15 Awesome and Useful Open-Source Apps That You Need to Know

Open-source software is free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This makes it an excellent option for anyone looking for new software to try out since you can find a wide variety of options to choose from.

Here are 10 incredible open-source Windows apps that you can start using today.

7-Zip

This free file archiver can compress and decompress files in a variety of formats, including ZIP, 7z, and RAR. 7-Zip is a great alternative to WinRAR and WinZip.

Audacity

Audacity is a powerful, free audio editor that has been used by professional and amateur audio editors alike since its release in 2000. The software is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is popular for its ease of use and wide range of features.

Audacity can be used to record live audio, edit recorded audio, convert between different audio formats, change the speed or pitch of the audio, add effects to audio, and more. It is also possible to use Audacity to create podcasts or to edit and clean up existing podcasts.

Whether you’re a professional audio editor or just getting started with audio editing, Audacity is a great choice. In this blog post, we’ll give you an overview of the software and its features, and show you how to get started with using Audacity.

Blender

This 3D modeling and animation software is used by professionals and hobbyists alike. Blender is a powerful, free and open-source 3D creation suite that supports the entire 3D production pipeline, from modeling and animation to rendering and compositing.

Blender has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult to learn. But once you get the hang of it, Blender is an incredibly powerful tool for creating high-quality 3D graphics and animations.

GIMP

GIMP is a powerful open-source image editor that has been around for over two decades. It can be used for everything from simple photo editing to complex graphics and web design.

Despite its many features, GIMP is still free to download and use. If you’re looking for an alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is a great option. It has a steep learning curve, but there are plenty of tutorials and resources available to help you get started. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to do just about anything with GIMP.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a great vector graphics editor that can be used for a wide variety of design projects, like creating or editing logos, illustrations, and more. It’s got a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to create some really amazing designs. Inkscape is also free and open source, so you can download and use it without having to pay anything.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a powerful, free, and open-source office suite that has been around for many years. It is compatible with Microsoft Office and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. LibreOffice has all of the features you would expect from a modern office suite, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, and more.

If you are looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, LibreOffice is a great option.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, Mozilla Corporation. This web browser is fast, privacy-focused, and customizable with add-ons and themes. According to Mozilla, Firefox counts over 30,000 extensions and themes.

Thunderbird

If you’re like me, you love finding new, interesting email clients to use. I’ve tried a lot of different ones over the years, but my current favorite is Thunderbird.

Thunderbird is a free, open-source email client that’s packed with features. It’s easy to use and customize, and it works with all major email providers. Plus, it has a ton of great add-ons that you can use to add even more features.

One of the things I love most about Thunderbird is that it’s highly customizable. You can change just about everything, from the way the interface looks to the way emails are sorted. And if you can’t find an option that you want, there’s probably an add-on for it.

If you’re looking for a new email client, I highly recommend giving Thunderbird a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you like it.

Brave

Brave is a free and open-source web browser based on the Chromium web browser and its Blink engine. It was founded by Brendan Eich, co-founder of the Mozilla project, and Brian Bondy, ex-opera developer.

The browser blocks ads and trackers by default and has a built-in ad blocker. It also aims to improve online privacy by sharing fewer data with advertising companies. The browser has been praised for its speed, security, and privacy features.

Filezilla

FileZilla is a powerful and free software application that allows you to transfer files between your computer and a remote server. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. FileZilla is easy to use and has a simple interface. It is a great choice for those who need to transfer large amounts of data.

Pidgin

Pidgin is a free and open-source chat client that supports a variety of protocols. It is written in C and has a text-based user interface.

Pidgin is popular among users of the Linux operating system, as it is one of the few chat clients that supports the XMPP protocol out of the box. XMPP is the protocol used by the popular chat service Jabber, which is known for its flexibility and security.

Pidgin also supports the popular IRC protocol, making it a good choice for users who need to connect to both IRC and XMPP networks.

VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a free and open-source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. VLC is available for all operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, iOS, and Android.

VLC Media Player is one of the most popular media players out there. It’s known for its ability to play just about any type of video or audio file, no matter what the format is. And it’s also known for being completely free and open source.

Notepad++

Notepad++ is a free and open-source text editor for Windows. It is a powerful tool for editing code and comes with a lot of features that make it a great choice for developers. Notepad++ has syntax highlighting for over 50 languages, code folding, and a wide range of plugins that make it a very versatile text editor.

KeePass

If you’re looking for a free and open-source password manager, KeePass is a great option. It’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it’s easy to use. KeePass stores your passwords in an encrypted database, and it can generate strong passwords for you. It also has a variety of plugins that can add features like two-factor authentication.

Shotcut

Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It works with almost every format of video, audio, or photo. The latest versions have improved the app in a way that makes Shotcut a very viable alternative to programs like Adobe Premiere.

I regularly use many of these apps when needed. In my experience, some of them are even better than the leading premium apps in terms of both usability and features.

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