An Easy Way to Find Free Software that Meets Your Exact Needs

Sure free software lists and directories are good places to find useful applications, but finding exactly what you need often entails inexact searches and long browsing.

Often you know the high-priced application you would want if you could afford it, but have no idea what other alternatives are available.

Enter AlternativeTo -- a great new site that provides free open-source and paid license alternatives to the most popular software packages.

Simply select your operating system for installed applications—Windows, MAC or Linux—or select applications that are run via an online interface. Then search for the proprietary software program—such as PhotoShop, Microsoft Office, or Visio—for which you would like to see alternatives. AlternativeTo returns a list of reviewed applications that provide similar functionality. To see only free options, select “free” in the filter-by-license drop-down. When you see one you want to try, click the link to download it.

The site is community driven, so you’ll see comments from other users, and if you create an account, you’ll be able to join the conversation and recommend your own free finds to others. If your search comes up empty, you can even add the application to the “OMG Fail*” list to ask the community for suggestions.

Check out AlternativeTo now!