Piracy of commercial software is a very unfair phenomenon and unfortunately very widespread among those people who do not know about the existence of valid alternative and free solutions. In this regard, I want to help you and make you treasure an important wealth of knowledge with this my guide dedicated to free programs for all tastes.
Today’s tutorial will be dedicated to the creation of a list of free software, which, divided by type, allows you to avoid paying for expensive licenses. The use of a free software is not to be underestimated: in most cases you can get the same results as a paid program, without spending a penny.
How do you say. Is the topic of your interest and you are eager to know more about it? Well then, how about sitting comfortably in front of your PC? Read this tutorial carefully and you’ll see that you’ll be able to find the right program for your needs. I wish you a good reading.
Internet and communication
Let’s start with a series of programs dedicated to the Web and communication on the Web. If you want to browse the Internet quickly and want to keep in touch easily with friends and colleagues, start using them.
Google Chrome (Windows/Mac/Linux)
With respect to Internet browsing, Google Chrome is undoubtedly one of the best browsers on the market. It is a fast and feature-rich browsing program developed and constantly updated by Google.
Surely the strong point of Google Chrome is the speed of opening Web pages and also the presence of numerous extensions that expand its functionality. Among its most interesting features is the possibility to synchronize data, extensions and preferences with multiple computers and portable devices (in fact, it is also compatible with Android and iOS).
If you want to know how to install it, I suggest you read my guide dedicated to the subject, while to download it on Windows, macOS or Linux you can refer to its official website.
Firefox (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Eternal rival of Chrome, and before that of Internet Explorer, Firefox is an excellent free and open source browser that makes flexibility and respect for the user’s privacy its main strengths.
Just like Chrome, Firefox also offers the possibility of expanding its functionality through extensions, is very fast and synchronizes data and preferences on all the devices on which it is available (including mobile devices equipped with Android and iOS).
You can download Firefox from its official website, while if you need more information on how to use the program you can consult my tutorial about it.
WhatsApp (Windows/Mac/Online)
WhatsApp, the world’s most popular instant messaging application, can also be controlled from a PC using a Web interface accessible from any browser (WhatsApp Web) or the appropriate client available for Windows PCs and Macs.
Both the Web interface and the client simply act as a “bridge” to the application installed on the smartphone. In fact, to use it, you must keep your phone turned on and connected to the Internet.
For more info on this, I invite you to read my tutorial on how to use WhatsApp on PC. To download the client on your computer, however, connect to this page.
Telegram (Windows/Mac/Linux/Online)
Telegram is an instant messaging service often contrasted with WhatsApp that offers cross-platform compatibility (it’s compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, all mobile systems and is also accessible from the Web) and a bunch of interesting features.
If you want to learn more about how it works and want to find out what its most important features are, check out my tutorial on how to use Telegram.
Thunderbird (Windows/Mac/Linux)
It is a free and open source software that allows you to manage your emails on your computer and can be used as an alternative to Webmail services or paid email clients like the very popular Outlook.
Thunderbird is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux and has support for extensions, making it a complete and flexible solution that can adapt to the needs of all users. I have told you about it in detail in one of my tutorials, while for the download of the program you can refer to its official website.
Skype (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Skype is the well-known VoIP communication and instant messaging software from Microsoft that has retired the very famous MSN Messenger. It allows you to chat, make voice and video calls in any corner of the globe in a very simple way.
Calls from Skype to Skype are free, while calls to traditional lines are charged. If you want to know more, read my tutorial where I talk about this famous VoIP service, which is also available in the form of an app for mobile devices equipped with Android, iOS and Windows 10 Mobile.
Productivity
Would you like to process text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and edit PDF files at no cost? Then here are some programs that might be for you.
LibreOffice (Windows/Mac/Linux)
LibreOffice is one of the best free alternatives to Microsoft Office (along with OpenOffice, with which it shares part of the source code). It is open source and includes all the tools to view, edit and create text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDFs and printable documents.
