Let me be clear about something: free does not mean bad. Some of the best software in the world is free. VS Code is free and it is the most popular code editor on the planet. Canva's free tier handles 95% of what small businesses need from a design tool. Notion's free plan has more features than many paid project management tools. The reason companies charge $20, $50, or $100 per month is not always because their product is worth it -- sometimes it is just because you have not looked for alternatives.
This guide is organized by category. For each paid tool, I will give you one or more free alternatives, explain what they do well, and be honest about any limitations. I have also linked to SpunkArt tools where we have free options in the same category.
Adobe Creative Cloud costs $55 to $85 per month. That is $660 to $1,020 per year. Here are the free alternatives that cover most of what you actually use Adobe for.
Photoshop: $23/month ($276/year)
Canva (Free) -- Best for social media graphics, presentations, flyers, and basic photo editing. Drag-and-drop interface, thousands of templates, works in your browser. Perfect for non-designers. Try our color palette generators alongside it.
GIMP (Free) -- Best for advanced photo editing. Open-source, has layers, masks, filters, and plugins. Learning curve similar to Photoshop but it is genuinely powerful. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Photopea (Free) -- Runs in your browser, looks and works almost exactly like Photoshop. Opens PSD files. No download needed. This is the hidden gem most people do not know about.
Annual savings: $276
Illustrator: $23/month ($276/year)
Figma (Free tier) -- Originally a UI design tool but excellent for vector graphics, logos, icons, and illustrations. Collaborative, browser-based, and incredibly popular. Free for up to 3 projects.
Inkscape (Free) -- Full-featured open-source vector editor. Handles SVGs, logos, technical illustrations, and complex vector work. The closest free equivalent to Illustrator.
Annual savings: $276
Premiere Pro: $23/month ($276/year)
DaVinci Resolve (Free) -- Professional-grade video editor used in Hollywood. Color grading, visual effects, audio editing, and multi-track timeline. The free version has almost everything the paid version has. This is not a "lite" version -- it is genuinely professional software. Many YouTubers and filmmakers use it exclusively.
Annual savings: $276
Adobe XD: Included in Creative Cloud ($55+/month)
Figma (Free tier) -- Figma has essentially replaced Adobe XD for UI/UX design. Real-time collaboration, prototyping, design systems, and a massive plugin ecosystem. The free tier includes 3 projects with unlimited collaborators. Most designers prefer Figma over XD even when price is not a factor.
Annual savings: Part of Creative Cloud savings
Canva Pro: $13/month ($156/year)
Canva Free -- The free tier includes 250,000+ templates, 100+ design types, and 5GB of cloud storage. For most people, the free tier is enough. Supplement with SpunkArt's free AI image prompt generator, color palette tools, and design tool recommendations.
Annual savings: $156
SEO analyzers, design tools, business calculators, AI assistants, and more. No signup, no credit card.
Browse Free ToolsMicrosoft 365: $7-$13/month ($84-$156/year)
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides (Free) -- Cloud-based, real-time collaboration, works on any device with a browser. For 90% of office work, Google's suite does everything Microsoft Office does. Automatic saving, easy sharing, and built-in version history. Most businesses under 10 people can run entirely on Google's free tools.
LibreOffice (Free) -- Downloadable office suite that is nearly identical to Microsoft Office. Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (PowerPoint). Opens and saves Microsoft file formats. Works offline. Best for people who prefer desktop applications.
Annual savings: $84 - $156
Teams: Included with Microsoft 365 ($7+/month)
Google Meet (Free) -- Video calls up to 60 minutes with up to 100 participants. Screen sharing, chat, and recording (with Google One). No download needed -- works in your browser.
Discord (Free) -- Originally for gamers but now used by businesses, communities, and teams. Voice channels, video calls, text channels, screen sharing, and file sharing. Unlimited message history on the free tier.
Annual savings: $84 - $156 (as part of Office suite)
Asana Premium: $11/month. Monday.com: $9/month ($108-$132/year)
Notion (Free) -- Notes, tasks, wikis, databases, kanban boards, calendars, and more. The free plan is incredibly generous -- unlimited pages and blocks for individual use. For personal productivity and small teams, Notion replaces Asana, Evernote, Trello, and Google Docs all at once. Check our project management tools guide.
Trello (Free) -- Simple kanban-style boards for task management. The free tier includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, and basic automation. Best for visual thinkers who like dragging cards between columns.
ClickUp (Free tier) -- Feature-rich project management with docs, whiteboards, goals, and time tracking. The free tier includes 100MB storage and unlimited tasks.
Annual savings: $108 - $132
Jira: $8/month per user ($96/year/user)
Linear (Free for small teams) -- Clean, fast issue tracker designed for software teams. Keyboard-first interface, cycles, roadmaps, and GitHub integration. Free for up to 250 issues.
GitHub Issues + Projects (Free) -- If your code is on GitHub, use built-in Issues and Projects boards. Free, integrated with your code, and surprisingly powerful with the new Projects view.
