Best Free Alternatives to Paid Software in 2025

“Why pay rent when open-source gives you the deed?”

Below are head-to-head comparisons of the most-requested paid apps and their 100% free, 2025-ready alternatives, complete with pros, cons, and real-world usage tips.

1. Adobe Photoshop 2025 → GIMP 3.0

| Feature | Photoshop 2025 | GIMP 3.0 | | -------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------- | | Price | US $22.99 / mo | US $0 | | AI Remove Tool | ✅ Generative Fill | ✅ AI In-painting (built-in) | | CMYK & 16-bit | ✅ Full support | ✅ (via plug-in) | | Learning Curve | Moderate | Steep for newbies | | Plug-ins | 1,000+ paid | 500+ free on Flathub | | Cloud Sync | 100 GB | Manual (OneDrive/Dropbox) |

Verdict: For 90% of photo-editing tasks, GIMP 3.0’s new non-destructive layers and real-time previews make Photoshop feel overpriced.

2. Microsoft Office 365 → LibreOffice 24.8

| Feature | Office 365 | LibreOffice | | --------------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | Price | US $6.99 / mo | US $0 | | Real-time co-author | ✅ Seamless | ✅ (Nextcloud integration) | | Macros | VBA | LibreOffice Basic + Python | | File Compatibility| .docx natively | 99% identical¹ | | Cloud Storage | 1 TB OneDrive | Self-hosted or free 15 GB Google Drive |

Verdict: Students and freelancers can finish assignments without ever hitting “Buy Office.”

3. Adobe Premiere Pro → DaVinci Resolve 19 Free

| Feature | Premiere Pro | Resolve 19 Free | | ------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------- | | Price | US $22.99 / mo | US $0 | | 4K Export | ✅ | ✅ | | AI Color Match | ✅ | ✅ | | GPU Acceleration| CUDA/Metal | CUDA/Metal/OpenCL | | Learning Curve | Moderate | Steeper for colorists | | Studio Plug-ins | Paid | Free + paid tiers |

Verdict: Resolve’s free tier now includes AI noise reduction—a feature Premiere still locks behind extra paid add-ons.

4. Sketch + Figma Professional → Penpot 2.0

| Feature | Figma Pro | Penpot 2.0 | | ------------------------ | ---------------------- | ----------------------------- | | Price | US $12 / mo | US $0 | | Real-time collaboration| ✅ | ✅ | | Component libraries | ✅ | ✅ | | Self-host | ❌ | ✅ (Docker) | | Offline mode | ❌ | ✅ | | Dev hand-off | ✅ | ✅ (CSS, SVG, React) |

Verdict: Start-ups and agencies are migrating to Penpot to own their design data and dodge vendor lock-in.

5. Windows Snagit → Snipping Tool 2025

| Feature | Snagit 2025 | Snipping Tool (Win 11) | | ----------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------ | | Price | US $39 / yr | US $0 | | 4K screen record | ✅ | ✅ | | Scrolling capture | ✅ | ✅ (new) | | AI Perfect Screenshot| ❌ | ✅ (auto-crop, redact) | | Annotations | Advanced | Basic arrows & text |

Verdict: For quick docs or bug reports, Snipping Tool’s new AI features make Snagit feel like overkill.

6. Todoist Pro → Microsoft To Do

| Feature | Todoist Pro | Microsoft To Do | | ---------------- | ----------- | --------------- | | Price | US $4 / mo | US $0 | | Cross-platform | ✅ | ✅ | | File attachments| 100 MB | 25 MB | | My Day focus | ❌ | ✅ | | Kanban boards| ✅ | ✅ |

Annual savings: US $48 per user.

7. Grammarly Premium + ChatGPT Plus → Microsoft Copilot (Free)

| Feature | Grammarly + ChatGPT Plus | Copilot (Edge) | | ------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------- | | Price | US $32 / mo | US $0 | | Grammar & tone | ✅ | ✅ | | Summarise PDFs | ✅ | ✅ | | Code snippets | ✅ | ✅ | | Enterprise security| ✅ | ✅ (Microsoft 365) |

Annual savings: US $384 per user.

Quick Migration Cheat-Sheet

| Paid Tool | First Free Step | | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Photoshop | Install GIMP 3.0 Flatpak → import PSD → enable “Single-Window Mode” | | Office 365 | Download LibreOffice Portable → open existing .docx → save native | | Premiere Pro| Import project XML into DaVinci Resolve → relink media | | Figma | Export .fig file → import into Penpot → continue editing |

Bottom Line

Swapping the seven paid suites above for their free counterparts can save you ≈ US $1,200 every year—enough to fund a new laptop or a 10-day vacation.

And remember: open-source communities improve faster than subscription cycles.

“The best software license is the one that never expires—choose free, stay free.”