Every designer needs access to the best, but let’s face it, the best is often too expensive. If you’re a beginner web developer, you can’t start out with a paid version of the next big creative suite or development software — you need something that’s affordable, manageable and accessible. So, instead of shelling out some serious cash for the next big Adobe Creative Suite, take a look at these free options and build your software workspace the cheap way.

Note: Not all of these programs are 100% open source, but they are all free. The vast majority are licensed under GPL, which is approved as an Open Source license, but every now and then a free but closed source program will show up. They’re not all design and development, either — there’s everything from audio mixing to FTP to publishing software here.

Imaging and Graphics:

Paid: Adobe Photoshop
Free: GIMP (with GIMPShop)

GIMP is a 100% free image editing and manipulation software suite, perfect for beginner designers that can’t afford Adobe Photoshop. While it doesn’t offer some of Photoshop’s advanced features, almost every major feature and function is here, including detailed color correction tools, image editing controls and graphics brushes. With a multi-window interface, using GIMP might take a big of adjustment for serious Photoshoppers, but with a bit of work it can quickly become your default imaging suite.

Need a smoother free imaging transition? GIMPShop is a hacked version of GIMP that provides Photoshop style menus and controls. If you’re a dedicated Photoshop user, this hack is the perfect way to adjust to GIMP, and become familiar with all the features. Photoshop is really expensive, so changing down to a free alternative is always a worthwhile option. Invest some time in learning the controls and features and you’ll find that GIMP is a worthy alternative.

Video:

Paid: Adobe Premiere
Free: VirtualDub or Avidemux

This is one area where paid software still has a major edge on its free alternatives. Virtual Dub, long the standard free video software, offers enough features for basic video editing and encoding. Avidemux is reasonably similar, but offers extended support for Linux and Mac OS operating systems. You’ve got to wonder why that’s a selling point — or in this case, downloading point — since OS X comes with iMovie, which is more than good enough for basic video editing and encoding on its own.

Can you edit video easily without paid software? Sure, if it’s just basic changes or frame edits. If you’re a serious video editor, it’s worth spending some cash and starting with Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. Free software is great for changing file types and DivX encoding, but it falls short next to the incredible features that paid software can offer.

FTP:

Paid: FlashFXP
Free: FileZilla

It’s 100% free, capable of everything that paid software is, and incredibly easy to use. FileZilla is by far the best free FTP software out there, and best of all, it runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. The only exception is the FileZilla server software, which runs on Windows only. Nevertheless, if you need a simple and effective FTP client, FileZilla is the one to go for.

Email:

Bundled: Windows Live Mail/Outlook Express
Free: Mozilla Thunderbird

Released in 2004 with over ten million downloads in its first week, Mozilla Thunderbird is officially king of free email clients. If you’re not a fan of checking your email online, be sure to give it a try. Sure, Live Mail is free for Vista users, but who wants that as a partner to Firefox? If you use Firefox as your browser, look into getting Thunderbird as your proprietary email client, and save yourself the time that checking online takes. Better yet, add some style and flair to your email client by using some of the many Thunderbird themes and extensions.

Mac users can enjoy Thunderbird too, with cross-platform support covering Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS, and all forms of Linux. Check it out at the official website.

Internet Browser:

Bundled: Internet Explorer/Safari
Free: Mozilla Firefox

Is there even any reason to explain this one? Firefox is the most popular open source browser around, capturing over 23% of all online activity. While that sounds like a small feat, Firefox has positioned itself as the most important web browser around by taking over the 23% that actually matters. Just like Gmail dominates email in tech circles, Firefox dominates amongst techies and avid internet users.

With thousands of extensions available, a massive range of themes and some impressive inbuilt functions, Firefox should be your #1 web browser. Install it, customize it, and enjoy removing Internet Explorer from your desktop (or Safari from your dock if you’re on a Mac). For added functions, be sure to check out the Ultimate Firefox Home Office.

Office Software:

Paid: Microsoft Office/iWork
Free: Open Office and Google Docs

Office software is difficult to take on in one go. Open Office provides all the capabilities of Microsoft Office, but for online work and collaboration it isn’t idea. The solution? Use Open Office for your offline work, whether it’s a spreadsheet, a presentation or a lengthy document, and Google Docs for collaborative work efforts and other projects. Since Google Docs is quite limited on its own — the Keynote feature is pretty lacking especially — it’s nice to have an offline suite to use along with it.

It’s not 100% free, but Prezi is an even better presentation editor. Check out the free plan and decide if it’s worth it for you.

Web Development:

Paid: Adobe Dreamweaver
Free: Notepad(!), Quanta Plus

Dreamweaver, although not a favorite amongst hardcore web developers, was the standard for coding HTML and CSS for some time. Still around in its current bloated form, the software commands a pretty high price and doesn’t really achieve much that you can’t do on your own through manual code.

Jokes aside, Notepad is still an awesome coding tool (Notepad++ even more so) which can tackle most coding projects. For a more WYSIWYG approach, check out Quanta Plus, a free open source alternative for OS X.

Audio Editing:

Paid: Cubase, Adobe Audition, and others.
Free: Audacity

With a myriad of paid options out there, any audio buff looking to complete their editing suite generally needs to shell out some serious cash. Cubase, Audition and Sound Forge all command pretty steep retail prices, putting them outside the reach of audio hobbyists and wannabe rock stars. Fortunately, Audacity is the perfect free alternative. While it doesn’t offer the same slick interface and extensive feature collection, Audacity is more than enough to mix some amateur tracks, and when combined with a great recording set up, is a perfectly acceptable free alternative to the other expensive recording suites.