Annual savings: $96+ per user
Slack Pro: $8/month per user ($96/year/user)
Slack Free -- The free tier includes 90 days of message history, 10 app integrations, and 1-on-1 huddles. For small teams, this is often enough.
Discord (Free) -- Unlimited message history, voice channels, video calls, screen sharing, and server organization with channels and roles. Many startups and remote teams use Discord instead of Slack and save hundreds per month.
Google Chat (Free with Google account) -- Simple team messaging integrated with Gmail and Google Workspace. Spaces (like Slack channels), direct messages, and file sharing.
Annual savings: $96+ per user
Zoom Pro: $13/month ($156/year)
Google Meet (Free) -- 60-minute meetings, 100 participants, screen sharing. No download required.
Jitsi (Free, open source) -- No account needed, no time limits, no participant limits. End-to-end encryption. Works in your browser. The most private free video calling option available.
Annual savings: $156
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Mailchimp: $13+/month. ConvertKit: $9+/month ($108-$156/year)
MailerLite (Free up to 1,000 subscribers) -- Email campaigns, automation, landing pages, signup forms, and a drag-and-drop editor. The free tier is generous and includes most features. Best free email marketing tool for beginners.
Brevo (Free up to 300 emails/day) -- Formerly Sendinblue. Email campaigns, automation, SMS marketing, and CRM. Unlimited contacts on the free plan, just a daily send limit.
Buttondown (Free up to 100 subscribers) -- Simple, clean newsletter tool for writers. Markdown support, RSS-to-email, and analytics. Great for personal newsletters.
Annual savings: $108 - $156+
Squarespace: $16/month. Wix: $17/month ($192-$204/year)
GitHub Pages (Free) -- Free static website hosting with custom domain support. Perfect for portfolios, blogs, landing pages, and documentation sites. This is what we use for SpunkArt and all our network sites. Read our GitHub Pages setup guide.
Carrd (Free tier) -- Build simple one-page websites in minutes. Perfect for landing pages, link-in-bio pages, and personal sites. The free tier allows 3 sites.
WordPress.com (Free tier) -- The free plan includes a WordPress.com subdomain, 1GB storage, and basic themes. Limited compared to self-hosted WordPress but enough for a simple blog or portfolio.
Annual savings: $192 - $204
Ahrefs: $99/month. SEMrush: $130/month ($1,188-$1,560/year)
Google Search Console (Free) -- See what keywords your site ranks for, track clicks and impressions, submit sitemaps, and find technical SEO issues. This is the most important SEO tool and it is completely free.
Google Analytics (Free) -- Track all your website traffic, user behavior, conversions, and traffic sources. GA4 is the current version.
Ubersuggest (Free tier) -- Keyword research, competitor analysis, and content ideas. Three free searches per day.
SpunkArt SEO Tools (Free) -- Our free SEO tools collection includes keyword analyzers, meta tag generators, sitemap builders, and more. No signup required.
Annual savings: $1,188 - $1,560
Keyword research, meta tag generators, site auditors, and more. All free, no account needed.
See All SEO ToolsJetBrains: $25+/month. Sublime Text: $99 one-time ($300+/year for JetBrains)
VS Code (Free) -- The most popular code editor in the world. Made by Microsoft, used by everyone. Extensions for every language, built-in Git, integrated terminal, IntelliSense, debugging, and remote development. It is not just free -- it is genuinely the best code editor available. Check our developer tools guide.
Cursor (Free tier) -- AI-powered code editor built on VS Code. Free tier includes limited AI completions. Great for developers who want AI assistance while coding.
Annual savings: $99 - $300+
GitHub Copilot: $10/month ($120/year)
Codeium (Free) -- AI code completion for 70+ languages. Works in VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, and more. Unlimited completions on the free plan. Surprisingly good and completely free for individual use.
Tabnine (Free tier) -- AI code completion with a free tier that covers basic completions. Works in most editors.
Annual savings: $120
Traditional hosting: $5-$30/month ($60-$360/year)
Vercel (Free tier) -- Deploy frontend projects and serverless functions for free. Automatic HTTPS, CDN, and preview deployments. Perfect for Next.js, React, and static sites.
Netlify (Free tier) -- Similar to Vercel. Free hosting, forms, serverless functions, and continuous deployment from Git. 100GB bandwidth per month.
Cloudflare Pages (Free tier) -- Unlimited bandwidth, automatic HTTPS, and global CDN. Read our Cloudflare tutorial.
Annual savings: $60 - $360
Premiere Pro: $23/month ($276/year)
DaVinci Resolve (Free) -- Already mentioned above, but it is worth repeating: this is Hollywood-grade editing software that is free. Color correction, visual effects (Fusion), audio mixing (Fairlight), and multi-track timeline editing. Used on major films and TV shows. The free version is not a stripped-down demo -- it is the real thing with only a few advanced features locked behind the paid version.
Annual savings: $276
Adobe Audition: $23/month ($276/year)
Audacity (Free, open source) -- Record and edit audio. Noise reduction, multi-track editing, effects, and export to any format. Perfect for podcasts, voiceovers, and music. Has been free for over 20 years and is used by millions.
