40 amazing free apps

From powerful desktop publishing to easy–to–use video tools, there’s something for everyone in our no–cost software collection

From powerful desktop publishing to easy–to–use video tools, there’s something for everyone in our no–cost software collection.

E’RE LIVING IN a golden age of affordable apps: software that used to cost many hundreds of dollars is now available for a fraction of that, while subscriptions make it easy to spread the cost of even the priciest pro software. But if you’re on a tight budget then spending any amount of money on an app can be a problem. Hurrah, then, for the developers who give away their apps for free. There are lots of reasons to consider using free apps. Some are philosophical — many of the apps here are open source, made by and for the community — and some practical: there’s no point spending lots on an app for a one-off task. And, of course, there’s the best reason of all — it can save you a lot of cash. As we’ll discover, cheap definitely doesn’t mean nasty. Some of these free apps are just as capable as expensive equivalents.