this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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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)

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[–] JasminIstMuede@lemmy.blahaj.zone 61 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm surprised I haven't seen blender here yet, but I really think blender is one of open source's greatest achievements. It feels like a professional software and is also used in the industry.

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[–] twistypencil@lemmy.world 83 points 3 days ago (12 children)

Linux is so much better than Windows.

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[–] daggermoon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

fre:ac is way, way better than Exact Audio Copy. Audiophiles like to suck the dick of EAC and don't trust any other software to rip CD's. fre:ac literally has all the same features and more. There's a Windows and Mac version as well but they refuse to even acknowledge it. I'm a Linux audiophile btw.

[–] lastweakness@lemm.ee 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I'm really sorry but Joplin is not and will not ever be "objectively" better than Obsidian. SilverBullet is subjectively better than Obsidian though. Note taking is such a heavily opinionated matter that there's no scope for objectivity there.

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[–] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 71 points 3 days ago (36 children)

Just from top of my head and from what I have to use at work:

  • Dolphin vs. Explorer - Dolphin is sooo much better and useful it's not evwn funny
  • Notepad++ vs. Notepad - day and night, even though Notepad got an overhaul in W11 it's still piece of shit compared to Notepad++
  • literally any foss player vs. what MS offers - be it VLC, SMPlayer, MPV, anything is better than windows built in crap
  • ImageGlass, Nomacs, Gwenview, etc. vs. MS Photos - same as above, windows picture viewer is now worse than ever while open source alternatives get better and better
  • and plenty others, like Linux vs. Windows, lol
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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 73 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I have said this since discovering it years ago: 7zip is superior to WinRar.

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[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net 19 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Breezy weather for Android. It works exactly the same, and doesn't have any of the privacy bullshit strings attached.

[–] Yaky@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It also works as a weather provider for Gadgetbridge!

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[–] sebi@lemmings.world 21 points 3 days ago (3 children)

all fossify apps in android. I find most android apps for basic tasks heavily overbloated, even the ones directly from google.

Okular for pdf viewing on pc

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[–] LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee 8 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Microsoft Terminal vs the default Command Prompt haha. VS Code vs Visual Studio.

In general software is one of the rare thing where ordinary people can "mass produce" things that compete with commercial offerings.

[–] Fenrir@lemmings.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

VS Code is not a substitute for VS. One is a text editor with a ton of add-ons, another is an IDE.

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[–] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago
[–] thal3s@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 days ago

Krita is a fantastic image editor with a customizable UI that’s very powerful but easy to use.

Pixelmator is a waste of $70 when you get more (you can resize the toolbar buttons!) for free with Krita.

[–] bricklove@midwest.social 41 points 3 days ago (8 children)

These comments are like a treasure trove.

I didn't see anyone mention Kodi as an alternative to smart TVs. It's better in every way than the Apple TV I won from a raffle at work. The best part is that my TV box is just a computer so I can use it to host other services too

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[–] Tux960@lemmy.world 84 points 3 days ago (21 children)

LibreOffice, OBS, and VLC are definitely the best out there. And Lichess (Online Chess platform) . Do you agree with me?

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 3 days ago (5 children)

LibreOffice only really became better after Microsoft started pushing Office365 which made standard MS Office a lot worse. They were on par with each other until then.

The others 100% were always better.

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[–] LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 days ago

Molly for signal if that counts

[–] hikaru755@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (6 children)

Immich might not hold up yet in every aspect to Google photos, but I was and am still blown away by how much better face detection and grouping works. I cannot believe how ridiculously bad that feature is in Google, you just have to pray that it works, and if it messes up, it's extremely annoying to fix. In immich, it works exactly as you'd expect.

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[–] _cryptagion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 3 days ago (10 children)
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[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 35 points 3 days ago (27 children)

I certainly like GIMP and Inkscape better than Photoshop and Illustrator, though any professional photo editor or graphic artist would probably fight me on that lol

But Krita is the best drawing/painting program of all time and I stand by that.

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[–] mlg@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Compiz, Wayfire, and KWin all outshine both Windows and MacOS in quality and render performance.

The amount of visual magic in Compiz and Wayfire especially is both incredibly useful but also hilarious.

3D desktop cube is a great way to handle multiple desktops, but rotating your windows to any angle is just to show off to your friends lol.

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[–] eestileib@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 days ago (8 children)
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[–] Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 28 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Almost any Foss image editor, PDF viewer or simple app that does one thing without ads or bullshit. Markor, Wireguard, etc. They have nothing else to do but function.

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[–] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

REALLY simple, but "Open Sodoku". It's just a Sodoku app without ads. I'm very bad but it's pretty fun

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[–] zout@fedia.io 45 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Actually, there's lots of FOSS software which is at least just as good as proprietary. Most FOSS lacks the support of proprietary though. And I don't mean the "call someone on the other end of the world" support, I mean manuals, tutorials and stuff like that. /Off topic

On topic: Apache, Git, Home Assistant and Jellyfin.

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[–] DimFisher@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

My paint and Krita are great, I use them daily

[–] tja@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago (4 children)
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