Business software is too expensive? Find Open Source alternatives

100 Alternative open source applications for expensive commercial software face large, medium, small business and home users, with immediate and significant cost-cutting open source software. Some commercial software is known for being expensive. With the increasing popularity of cloud computing, many of the most commonly used package vendors change the one-time fee to a monthly rental model. Although the monthly fee seems cheap, but also can not afford to accumulate for a long time.

Despite many good reasons, avoiding or reducing usage fees is still a major factor in many users ' eyes on open source applications. Based on this, we have updated the annual inventory of open source applications that can replace expensive closed-source applications.

With more software than ever this year, the 100 selected software is a great choice for small and midsize businesses and home users alike. Whenever possible, we will provide the price of the applicable paid software. Note that although the open source applications on our list provide the functionality that is equivalent to their alternative closed source applications, they are not equivalent to each other.

As always, use the comments section below each page to provide other open source applications that you know should be included in our list.

　　Accounting software

1. Edoceo Imperium: Edoceo Imperium, developed specifically for small and medium businesses (SMB), combines accounting, invoicing and basic customer Relationship management (CRM) features with Google's calendar, maps and email (Gmail) features, Supports up to 4 billion users of different access levels. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

2. Frontaccounting: Frontaccounting, also designed for SMEs, includes basic enterprise resource planning (ERP) functions such as inventory and production tracking. The company's website provides demos that help potential users experience their products. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. TurboCASH: This accounting package is designed to provide the full range of functions required by most SMEs including debt, claims, General Ledger, inventory management, invoicing, reconciliations, trial tables and reports. Support multi-company and multi-user. Supported Operating systems: Windows

4. Xiwa: The Xiwa that runs only in the Linux environment means "Xiwa is Network accounting". Since its development in 1999, it has been supporting multi-user and multi-company, payroll, stock/investment tracking, reporting and other functions. Supported Operating systems: Linux

　　Audio/editing software

1. Ardour: Developed to meet the needs of professionals, Ardour offers a full set of recording, editing and mixing tools. Key features include an unlimited number of audio tracks and data buses, support for destructive/nondestructive edit recording modes, support for dozens of file formats, "the industry's most flexible mixer architecture", hundreds of plugins, precise automated sampling, video timelines and more support. Supported operating systems: Linux,os X

2. Audacity is an easy-to-use recording and editing application that is a good choice for amateur musicians and home users. It converts tapes, CDs and discs into digital files and supports the Wav,aiff,flac,mp2,mp3 or Ogg Vorbis file format. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

3. Frinika calls itself a "complete music workstation". The advanced nature of its user interface and features has not yet reached the requirements of some professionals, but it offers sequencer control, MIDI interface support, software synthesis, recording and score editing functions. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

4. Linux Multimedia Studio (LMMS) includes song editing, beat and bass editing, piano roll, 64 channel FX tuning and more. Originally developed for Linux, the existing Windows version. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

5. Waveshop: The Waveshop, which runs only in Windows, is fast and small compared to the first few full-featured software. Notable features include tuning, fading, sample rate conversion, audio generation, unlimited undo, extensive help, peak, square root (RMS), and spectral analysis. Supported Operating systems: Windows

　　Business Intelligence class Software

1. Jaspersoft: As one of the most popular open source business intelligence tools, Jaspersoft provides visual enterprise information dashboards, self-service reports, Rich Analytics, mobile support and more. The company also offers a paid commercial version at jaspersoft.com. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

2. Jedox: Formerly known as Palo BI, Jedox is a complete business intelligence suite that includes an online analytical processing (OLAP) server, Excel plug-in, data extraction, conversion and loading (ETL), and mobile support. The base version includes only online analytical processing (OLAP) servers and limited Excel plugins that can be used free of charge under open source licenses. Enterprise internal deployment and cloud versions are subject to payment. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. Pentaho provides data integration, Business Analytics and big data tools. The open source community version is available for download from community.pentaho.com. Users include Lufthansa, Halliburton, Nasdaq and EDO International. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

4. Spago claims to be "the only 100% open source, complete and flexible business intelligence suite. "It is built on a wide range of other open source projects, providing modular reporting, online analytical processing (OLAP), charts, key performance indicators (KPIs), interactive management cockpit, self-service reporting, location intelligence, data mining, information dashboards, team collaboration, data extraction, conversion and loading (ETL), Master data management, and so on. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

