Key Takeaways
- Free PC apps like Obsidian, Gimp, and DaVinci Resolve offer powerful alternatives to paid software.
- Apps such as Audacity and VLC provide robust features for tasks like video editing and audio mastering.
- In terms of productivity, tools like Grammarly, PDF Creator, and Microsoft To-Do are my go-tos.
One of the greatest things about having a PC is the vast array of apps that you can use. Whether you’re a gamer, a graphic designer, a video editor, or you need to manage a business, there are hundreds or even thousands of apps to choose from to help you get your job done, or simply have some fun.
That being said, if you’ve already spent quite a lot of cash on the newest GPU or the best CPU, you might be a bit hesitant to spring for a software license, or to subscribe to a monthly payment for the app that you might need.
Fortunately, with how huge the number of Windows apps is, you can easily find a free alternative to almost any app. What’s even better, being free does not mean they are worse – on the contrary, sometimes they do their job just as well, if not better.
So, without further ado, here are the best free PC apps you absolutely need to try.
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1 Note-taking app: Obsidian
Power up your notes
Obsidian is an excellent choice if you’re looking for powerful note-taking software that’s easy to access, yet provides an advanced feature set for anyone willing to really master it.
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It allows you to not only take notes, but also create a net of interconnected snippets of information, with the ability to interlink and cross-reference them. It makes the process of taking notes easier, and helps you quickly reference older entries.
2 Photoshop alternative: Gimp
Open-source Photoshop magic
Gimp is probably one of the most well-known open-source projects. It’s an image editing software that allows you to do most of the things that Photoshop does, with one huge difference – it’s completely free to use. You might not get the newest AI features here, but the standard feature set is all here, and it makes starting your journey with graphic design so much more affordable.
3 Video editing software: DaVinci Resolve
Cut, color, and export your clips
DaVinci Resolve is a wonder for all amateur (and professional) video editors. It’s a powerful, fully-featured video editing software that is completely free to use. There are some limitations, such as a maximum clip resolution of 4K 60FPS, but if you’re just trying to get your YouTube uploads ready, it’s the best free choice around. Plus, DaVinci included arguably the best in the business color correction tools, so you can really make use of your camera’s RAW recording capabilities.
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4 Gaming software: Steam
One-stop app for gamers
If you like playing video games – especially on PC – Steam is probably the first thing that you install on your PC. However, if you’re just getting into PC gaming, you’re in for a treat. Steam is an online store for all your video games, but it’s also so much more. It manages your save files in the cloud, lets you connect with friends and takes note of your achievements. It’s the ultimate gaming platform that you need to have on your PC. Plus, there are a ton of free games on Steam, so you can even use this free software to install even more free, fun apps.
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5 Office suite: LibreOffice
Become a productivity powerhouse
A few short years ago, getting a pricey license for Microsoft Office was the only way of getting a proper, fully-functional office suite on your PC. However, times have changed. If you like working online, you can use Google Docs or even free online versions of Office Suite straight from Microsoft, but if you need a powerful set of productivity tools, there is LibreOffice. Sure, it looks a bit retro, but it contains all the necessary tools to let you fill in the spreadsheets, type up word documents and create presentations easily and efficiently.
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6 Writing utility: Grammarly
No more problems with grammar
Even though your operating system and your various word processors have spell check built-in, these are often not enough when it comes to correcting grammar. That’s where Grammarly comes in with its desktop app. It highlights any grammatical errors that you make in whatever app you have open, making writing emails, dissertations, and even Facebook messages easy and stress-free. Its basic functionality is completely free!
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Your own streaming service
Streaming services are great, both because of their convenience, and the vast libraries of movies and TV shows that they offer. However, what if you could stream all the movies that you love and have in your media library, and have them available everywhere, anytime? Well, that’s what Plex is for – it’s your own, personal media center that lets you stream your media from your PC or server to any compatible device. It’s excellent for movie geeks, music lovers, and anyone who has a large library of files that they want to have access to anywhere in the world.
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8 Messaging and communications software: Discord
A hub for all your friends
Whether PC gaming, just chatting with friends, or organizing important events, Discord is an extremely handy messenger to have. It allows you to create voice chats, video calls, and text chats, and manage all that with handy groups and channels. It’s also relatively light on resources, so it doesn’t slow down your PC while working in the background – a great boon for all the gamers out there that need all the FPS they can get out of their machine.
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9 Audio editing software: Audacity
Master the music
Whether you’re recording music, voiceovers, or even doing some video work with audio included, chances are you’ll need a tool to work on the audio tracks. Audacity is an impressive free piece of software that lets you do just that. Along with the straightforward features, such as cutting and adjusting levels, it offers an impressive, pro-grade array of tools that you can use both when just learning the ropes, as well as when you’re already deep in the know.
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10 Video player: VLC
Real kino on your PC
One of the big advantages of having an awesome desktop or a great laptop is having a superb screen to watch your favorite movies on. However, if you want the experience of playing movie files to go as smoothly as possible, you need a reliable video player, and VLC is just that. It’s an established app at that point that’s easy to use, but offers an impressive feature set as well, plus it handles a wide variety of video formats, so you can be sure that your totally legitimate files are going to play just fine.
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11 Audio player: Foobar2000
Jam to your favorite tunes
You might have a huge library of MP3s and FLACs hidden away somewhere on your hard drive, but without a great music player, they are literally useless. Fortunately, foobar2000 is an excellent choice. Its UI is, admittedly, a bit spartan, but it makes up for it with usability and featureset. It supports all the important file types, and is really easy to use, making it an excellent companion for your Hi-Fi listening needs.
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12 PDF reader: PDF Creator
Getting through all the digital paperwork has never been this easy
PDFs, while they are an excellent resource and an awesome way to share documents, are also a pain to deal with sometimes. Fortunately, thanks to PDFCreator, you can easily merge, rearrange and sign them without much hassle. It also allows you to, as the name suggests, create PDFs out of other files, and even automate the whole process for maximum efficiency.
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13 Task management software: Microsoft To-Do
Organize and plan like a pro
Sometimes, when life gets overwhelming, and you have a lot to do, creating a to-do list is an excellent way of handling all your responsibilities. Microsoft To-Do is an easy-to-use, free program that lets you easily create such lists and always keep them with you thanks to cross-platform saving. You can also share these lists and collaborate with colleagues or your family, as well access them easily from your Outlook account, making it a great workplace companion.
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14 PCMonitoring software: HWiNFO
Keep an eye on your PC’s health
Finally, no PC setup would be complete without a way to monitor the health of your system. HWinfo is an excellent tool that lets you do just that. It can not only show you all the devices hooked up to your PC, but it also provides detailed insights into stats such as temperatures, voltages, and power consumption of your devices, and is a must-have tool for every PC.
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FAQ
Q: Where can I find free PC apps?
Windows has an enormous selection of both paid and free apps that you can pick and choose from. That’s a great thing, but it might also pose challenges in finding the best app for you, especially if you’re looking for something that’s both functional and free.
Fortunately, there are various methods of finding the perfect app for you. You can use the Microsoft Store and filter to only see free apps, which should give you a range of different programs to choose from. However, the best thing is to look for free alternatives to programs you might want to use, and choose the best one, depending on our needs. If all else fails, you should just pick s few different alternatives and test them all out to check whether they meet your requirements.
Q: Are these apps really free?
All the apps in this lineup are really free, and you can use them without a time limit, with no subscription fees. That being said, they are also usually cut-down versions of the real thing, with some features locked behind a paywall. However, they are not limited to the point of unusability, the extra features are rather a nic-to-have thing that you might unlock later if you really like the program.
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