Having some difficulty adjusting to a different editing interface? Some of Audacity’s design is shared with other editors, but some features might catch you off guard. Check out the guides section to learn a little more.

Mac users might enjoy Ardour, another free editor. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t offer Windows support, although Linux operators will have no problem installing and running it.

Page Layout and Publishing:

Paid: Adobe InDesign/Microsoft Publisher
Free: Scribus

Adobe InDesign is renowned as one of the best layout tools around, but it comes at a cost — one that’s often prohibitive for students and amateur designers. Add to that the bloated code and steep requirements and you’re stuck with software that isn’t all that appealing to low-budget writers and designers. Microsoft Publisher, a relic of the 1990s, isn’t exactly cutting edge, and barely even pops up on most writers’ radars.

Scribus is an attractive free alternative, offering the entire range of features that any page designer or writer could want. With fantastic presentation and publishing functions, it’s the best free alternative to InDesign for your marketing materials, fliers and brochures.

Illustration and Graphics:

Paid: CorelDRAW/Adobe Illustrator
Free: Inkscape

CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator are mainstay programs for any design studio or classroom. They’re high quality, relatively easy to use, and have an incredibly wide array of functions and features. Unfortunately, they’re expensive, incredibly so, and way out of the price range of any amateur illustrator or graphic artist.

Best free alternative: Inkscape. This free imaging and illustration software offers all the major features of the paid alternatives, and packs it all into an interface that’s remarkably easy to use. Add to that the intense and passionate community that’s built up around the project and you’ve got a piece of software that’s going to guide you through your work and keep you focusing on what’s important: the art!

Audio and MP3s:

Bundled: Windows Media Player or iTunes
Free: Foobar2000

It’s not 100% open source, but foobar2000 is one of the most customizable and intuitive media players out there. With hundreds of skins available, a multitude of plug-ins and innovative extensions, and some of the best library organization tools out there, it should be the first thing you replace in your computer’s media library. iTunes is perfect for syncing your iPod, but for large collections it’s a little lacking, and Window Media Player — let’s not even get started.

Sequencing and Audio Creation:

Paid: FL Studio (Fruity Loops)
Free: LMMS (Linux Multimedia Studio)

FL Studio is an awesome piece of software — so good it can create crummy #1 rap songs — but it comes at a price. $49 (up to $299 for the entire bundle) is a little out of most small-time musicians’ price ranges.

Linus Multimedia Studio is a great replacement, offering all of the creative and collaborative features of FL Studio. The only problem is the rather steep learning curve, but that’s helped along by the extensive documentation and community guides that are out there. With full compatibility for Windows and Linux, this package is a great non-Mac alternative to Garage Band.

PDFs and Professional Documents:

Paid: Adobe Acrobat
Free: Open Office, PDF Creator, Google Docs

PDFs, while an annoyance for the web, are a necessity in the business world. If you run a small business, whether online or offline, you’ve no doubt got a thick folder full of PDF files sitting on your desktop. While there are plenty of free software options for reading them, including Adobe’s own Acrobat Reader, the creation side of the fence is slightly more expensive. At $449 for the full business version, Adobe Acrobat is out of contention for most businesses.

Thankfully, most office software includes a PDF export option. Open Office Writer can save to PDF with formatting intact, and while Google Docs isn’t the most feature-filled writing suite, it can export PDF files from any online documents. If you need extensive formatting, Open Office is the best bet.

Antivirus:

Paid: McAffee, Norton, and on…
Free: Clamwin (open source) or AVG (freeware)

Antivirus software is something that we often pass over without thinking. If you’re a Windows user, it’s absolutely essential that you have at least some virus protection. Windows comes with firewall software built in, but often you need some more protection to ensure that your files are safe. Most commercial antivirus software isn’t particularly special, so free alternatives can prove worthwhile.

Clamwin is Windows’ version of Clam Antivirus, a free antivirus software package for Unix. While it lacks some of the advanced protection that paid packages offer, it seems to have no trouble finding viruses, quarantining them and taking care of your computer. For added protection, the free (but closed source) version of AVG Antivirus is worth a look. Again, it lacks some of the advanced options that paid software can offer, but it’s still a worthwhile virus protection tool.

External Storage and Discs:

Paid: Nero Burning Rom
Free: CDRDAO

While Nero ships with almost every DVD burner, it’s often an annoying toned down version (Nero Express, anyone?). Those of you that want the full capabilities of Nero and not a simplified Mom and Pop version are forced to pay for the full version, or look at other paid DVD burning software. Thankfully, CDRDAO is a freeware, open source DVD and CD burning engine, serving up all of the features that are accepted as standard from paid media software.

It’s compatible with Windows and Linux, but Mac users can look at Burn OSX for their DVD and CD burning needs.

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This selection of free software should help you take care of your basic work needs and PC maintenance. For ultra-specialized work, you might have some trouble finding free software, particularly open source software. The open source world is built on participation and community, so ultra-niche software often gets left behind and ignored. That’s not to say there’s nothing out there — use the resources below along with some dedicated Google searches and you should be able to uncover software for every niche and discipline.

Got any other free software favorites? Fire away in the comments with suggestions, extensions or any recommended utilities.

Recommended Reading and Resources:Need some Open Source alternatives that aren’t mentioned here? The Open Source Alternative database is a great place to look for free replacements for paid software. The Open Source Guide is another good resource.

Windows users will enjoy Freeware Home, a comprehensive directory of freeware programs and utilities.

Need some free sounds to use with LMMS? Freesound, a directory of free sound effects is a great place to start. For sampling and remixes, check out ccMixter — a creative commons licensed website housing thousands of samples, remixes and mash-ups.

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