Alternative Apps was founded by Michael Schwartz on 10/14/2010, but it's official release date wasn't until 6/1/2011.

Michael believes that software shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars. Not to mention that there's a lot of free alternatives to the paid applications out there, that are just as good, if not better then a lot of the paid software.

Michael created Alternative Apps so users like himself would have the best resource for the best/closest free alternative(s) to a lot of the paid software.

Wanna suggest an app? Post it on the Official Facebook Fanpage.

Michael is not only the founder of Alternative Apps. He does all the important work with Alternative Apps. He codes, and designs the website himself. He also works with the Cloud, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Mac OS 10 sections of Alternative Apps.

"Besides maintaining the website my job is pretty simple. I've used the paid apps like Photoshop, and my job is simple. Find the best/closest free alternative to that paid application, while keeping the same functionality. In this case the free alternative would be the GNU Image Manupulation Program."

Select Your OS!
Team Members!
Grab Alternative Apps In The Chrome Web Store!
Under Construction
Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About OpenOffice:
OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

System Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Blender:
Blender, the open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback.

Blender has proven to be an extremely fast and versatile design instrument. The software has a personal touch, offering a unique approach to the world of Three Dimensions. Use it to create TV commercials, to make technical visualizations, business graphics, to do some morphing, or design user interfaces. You can easy build and manage complex environments. The renderer is versatile and extremely fast. All basic animation principles (curves & keys) are well implemented.

System Requirements:

Operating Systems:

Minimal specs for Hardware:

Optimal specs for Hardware:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Blender:
Blender, the open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback.

Blender has proven to be an extremely fast and versatile design instrument. The software has a personal touch, offering a unique approach to the world of Three Dimensions. Use it to create TV commercials, to make technical visualizations, business graphics, to do some morphing, or design user interfaces. You can easy build and manage complex environments. The renderer is versatile and extremely fast. All basic animation principles (curves & keys) are well implemented.

Here's some other good after effects alternatives.
vReveal (Win)
Wax 2.0 (Win)
Kdenlive (Lin)
Cinelerra (Lin)
OpenShot (Lin)
Jahshaka (Win/Lin/Mac)

NOTE: Jahshaka is no longer an active project (It stopped I think in 07, or 08), and got reinvented as CineFX, but there hasn't been a development update for CineFX sense 2009.
Either way Jahshaka is very nice, but myself personally I prefer Blender.

System Requirements:

Operating Systems:

Minimal specs for Hardware:

Optimal specs for Hardware:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About GIMP:
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free software raster graphics editor. It is primarily employed as an image retouching and editing tool and is freely available in versions tailored for most popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X and GNU/Linux.

In addition to detailed image retouching and free-form drawing, GIMP can accomplish essential image editing tasks such as resizing, editing, and cropping photos, photomontages combining multiple images, and converting between different image formats. GIMP can also be used to create basic animated images in the GIF format.

GIMP's product vision is that GIMP is or will become a free software high-end graphics application for the editing and creation of original images, icons, graphical elements of web pages and art for user interface elements.

PC Requirements:

Mac OS X Requirements:

Linux Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About LMMS:
LMMS is a free cross-platform alternative to commercial programs like FL Studio®, which allow you to produce music with your computer. This includes the creation of melodies and beats, the synthesis and mixing of sounds, and arranging of samples. You can have fun with your MIDI-keyboard and much more; all in a user-friendly and modern interface.

System Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Audacity:
Audacity is a free and easy-to-use audio editor and recorder. You can use Audacity to, record live audio, convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files, cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together, change the speed or pitch of a recording and much more!

PC Requirements:

Mac OS X Requirements:

Linux/Unix Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Kompozer:
KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing.

KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

PC Requirements:

Mac OS X Requirements:

Linux Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Inkscape:
InkScape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator and CorelDraw using the W3C standard SVG file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and it has a streamlined interface, which makes it very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more.

System Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About Camstudio:
CamStudio enables you to record a selection of your desktop (not to mention you can click and drag that section to another part on your pc for it to record that), or your full PC.

It records audio as well, and when you're done recording you, can export your video as a SWF or an AVI.

Some individuals seem to have problems with Camstudio. If you're one of these users you may wanna try either Jing, or BB FlashBack Express as a desktop screen recorder instead.