The suite is fully compatible with Microsoft Office files, is in Italian (including the spell checker) and is cross-platform: it is in fact available for Windows, macOS and Linux. You can download it from here.
PDFill FREE PDF Tools (Windows)
PDFill FREE PDF Tools is a collection of free tools through which you can edit PDF files. It does not apply watermarks to output files and is very easy to use. Among its most useful functions, I would like to mention those for merging and splitting PDF, converting images to PDF and vice versa, scanning to PDF and encrypting or decrypting documents.
You can download PDFill FREE PDF Tools from its official website, while you can learn more about how it works by reading my tutorial on how to edit a PDF file.
AutoHotkey (Windows)
AutoHotkey is an excellent free software, intended for Windows systems only, that allows you to automate numerous tasks by creating scripts. At first glance, it is not very easy to use, but once you understand a little of its language, it becomes indispensable in your daily PC work.
You can use it, for example, to start programs with a keyboard shortcut, to shut down the computer “on the fly” or to automate other functions of Windows and the programs installed in it. I told you more about it in my tutorial on how to change key combinations.
Safety and Maintenance
Taking care of your system is essential to avoid falling victim to viruses, malware and, more generally, harmful files that can negatively affect your computer’s performance. Here, then, is a list of software that you should use to keep your PC “in shape”.
Avast (Windows/Mac)
Among the programs you absolutely have to download to your computer are those dedicated to security. Programs of the antivirus genre are very important for your computer since they will help you defend against virus, malware or spyware threats that can be found on the Web when you browse dubious Internet sites or download software from untrusted sites.
In this regard, one of the best antivirus software that I recommend you download for free to your computer is Avast, which offers complete protection, in real time, against all major computer threats. Some features, such as anti-spam filtering and protection against ransomware, are reserved for customers of the Premium edition, which is paid, but the free version is more than enough to keep a home system reasonably safe.
Therefore, if you want to download this antivirus on your computer, I recommend you to connect to the official website of Avast and press the Download Free Antivirus button. Also, I would like to point out that you can also download this program on Android and iOS mobile devices.
Bitdefender (Windows/Mac)
Among the best free antivirus we should also mention Bitdefender, a software very appreciated by users because of its advanced features and also because of its being a lightweight solution suitable even for less hardware-performing computers.
This program can be downloaded for free on Windows and Mac computers, thus offering complete protection against possible unwanted threats from the Web. Among its main strengths is its minimal user interface: all actions related to its use can be performed from a single main screen accessible through its icon in the Windows notification area.
If you want to download this program to your computer, connect to its official website by clicking on this link and click on the Free Download button. If you want to learn more about how it works, read my tutorial about it.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Windows/Mac)
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is one of the best anti-malware software available on Windows and macOS (where I personally recommend it instead of any antivirus). It allows you to eradicate all the threats that antivirus may miss and is very easy to use. There is also a paid version (€39.99/year with an initial free trial) that features a real-time scanning module, but the free version is often more than sufficient.
To download the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, go to the official website of the program and click first on the Free Download button and then on the Download Now button. To find out how the program works in more detail, read my tutorial about it instead.
CCleaner (Windows/Mac)
CCleaner is a very useful program, available both for Windows and Mac systems (where it is much less useful), thanks to which you can free up disk space by deleting temporary files.
On Windows systems, the software also offers advanced features such as cleaning the registry, securely deleting drives and searching for duplicate files. If you want to learn more, check out my tutorials on how to clean your PC and how to download and use CCleaner.
Graphics
Are you a graphics enthusiast and would like to practice arts like photo editing without spending a dime? Here are some solutions that might be right for you.
GIMP (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Among the programs that you can download for free on your computer I want to first talk about graphics software because to edit photos you can easily make use of some tools that will allow you to get professional results.
As a first thing I want to recommend you to use GIMP, software that is considered by many to be a valid alternative to Photoshop, the most famous and advanced photo editing program on Windows computers and on computers with the macOS operating system.
