The code is public.
Anyone — security researchers, governments, journalists — can read the source code and verify it is not doing anything sneaky. Closed software asks you to trust; open source lets you check.
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Same jobs. None of the bill.
For almost every paid piece of software you use, there is a free, open-source alternative that does the job — sometimes better, sometimes worse, occasionally much better. Here is the matching table, plus a deeper look at why it matters.
The full swap list
Thirty swaps that just work.
Click any row to read more. These are not toys. They are used by millions of people every day, including governments, universities, and a fair few of the Fortune 500.
| If you use… | Try this instead | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Office | LibreOffice | Word, Excel, PowerPoint equivalents. Opens and saves Microsoft formats. Free, forever. |
| Microsoft 365 (cloud) | Nextcloud Office | Browser-based documents and spreadsheets with collaborative editing. Self-hosted. |
| Google Drive | Nextcloud | Self-hosted file sync. Dropbox + Google Drive + Office suite, on your own server. |
| Microsoft Outlook | Thunderbird | Email, calendar, and tasks in one desktop app. Works with Gmail, Outlook, anything. |
| Microsoft Teams | Mattermost | Team chat, file sharing, integrations. Slack-style, on your own infrastructure. |
| TeamViewer | Apache Guacamole | Remote desktop gateway — connect to any PC from a browser, no client install. |
| Adobe Photoshop | GIMP | Image editing with the full pro toolset. Steep learning curve, zero cost, no subscription. |
| Adobe Illustrator | Inkscape | Vector graphics editor. Logos, illustrations, posters, technical drawings. |
| AutoCAD | FreeCAD | 3D parametric modelling for engineering, architecture, and product design. |
| Microsoft Project | OpenProject | Web-based project management with Gantt charts, agile boards, and time tracking. |
| Slack | Rocket.Chat | Self-hosted chat with channels, DMs, file sharing, and integrations. |
| Dropbox | Seafile | File sync with built-in encryption. Faster than Dropbox on big files. |
| Skype | Jitsi Meet | Video conferencing in your browser. No account, no install, end-to-end encrypted. |
| MATLAB | GNU Octave | Numerical computation. Mostly MATLAB-compatible syntax for scripts. |
| Windows Media Player | VLC Media Player | Plays everything. Audio, video, DVDs, streaming, broken formats VLC still handles. |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | Kdenlive | Non-linear video editing. Multi-track, effects, transitions, exports to any format. |
| Evernote | Joplin | Notes and to-dos with sync, encryption, and Markdown. Your notes, your files. |
| QuickBooks | GnuCash | Double-entry bookkeeping for personal and small business finances. |
| Tableau | Apache Superset | Interactive dashboards and data visualisation. Connects to any SQL database. |
| Visio | draw.io (diagrams.net) | Flowcharts, network diagrams, org charts. Free, in the browser, exports to anything. |
| Camtasia | OBS Studio | Screen recording and live streaming. What most YouTubers actually use. |
| FL Studio | LMMS | Music production with a piano roll, beat editor, and plugin support. |
| Zoom | BigBlueButton | Web conferencing built for teaching. Whiteboard, breakout rooms, polls, all native. |
| Microsoft Visio | Dia | Lightweight diagram tool for flowcharts, networks, ERDs, and more. |
| Adobe Acrobat | PDF-XChange Editor | PDF viewer and editor with annotation, form filling, and OCR. Free tier is generous. |
| Wolfram Mathematica | SageMath | Mathematics system covering algebra, calculus, number theory, and more. |
| Final Cut Pro | DaVinci Resolve | Colour-graded, non-linear editing with audio post. Free version is the editor most pros use. |
| Notion | AppFlowy | Notebook-style workspace for docs, databases, and wikis. Self-host option. |
| 1Password | Bitwarden | Encrypted password manager with browser, mobile, and desktop apps. Self-host option. |
| Trello | Wekan | Self-hosted kanban boards with cards, lists, swimlanes, labels, and checklists. |
Why open source
TRANSPARENT
DISTRIBUTED
DURABLE
It is not just cheaper. It is better in three specific ways.
Built by a global community.
Thousands of contributors fix bugs, translate interfaces, and add features. When one company leaves, the project keeps going. The Linux kernel alone has 4,000+ contributors from 600+ companies.
No lock-in.
Your files stay in open formats. You can read them twenty years from now, regardless of whether the company still exists. With proprietary formats, you rent access to your own work.
The rule of thumb.
If a piece of open-source software has been around for five years, has a published release cadence, and a real adoption signal (governments, universities, or companies using it), it is probably safer to bet on than the equivalent closed-source product.
Anything younger or less adopted is a gamble either way. The good news is the gamble is at zero cost instead of at a $60/month subscription.
Open formats are an even safer bet than open-source companies. A .docx file you can open twenty years from now, whether the original app survives or not.
What it is not.
Open source is not a magic shield. It does not always mean more secure, faster, or easier to use than proprietary alternatives. Audited, popular projects can have vulnerabilities that go unfixed for months. Tiny projects can be abandoned overnight.
The win is access: you can read the code, fork the project, hire someone to maintain it, or migrate off it. That is the actual upside.
A migration you can make this week
Easy · 30 minutes
Medium · 2 hours
Ambitious · A weekend
Replace one app. See how it feels.
You don’t need to switch everything at once. Pick the subscription that annoys you most. Install the open-source replacement. Use it for a week. Most people never go back.
Outlook → Thunderbird
Install Thunderbird. Add your email account. Your contacts, folders, and calendar come across. Your daily mail flow is identical from Tuesday.
Saves: R1,400/year (Microsoft 365 Personal).
Photoshop → GIMP
Install GIMP. Open a recent PSD file. The layers come across. The keyboard shortcuts change. Set aside two hours for the muscle-memory reboot.
Saves: R3,500/year (Photography plan).
Google Drive → Nextcloud
Spin up a small server (or use a Raspberry Pi). Install Nextcloud. Move your files over. Keep your phone’s auto-sync. Cancel Drive when you’re confident.
Saves: R1,200/year (Google One 200GB).
Where to next
Get unstuck fast.
The beginner guides walk through the install, migration, and first-week of the most common swaps. Subscribe to the newsletter for new guides as they land.