Mediaboss Marketing

For years, people have grumbled about the price of software. Adobe products have always been expensive, and many customers were agitated when the company shifted to Creative Cloud, which meant a monthly or annual subscription. Meanwhile, Microsoft Office is a staple for computers everywhere, but the price tag often irritates people who just want a decent word processor.

Luckily, there are lots of free substitutes, and there are plenty of reasons people may turn to them. Some folks just cant afford mainstream software. Others are starting new businesses and dont want to invest in expensive programs that they can essentially get for free. Still, others are trying out new media for the first time, such as digital photography, digital audio or video, and they want to learn the basics before buying expensive packages.

Whatever your reasons, youll find a wide range of software alternatives. In years past, alternative programs usually meant lousy. Youd end up with something buggy, watered-down, and incompatible with other services. Nowadays, thats no longer the case. Many programs aren't nearly as sophisticated as their expensive inspirations, and some users might argue that these offerings surpass them.

Heres a list of costly and popular programs and their many free alternatives.

Microsoft Office

For decades, Microsoft Office has dominated homes and businesses around the world. The Office suite has everything you need: a word processor, spreadsheets, presentations and email.

But many customers and college-bound students are surprised when their new Dell or HP doesnt have Office installed. Theyve already shelled out money for a new computer, and now they have to spend another $150 for the software to make it useful.

Thats where LibreOffice comes in. This free, open-source software has what Microsoft Office has, plus some perks, such as templates and extensions. The word processor, called Writer, can handle documents from Microsoft Word, and the rest of the LibreOffice suite can upload and modify files from their corresponding Office programs.

Click here to learn more about LibreOffice.

Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign

If youre a professional designer, youve probably invested in heavy-hitting software like InDesign, because that has become the industry standard. But if youre good at making brochures or newsletters, and you dont want to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud, consider Scribus. The program gives you all kinds of easy-to-use design options, from business cards to magazines.

Click here to learn more about Scribus.

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook is very handy for electronic communication, and entire organizations turn to this program to support their email servers. But Mozillas Thunderbird is a free, powerful, lightweight email service that easily rivals its Microsoft counterpart.

Click here to learn more about Mozilla Thunderbird.

Next page: Accounting software, photo editing and more

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