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After all, maintaining a lot of subscriptions is like [death by a thousand cuts](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lingchi) and a good way to stay broke, but that's my opinion (and lived experience).\n\nAll prices listed are USD (United States Dollar).\n\n## Table of Contents\n\n- [Subscription-Free Software](#subscription-free-software)\n  - [1Password](#1password)\n  - [Adobe Acrobat Pro](#adobe-acrobat-pro)\n  - [Adobe After Effects](#adobe-after-effects)\n  - [Adobe Audition](#adobe-audition)\n  - [Adobe Illustrator](#adobe-illustrator)\n  - [Adobe InDesign](#adobe-indesign)\n  - [Adobe Lightroom](#adobe-lightroom)\n  - [Adobe Photoshop](#adobe-photoshop)\n  - [Adobe Premiere](#adobe-premiere)\n  - [Airmail](#airmail)\n  - [AutoCAD](#autocad)\n  - [Avid Pro Tools](#avid-pro-tools)\n  - [Avid Sibelius](#avid-sibelius)\n  - [CelAction](#celaction)\n  - [EasyWorship](#easyworship)\n  - [Figma](#figma)\n  - [Maya](#maya)\n  - [Microsoft 365](#microsoft-365)\n  - [Reason](#reason)\n  - [Restream](#restream)\n  - [Spark](#spark)\n  - [SketchUp](#sketchup)\n  - [Unity](#unity)\n- [Sass/Pass Alternatives](#saaspaas-alternatives)\n  - [ERPs](#erps)\n  - [Firebase](#firebase)\n  - [Heroku](#heroku)\n  - [JIRA](#jira)\n  - [Lucidchart](#lucidchart)\n  - [Vercel](#vercel)\n- [Relevant XKCD](#relevant-xkcd)\n- [Honorable Mentions](#honorable-mentions-)\n  - [Downloaders](#downloaders)\n  - [PCB Design](#pcb-design)\n  - [Programming](#programming)\n  - [Sprite Editors](#sprite-editors)\n  - [Transcoding](#transcoding)\n- [Sources](#sources)\n\n## Subscription-Free Software\n\n### 1Password\n\n- [KeePass](https://keepass.info/index.html) (Free)\n\n### Adobe Acrobat Pro\n\n- [CutePDF](https://www.cutepdf.com) ($49.95)\n- [Slay PDF](https://slaypdf.com/) (Free)\n- [uPDF](https://updf.com/) ($99.99)\n\n### Adobe After Effects\n\n- [Friction](https://friction.graphics/) (Free)\n\n### Adobe Audition\n\n- [Audacity](https://www.audacityteam.org/) (Free)\n- [SOUND FORGE Pro](https://www.magix.com/us/music-editing/sound-forge/sound-forge-pro/) ($349 base)\n\n### Adobe Illustrator\n\n- [Affinity Designer](https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/designer/) ($69.99)\n- [CorelDRAW](https://www.coreldraw.com/en/product/coreldraw/) ($549)\n- [InkScape](https://inkscape.org/) (Free)\n\n### Adobe InDesign\n\n- [Affinity Publisher](https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/) ($69.99)\n\n### Adobe Lightroom\n\n- [Capture One](https://www.captureone.com/en) ($299)\n- [darktable](https://www.darktable.org/) (Free)\n- [Luminar Neo](https://skylum.com/checkout/luminar-neo) ($299)\n- [PhotoLab 7 Elite](https://shop.dxo.com/en/dxo-photolab7-elite.html) ($229, w/o free upgrades)\n- [PhotoLab 7 Essential](https://shop.dxo.com/en/dxo-photolab7-essential.html) ($139, w/o free upgrades) \n\n### Adobe Photoshop\n\n- [Affinity Photo](https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/) ($69.99)\n- [ArtRage](https://www.artrage.com/artrage/) ($80)\n- [GIMP](https://www.gimp.org/) (Free)\n- [Krita](https://krita.org) (Free)\n- [Luminar](https://skylum.com/luminar) ($199, \"Lifetime\")\n- [Pixelmator Pro](https://www.pixelmator.com/pro/) ($49.99, macOS/iPadOS only)\n- [Procreate](https://procreate.com/ipad) ($12.99, iPadOS