDirStat: visual storage breakdown - 7-Zip: compression and extraction - NanaZip: modern Windows-integrated 7-Zip - TeraCopy: better file transfers - Macrium Reflect: full system backups ——— Networking + remote access: - Parsec: low-latency remote desktop - Remote Desktop Manager: manage multiple machines - LocalSend: AirDrop but cross-platform - Quick Assist: built-in Windows remote tool ——— Video, screen, content: - DaVinci Resolve: pro-level video editing - OBS Studio: recording and streaming - ShareX: screenshots, recording, and OCR - Flameshot: lightweight annotated screenshots - HandBrake: video compression - Shutter Encoder: advanced encoding ——— Audio + media creation: - Reaper: full DAW - Audacity: simple audio editing - Ocenaudio: easier UI audio editor ——— Image + design: - GIMP: Photoshop alternative - Photopea: browser-based Photoshop - Darktable: Lightroom alternative - Krita: digital painting ——— Media playback + downloads: - VLC: plays basically anything - PotPlayer: customizable VLC alternative - JDownloader: batch downloads - yt-dlp: powerful CLI downloader - FreeTube: YouTube without ads or tracking ——— Productivity + organization: - Obsidian: note-taking and knowledge graph - Bitwarden: password manager - Listary: fast file and app launcher - EarTrumpet: per-app volume control ——— Personal media + reading: - Calibre: ebook manager - MusicBee: local music library manager ——— System utilities: - PowerToys: Windows enhancements - FanControl: control fan curves - HWInfo: system monitoring - GPU-Z: GPU stats ——— Homelab / advanced: - Home Assistant: smart home automation - Frigate: AI security camera system - OPNsense: router/firewall OS - LM Studio: run LLMs locally ——— Gaming: - Playnite: unified game launcher - Mod Organizer 2: manage game mods ——— Extra / misc from thread: - Rufus: create bootable USB drives - PaperCut Mobility Print: print over network like AirPrint - NAPS2: scanning and OCR tool - Kando: radial menu macros - TrayStatus: keyboard indicator for caps and num lock
42
lowerdark Mar 29, 2026 +353
everything, once you try this, you will know exactly how awfull the standard windows search feature is.
353
tweakingforjesus Mar 29, 2026 +125
What a terrible name for a recognition and searching.
125
No_Tradition6625 Mar 29, 2026 +131
I was reading this literally and was like how are you getting everything for free are you some kind of tech pirate mastermind oh wait you are talking about the software 😂🤦🏻‍♂️😅
131
evo311 Mar 29, 2026 +49
Yes, Everything is amazing.
49
Aaron_Purr Mar 29, 2026 +35
You mean Everything is Awesome!
35
nimsu Mar 29, 2026 +77
Jellyfin Kodi
77
beartheminus Mar 28, 2026 +365
Davinci Resolve and Reaper. Both have paid options but the free versions are very very good.
365
Lucky-Elk-1234 Mar 29, 2026 +122
Technically Reaper doesn’t have a free version, it has a free trial that doesn’t lock you out at the end. I took the piss for a while after but was so happy with it that I paid for the licence to support the devs.
122
VivianEsher Mar 29, 2026 +35
Kinda like WinRAR?
35
Lucky-Elk-1234 Mar 29, 2026 +45
Yes but I think WinRAR dev didn’t really care about public/hobby use, he just wanted to make sure commercial users paid for it.
45
BudWalker619 Mar 29, 2026 +50
Davinci is better than Premiere, at least for me
50
pbako Mar 29, 2026 +144
VLC and Notepad++
144
[deleted] Mar 29, 2026 +142
[deleted]
142
CustomerBusiness3919 Mar 29, 2026 +11
After using AutoCAD, FreeCAD is an absolute nightmare. I found it to be counter-intuitive, over complicated and full of bugs. Gone back to using my old bootleg copy of AutoCAD which now has a few bugs.
11
losark Mar 29, 2026 +251
WinAmp. It whips the Llama's ass
251
w3bCraw1er Mar 29, 2026 +39
OpenWRT
39
EduRJBR Mar 29, 2026 +36
A smartphone app called ColorNote. So simple, has online backup. Deserves a mention.
36
Jerstopholes Mar 29, 2026 +32
Blender, Godot, Davinci Resolve are my top choices for sure.
32
twisteriffic Mar 29, 2026 +37
SQLite
37
Cokeblossom Mar 29, 2026 +35
OBS Studio gives you pro-level recording and streaming tools without charging a cent.
35
LankySimple9051 Mar 29, 2026 +31
Stellarium
31
smiffa2001 Mar 29, 2026 +90
Inkscape! No real need for Illustrator (at least for me).
