10 paid programs and their free alternatives
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Free alternatives to Word
Top pick LibreOffice Writer. Offline word processor that opens and saves DOCX.
What LibreOffice Writer looks like. Screenshot: Hérisson grognon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized -
Free alternatives to Excel
Top pick LibreOffice Calc. Formulas, pivot tables and macros with compatible XLSX files.
What LibreOffice Calc looks like. Screenshot: Hérisson grognon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized -
Free alternatives to Outlook
Top pick Thunderbird. Free, ad-free email, calendar and contacts client.
What Thunderbird looks like. Screenshot: Software: MZLA Technologies Corporation, and contributors Screenshot: VulcanSphere · MPL 2 · resized -
Free alternatives to Zoom
Top pick Jitsi Meet. Browser video calls with no time limit; guests join without an account.
What Jitsi Meet looks like. Screenshot: Nesnera · CC0 · resized -
Free alternatives to Slack
Top pick Element. Team messaging on the open Matrix network, with end-to-end encryption.
What Element looks like. Screenshot: Software: New Vector Limited t/a Element Screenshot: VulcanSphere · AGPL · resized -
Free alternatives to 1Password
Top pick Bitwarden. An open source password manager whose free plan has no limit on passwords or devices.
What Bitwarden looks like. Screenshot: Software: Bitwarden Inc. Screenshot: VulcanSphere · GPLv3 · resized and retouched -
Free alternatives to Dropbox
Top pick Nextcloud. Your own cloud to sync and share files, under your control.
What Nextcloud looks like. Screenshot: Mark Ziegler · LGPL · resized -
Free alternatives to TeamViewer
Top pick RustDesk. Open source remote desktop that works much like TeamViewer, with the option to run your own server.
What RustDesk looks like. Screenshot: Laserlicht · CC0 · resized and retouched -
Free alternatives to Canva Pro
Top pick Canva. Its free plan already includes thousands of templates, photos and elements; only premium content is paid.
What Penpot looks like. Screenshot: Andrey Antukh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized -
Free alternatives to Microsoft Project
Top pick ProjectLibre. Project management with Gantt charts and compatibility with Microsoft Project files.
What ProjectLibre looks like. Screenshot: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · resized
Every free alternative for small businesses and freelancers at a glance
| Alternative | Price | Platforms | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONLYOFFICE | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinuxWebAndroidiOS | Word, Excel |
| BigBlueButton | Open Source | Web | Zoom |
| Bitwarden | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | 1Password |
| Element | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Slack |
| GanttProject | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | Microsoft Project |
| Gnumeric | Open Source | WindowsLinux | Excel |
| Jitsi Meet | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Zoom |
| KeePassDX | Open Source | Android | 1Password |
| KeePassXC | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | 1Password |
| Leantime | Open Source | Web | Microsoft Project |
| LibreOffice Calc | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | Excel |
| LibreOffice Writer | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | Word |
| Mattermost | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Slack |
| Nextcloud | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Dropbox |
| OpenProject | Open Source | Web | Microsoft Project |
| Penpot | Open Source | Web | Canva Pro |
| ProjectLibre | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | Microsoft Project |
| Remmina | Open Source | Linux | TeamViewer |
| Rocket.Chat | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Slack |
| RustDesk | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | TeamViewer |
| Signal | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Zoom |
| Syncthing | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinux | Dropbox |
| Thunderbird | Open Source | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroid | Outlook |
| Zulip | Open Source | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Slack |
| Chrome Remote Desktop | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | TeamViewer |
| Gmail | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | Outlook |
| Google Docs | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | Word |
| Google Password Manager | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | 1Password |
| Google Sheets | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | Excel |
| Quick Assist | 100% Free | Windows | TeamViewer |
| Zoho Sheet | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | Excel |
| Zoho Writer | 100% Free | WebAndroidiOS | Word |
| Adobe Express | Freemium | WebAndroidiOS | Canva Pro |
| Canva | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS | Canva Pro |
| ClickUp | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Microsoft Project |
| Discord | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Slack |
| eM Client | Freemium | WindowsmacOS | Outlook |
| Google Meet | Freemium | WebAndroidiOS | Zoom |
| Mailspring | Freemium | WindowsmacOSLinux | Outlook |
| MEGA | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Dropbox |
| Microsoft Designer | Freemium | Web | Canva Pro |
| Microsoft Teams | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS | Zoom |
| Parsec | Freemium | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroid | TeamViewer |
| pCloud | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Dropbox |
| Photopea | Freemium | Web | Canva Pro |
| Proton Drive | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS | Dropbox |
| Proton Mail | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS | Outlook |
| Proton Pass | Freemium | WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | 1Password |
| WPS Office Writer | Freemium | WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS | Word |
Frequently asked questions: free software for small businesses and freelancers
What is the best free software for small businesses and freelancers?
It depends on the paid program you want to replace: instead of Word, LibreOffice Writer; instead of Excel, LibreOffice Calc; instead of Outlook, Thunderbird; instead of Zoom, Jitsi Meet; instead of Slack, Element; instead of 1Password, Bitwarden; instead of Dropbox, Nextcloud; instead of TeamViewer, RustDesk; instead of Canva Pro, Canva; instead of Microsoft Project, ProjectLibre.
Is there open source software for small businesses and freelancers?
Yes: ONLYOFFICE, BigBlueButton, Bitwarden, Element, GanttProject, Gnumeric, Jitsi Meet and others are open source and free.
Which ones work without installing anything?
ONLYOFFICE, BigBlueButton, Bitwarden, Element, Jitsi Meet, Leantime, Mattermost and others run in the browser.
More free software for what you need
- Photo editing2 programs
- Drawing and painting2 programs
- Graphic design4 programs
- Screen recording2 programs
- CAD and 3D2 programs
- Video calls and team chat2 programs
- Security and privacy3 programs
- File compression2 programs
- Note-taking2 programs
- Writing documents3 programs
- Spreadsheets2 programs
- Presentations2 programs
- Students10 programs
- Content creators7 programs