System Requirements:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Screenium:
Make live movies of your Mac's screen, capture your actions in application programs, including mouse pointer, selections and movements - in real-time! Screenium even grabs live content streamed over the Internet. You can actually capture movie-in-movie: Screenium records your screen just like it is - including ongoing video playback in multiple windows.

Serial Code: v1.4.3
SCRE-6090-9424-6460-1560-5066

System Requirements:

Official Website - Download Page

Screenshot:

About recordMyDesktop:
recordMyDesktop is a easy to use, and simple desktop screen frecorder for GNU / Linux. It records your fullscreen, but there are some additional features you can mess with by pressing the advanced button.

You can use Compiz Fusion, Beryl, or w/e to zoom in and out, auto pan, magnify, etc: etc:

Additional information on the official website.
Guide on how to use the screen recorder.

Another desktop screen recorder I'd recommend would be Kazam.
The file format has worked with every video editor I've tried on Linux, and I've had no problem. Expecially editing the video was so much easier than expected. The only thing I don't like is it replaces your default cursor with a classic looking one for the recording. Other then that it's a perfect 10.

System Requirements:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About IceFilms:
IceFilms is no doubt the best alternative I've ever came across to Netflix!

Most of the sites I've came across, that I guess we here would call it a "free alternative" to Netflix. Always got shut down, cause thet had copyrighted material on their site. However IceFilms gets an insane amount of traffic, and is very popular on the web. Don't believe me? View the results yourself on alexa.com (Alexa.com gives you Free traffic metrics, search analytics, demographics, and more for websites...)

However what I don't get is I've been going to this site sense 2009, and it hasn't been shut down due to copyrighted material, as they don't host it on their site. They hyperlink it. Which isn't something I recommend, but they do a great job on making sure the links work.

Anyway IceFilms has a great selection of movies (Like Avatar, The Social Network, Friends with Benifits, etc:) They also have a great selection of TV shows. Although they don't keep updated with new series, and say you got linked to MegaVideo to watch Friends With Benifits for example. Once 72 minutes goes by you'll haft to wait till the next day starts in order to finish watching it. (Yeah big flaw, I know.)

Another site I'd recommend (not really for movies though), but you've probably heard of it, and/or have already been there, and it's Hulu.com.

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Google Docs:
Google Docs comes with most of the apps you probably use on your Windows, or OS 10 machine. Such as a powerpoint application, spreadsheet, drawing, and much more.

The user interface is very easy to navigate threw, however the only flaw is you haft to have a Gmail account.

To be honest with you all I don't use web based video editors hardly at all, as none of them seem to be a good alternative to Adobe After Effects.
Jaycut is nice, but at the moment you haft to be a member in order to use their app, and if you don't log in for an "X" number of days they'll disable your account, and you'll haft to make a new one. (Yeah I know bogus) However it does support chroma keying (for greenscreens/bluescreens), a layer system, and you can export your video to your desktop, and/or to YouTube as far as I remember, but it's had a huge update, and is now apart of the company RIM, who created the Blackberry Playbook (Tablet Computer)

There's also Movie Masher which is pretty much the web based version of Movie Maker.

I also wanna point out some other great sites like Animoto. (I used to use Animoto for a video intro, but now it's more like a portfolio type of thing, but it's all about creativity, and it's really easy to use.)

Stupeflix Studio is pretty simple, and has a nice choice of templates, but you can't have your video past 3, or 5 minutes.

Also YouTube has a built in video editor as well, but it's extremely basic. (add in videos you've uploaded, crop them, and you can add music, unfortionately it can't be background music at this point. It just replaces the audio in the video with the music you've chosen from their list.)

Now I've never used One True Media, but my sister has, and she told me to put it on here as, "It's great for beginners" (Her words, and quick note, she's not computer illiterate. Meaning I haft to fix her computer, when something goes wrong).

Official Website

Screenshot:

About 3DTin:
3DTin is pretty easy, and simple to use.
You can choose between different 3d shapes/templates you can use to make your 3d model.
You can extrude, erase, change color, add invisible blocks/templates, adjust lighting, camera angle, toggle symmetric sketch, as well as turn the 3d grid on/off.

3DTin also has hotkeys available for you. Members can save their projects for later too.

Two other good ones are Tinkercad (which is mainly for 3d printing), and Autodesk Homestyler (Which is mainly for architectural purposes).

NOTE: Homestyler is a web based flash application which means you'll need Adobe Flash Player installed in order to run it.

