Some FOSS programs, due to being mantained by hobbyists vs a massive megacorporation with millions in funding, don’t have as many features and aren’t as polished as their proprietary counterparts. However, there are some FOSS programs that simply have more functionality and QoL features compared to proprietary offerings.
What are some FOSS programs that are objectively better than their non-FOSS alternatives? Maybe we can discover useful new programs together :D
I’ll start, I think Joplin is a great note-taking app that works offline + can sync between desktop and mobile really well. Also, working with Markdown is really nice compared with rich text editors that only work with the specific program that supports it. Joplin even has a bunch of plugins to extend functionality!
Notion, Evernote, Google Keep, etc. either don’t have desktop apps, doesn’t work offline, does not support Markdown, or a combination of those three.
What are some other really nice FOSS programs?
edit: woah that’s a whole load of cool FOSS software I have to try out! So far my experiences have been great (ShareX in particular is AWESOME as a screenshot tool, it’s what snip and sketch wishes it could be and mostly replaces OBS for my use case and a whole lot more)
I use lots of FOSS software. I work in a municipal government job where I have to fill a lot of roles that aren’t funded as separate positions, so I use GIMP, Inkscape, and QGIS daily because the professional software isn’t budgeted. I also use OBS frequently, among others.
But GIMP is by far the worst FOSS alternative I’ve come across when compared against its paid competition. I hate Adobe the company, but Photoshop really is the gold standard.
I use both heavily. Oddly enough I use GIMP at work and Photoshop for my personal use and side gig.
GIMP certainly has a lot of UI problems that seem to have persisted for no other reason than “nobody got around to fixing it”
Also, it’s 2025 and you STILL can’t just draw a circle lmfao
That’s funny. I have no problem drawing circles in GIMP. What are you getting stuck on?
Its not FOSS but if you need a work alterative to GIMP I use Photopea a lot. Works as a PWA too.
I’ve been using design software for over 25 years; Photoshop has been there for the majority but I’ve often tried coming back to GIMP here and there, but it’s never grabbed me in a useable way.