小弧光的博客

公众号：小弧光黑板报

导航

The Best Free Software of 2023

原文：https://au.pcmag.com/software-services/93440/the-best-free-software-of-2022#page0
 

It's a mobile world, but we have not fully abandoned the desktop. The real work (and a lot of the play) of computing requires a full personal computing system, and to get the most out of that, you need software.

Software can be expensive, but free programs have been a mainstay of the desktop experience for decades, and today's offerings are pretty powerful. Software developers can adopt an ad-based model, donation-ware to keep things afloat, or a shareware/freemium model that charges for extra features.

Something to always watch for: Crapware installers. To make ends meet, many creators of otherwise great free software, or the services that offer the programs for download, bundle in things you don't want. Worse, the installation routine obfuscates the steps, so you provide the unwanted program tacit permission to be installed. For more about how to spot and avoid this problem, see How to Rid a New PC of Crapware.

A pro tip: Only download desktop software from the maker of the software directly. It's not foolproof—after all, developers want to eat, too—but it helps.

Other Criteria:

  • The software must be available directly from the developer/creator/original publisher.
  • The software should (typically) have a Windows-based download—no browser extensions here, because we're not all on the same browser. However, we've included web-based apps that are as good, or better, than most downloadable programs.
  • If the software is on a tiered sales model, the free version cannot be trial-ware. It has to have at least a free-for-life option.
  • Preferably the program had an update in the last year or two.
  • The program should have little or no advertising to support it.
  • Software for productivity is what this list is about; there are plenty of other places to find free PC games.

For more free software, check out The 100 Best iPhone Apps and The 100 Best Android Apps.

Did we miss any free programs you can't live without? Let us know in the comments.

 

Best Free Audio-Editing Software

 4.0 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Linux

Open-source Audacity can record and edit audio files on more tracks than you can imagine. It then outputs exactly what you need. It is perfect for noobs and pros alike, on any desktop OS.

 

Best Free Video Converter

 3.5 Good

Windows, macOS, Linux

No one would call HandBrake simple, but it's hard for any other video transcoder to compete in power and comprehensiveness. Transcode means to convert; Handbrake will turn almost any video format into another video format. It's free, it's open-source, and it has years of practice.

 

Best Free Video Editing

 3.5 Good

Windows, macOS, Linux

While it lacks the slick interface found in most other video editors, Shotcut's got lots of other powers, and you don't have to pay anything for them—you have nothing to lose but time in trying it out. You can undock panels as you work, customizing the editing on screen, which is great on multi-monitor setups.

 

Best Free Game Recording/Streaming Software

 

Windows, Web, iOS, Android

Stream your video gaming with Logitech's Streamlabs Open Broadcasting System (aka SLOBS) directly to YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook. You can even switch between gameplay and your webcam to make some commentary. There may be a learning curve because of the power it wields, but you can find plenty of help online.

 

VLC media player

 

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

The premier way to watch just about any video, no matter the video's weird codec, VLC media player has features including auto-rotating smartphone videos taken at the wrong orientation and resuming playback from where you stopped. Seriously, VLC plays back anything on all desktop platforms, and it guarantees no ads, tracking, or spyware. (For more, read How to Play DVDs in Windows 10.)

 

Best Free Messaging Software

  4.5 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation

Millions of people worldwide use Discord for text, voice chatting, and video chatting—mainly while kicking one another's arses in online games or watching gameplay streams on Twitch or Caffeine. Even Microsoft wanted to buy it. You can spend a monthly ($9.99) or annual ($99.99) fee to go premium for better video/audio quality and to upload larger files.

 

Best Free Video Conferencing

  4.5 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Linux, web, iOS, Android

Want to host an online meeting for you and 100 of your closest friends? Zoom Meetings can let them all in for free, for up to 40 minutes from any device, even a smartphone. Competitively priced premium plans with additional features are also available. Zoom is a PCMag Editors' Choice award winner, and it made our list of the Best Tech Products of 2021, too. (Also check out our top zoom tips.)

 

Best Free Desktop Publishing Tool

 

Windows, macOS, Linux

Scribus is the open-source equivalent of Adobe InDesign for desktop publishing, or as close as you can get. It has built-in color separation and management and a lot more, all free.

 

Best Free Writing Tool (Screenwriters)

 

Windows, Linux

Do you fancy yourself a budding screenwriter but lack the funds for high-end tools such as Final Draft? Trelby does a fine job of helping you format correctly, remember character names, and import and export to formats used in Hollywood.

 

Google Earth Pro

 

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

As if high-end software that lets you virtually fly across the globe isn't cool enough—especially as it has all the same features as its online/mobile sibling, Google Maps—Google Earth Pro for the desktop is totally free. It includes advanced features such as high-resolution printing, distance measuring, and global guided tours. Although it also comes in web and mobile versions, the desktop version is the only one that lets you view satellite images of the moon and Mars. It also has star maps.