5. Knime: Users in more than 60 countries, Knime claiming to be "a leading data-driven innovation open platform to help enterprises lead the change." "Its core analysis software is open source free, commercial expansion is paid service." Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

6. Openi: This plug-in expands the analytical tools capabilities of Pentaho and Jasper to allow new users to run within just 72 hours. It includes information dashboards, interactive reports, data extraction, transformation and loading (ETL), dimension models (dimensional modeling), multidimensional online analytical processing (OLAP) design, and predictive modeling. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

7. BIRT: The functional range is slightly inferior to other software on the list, BIRT focuses on report creation and visualization of embedded applications. Its sponsoring company is Actuate (providing a variety of related resources), Innovent Solutions and IBM. It is important to note that you need to use it in the Eclipse development environment. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Business Process Management class software

1. Processmaker called itself "# # Open source workflow and business process management (BPM) software" to provide workflow modeling and operation, report creation and workflow optimization tools. In addition to the open source version, it also has a paid version based on enterprise internal deployment and the cloud. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

2. Activiti: Java-based Activiti features small size and fast running. Alfresco Company can provide payment support for it. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. Bonita is a complete business process management (BPM) suite, including organization chart, data structure definition, user interface Building, executable report creation and many other tools. In addition to the free Community Edition, its "team work", "improve efficiency" and "capacity development" paid editions provide enhanced functionality. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

　　Computer Aided design Software class

Over the past more than 20 years, the U.S. military has used more than 400 tools in the software to simulate its weapons systems and analyze their lethality. Its main functions include interactive three-dimensional solid contour editing, high performance ray tracing, network distributed frame cache support, image and signal processing tools, path tracking and photon mapping support, system performance analysis benchmark suite, embedded scripting interface, etc. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

1. FreeCAD is an easy-to-use, three-dimensional parametric modeling tool designed for home users and enthusiasts. Its modular architecture is easy to customize and extend. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. Archimedes is an Eclipse-based rich client Platform, and Archimedes (Archimedes), which downloads up to hundreds of times a week, provides a simplified computer-aided design (CAD) solution for the minimum feature set. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Customer Relationship Management Software

1. Sugar Community Edition: Millions of users around the world use the tools provided by Sugar to connect sales, marketing and support teams with potential customers and customers. The paid cloud version can be found in sugarcrm.com. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

2. VTiger replaces Sage act!: More than 10,000 organizations are using this customer relationship management (CRM) suite. Its features include email marketing, project management, customer portal, calendar, task management, reporting, document management, access control, inventory management and more. Its cloud version is a paid version. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,ios, Android

3. Orange Leap replaces Sage act!: Orange Leap, formerly known as Mpoweropen, provides community membership management to help non-profit organizations conduct fundraising activities. Source code can be downloaded from SourceForge. Supported operating systems: Windows.

4. Sourcetap is designed to help sales teams improve predictive accuracy, improve trading success rates, shorten sales cycles, enhance collaboration and identify market trends. It can provide commercial or open source licenses. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux.

5. SPLENDIDCRM has multiple, cloud, paid and free versions based on enterprise internal deployment. The latest version better integrates Twitter and Twilio SMS messaging (SMS), undelete capabilities, timed recurring meetings, HTML5 calendars, and more. Supported Operating systems: Windows

6. Concoursesuite: Java-based Concoursesuite integrates tools used by sales, marketing, and customer service teams. In addition to the free version, it also has a paid cloud and enterprise internal deployment version. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Database class Software

1. mysql: "The world's most popular open source database" MySQL users include FACEBOOK,MTV, Sears, Verizon Wireless, Kayak,sonicwall, Wikipedia, TUMBLR and many other well-known companies. In addition to the free Community Edition, it also has standard, enterprise, and cluster carrier-level versions. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,unix,os X

2. PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL, now making a comeback, claims to be "the world's most advanced Open source database". It has been in development for more than 15 years and commercial support is available through third-party organizations. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

3. Firebird: The Fire Bird (Firebird) developed for more than 30 years is a relational database with "excellent parallel capability, high performance, powerful language support for stored programs and triggers". Paid support is provided by a third-party vendor. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and Unix,os X,solaris