GIMP is in fact a very good software for those who are looking for free tools for photo editing since it allows you to improve photos through retouching tools but also to apply filters and effects to images through the use of the most famous editing tools. Among GIMP’s strong points is the presence of a user interface in Italian, so you shouldn’t have any difficulty using this software.
If you want to download the GIMP, go to its official website and click on the Download button at the top. You will then see the button on the screen to download the software according to your operating system.
Paint.NET (Windows)
Still talking about free downloadable software for photo editing and retouching you can also opt to use Paint.net which, despite its name, has nothing to do with the default program on Windows computers. It is, in fact, an excellent program that you can use to edit photos with tools that are easy to use and suitable even for beginners.
The Paint.net software is also available in a paid version that can be downloaded through the Microsoft Store but there are no differences between the free version and the latter, as the paid version is aimed at those who already use this software in the free version and want to financially support the developers.
The software in question also has an Italian language user interface and can be downloaded from the official website by clicking on the Download menu item and then selecting the version under the Free heading.
The ones I have mentioned are just some of the most popular free photo editing softwares; if you want to learn more and know what other softwares I recommend you to download and install on your computer then I recommend you to read my guide in which I talk about the best programs to edit photos for free.
IrfanView (Windows)
IrfanView is a small image viewer that includes within it numerous editing functions. It is very useful for batch operations, such as converting, resizing or compressing images in series. If you want to learn more, read my tutorial on how to compress photos.
Audio and video
Now let’s move on to software dedicated to multimedia, and more specifically to audio and video. There would be so many to choose from, however now I’ll point out some of the most interesting.
VLC (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Talking about software to use for leisure I want to talk to you about the well-known program VLC also known as VideoLAN.
In this case it is a historic program that you can download on Windows computers, also on macOS and other operating systems such as Linux. In this case it is a program that allows the playback of multimedia files and is one of the most complete in this area because it already integrates a large number of codecs for the playback of various video files.
As anticipated, this is one of the best software in this area since it also has numerous advanced features and is always up-to-date with Web standards. In fact, VLC is capable of playing back movies that have multiple audio tracks and it is also possible to use it to view contents in high definition (it even supports the 4K format). It is therefore a particularly advanced program that also allows managing the playback of subtitles to view videos in foreign languages.
This software is also available in a version for mobile devices and is therefore always free to download on Android and iOS smartphones.
To download it you have to connect to its official website and then press the Download VLC button. If you want to know how to use it, read my guide dedicated to the subject in which I talk about all its features step by step.
Audacity (Windows/Mac/Linux)
As for the audio section, a program that you can download for free on your computer is the software Audacity, a professional but free program that will allow you to edit audio files.
This software can be downloaded to computers running Windows, macOS and even Linux and is very useful even for beginners as its user interface in Italian is very intuitive.
Since it is a program with multiple features I won’t tell you about it in detail during this tutorial, but I invite you to read my guide completely dedicated to this software in which you can find detailed explanations on its use.
Spotify (Windows/Mac/Online)
I don’t think Spotify needs too much of an introduction, in any case it is the most widely used music streaming service in the world. Its free plan offers unlimited songs from PCs and tablets and selected playlists from smartphones, with the rest of the music only available in shuffle mode. All interspersed with commercials.
The premium plan (starting at €9.99/month after a 30-day free trial) removes ads, limits from smartphones, and allows you to download songs offline. Also ability to stream in high quality at 320kbps. For more info, read my tutorial on how Spotify works.
Avidemux (Windows/Mac/Linux)
If you’re looking for a free, open source, cross-platform video editing software that is also compatible with all major video file formats, look no further than Avidemux, which collects all of these features and combines them into an extremely easy-to-use interface.
Avidemux is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux and includes within it all the tools you need to cut videos, rotate them and edit them with various filters and effects. To learn more, read my tutorial on how to use Avidemux.
Other free software
When it comes to talking about programs that can be downloaded for free on Windows or Mac computers you could make an endless list. Since my goal is to make you aware of as many programs as possible, I want to suggest that you do a quick search on my blog and check out all the posts in which I list programs to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, such as customizing the desktop, hiding folders or writing on photos for free.