 

Best Free Media Center

 

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Smart TVs, media hubs, NAS devices

If you don't know or care what a media server is, but you just want to stream your videos and music collection around the house, Plex could work well for you. Install it on all your devices, point it at some media, and those audio and video files become available on everything—even remotely. (For more, read How to Set Up a Plex Server, How to Share Your Plex Libraries, How to Organize Your Plex Media Library, and The Expert's Guide to Managing Your Plex Server.)

 

Best Free Social Media Software

 

Windows, iOS, Android, Web

You probably think of TikTok as a mobile-only phenomenon. But not only can you access the video wonderland on the desktop at TikTok.com to see your For You page, there's also a well-done app for it right in the Windows Store. TikTok Windows won't work with your webcam, but you can use it to upload video you edit to perfection with desktop video tools. It's all free but has ads for support—just like on the mobile versions, they show up looking like videos you might want to see.

 

Best Free File Viewer and Converter

 

Windows only

View, manage, and compare your images with this fast and intuitive freebie. FastStone Image Viewer supports a slew of image formats, including RAW image formats from specific digital camera manufacturers. It has companion apps for screenshots and photo resizing.

 

Best Free Graphics Software (Bitmap Editing)

 

Windows only

Is Paint.net a perfect replacement for Photoshop? Nothing is as powerful as Adobe's program, but at this price—free—Paint.net comes close. For any minor (and even some major) picture manipulation, it's fast, comprehensive, and easy to use.

 

Best Free PDF Reader

 

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web

Just about any browser can read a PDF. But Foxit PDF Reader is free not just for reading but also for annotation collaboration on files (at least with the Windows version; other versions may be more limited). You can send PDF files and even update the contents after the fact, thanks to the cloud. (For more, read How to Convert PDFs to Word Documents and Image Files.)

 

Best Free Note-Taking App

  4.0 Excellent

Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web

Once just a part of Microsoft Office, the sublime OneNote has become a free, standalone powerhouse for note-taking across all the major OSes. It still works with Office, syncs data across all platforms, and has full online access via Office.com, with storage on OneDrive. That's why it's our Editors' Choice pick for note storage.

 

Mozilla Firefox

  4.5 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

The venerable browser Firefox remains highly customizable and strong on security, privacy, and performance. And it supports a slew of new standards. (For more, read Which Browser Is Best? and Top Firefox Tips.)

 

Best Free Text Editor

 

Windows only

Notepad++ is nothing like the anemic Notepad most Windows users grew used to over the decades. This free download has tabs, color-coded nesting text, WYSIWYG printing, and support for macros. It's a must for hand-coders or any writer who wants a minimalist interface.

 

Best Free Antivirus

  4.5 Excellent

Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Our Editors' Choice award winner for free antivirus this year, Avast One Essential really is essential if you've got a Windows computer. It's a top-scorer against malware in lab tests, and it did great in our hands-on tests, too. It has a whole new look, and it offers more free protection than ever.

 

Best Free Secure Browser

 

Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS

Do you want to stop the trackers watching you online dead in their digital tracks? Going incognito on a standard browser isn't enough. You need to use a full-on privacy browser, one that blocks the cookies and especially the fingerprinting of your whole browser and computer. Brave is one of a slew of them with a rating for strong protection from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but it also adds in advanced protection against fingerprinting. (For details, read The Best Private Browsers.)

 

Best Free File Transfer Program

 

Windows, macOS, Android

Sure, Windows itself copies files between folders and drives just fine. But TeraCopy can take over that job and make it sing—it's faster, and the interface for making copies is better looking. Plus, it provides more information and feedback, and it can even recover from transfer errors.

 

Best Free Screen Capture

 

Windows only

Even those with modest screen-capture needs would say the old Snipping Tool in Windows was lacking. Now Windows 10 and 11 users have Windows Snip & Sketch, an evolutionary leap akin to protoplasm turning into hominids—albeit still lacking things like video and voice capture. Still, the ability to annotate a screengrab will make all the difference versus what was available before. (For more, read The Best Screen Capture Apps.)

 

Best for Screen Video Capture

 4.0 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Want to capture more than a still image? Screencast-O-Matic will do it, bridging between underpowered screenshots and overpowered full-screen video capture. You can pay more if you want the latter. But the free-to-use-forever tier will take still shots, up to 15 minutes of video of your screen (with a watermark), and share to social. The mobile apps will sync your capture files.

 

Best To-Do List for Everyone

  5.0 Outstanding

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web

This is our favorite to-do list app, ever. We give the paid version a full five-star review, but even the free version is fantastic. The Todoist interface is simple perfection no matter what platform you use it on—even wearables and via email (turning messages into tasks). The free version gives you five projects with five collaborators on each, working across 300 possible tasks, supports uploads of 5MB files, and keeps a one-week active history.

 

Best Power-User Note Taker

 4.0 Excellent

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android

Another place to put all your notes? Obsidian’s got a learning curve, but once mastered, it's the best note-taker you’ll find as a power user. The free version is available for personal use—it lacks only support and sync options, but you can get around the sync by storing your Obsidian Vault in a spot where a cloud service backs it up.

posted on 2023-02-18 10:58  小弧光  阅读(31)  评论(0)  编辑  收藏  举报