4. Luicddb:luicddb called himself "the first and only open source relational database (RDBMS) developed for data warehousing and business intelligence" key features include Columnstore, bitmap indexing, hash join/aggregation, and page-level versioning. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

5. Kexi:kexi called itself "the creator of an open source Visual database application, a long-awaited competitor to Microsoft Office Access and Filemaker." "It is now part of the Calligra Office software suite. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Desktop Publishing class Software

1. Scribus: Suitable for professional graphic designers and publishers to use the Scribus is a full-featured graphic design software. Supported features include color separations, CMYK and spot colors, ICC color management, creating PDF documents, and more. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. MiKTeX: If you want to create a file with many scientific expressions and mathematical formulas, consider MiKTeX. It is specially designed for the creation of beautiful books, especially books containing lots of mathematics. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

　　development tool Class Software

1. KDevelop: The Integrated Development Environment (IDE), developed from KDE, supports C + + and other programming languages. Since its inception in 1998, it has become a mature, stable and large user base project. Supported operating systems: Linux,unix,os X

2. MonoDevelop: Designed for C # and Visual Basic.NET, MonoDevelop helps Windows developers create multiplatform applications. Key features include advanced text editing, integrated debugger, gtk# visual design, unit testing, localization capabilities, and more. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

3. SharpDevelop is another good choice for. NET developers, and SharpDevelop (#develop) supports c#,visualbasic.net and Boo. It includes an integrated debugger, code analysis, unit testing, code coverage, profiling, integrated Git and Subversion support, and more. Supported Operating systems: Windows

4. OPENBD: The Open BD formerly known as Open Blue Dragon makes it possible to develop and deploy cold fusion Markup Language (CFML)-based Web applications without purchasing Adobe cold fusion. Its self-titled title is: "The world's first truly open source and free CFML runtime environment based on GPL and Java. "Supported Operating systems: Windows and Linux

　　e-mail/collaboration/Groupware class software

1. The open source version of Zimbra provides a cross-platform, client-to-server messaging solution similar to Microsoft Exchange features. The company also offers a wide range of paid communications applications with 500 million users. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,unix,os X

2. EGroupware: According to EGroupware's chief executive, web-based EGroupware software is "the leading open source collaboration tool for the global, SME's internal and cross-organizational team of choice." The Community edition is free to run on internal servers. The Enterprise Edition has a recurring paid cloud version or a one-time paid installation. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. Citadel:citadel is self-styled "the leader of truly open source email and collaboration software" and promises to let users "run in minutes" whether using their own hardware or cloud computing services. Its features include email, calendars, forums, mailing list servers, instant messaging (IM), wikis, blogs, easy information aggregation (RSS) integration, and more. Supported Operating systems: Linux

　　Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

1. Odoo: Formerly OpenERP's Odoo claims to be bundled with a variety of applications such as website building, promotions, business operations, marketing, improving employee satisfaction and productivity. You can download the software for free, or use a paid cloud version of $15 per user monthly per application. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. Openbravo provides an e-commerce and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform for users including Oracle, Johnson Controls, federal bank, Grupo Eulen and other companies. Open source versions are available for download at Code.Openbravo.com. You can also purchase the Enterprise Edition and get support through Openbravo's channel partners. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. Postbooks/xtuple ERP claims to be "the world's first open source Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software". XTuple offers a variety of versions including applications specifically for distributors and manufacturers. PostBooks has open source and commercial editions. Multiple applications and extensions can be obtained through the XChange online marketplace. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

4. Adempiere: This community-aware ERP solution includes sales, sourcing, production management, material management, finance, human resources, project management, customer Relationship Management (CRM), point-of-sale terminal (POS), ecommerce, device maintenance management and reporting functions. The software is based on the Compiere code (see next entry) and has no commercial support, but the site provides detailed technical documentation and training materials. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,os X

5. Compiere ERP + CRM Business Solution: Claiming to be "the most modern, adaptable and affordable enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. "It functions like a adempiere. It provides paid-for support for the Enterprise Edition and the options to run on the Amazon network (Amazon Web Services). Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,os X

6. Opentaps users include Toyota, Honeywell, Mblox and so on. It combines enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities with paid services and support. Amazon Network Services (Amazon Web Service) can also provide opentaps services. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