only)\n- [Rebelle](https://www.escapemotions.com/products/rebelle/about) ($89.99, \"Pro\" for $149.99)\n\n### Adobe Premiere\n\n- [DaVinci Resolve](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve) (Free)\n- [DaVinci Resolve Studio](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/studio) ($295)\n- [Final Cut Pro](https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/) ($299.99, macOS Only)\n- [Olive](https://www.olivevideoeditor.org/) (Free)\n- [Shotcut](https://shotcut.org) (Free)\n- [VEGAS Pro](https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-pro/) ($399, \"New License\")\n- [Wondershare Filmora](https://filmora.wondershare.com/) ($79.99, \"Perpetual Plan\" w/o free upgrade)\n\n### Airmail\n\n- [Thunderbird](https://www.thunderbird.net/) (Free)\n\n### Airtable\n\n- [nocodb](https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb) (Free)\n\n### AutoCAD\n\n- [BricsCAD](https://www.bricsys.com/) ($708 base for \"Perpetual\")\n- [FreeCAD](https://www.freecad.org/) (Free)\n- [LibreCAD](https://librecad.org/) (Free)\n\n### Avid Pro Tools\n\n- [Ableton Live](https://www.ableton.com/en/live/) ($99.99 base)\n- [Ardour](https://ardour.org/) (Free)\n- [Cubase](https://www.steinberg.net/cubase/) ($99.99 base)\n- [FL Studio](https://www.image-line.com/) ($99.99 base)\n- [LMMS](https://lmms.io/) (Free)\n- [Logic Pro](https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/) ($199.99)\n- [PreSonus Studio One](https://www.presonus.com/en-US/studio-one.html) ($99.95 base)\n- [Zrythm](https://www.zrythm.org/en/) (Free base, paid for additional features)\n\n### Avid Sibelius\n\nThis software does have a perpetual license but encourages you to purchase a subscription license.\n\n- [Finale](https://www.finalemusic.com/) ($299)\n- [FORTE](https://www.fortenotation.com/en/products/writing-scores/forte-home/) ($99, Windows only)\n- [Guitar Pro](https://www.guitar-pro.com/) ($69.95)\n- [LilyPond](https://lilypond.org/) (Free)\n- [MagicScore SongWriter](https://www.musicaleditor.com/magicscore-songwriter.html) ($29.95)\n- [MuseScore](https://musescore.org/en) (Free)\n- [PreSonus Notion](https://legacy.presonus.com/products/Notion) ($149.95)\n- [StaffPad](https://www.staffpad.net/) ($89.99, Windows/iPadOS only)\n\n### CelAction\n\n- [OpenToonz](https://opentoonz.github.io/) (Free)\n- [Procreate Dreams](https://procreate.com/dreams) ($19.99, iPadOS only)\n- [ToonBoom Harmony](https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony) ($442.50 base)\n- [TVPaint](https://www.tvpaint.com/) ($292.75 base \\[approx. from EUR\\])\n\n### EasyWorship\n\n- [FreeWorship](http://www.freeworship.org.uk/) (Free)\n- [OpenLP](https://openlp.org/) (Free)\n- [OpenSong](https://opensong.org/) (Free)\n- [ProPresenter](https://renewedvision.com/propresenter/) ($399 base)\n- [VideoPsalm](https://myvideopsalm.weebly.com/) (Free)\n\n### Figma\n\n(see _Adobe Illustrator_)\n\n### Maya\n\n- [Blender](https://www.blender.org/) (Free)\n- [Cinema4D](https://www.maxon.net/en/buy/perpetual) ($3,495, \"Perpetual Plan\" w/o free upgrade)\n\n### Microsoft 365\n\n- [LibreOffice](https://www.libreoffice.org/) (Free)\n- [OpenOffice](https://www.openoffice.org/) (Free)\n\n### Reason\n\n(see _Avid Pro Tools_)\n\n### Restream\n\n- [OBS Studio](https://obsproject.com/) (Free)\n\n### Slack\n\n- [Mattermost](https://github.com/mattermost/mattermost) (Free)\n\n### Spark\n\n(see _Airmail_)\n\n### SketchUp\n\n(see _Maya_)\n\n### Unity\n\n- [GameMaker](https://gamemaker.io/en) (Free)\n- [Godot](https://godotengine.org/) (Free)\n- [MonoGame](https://www.monogame.net/) (Free)\n- [OGRE](https://www.ogre3d.org/) (Free)\n- [Panda3D](https://www.panda3d.org/) (Free)\n- [Ren'Py](https://www.renpy.org/) (Free)\n- [Stencyl](https://www.stencyl.com/) (Free)\n\n### Zoom\n\n- [Jitsi](https://github.com/jitsi) (Free)\n\n## SaaS/PaaS Alternatives\n\nAre you looking for some great self-hosted alternatives to common online software? Shoutout to [Fireship.io](https://fireship.io/) for recommending these!\n\n### ERPs\n\n- [ERPNext](https://github.com/frappe/erpnext) (Free if self-hosted)\n\n### Firebase\n\n- [InstantDB, a Firebase alternative](https://github.com/instantdb/instant) (Free)\n\n### Heroku\n\n- [Dokku](https://github.com/dokku/dokku) (Free)\n\n### JIRA\n\n- [Plane](https://github.com/makeplane/plane) (Free)\n- [Redmine](https://www.redmine.org/) (Free)\n- [WeKan](https://wekan.github.io/) (Free)\n\n### Lucidchart\n\n- [Dia](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Dia) (Free)\n- [Draw.io](https://www.drawio.com/)\n\n### Vercel\n\n- [Coolify](https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify) (Free)\n\n## Relevant XKCD\n\n![Universal Price Tiers](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/universe_price_tiers_2x.png)\n\n## Honorable Mentions 🏆\n\nHere is some awesome software you should check out that doesn't necessarily fit into the categories above but doesn't require a subscription.\n\n### Downloaders\n\n- [\u0026micro;Torrent](https://www.utorrent.com/) (Free, native build not supported by macOS)\n- [qBittorrent](https://www.qbittorrent.org/) (Free)\n- [Transmission](https://transmissionbt.com/) (Free)\n- [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) (Free, CLI-only)\n\n### PCB Design\n\n- [CircuitMaker](https://circuitmaker.com/) (Free)\n- [KiCAD](https://www.kicad.org/) (Free)\n\n### Programming\n\n- [GNU Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/savannah-checkouts/gnu/emacs/emacs.html) (Free)\n- [Notepad++](https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) (Free)\n- [Vim](https://www.vim.org/) (Free)\n- [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) (Free)\n\n### Sprite Editors\n\n- [Aseprite](https://www.aseprite.org/) ($19.99)\n- [PixelMash](https://nevercenter.com/pixelmash/) ($29)\n\n### Transcoding\n\n- [FFmpeg](https://ffmpeg.org/) (Free, CLI-only)\n- [Handbrake](https://handbrake.fr/) (Free)\n- [MediaHuman Audio Converter](https://www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter/) (Free)\n- [MediaHuman Video Converter](https://www.mediahuman.com/video-converter/5/) ($14.99)\n\n---\n\n## Sources\n\n- [AlternativeTo](https://alternativeto.net/)\n- [Princeton University](https://mcgrawdll.princeton.edu/news/free-low-cost-software-alternatives/)\n- [TechLog360](https://techlog360.com/best-open-source-alternatives/)\n- [Don't Waste Your Money](https://www.dontwasteyourmoney.com/free-alternatives-expensive-computer-software/)\n- [Fstoppers](https://fstoppers.com/originals/list-free-or-one-time-payment-alternatives-adobe-subscription-programs-501629)\n","projects_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/lists/leemcd56%2Fawesome-subscription-free/projects"}