Freeware & open-source software that saved the Windows desktop

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User7912848List by User7912848, last updated 
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  1. Web browser built on an open-source platform featuring multiple account support, integrated password manager, dark mode, real-time translation, and seamless cross-device syncing.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • PortableApps.com
    Main Window
    Settings
    Incognito Mode
    +8
    Main View (Android)
  2. Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-party cookie blocking.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Samsung Galaxy Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Gecko
    Firefox Desktop (Light Theme)
    Firefox Desktop (Dark Theme)
    Firefox iOS (Light Theme)
    +7
    Firefox iOS (Dark Theme)
  3. Cross-platform, free media player supports multimedia files, DVDs, streaming, offers hardware acceleration, 4K, lossless audio, and more.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Apple Watch
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Kindle Fire
    • Haiku
    • Android TV
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
    VLC Media Player screenshot 1
    VLC Media Player screenshot 2
    +4
    VLC Media Player screenshot 3
  4. 7-Zip icon
     Like

    Efficient file archiver offering superior compression and encryption. Supports multiple formats such as TAR, ZIP, with a unique self-extracting feature.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    Main Window
    Add to Archive
    Options
  5. The qBittorrent project aims to provide an open-source software alternative to µTorrent. Additionally, qBittorrent runs and provides the same features on all major platforms (FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, OS/2, Windows). qBittorrent is based on the Qt toolkit and libtorrent-rasterbar library.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Cloudron
    qBittorrent screenshot 1
    qBittorrent screenshot 1
    qBittorrent screenshot 2
    +2
    qBittorrent screenshot 3
  6. Notepad++ icon
     Like

    Free open-source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting multiple languages, featuring high speed, low resource usage, privacy focus, and plugin extensibility.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad++ screenshot 1
    Notepad++ screenshot 1
    Notepad++ screenshot 2
    +10
    TextFX plugin menu
  7. FileZilla icon
     Like

    Open-source FTP client supporting FTP, FTPS, and SFTP with features like large file transfers, site management, and cross-platform because of FileZilla Server.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    • Haiku
    FileZilla screenshot 1
    FileZilla screenshot 1
  8. Advanced audio player supporting MP3, FLAC, and more. Features gapless playback, customizable UI, audio CD ripping, ReplayGain, and plugin support.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Foobar custom.
    Customized with the Columns UI plugin.
    Foobar custom.
    +3
    Foobar untouched.
  9. Paint.NET icon
     Like

    Free image editor for Windows, offering layer support, plugins, special effects, and portable use without installation. Lightweight and ad-free.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework
    Paint.NET screenshot 1
  10. WinSCP  icon
     Like

    A versatile client for SFTP, FTP, and other protocols for file transfer. It offers GUI choice, and supports automation and key authentication.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    WinSCP  screenshot 1
    WinSCP  screenshot 1
    WinSCP  screenshot 2
    +7
    WinSCP  screenshot 3
  11. A free, open-source viewer for Windows, supports PDFs, eBooks, Comics, with a simple, fast, and portable design prioritized for ease of use.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    SumatraPDF screenshot 1
    SumatraPDF screenshot 1
    SumatraPDF screenshot 2
    +3
    SumatraPDF screenshot 3
  12. IrfanView icon
     Like

    Fast and powerful image viewer, editor, and converter for beginners and pros. Supports various formats, batch processing, and many extensions.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    IrfanView screenshot 1
    IrfanView screenshot 1
    Paint plugin
    +33
    Add text to image
  13. ShareX icon
     Like

    Free and open-source tool for screen capture and recording; enables file uploads, annotation, dark mode, 4K support, and customizable themes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Steam
    Main window
    ShareX screenshot 1
    ShareX screenshot 2
    +29
    ShareX screenshot 3
  14. WinMerge icon
     Like

    WinMerge is an open source differencing and merging tool for Windows. WinMerge can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    File Comparison
    3-way File Comparison
    Folder Comparison Results
    +4
    Folder Compare Tree View
  15. Locate files and folders by filename on Windows instantly, displaying all items on NTFS volumes and mapped network drives. Supports 19 languages.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Locate files and folders by name instantly.
  16. HexChat icon
     Like

    HexChat is an IRC client based on XChat for Linux icon XChat for Linux , but unlike XChat it’s completely free for both Windows and Unix-like systems.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • MacPorts
    • XQuartz
    HexChat screenshot 1
    HexChat screenshot 1
  17. KiTTY icon
     Like

    KiTTY is an opensource terminal emulator, forked from PuTTY icon PuTTY , that adds many extra features to the original software.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    transparency settings
    send to tray
  18. An open-source Windows scripting language enabling task automation through hotkeys, macros, and keystrokes, useful for creating custom forms and automating data entry.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Tray menu
    AutoHotkey screenshot 1
    AutoHotkey screenshot 2
    +1
    AutoHotkey screenshot 3
  19. Cygwin icon
     Like

    Cygwin is a Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Microsoft Windows. Cygwin provides native integration of Windows-based applications, data, and other system resources with applications, software tools, and data of the Unix-like environment.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Cygwin terminals running on Windows 7
  20. The Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities have been rolled up into a single Suite of tools. This file contains the individual troubleshooting tools and help files. It does not contain non-troubleshooting tools like the BSOD Screen Saver or NotMyFault.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Sysinternals Suite screenshot 1
    Sysinternals Suite screenshot 1
    Sysinternals Suite screenshot 2
  21. NirLauncher is a package of more than 200 portable freeware utilities for Windows, all of them developed for NirSoft Web site during the last few years. You can easily add SysInternals Suite into NirLauncher.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    NirLauncher screenshot 1
    NirLauncher screenshot 1

Comments

ffffilipo
0

Photoshop is the only Adobe product that is available from the web?

Review by a new / low-activity user.
Gu