7. Apache OFBiz is a "Open for business" abbreviation. It provides a complete set of enterprise automation tools, including e-commerce, directory management, promotion and pricing management, ordering, customer management, accounting, content management, point-of-sale terminal (POS) and so on. Its design concept is flexible and easy to customize. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

8. Dolibarr Erp/crm is designed for small companies, foundations and freelancers Dolibarr can be used as a standalone application or as a cloud service. Many of the relevant plugins are available on the Dolistore website. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

9. Weberp is committed to providing mature and practical web-based business operations software, especially for wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers. Paid support is available from a number of third-party companies distributed around the world. Supported operating systems: Unlimited Foreign Language foreign language software

Step into Chinese: although it does not have the complete training program of the Rosetta Stone (Rosetta stone Chinese), step into Chinese offers a variety of Chinese learning tools, including flashcards and more than 26,000 Chinese words and 8, A dictionary of 300 Chinese characters. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

Zwdisplay: Another good tool for learning Chinese, zwdisplay emphasis on reading and listening skills. It uses a special color coding format to help users learn Chinese tones. Supported Operating systems: Linux

Zkanji's dictionary contains 210,000 Japanese words to help users read and write Japanese and practise vocabulary with flashcards. It is designed to help beginners and advanced learners. Supported Operating systems: Windows

　　Gateway Security Appliance

1. Endian Firewall Community: Users can create their own unified threat management (UTM) devices using the Community edition of Endian and any x86 standard hardware. Endian also sells hardware, software, and virtual devices based on the same technology. Supported Operating systems: Linux

2. Untangle's free NG firewall includes open source solutions such as network filtering, application control, anti-virus, anti-phishing, anti-intrusion, firewall, OpenVPN, anti-spam, ad blocker and report generation. Like Endian, it allows users to create their own security devices from the old computer, and users can purchase unified threat Management (UTM) software or hardware supported by the system. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

　　Graphics/Drawing Software

1. Dia: Like Visio, Dia can create diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, organization charts, and similar charts. It supports XML files by default and can export the EPS,SVG,XFIG,WMF and PNG file formats. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

2. Gimp is the abbreviation for the GNU image processing program, which provides professional-quality photo editing and image production with the same advanced features as Photoshop and is popular among Linux desktop users. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

3. Inkscape: Like Gimp, Inkscape is suitable for professional graphic designers to use. It provides a variety of tools for creating vector graphics and supporting many different file types. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Math Software

1. Sage provides a unified interface for more than 100 different open source math projects. It can parse basic algebra, calculus, Number theory, cryptography, Commutative algebra, group theory, 2D and 3D graphs, linear graphs (linear graphics) and so on. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. Genius: Like Sage, Genius can handle many types of mathematical operations, including calculus, number theory, statistics, trigonometric functions, modulo operations, 2D and 3D drawings, and more. It includes a graphical user interface development environment (IDE) and can export LaTex, Troff, or MathML format matrix data. Supported operating systems: Linux,os X

3. Scilab: Many educational institutions use Scilab to assist in teaching mathematics, science and engineering. It can perform many different types of calculations. Scilab's Enterprise Edition offers paid support, training and services. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

4. Maxima computer algebra systems can be solved by mathematical expressions including "differential, Integral, Taylor series, Laplace transform, ordinary differential equations, linear equations, polynomial, as well as sets, sequences, vectors, matrices and tensor" and so on. Its code is based on the Macsyma mathematics program developed by MIT in the late 1960s. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X.

　　Music class Software

1. Musescore: Score software usually costs $ hundreds of. But Musescore is completely free to create beautiful music. Features include infinite chord lengths, unlimited number of lines, unlimited number of sound inputs, authoring wizards and templates, automatic partial extraction, transposition, force, lyrics, chord symbols, percussion score symbols, early score symbols, and more. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Office efficiency

1. OpenOffice: The price of the full version of Microsoft Office has fallen dramatically in recent years, but the annual fee is still accumulating significantly over time. In contrast, the full version of Apache OpenOffice is completely free. It includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, pictures, mathematical formula editing and database software, and it can also read and write Office format files. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. LibreOffice: LibreOffice from the OpenOffice branch provides its predecessor with the same type of software and comes with additional feature extensions. The comparison table on its website helps to compare its similarities with Microsoft Office (Note: This table is not found on the official website.) But Https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Feature_Comparison:_LibreOffice_-_Microsoft_Office can be found on the Wiki network). Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