90
Gummyrabbit Mar 28, 2026 +360
Notepad++
360
SarcoZQ Mar 29, 2026 +57
irfanview Not mentioned. But a imageviewer that was designed in the 90's that has basically been made to be fast. And it is fast, and it does basic edits fast and batch conversions fast. It's one of the first programs I install on any new OS.
57
Hot-Helicopter640 Mar 29, 2026 +192
Bitwarden, Visual Studio Code Edit: Also JetBrains products (like IntelliJ). They are partially free and open-source and is more than enough for individual software development.
192
Yotesixthree Mar 29, 2026 +53
Everyone should be using a password manager at this point tbh, the convenience is too nice. Switched from Bitwarden to 1Password but both are very good!
53
Superschutte Mar 29, 2026 +25
I was literally about to leave this exact comment. 1Password user, it’s the best but it’s pricey. Bitwarden is really good and free!
25
Craigglesofdoom Mar 29, 2026 +15
Bitwarden is the absolute best
15
bobjr94 Mar 29, 2026 +26
Tailscale, VPN like software, but it's also a service.
26
snarton Mar 29, 2026 +28
Affinity Creative Suite is now free. It replaces most of the functionality of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator , and InDesign. It used to be sold at an affordable price, and then Canva bought the company and made it free.
28
drtyjrsy Mar 29, 2026 +28
Immich
28
prajnadhyana Mar 28, 2026 +260
LibreOffice
260
RenegadeUK Mar 28, 2026 +18
How does it compare with other Office Suites ? Edit: For example Only Office.
18
Quick-Low-1994 Mar 28, 2026 +65
It has its limitations but as a free software, its good for basic to intermediate MS office work. Google docs, slides, sheets is much better. For offline work, Libre is best MS office alternate
65
I_Do_Not_Abbreviate Mar 29, 2026 +30
LibreOffice Draw is the best free .pdf tool I have ever used. Not perfect by any means but for the sort of stuff like basic editing and merges that I used to handle through sketchy websites it is absolutely perfect.
30
alf0nz0 Mar 29, 2026 +301
Audacity
301
mancapturescolour Mar 29, 2026 +84
I read somewhere a few years back that Audacity is considered spyware after changing ownership. Is that not the case anymore? Edit: Found a news source from 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57721967 >[Audacity] may share the personal data it does gather with: staff members, law enforcement, government agencies and regulators, auditors, advisers and legal representatives of the company, potential buyers of the business [...] And while European user data is stored in Europe, it may "occasionally" share data with its headquarters in Russia.
84
ameen272 Mar 29, 2026 +26
It's completely OSS, we can see what it's sharing. And it doesn't look that invasive based on FOSS community's reactions.
26
YouBuyMeOrangeJuice Mar 29, 2026 +57
QGIS
57
ManamiVixen Mar 29, 2026 +77
Linux!
77
kdawg89 Mar 29, 2026 +33
Home Assistant!
33
prstele01 Mar 29, 2026 +31
Reaper - full studio-level digital audio workstation software. You can use it for free for however long you want, including updates. The writer of the software asks that if you do end up using it professionally, to pay him a one-time purchase fee of like $60. That’s CRAZY c**** compared to audio software like ProTools, Adobe Audition, etc
31
neolee203 Mar 29, 2026 +62
VLC media player
62
builtbysavages Mar 29, 2026 +17
Convertwithmoss It’s a niche application that converts multisample formats from one to another for samplers to make music with. It breaks the mold of sampler formats allowing people to use multisampled virtual instruments across devices. It’s incredible for the folks who know it’s power.
17
joeywas Mar 29, 2026 +17
Notepad++
17
kuriboharmy Mar 29, 2026 +14
MusicBee is great for music you have on your hard drive.
14
Ben_77 Mar 29, 2026 +13
Notepad ++ is a godsend for me.
13
BrewHog Mar 29, 2026 +46
Godot.  It's taking the path of blender and just getting better and better by the year.
46
hyde04 Mar 29, 2026 +49
Not a program per se. Every time one of my family members get a new pc or laptop. I always recommended www.ninite.com. All sorts of free software. Wish i had this when i was in college.
49
gntz Mar 29, 2026 +12
FreeCAD
12
lotsaputs Mar 29, 2026 +11
Obsidian
11
beefSupremeChicken Mar 29, 2026 +25
Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio
25
jekern Mar 29, 2026 +23
FanControl https://getfancontrol.com/ It's free, but I have sent donations because it's so damn good.
23
doomrider7 Mar 29, 2026 +11
VLC and 7zip still amaze me for how good they are as well as being free.
11
Crichris Mar 29, 2026 +11
Emacs Vlc and 7zip
11
milkybuet Mar 29, 2026 +13
Calibre for ebook management.
13
ProtonPizza Mar 29, 2026 +10
ShareX. It’s in incredible how much functionality is packed in.
10
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