Annual savings: $276
Loom: $13/month. Camtasia: $250 one-time ($156+/year)
OBS Studio (Free, open source) -- Screen recording and live streaming. Used by every streamer on Twitch and YouTube. Records your screen, webcam, and audio simultaneously. Completely free with no watermarks or time limits.
Annual savings: $156 - $250
QuickBooks: $15-$30/month ($180-$360/year)
Wave (Free) -- Full accounting software: invoicing, expense tracking, receipt scanning, financial reports, and payroll (paid add-on). Completely free for accounting and invoicing. Used by over 4 million small businesses. Best free QuickBooks alternative for freelancers and small businesses. Also check our free invoice tools.
GnuCash (Free, open source) -- Double-entry bookkeeping software. More technical than Wave but extremely powerful for people who understand accounting. Works offline.
Annual savings: $180 - $360
FreshBooks: $17/month ($204/year)
SpunkArt Invoice Generator (Free) -- Create professional invoices instantly with our free invoice generator. No account needed. Also try Wave (above) for a full invoicing platform.
Annual savings: $204
ChatGPT Plus: $20/month ($240/year)
ChatGPT Free Tier -- GPT-3.5 is still excellent for most tasks. Writing, brainstorming, coding help, and research.
Claude (Free tier) -- Anthropic's AI assistant. Excellent for long-form writing, analysis, and coding. Free tier is generous.
Google Gemini (Free) -- Google's AI assistant with access to current web information. Free and integrated with Google services.
Perplexity (Free tier) -- AI-powered search engine that gives sourced answers. Great for research.
SpunkArt AI Tools (Free) -- Our AI writing assistant, blog outline generator, email subject tester, and product description writer are all free.
Annual savings: $240
For a deeper dive into free AI tools, read our complete free AI tools guide for 2026 and our AI tools for startups guide.
If you are paying for all the expensive tools listed above (you probably are not, but let us add it up), switching to free alternatives saves you:
Adobe Creative Cloud: Save $660 - $1,020/year
Microsoft 365: Save $84 - $156/year
Project Management: Save $108 - $132/year
Communication: Save $96 - $252/year per user
Email Marketing: Save $108 - $156/year
Website Builder: Save $192 - $204/year
SEO Tools: Save $1,188 - $1,560/year
Hosting: Save $60 - $360/year
AI Tools: Save $240/year
Total: $2,736 - $4,080+ saved per year
That is real money. For a small business with a few employees, the savings multiply. For a solopreneur or freelancer, that is $2,000 to $4,000 that stays in your pocket. Read our free tool stack guide for a complete breakdown of how to replace a $10K+ software budget with free tools.
A printable checklist of every paid-to-free swap in this guide. Plus our top tool recommendations delivered weekly.
For most users, yes. Free tools like Canva, Notion, GIMP, and LibreOffice cover 90% of what the average person needs. Power users with very specific professional requirements may still need paid tools, but most small businesses and individuals can switch entirely to free alternatives without losing functionality.
The free tools listed here are all reputable, widely-used platforms. Open-source tools like LibreOffice, GIMP, and VS Code are maintained by large communities of developers and are generally very secure. Always download software from official websites to avoid malware.
A typical small business spends $3,000 to $10,000 per year on software subscriptions. By switching to free alternatives for the categories in this guide, you can save $2,700 to $4,000 or more per year. Individual users typically save $500 to $2,000 per year.
For most users, Canva is the best Photoshop alternative because it is easier to use and handles common design tasks like social media graphics, presentations, and basic photo editing. For advanced photo editing with layers and masks, GIMP is the closest free equivalent. Photopea is a browser-based option that works almost identically to Photoshop.
Absolutely. Many successful businesses run entirely on free tools. Google Workspace (free tier), Canva (free), Notion (free), Wave (free accounting), and VS Code (free) provide everything a small business needs. Our business tools guide shows you exactly how.
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are the most popular free alternative and work entirely in your browser with real-time collaboration. LibreOffice is a free downloadable suite that looks and works nearly identically to Microsoft Office and functions offline. Both are excellent choices.
Modern open-source tools are user-friendly. LibreOffice looks and works like Microsoft Office. VS Code is the most popular code editor in the world. DaVinci Resolve is used by Hollywood editors. The days of open-source tools being ugly and confusing are long gone for the major projects.
Open-source tools like LibreOffice, GIMP, and VS Code will always be free because they are community-maintained. Freemium tools like Canva and Notion may change their free tiers over time, but competition keeps free tiers generous. Having multiple alternatives means you can always switch if pricing changes.
Most people overpay for software out of habit, not necessity. They signed up for a free trial two years ago, forgot to cancel, and have been paying $20 per month for something they use twice a week. Or they assume the paid version is better without ever trying the free alternative.
Go through your subscriptions this week. For each one, check if a free alternative on this list covers what you need. You might be surprised how much money you are leaving on the table.
For more money-saving guides, read our subscriptions to cancel guide, free vs paid tools comparison, and best free tools for small business owners. For free tools you can use right now, visit SpunkArt.
Follow @SpunkArt13 for free tool recommendations and money-saving tips.