3. Calligra predecessor for the Koffice,calligra Kit includes word processors, spreadsheets, presentations, project management, Painting (Krita), Database (Kexi), vector Graphics (Karbon), flowcharts and mind maps. It supports Microsoft's file format, but the user interface is very different from Office. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

4. NeoOffice: Like LibreOffice, NeoOffice also branched out from the OpenOffice. But NeoOffice is only for MAC computers. The latest version supports the new ICloud driver for the Yosemite system, which can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. Supported operating systems: OS X,ios

　　Operating System class software

1. Ubuntu:linux's most popular desktop release, Canonical's Ubuntu offers cloud, server, desktop, mobile, tablet and TV versions. Ubuntu's Advantage program offers paid system management and support services.

2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux: "The industry-leading Enterprise Linux platform," Red Hat is a commercially operated operating system, according to the company, more than 90% of users are Fortune 500 companies. Red Hat also offers a variety of related development tools, middleware and cloud computing software.

3. Fedora: If you want to use Red Hat's Linux version but do not want to pay corporate support fees, you should use its free community version of Fedora, which includes more than 10,000 free apps installed on millions of systems.

4. The SUSE Linux Enterprise:suse system runs on the London Stock Exchange, Office Depot,teradata and Walgreens, with more than 13,000 users worldwide. It has servers, desktop and cloud versions, and all versions of support are paid for.

5. openSUSE: Free and without a support contract, openSUSE, a self-proclaimed "open minded Linux", is a stable, easy-to-use operating system with more than 1,000 different applications built into it.

6. Linux Mint: Easy-to-customize Linux Mint gives users four different desktop interface choices. Some of these interfaces are very similar to older windows, making it a popular alternative to Windows XP on older PCs.

7. Debian: Debian, with more than 37,500 applications, is a very full-featured Linux distribution. It is very popular among user groups with extensive Linux experience.

　　Tool-Type Software

1. PDFCreator: This application can create PDF files from almost any type of file. It also includes professional features such as compressing and resizing image sizes, encryption, password protection, document merging, and more. Supported Operating systems: Windows

2. jPDF Tweak: Java-based jPDF calls itself the "PDF file of the Swiss Army Knife". It can merge, split, rotate, reorder, add watermarks, encrypt, repair and sign PDF files. Supported Operating systems: Unlimited

3. Pdfedit: Thousands of downloads per week, this tool allows users to edit their own PDF files. It can edit text, delete pages, change graphics and more. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

4. PDF Sam is the abbreviation for "PDF segmentation and Merging", the PDF Sam Base version can extract pages, merge multiple files, reorder, and so on. Donate at least one euro, you can download the enhanced version, which adds encryption, decryption and meta-data editing capabilities. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

　　Point-of-sale terminal (POS)

1. Openbravo POS: This network-based point-of-sale (POS) solution integrates Openbravo Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The mobile version allows retail staff to help customers settle anywhere in the store. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. Unicenta: The Unicenta with Openbravo POS based on the same source code is a multi-lingual point-of-sale (POS) system ideal for use in multifunctional facilities, such as restaurants with retail outlets. It has been downloaded more than 130,000 times. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux,os X

3. Floreant POS: Suitable for restaurants only, Floreant has been used in more than 25,000 locations, including some of the Denny's restaurant chains. It can handle ordering, kitchen printing, money drawer, takeaway, tax, discount, order grouping and more. Supported Operating systems: Linux

　　Project Management class Software

1. Ganttproject allows users to create tasks and milestones, organize tasks, develop related constraints, create baselines, and create a Gantt chart-based Plan Review Technical chart (PERT). It's downloaded more than 20,000 times a week and is popular. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X

2. Dotproject: The project management tools include calendars, Gantt charts, reports, resource scheduling, file sharing, forums, and more. Services such as installation and customization are provided by project developers. Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

3. Onepoint project features include work structure decomposition, project pipeline, cost baseline, plan/actual comparison, milestone trend analysis, resource utilization, Gantt/plan decomposition, task management, explanatory notes, file management, custom fields, etc. It has multiple versions for organizations of different sizes, including free open Source Foundation and Community Edition. Supported operating systems: Windows,linux and OS X.

Business software is too expensive? Find Open Source alternatives