30 Best Open Source Software For Windows

Open source software allows developers to create powerful software with relatively little overhead, and all of that code is available for the public to use. In this blog post, I’ll take a look at the 30 best open-source software for Windows. Keep reading to learn more!

1. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free open-source office suite for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. It includes modules that cover the most common needs of home and business users. The LibreOffice suite includes programs like Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics editor), and Math to help you to create professional documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, or math equations.

2. GIMP

GIMP is a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop developed by a community of volunteers worldwide. It can be used to edit photographs.

3. VLC Media Player

 

VLC Media Player has become one of the most versatile media players, thanks to its open source and community-driven nature. Its popularity goes beyond just those interested in playing media, as it has also become one of the most versatile video compressors, media transcoders, and file converters.

4. ClamWin

ClamWin is a free antivirus software package. It scans and removes malware from windows computers and detects viruses. ClamWin has a fast scanning engine based on Clam AntiVirus’s open source antivirus engine, and it uses multiple layers of detection to protect your computer.

5. Notepad++

Notepad++ is an open-source text editor available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s free to download but offers programmers a wealth of useful functionality.

6. 7-zip

7-zip is a file archiver and file manager utility. You can use 7-zip to open or extract files from almost any archive type. The utility isn’t just for Windows; MacOS and Linux users can also rely on 7-zip to unpack files.

7. Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is a popular email client developed by Mozilla, the creators of the Firefox web browser. A cross-platform application, Thunderbird is available for Windows, OS X, Linux, and Android. It offers many of the same features as its competitor, Microsoft Outlook.

8. VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a disk encryption tool developed by two French cryptographers. VeraCrypt’s goal is to provide a simple encryption tool that’s easy to use. It uses AES encryption to encrypt your disk. AES encryption is one of the most robust forms of encryption available to the public today. As a result, VeraCrypt can protect your data and files.

9. KeePass

KeePass is a free, open-source password manager that you can use to store and encrypt your passwords. It’s available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, as well as iOS and Android. KeePass can sync your passwords with a Dropbox account or a WebDAV server, making it easy to secure your password database across your devices.

10. qBittorrent

When it comes to torrent downloaders, there are so many options out there. qBittorrent, released in 2018, is the new kid on the block, and it tries to replicate the experience of using the popular uTorrent client.

11. WinDirStat

WinDirStat is a freeware utility from NirSoft that makes it easy to see disk space usage within a directory tree. It visually represents disk space usage by compressing each folder to a size proportional to the disk space it consumes and arranging all the resulting files into nested folders.

12. Greenshot

Greenshot is the screenshot tool that puts all your screen capture needs in one program. You can capture your entire desktop, just a selected region of your screen, or an active window, all at the click of a button. You can also take screenshots of a specific area of the screen, capture audio, take scrolling screenshots, create GIFs, annotate images, draw, highlight, and blur portions of your screenshots, and save images in many different image formats.

13. Clonezilla

Clonezilla is free software used to create an exact copy of your hard disk. It is released under the GNU GPLv3 license, which is the GNU General Public License version 3.

14. Psiphon

Psiphon, originally developed by Psiphon Inc., is an open-source VPN specifically made to access censored content. Psiphon is available for Windows, Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD operating systems.

15. BleachBit

BleachBit is a disk cleaning solution similar to CCleaner. It is free, open-source, simple to install, and easy to use. However, many open-source enthusiasts prefer it over CCleaner, as it has more functions, its code is easier to read, and it doesn’t have the bundled extras of CCleaner.

16. AutoHotkey

AutoHotkey is a 32-and-64-bit Windows tool that allows you to automate almost any task on your computer. It is designed to be easily extendable through the use of prewritten functions, called hotkeys, to automate common tasks such as opening a file, launching an application, or starting a process.

17. Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is an open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It’s available for all major operating systems and platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. This browser was first released in 2002, and since then, it has grown into one of the most popular web browsers in the world.

18. VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a cross-platform virtualization software aimed primarily at software developers and hobbyists. It allows users to create and manage virtualized operating systems and networks. In other words, VirtualBox lets you run multiple operating systems simultaneously, each in its own isolated space. This lets you test new software, troubleshoot configuration problems, or just have fun.

19. Audacity

Audacity is one of the most versatile audio recording and editing tools available, and it’s completely free! The audio editor is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux and comes in multiple separate versions. The Audacity website also boasts over 300 user tutorials, so you shouldn’t have trouble figuring out how to use it!

20. Shotcut

Shotcut is a free video editing software that is open source and available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. This cross-platform, open-source video editing software is great for YouTubers, video editors, or anyone looking to edit home videos or join footage.

21. FileZilla

FileZilla is a free, open-source FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client. It’s an extremely capable application, and best of all, it’s readily available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.

22. Mozilla Lightning Calendar

The Mozilla Lightning Calendar is another free Mozilla application that synchronizes calendars across multiple devices.

23. SumatraPDF

SumatraPDF is a Java PDF library for creating, editing, and viewing PDF documents. SumatraPDF was built in 2002 and was the first Java library available to create and manipulate PDF files. Since then, it has evolved and gained many features, including document conversion, digital signatures, and annotations.

24. Blender

Blender is a free, open-source 3D creation suite capable of modeling, rendering, interactive 3D, and animation. Blender’s interface is user-friendly, with virtually no learning curve. Blender can import data in various file types, including 3D Studio, OBJ, 3DS, FBX, and C4D. The 2.80 release is dedicated to everyone who has contributed to Blender.

25. GanttPV

GanttPV is a flexible project management tool that allows you to plan your projects visually. It’s perfect for busy people who like to get things done.

26. GnuCash

GnuCash is a free, open-source, cross-platform personal financial management system. Its features include support for multiple currencies, support for multiple bank accounts, support for multiple credit cards, the ability to import and export data to and from Quicken and OFX files, and support for recurring transactions.

27. PhraseExpress

PhraseExpress is a software tool that helps you quickly and easily write powerful documents. It’s specifically designed for writers, but it can also be used by anybody who wants to save time and create professional-looking documents.

28. Scribus

Scribus is a versatile desktop publishing program. It is feature-rich, easy to use, and free to download. It runs on Linux, OS X, Windows, and Solaris. Scribus can be used to create a wide variety of projects, including brochures, newsletters, posters, books, magazines, and more.

29. DC++

DC++ is a free and open-source peer-to-peer file-sharing client for Windows and Macintosh computers. It was first released in 2002 by Deluge Communications. DC++ allows users to find other users to share files and data and even allows users to connect to private trackers to download content.

30. Tor browser

The Tor browser is the world’s most famous anonymous web browser. With Tor, you can browse the internet anonymously, free from surveillance and tracking.

I hope you found this list of free and open-source tools useful. Share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.

If I missed any popular open source software, please mention it in a comment.

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