ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The world depends on open-source software.
- There are plenty of open-source apps worth paying for.
- My recommendations change, but the intent is the same.
In all of the years that I’ve been using open-source software, I can count on one hand the number of apps I’ve paid for. That’s not because I’m a miser, but because the vast majority of open-source apps are free.
That’s great, and it has certainly saved me a lot of money. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to pay for software. In fact, I’ve previously listed the open-source apps I would happily pay for.
Also: The best Linux distributions for beginners: Expert tested and reviewed
As you might expect, that list has dramatically changed over the past year, so I thought I’d share with you the fresh roundup of open-source apps I believe are so good they warrant a price.
The only thing I would ask of developers is…no subscriptions. If you want to add a fee to your software, make it one-time and be done with it.
1. Firefox
This is my browser of choice and, with the exception of a few years (when bloat set in), it has been for decades. You might think me crazy for suggesting that a web browser have an associated cost, but think about it: the web browser has become one of the single most important pieces of software we use. Why should we expect them to all be free?
Also: Why I’m sticking with Firefox as my browser – after years of using Chrome, Edge, and Safari
Firefox has returned to its previous status as my default web browser on both Linux and MacOS, and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. Firefox has shed the bloat, added vertical tabs, revamped its UI, and retained its usual security to make it a brilliant web browser I’d be willing to pay for.
2. Virt-Manager/KVM
I use virtual machines on a daily basis, for testing Linux distributions, deploying servers, and even as an added layer of security (to isolate an app from my main OS).
Also: 5 reasons why Linux will overtake Windows and MacOS on the desktop – eventually
For the longest time, I depended on VirtualBox as my virtual machine manager of choice. Over time, however, VirtualBox became buggy and unreliable, so I switched to Virt-Manager, which is a front-end for KVM.
I find the Virt-Manager/KVM combo to not only be easier to use than VirtualBox, but also more reliable, and I don’t have to worry that a host’s kernel update will break the system.
Sure, Virt-Manager might not be quite as user-friendly as VirtualBox, but once you get the hang of creating virtual machines with this GUI, it all makes sense. It’s really just a different take on the same mechanisms, only you have to define storage space within a pool (which you also have to create) for each of your VMs.
It’s much easier than it sounds, and I would happily pay for this software.
3. COSMIC Desktop
Yep, System76 created the desktop I believe will remain my go-to for years to come. COSMIC Desktop is amazing, especially given how new it is. It’s fast, stable, flexible, and beautiful. Recently, the developers released the Frosted Glass style, and it makes MacOS’s Liquid Glass UI look like garbage.
Also: I tested COSMIC’s new Frosted Glass effect, and it’s way better than MacOS’ Liquid Glass
Imagine an amalgamation of KDE Plasma and GNOME, with an extra dash of style, and a heaping tablespoon of speed. That’s COSMIC Desktop. System76 opted to develop its new desktop in Rust, which gives it its speed and also makes it a bit more secure (thanks to Rust’s ownership, borrowing and referencing, lack of null or dangling pointers, and compile-time enforcement).
If you’ve not experienced COSMIC Desktop, do so as soon as possible. It’s the only Linux desktop that I’d be willing to pay for now (sorry, KDE Plasma…but you’re still pretty).
4. GIMP
I’ve been saying this for a long, long time: the GIMP developers could charge for the software and people would pay for it (at least until that fictional day when Adobe finally brings Photoshop to Linux).
Like Firefox, I use GIMP every day on both Linux and MacOS because it’s the single most powerful image editor available for Linux. Although it’s been years since I’ve used Photoshop, I’ve always called GIMP the “Open-source take on Photoshop,” and I still stand by that. Yes, GIMP’s UI is quite different than Photoshop, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature. If you really hate GIMP’s UI, you can always make it resemble Photoshop.
Although I won’t pay for Photoshop until there’s a Linux version, I’d certainly pay for GIMP.
5. Ollama
Ollama is really the only AI I use. I can install it locally (on Linux, MacOS, and Windows), and use it as much as I want for free because it doesn’t depend on third-party data centers; instead, Ollama runs completely on your local (off-the-shelf) hardware.
Also: How I built the writing app I needed in 2 hours for free – with Ollama and VS Code
Here’s the thing, though: if the developers behind Ollama decided to add an associated cost, just make people pay for the software, and that’s it. Because it runs on my machine, I don’t want to have to pay for compute (because I’ve already paid for it by way of purchasing a desktop computer and paying my electric bill).
Yes, Ollama is worth money — unless it was priced per token like ChatGPT, in which case it would defeat the purpose of using local AI and lose its value (and users).
6. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors
You’re probably wondering why I chose this over LibreOffice. Well, over the past few years, I’ve found that LibreOffice has somewhat fallen behind. With each new iteration, the changes amount to little more than fixing bugs and maybe adding an obscure or niche feature here and there.
Also: My 6 favorite Microsoft Office alternatives for Linux – and why
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, on the other hand, understand that evolution is required in this day and age, and with every iteration, they seem to add something that could be a game-changer for specific users. There’s AI, the ability to work locally or via a remote server; it has a clean UI, tons of templates, a plugin market that includes tools you might actually want to use, and collaboration tools that make sense (Document Foundation, take note of that).
I have adopted ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors as my go-to office suite on Linux and would pay for the software (again, so long as it wasn’t a subscription).
7. WordPress
Hear me out: I realize that a lot of people have their blogs — is that still a thing? — hosted on wordpress.com, but those of us who build sites with WordPress actually download the open-source software, install it on a server, and do whatever we want with it. In fact, the free version that you self-host is exponentially better than the paid version, because it’s more flexible. You can add/remove plugins/themes at will and pretty much make WordPress serve your very specific needs.
I’ve used WordPress for every site I’ve built for the past decade or so and can’t imagine that I would ever use anything else. In fact, I just rebuilt my jackwallen.com site with WordPress and couldn’t be happier with it.
Yes, there are themes for WordPress you can pay for (some of which are brilliant), but WordPress itself is free to download and install. Would I pay a one-time fee for WordPress if I had to? You bet. Until then, I’ll keep using it for free.
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