Recommended best FREE Apps (and almost free)
Free Email
Google Mail
Secure, smart, and easy-to-use email
Get more done with Gmail. Now integrated with Google Chat, Google Meet, and more, all in one place.
Microsoft Outlook
Stay connected and organized wherever you work best
Connect, organize, and get things done with free personal email and calendar.
You can try premium plan to expand your Outlook. Enjoy all the premium benefits and advanced features of Outlook when you subscribe to Microsoft 365.
Zoho Mail
♦ Secure Business Email for your organization ♦
Host your business email on a secure, encrypted, privacy-guaranteed, and ad-free email service.
Google Drive (Docs, Sheets and Slides)
In Google Drive, you can access a suite of products to create and collaborate with others on different types of online documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Google’s FREE apps (Docs, Sheets and Slides) have almost all the features you get in the same-named apps in the subscription-based Google Workspace, which is now open to everyone with a Google account, at prices starting at $6 per user per month.
Zoho
♦ Your Life’s Work, Powered By Our Life’s Work ♦
The three Zoho Office Suite packages include:
Free: Zoho Office Suite is free to use for up to 5GB of cloud storage, up to 25 file versions, and the ability to upload files of 1GB at a time.
Standard: $5/month per user for up to 100GB of storage, unlimited file versions, group sharing capabilities, and 15GB upload limit.
Premium: $8/month per user for up to 1TB of cloud storage and a 256GB upload limit per file.
However, you can get Zoho Office Suite as part of Zoho Workplace for a lower cost.
Google Workplace (Formerly G-Suite)
Productivity and collaboration tools for all the ways we work
A flexible, innovative solution for people and organizations to achieve more. It is a set of Web-based productivity and collaboration applications from Google.
Try it FREE for 14 days. Google Workspace plans start as low as $4.20 per user per month for Business Starter, $9.60 per user per month for Business Standard, and $18 per user per month for Business Plus.
Microsoft 365 (Formerly Office 365)
Bring out your best in school, work, and life
Microsoft 365 brings together best-in-class productivity apps with powerful cloud services, device management, and advanced security in one, connected experience.
Get Microsoft Office 365 FREE if you’re a student or a teacher. If you’re a student, teacher, or faculty member with an active school email address, you’re likely eligible to get access to Office 365 for free through Microsoft, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams, and additional classroom tools.
FREE Browser
Brave
The best privacy online. 3x faster than Chrome. Better protection from Google and Big Tech.
Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. Brave is a privacy-focused browser, which automatically blocks online advertisements and website trackers in its default settings.
Edge (2020 version)
Choose the web browser that puts you first
Microsoft Edge is a fast and secure browser that helps protect your data and save time and money.
Since Edge moved to Chromium, the browsers are very similar, and which one works better for you is a personal choice. However, in a few areas, Edge has the edge. If you prioritize speed or low resource consumption, you should choose Microsoft Edge over Chrome.
Google Chrome
The browser built by Google – Fast & Secure
Browse with the power of Google
With Google apps like Gmail, Google Pay, and Google Assistant, Chrome can help you stay productive and get more out of your browser.
Mozilla FireFox
Protect your life online with privacy-first; Fast, Private & FREE
Get the browser that protects what’s important
No shady privacy policies or back doors for advertisers. Just a lightning-fast browser that doesn’t sell you out.
Get all the speed and tools with none of the invasions of privacy. Firefox Browser collects so little data about you, don’t even require your email address to download. That’s because unlike other browsers, we have no financial stake in following you around the web.
pCloud
♦ The Most Secure Cloud Storage ♦
pCloud is a cloud-based storage solution that keeps pictures, videos, documents, music, and all sorts of other files in the cloud and accesses them on any device at any time.
You can sign up for pCloud and download our mobile and desktop application for free. Basic pCloud accounts (Free Forever) come with up to 10 GB of free space. If you ever run out of space, you can upgrade your account with a monthly or yearly subscription to a pCloud Premium (500 GB) or pCloud Premium Plus (2 TB) plan.
Microsoft OneDrive
Organized. Protected. Connected.
Save your photos and files to OneDrive and access them from any device, anywhere.
OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, is indeed free. If you have a Microsoft account — meaning any account you can use to sign into Outlook.com, or an account you use to sign into your PC — you already have access.
With OneDrive free, you get 5 gigabytes (GB) of storage. If you need more than 5GB of cloud storage, there are cost-effective plans to get more. The most cost-effective plan might be Microsoft 365, which includes the Microsoft Office suite of applications for your PC as well.
Google Drive
Store, access, and share your files in one secure place
Google Drive is the most popular cloud storage. It is a FREE service from Google that allows you to store files online and access them anywhere using the cloud. It also gives you access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.
Google Drive has 3 pricing edition(s), from $6 to $12. A free trial of Google Drive is also available.
DropBox
Do more than store
Dropbox is a cloud storage service that lets you save files online and sync them to your devices. You can use Dropbox links to share files and folders with other people without sending large attachments.
Dropbox offers a free plan that includes 2 GB of storage.
For paid plans, the price starts at $11.99 /month for 2TB.
Wave Accounting
Wave Accounting is FREE financial software that allows small businesses to manage their bookkeeping, accounting, and invoicing in one place.
Wave Accounting is a completely free software platform, but two of Wave’s offerings can make a big difference for freelancers and contractors who want affordable finance technology. In addition to the standard Wave accounting foundation, Wave also offers Wave Invoicing and Payments by Wave.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is one of the best cloud accounting apps out there. It was designed to help companies handle their finances in a secure and easy manner. FreshBooks offers a simple yet efficient way to manage expenses, invoices, reports, and time tracking.
With the free trial, you can use FreshBooks at no charge for 30 days (no credit card required). After your trial is up, you can choose from one of several paid plans. If you’re not ready to subscribe, no problem. Your invoices, expenses, and other data will be securely stored in case you decide to upgrade later on.
Google Voice
Google Voice gives you a phone number for calling, text messaging, and voicemail. It works on smartphones and computers and syncs across your devices so you can use the app in the office, at home, or on the go. FREE for personal use.
NOTE: Google Voice only works for personal Google Accounts in the US and Google Workspace accounts in select markets. Text messaging is not supported in all markets.
For Business use, the price starts at $4.20/user/month for starters.
Mailchimp
Grow your business on your terms with Mailchimp’s All-In-One marketing, automation & email marketing platform. Easy to use – start for free!
Paid plans:
Essential: Starts at $11/month*
Standard: Starts at $11/month*
Premium: Starts at $299/month*
*Overages apply if the contact or email send limit is exceeded.
Asana
Manage your team’s work, projects, & tasks online
Work anytime, anywhere with Asana. Keep remote and distributed teams, and your entire organization focused on their goals, projects, and tasks with Asana.
The Basic Plan is FREE forever.
Premium Plan:
US$10.99 Per user, per month, billed annually
US$ 13.49 billed monthly
Business Plan:
US$24.99 Per user, per month, billed annually
US$ 30.49 billed monthly
CAUTION: Many others can NOT be trusted. I only recommend those on this page.
[I do NOT recommend Norton/Symantec, McAfee, AVG. You’d be better off with the free version of Windows Defender]
AntiVirus
Sophos Home
Security and privacy for the entire family. Protect your Windows PCs and Macs.
The protection you need for all your personal devices for one low price. No gimmicks. No add-ons. No third-party advertisements.
Protect all the computers in your home with the Sophos Home Premium, available with a free 30-day trial (no credit card required).
Anti-Malware & Antivirus
Malwarebytes
CYBERSECURITY FOR EVERYONE.
You bring your best. We’ll crush the threats. Destroy ransomware, spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware.
The premium personal plan starts at US$3.75per month, US$44.99 billed annually (1 device).
Business Plans start at US$49.99 per device/year.
Anti-Malware
SpyBot S&D
Spybot is different. Spybot uses a unique technique to find the spyware, adware, and more unwanted software that threatens your privacy that others don’t find. And the +Antivirus Editions give you complete protection with the best available Antivirus solution already integrated.
(Difficult to use – only recommended for advanced users).
CCleaner
Caution: this will clean all browser settings including history, cache, etc.
CCleaner is the number-one tool for cleaning your PC. It protects your privacy and makes your computer faster and more secure! Download it FREE today.
SpyBot S&D
(Difficult to use – only recommended for advanced users).
LastPass
Password Management from Anywhere
Life is happening online. Work. Play. Family and friends. LastPass puts your digital life at your fingertips, simply and securely.
Get started for FREE. Includes a 30-day trial of Premium.
The premium plan starts at $3.00 per month billed annually.
Bitwarden
Move fast and securely with the password manager trusted by millions.
Drive collaboration, boost productivity, and experience the power of open source with Bitwarden, the easiest way to secure all your passwords and sensitive information.
You can use the FREE version (free forever) or avail of the Premium plan that starts at less than $1.00/month or $10.00 billed annually.
software for Windows and Linux
Libre Office
Do more – easily, quickly
LibreOffice is a powerful and free office suite, a successor to OpenOffice(.org), used by millions of people around the world. Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity. LibreOffice includes several applications that make it the most versatile Free and Open Source office suite on the market: Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (vector graphics and flowcharts), Base (databases), and Math (formula editing).
GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)
GIMP is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes.
Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins.
Scribus
Open Source Desktop Publishing
Scribus is free and open-source desktop publishing software available for most desktop operating systems. It is designed for layout, typesetting, and preparation of files for professional-quality image-setting equipment. Scribus can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms.
Advanced users only: Suggested for experienced DeskTop Publishing experts only.
InkScape
Draw Freely
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor used to create vector images, primarily in Scalable Vector Graphics format. Other formats can be imported and exported. Inkscape can render primitive vector shapes and text.
Advanced users only: Suggested for experienced DeskTop Publishing experts only.
VLC Media Player
VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files, and various streaming protocols.
VLC Media Player is a free-to-use, robust, and feature-packed software that plays a wide range of audio, images, and video files. It can play multimedia files directly from extractable devices or the PC. While most competing programs display advertisements, VLC Player does not, receiving support from a non-profit organization.
Ninite
One place to download all your favorite software and utilities.
Ninite is a service that enables users to automatically install applications for their operating systems.
Audacity
Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like operating systems.
Cute PDF
CutePDF is a proprietary Portable Document Format converter and editor for Microsoft Windows developed by Acro Software. CutePDF Writer can create PDF files, and CutePDF Form Filler can edit simple PDF forms so that they can be sent without using more expensive PDF authoring software.
It takes no time at all to edit your PDF files easily – for Free! No Installation.
FileZilla
The free FTP solution
FileZilla is a free and open-source, cross-platform FTP application, consisting of FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server. Clients are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Both server and client support FTP and FTPS, while the client can in addition connect to SFTP servers.
FreeMind
Organize your thoughts on any subject using a Mind Map.
FreeMind is a FREE mind mapping application written in Java, which is further developed by the fork Freeplane until today. FreeMind itself was last updated in 2014. FreeMind is licensed under the GNU General Public License Version 2. It provides extensive export capabilities.
Leading Linux Distro
Linux Ubuntu
Enterprise Open Source and Linux
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: Desktop, Server, and Core for Internet of things devices and robots. All the editions can run on the computer alone, or on a virtual machine.
Best for Windows User
LinuxMint
Linux Mint is an operating system for desktop and laptop computers. It is designed to work ‘out of the box’ and comes fully equipped with the apps most people need.
Linux Mint is completely free of charge. Almost everything in Linux Mint is also open-source.
An alternative distro of Linux Ubuntu that operates more like Microsoft Windows.
Wave Apps
More than 2 million small businesses and freelancers use Wave to send invoices and manage accounting and bookkeeping.
Wave does not charge a subscription or any hidden fees. While users never pay startup or monthly fees, Wave does charge a credit card processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for most cards. This is a typical credit card processing fee that you’ll find on any platform.
Paypal
From shopping online to sending payments, PayPal is the safer and easier way to pay.
PayPal has recently increased its fees to 3.49% and $0.49 per transaction.
Square
Square helps millions of sellers run their business- from secure credit card processing to point-of-sale solutions.
Square charges 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction every time a customer taps, dips or swipes their card during an in-person transaction.
Square charges a transaction fee of 3.5% plus 15 cents per transaction for in-person payments where the card is manually keyed in, transactions that are taken virtually or from cards on file.
Square charges 2.9% plus 30 cents for purchases made through an online store, online checkout, e-commerce application programming interface (API), or online invoices.
