The Best Free Software for 2024

 The right apps make everything easier. We've got more than 50 top-notch picks to help you be more productive, more creative, and more secure on your PC. And they're all free.

There are many excellent free software options available in 2024 that can help you be more productive, creative, and secure. Here are some top picks:

### **Productivity**

- **LibreOffice**: A powerful office suite that includes Writer, Calc, and Impress for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.

- **Notion**: A versatile note-taking and project management tool that helps you organize your tasks and projects.

### **Creativity**

- **GIMP**: A robust image editor that serves as a great alternative to Photoshop.

- **Blender**: A comprehensive 3D creation suite for modeling, animation, and rendering.

- **Audacity**: An open-source audio editor perfect for recording and editing audio files¹.

### **Utilities**

- **7-Zip**: A file archiver with a high compression ratio.

- **HandBrake**: A powerful video transcoder that converts video from nearly any format¹.

### **Communication**

- **Discord**: A popular platform for voice, video, and text communication, widely used by gamers and communities¹.

- **Zoom**: A reliable video conferencing tool for meetings and webinars¹.

### **Security**

- **Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition**: Provides essential protection against malware and viruses.

- **LastPass**: A password manager that helps you store and manage your passwords securely.

These tools are highly recommended and can greatly enhance your computing experience without costing you a dime. Do you have any specific needs or tasks you're looking to accomplish with free software?

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 20/07/2024

(1) The Best Free Software for 2024 | PCMag. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-free-software.

(2) The Best Free Software for 2024 - PCMag UK. https://uk.pcmag.com/software-services/139756/the-best-free-software-of-2022.

(3) 40 Must-Have Free Open Source Software for 2024 - Tecmint. https://www.tecmint.com/best-free-open-source-software/.

(4) The Best Free Software for 2024 - PCMag Middle East. https://me.pcmag.com/en/software-services/14432/the-best-free-software-of-2023?p=1.

(5) en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software.

Software can be expensive, but free programs have been a mainstay of the desktop experience for decades, and today's free offerings are more powerful than ever. You can find a great variety of no-cost audio and video editors, office suites, file utilities, organizers, photo converters, and more. To keep things free, software developers can adopt an ad-based model, create donation-ware, or use a shareware/freemium model that charges for extra features. Thankfully, many just make their software open source, out of a desire to help everyone.

To be included in this roundup, software must be available directly from the developer/creator/original publisher. It should (typically) have a Windows-based download—we're not including browser extensions, because we're not all using the same browser. However, we've included web-based apps that are as good as—or even better than—most downloadable programs.

More requirements for inclusion here: If the software is on a tiered sales model, the free version cannot be trial-ware; it must offer at least a free-for-life option. Preferably, the program has had an update in the last year or two and should have little or no advertising to support it. Finally, this list is about software for productivity; there are plenty of other places to find free PC games.

Productivity

LibreOffice: A powerful office suite that includes Writer, Calc, and Impress for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. It’s completely free and regularly updated.

Notion: Offers a free-for-life plan with robust note-taking and project management features. It’s ad-free and frequently updated.

Creativity

GIMP: A robust image editor that serves as a great alternative to Photoshop. It’s open-source, ad-free, and regularly updated.

Blender: A comprehensive 3D creation suite for modeling, animation, and rendering. It’s free, open-source, and receives frequent updates.

Audacity: An open-source audio editor perfect for recording and editing audio files. It’s free, ad-free, and regularly updated.

Utilities

7-Zip: A file archiver with a high compression ratio. It’s free, ad-free, and regularly updated.

HandBrake: A powerful video transcoder that converts video from nearly any format. It’s open-source, ad-free, and frequently updated.

Communication

Discord: A popular platform for voice, video, and text communication, widely used by gamers and communities. It offers a free-for-life plan and is regularly updated.

Zoom: Provides a free plan for video conferencing with essential features. It’s ad-free and frequently updated.

Security

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition: Provides essential protection against malware and viruses. It’s free-for-life and regularly updated.

LastPass: A password manager that helps you store and manage your passwords securely. It offers a free-for-life plan and is regularly updated.

Always be on the lookout for bloatware installers: To make ends meet, many software creators (or the services that offer free programs for download) bundle in things you don't want—i.e., bloatware. Worse, the installation steps are often obfuscated, so you might unintentionally provide the unwanted program with permission to be installed. For more about how to spot and avoid this problem, read How to Remove Bloatware From Your New PC.

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