The Curious AI Guy

Free alternatives, checked

Stop paying for software that has a good free version.

A library of free and open-source tools that replace paid software and AI subscriptions. Each entry shows what it replaces, what you could save, and where it falls short.

How this site works

  1. Tick what you pay for. The counter shows roughly what you could stop paying each month.
  2. Open a tool. You see what it replaces, what it does well, and the catch.
  3. Check the label. It tells you whether the tool is truly open source.

Your savings

$0/mo

$0 a year · 0 tools ticked

Tick the tools whose paid version you use today. Prices are approximate US list prices, see the note below the library.

The library 102 tools

Video & contentOpen source

A free video editor that runs in your browser.

Replaces:

saves ~$19.99/moDetails →
Automation & agentsSource-available

Build automations and AI agents you host yourself.

Replaces:

saves ~$29.99/moDetails →
Business & adminOpen source

Scheduling links you can host yourself.

Replaces:

saves ~$12/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

Design and prototype in the browser, open source.

Replaces:

saves ~$20/moDetails →
Local AIOpen source

Run AI models on your own computer.

Replaces:

saves ~$20/moDetails →
SecurityMixed license

A password manager with open code and a free tier.

Replaces:

saves ~$4.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Record and stream your screen for free.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Your own photo library, on your own server.

Replaces:

saves ~$9.99/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

Build image generation workflows as a graph of nodes.

Replaces:

saves ~$10/moDetails →
Local AIMixed license

A ChatGPT-style interface for local and API models.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Local AIOpen source

A desktop chat app that runs models offline.

Replaces:

saves ~$20/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

Speech-to-text you can run yourself.

Replaces:

saves ~$16.99/moDetails →
Business & adminMixed license

Merge, split, edit and convert PDFs in your own instance.

Replaces:

saves ~$19.99/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

A hand-drawn style whiteboard in your browser.

Replaces:

saves ~$10/moDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Know when your website or service goes down.

Replaces:

saves ~$10/moDetails →
GitHub projectsOpen source

Let an AI agent use a web browser for you.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
GitHub projectsOpen source

Turn websites into clean data for AI.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
GitHub projectsMixed license

Build AI apps and agent workflows in a visual workspace.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
GitHub projectsOpen source

The big list of software you can host yourself.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

A free cross-platform video editor.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Convert and compress video for free.

Replaces:

saves ~$19.95/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

A free multitrack audio editor.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Screenshots and screen recording with automation.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Share screen recordings with a link.

Replaces:

saves ~$18/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

Draw diagrams and flowcharts for free.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Business & adminOpen source

Send documents for e-signature.

Replaces:

saves ~$11/moDetails →
Marketing & customersMixed license

An open-source CRM you can shape yourself.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
ProductivityOpen source

Project and issue tracking you can host.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
ProductivityOpen source

A to-do app you own.

Replaces:

saves ~$7/moDetails →
ProductivityOpen source

A Notion-style workspace you control.

Replaces:

saves ~$12/moDetails →
ProductivityMixed license

Docs, whiteboard and databases in one place.

Replaces:

saves ~$12/moDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Scan, tag and search all your paperwork.

Replaces:

saves ~$16/moDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Your own file sync and sharing server.

Replaces:

saves ~$11.99/moDetails →
FinanceOpen source

A local-first personal budgeting app.

Replaces:

saves ~$14.99/moDetails →
FinanceOpen source

Track your money on your own server.

Replaces:

saves ~$8.33/moDetails →
Marketing & customersMixed license

Surveys and in-app feedback you can host.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Marketing & customersOpen source

A self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Marketing & customersMixed license

A customer support inbox with live chat.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
DesignOpen source

The long-running free photo editor.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

A free painting and illustration app.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

A free vector graphics editor.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

A full-featured free video editor.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

A beginner-friendly free video editor.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

3D, animation and compositing in one free app.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Node-based compositing and visual effects.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

A free RAW photo workflow.

Replaces:

saves ~$9.99/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

A free RAW photo processor.

Replaces:

saves ~$9.99/moDetails →
DesignOpen source

A free page layout program.

Replaces:

saves ~$22.99/moDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

A professional free digital audio workstation.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Free 2D vector animation.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Video & contentOpen source

Simple free hand-drawn animation.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Your own media server for films, shows and music.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Local-first smart home control.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Sync files directly between your devices.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Block ads and trackers for your whole network.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Self-hostedOpen source

Network-wide ad and tracker blocking.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
SecurityOpen source

A lightweight server for Bitwarden clients.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
AnalyticsOpen source

Simple, privacy-friendly website analytics.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
AnalyticsMixed license

Product analytics, session replay and feature flags.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

Deploy your apps on your own server.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

A Postgres backend with auth and storage.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

A whole backend in one file.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Local AIOpen source

The engine behind a lot of local AI.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Local AIOpen source

Chat with your own documents using any model.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Local AIOpen source

One chat screen for many AI models.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

An open-source coding assistant for your editor.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

An autonomous coding agent in your editor.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

AI pair programming in your terminal.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Developer toolsOpen source

Build AI agents and workflows visually.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

Remove image backgrounds locally.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Images & audioOpen source

Upscale images with AI, for free.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Automation & agentsMixed license

No-code automation you can host.

Replaces:

saves ~$29.99/moDetails →
ProductivityOpen source

A private, linked notes and outliner app.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
ProductivityMixed license

Private notes with sync you control.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
AI videoOpen source

Open video generation from text and images.

Replaces:

saves ~$15/moDetails →
AI videoOpen source

A fast open video model.

Replaces:

saves ~$15/moDetails →
AI videoOpen source

An open text-to-video model.

Replaces:

saves ~$15/moDetails →
AI videoSource-available

A large open video model from Tencent.

Replaces:

saves ~$15/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

Open text-to-speech with voice cloning.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

A small, fast, good-sounding voice model.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

Fast, local text-to-speech.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

Voice cloning from a short sample.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

Instant voice cloning.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

A text-to-speech toolkit for research and production.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicSource-available

A strong open text-to-speech model.

Replaces:

saves ~$22/moDetails →
AI voice & musicOpen source

Generate music and sound from text.

Replaces:

price not verifiedDetails →
Skills & reposMixed license

Anthropic's own public collection of Agent Skills.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

A software development method, packaged as skills.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

Skills for conversion, copywriting, SEO and growth.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

Makes AI-written text sound like a person wrote it.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

Remembers what your agent did across sessions.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

Promo videos from your own pages, made with Remotion.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

Turn docs and repos into skills.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

A skill that draws clean diagrams as HTML and SVG.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposSource-available

A hand-picked list of Claude Code resources.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

A plan on disk that survives when the agent forgets.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →
Skills & reposOpen source

A skill that writes better prompts for any AI tool.

A project worth knowing about

free projectDetails →

Approximate US list prices for an individual plan, from third-party price trackers checked on 12 Oct 2026. Monthly billing where it exists. Regions, taxes and promotions change them. Confirm at the vendor before you decide.

How this is different

Checked at the source

License, activity and stars come from the project's own repository, with the date shown.

Honest about the catch

Every entry has a "the catch" box. Free is not always better, and we say when it is not.

Not sponsored

No tool pays to be listed or ranked. If that ever changes, it will be marked on the entry.