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Sumo Paint:
Out of all the web based image editors I've ever tried, I gotta tell you, "Sumo Paint is no doubt the best/closest free alternative to PhotoShop on the web today!".

Sumo Paint has the ability to create motion blurs, gaussian blurs, add effects like emboss.
It has built in layer effects. So you can add an inner/outer glow/shadow, apply bevels, etc: (it also has 3d filters as well :D)

However Sumo Paint isn't really beginner friendly. So if you're a beginner looking to do some designing. I'd recommend using Phoenix, and when you get better tryout their effects editor Peacock.

They also have a great selection of tutorials.

However I recommend becoming a member on Aviary, and being active on their forum. As their community is very friendly, and helpful.

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Soundation Studio:
Soundation Studio has a set of premade beats that you can use to put together, and composite your own song.

It's not really close to an FL Studio alternative, but it does the job. Oh, and did I forget to mention you can record your own audio as well?

You can head to FlashKit for more beats, and you can head to The Freesound Project for some free sounds. (NOTE: You must be a member on The Freesound Project in order to download the free sounds.)

Another decent music creator similar to Soundation Studio is Roc.

Some other ones you may enjoy are Dubstep Remix Studio, Audio Tool, Pulsr, and Beatlab.

Requirement:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Myna:
Myna is a pretty decent audio editor. Some stuff you can do with it is Trim, Loop, Stretch, Reverse/Flip your tracks. Add fade in/out, pan left/right, adjust gain, change pitch, reverb, delay, parametric eq, import your own audio files, record your own audio, and much much more.

Definately give it a try :)

Requirement:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About JsFiddle:
JsFiddle enables web developers to code/test effects/projects right on their site. You can save your url of your finished product, and show it off to the world.

JsFiddle supports JQuery, MooTools, Prototype, YUI, Processing.js, and many more...

NOTE: If you're serious about web development. I wouldn't recommend JsFiddle to save your documents/files though as it is still in alpha stage. (Yeah I know it's been awhile) Instead I recommend the Cloud9IDE. It's hard at first to navigate around the ui, and it's definately not beginner friendly, but it really does a good job, and I highly recommend this to any web developer.

I also wanna point out Adobe's software called Edge (You can view this tutorial by my good friend Daniel aka Gigafide, on how to use the application).

Yes I know it's not a web app, but I thought it needed some recognition.

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Raven:
Aviary's vector editor Raven is easy, and simple to use. The UI is easy to navigate threw, it has a small selection of paths to choose from in order to make your design, but it does have spirals, and stars, as well as a paths tool so you can draw your own paths, as well as edit them.

After awhile of tinkering with it for the first time I remember finding out that on the bottom right had corner is where you'd apply the gradients, and select the gradient tool, to change where it's positioned.

Each path you draw will be put down as a new layer, and a square will be lit up.
That tells you that layer is active, and can be manipulated, and/or deleted.

My favorite feature about the app is you can import any file type (although you'll get errors with some.), but Raven also allows you to export your final product into the following file types.

Requirement:

Official Website - Web App - Download Page

Screenshot:
coming soon...

About Project ROME:
Project ROME is an all-in-one content creation and publishing application that lets virtually anyone at work or home inject the power of graphics, photos, text, video, audio and animation into everyday projects.

Requirements:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About ScreenR:
ScreenR (pronounced 'screener') gives you upto 5 minutes for your screen recording.

You can record in HQ, as well as HD, as high as your screen resolution can go. (So if you're screen in 1280x800 you can only record upto 720p HD). Of course you can also record from your microphone as well.

Requirement:

Official Website

Screenshot:

About Picasa:
Picasa is a free software download from Google that helps you locate and organize all the photos on your computer, edit and add effects to your photos with a few simple clicks and share your photos with others through email, prints, and on the web. The special Picasa Basic Fixes are buttons that make it fast and easy to crop, remove red eye, fix the contrast and color, and enhance your digital pictures, and they are very similar to the professional features in Lightroom!

PC Requirements:

Mac OS X Requirements:

Linux Requirements:

Official Webpage - Video Demo

Screenshot:

About Ultimate Windows Customizer:
There's a whole lot of apps out there for customizing the Windows operating system, but this hast to be the best I've ever came across. Does essentually everything you want, although you may want to get some extra apps for some better functionality like ObjectDock, and many more listed below.

Desktop Enhancements:

3D Desktop Enhancements:

Requirements: