Whether you work with macOS or iOS, it is very important to choose a good application to perform a certain task. Sometimes it can take a while to explore new options for familiar ones or learn how to use alternatives, but it’s often worth the effort.
Let’s face it, most paid apps work just fine; However, that doesn’t mean that sometimes we won’t find free and open source alternatives that are not only good, but even better. In this context, let’s talk about 15 free and open source applications for Mac that it is hard to believe that they are better than the employees.
Significantly better apps than their payment alternatives
- Hand brake: one of the best tools to encode and decode videos. It is a completely free and open source project that, in addition to the Mac, we can use on Windows or Linux. The application offers a very complete list of format supports and makes it a reference in this field.
- black table: the completely free and open source alternative to Lightroom. An application in which we can work with the RAW versions of the images to manage our digital negatives with great ease. A very interesting application with a large community behind it.
- VirtualBox: virtualization software for x86 architectures developed by Oracle. A completely free open source project that in some ways is even better than Parallels or VMWare. A project with which to run another operating system in our Mac.
- Goo: the alternative to Plex, completely open source, free and, in some respects, better in terms of capabilities. An application that, in addition to the Mac, we can use on iPhone or iPad, on Android TV, Fire TV and with AirPlay support. A reference for multimedia centers.
- Note Studio: a great application for streaming on different platforms. A free and open source application maintained by volunteers that has become a reference for live broadcasts.
- Blender: an impressive application for creating 2D and 3D content. An open source project in which Epic Games and Ubisoft, among others, participate and which has been receiving great news in recent years. A really interesting alternative for personal and commercial use.
- VLC: VLC, from VideoLAN, is an excellent video file player. Files that can come in almost any format imaginable and will play easily and quickly. One of the best known and most recommended open source applications.
- Caliber: a free Mac application to manage our ebooks as we need them. With many options and tools to do what we want with our e-books, this free and open source project is really cool. In addition to reading and organizing our ePUBs, we can edit, create, share backups, upload magazines to the web, and much more.
- Czech: a tool to compress and decompress files on macOS. An open source application that, although it is free, we can buy in the Mac App Store to support the developer.
- Fell: Graphic drawing and editing software designed for all types of creative professionals. It has features like customizable brushes, filters, effects, etc.
- Audacity: an application for recording and editing audio. It includes several plugins, and there are thousands more available online for free. It’s a great choice for recording songs, podcasts, audio tracks for Youtube videos, etc.
- Inkscape: Another drawing software for Mac, this time for vector graphics, illustrations and graphic designs. The beauty of these vector graphics is that by their very nature they are scalable so they can be edited without any loss of quality.
- GnuCash: is a free money management program for Mac. It is a complete accounting program that allows you to control income and expenses, create accounting and financial reports, etc.
- OpenEmu: an awesome emulator which we have already talked about in this house for macOS gaming which allows to play retro games. Moreover, it allows you to record games, customize controls, use external controls and much more.
This long list includes some very good options not only for those who prefer open source alternatives, but they are better than their paid counterparts. And it is clear that free applications, such as these to watch more than 400 free television channels on our Apple TV, have nothing to envy to their paid alternatives. In many cases, they are clearly better and free.
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