Some FOSS programs, due to being mantained by hobbyists vs a massive megacorporation with millions in funding, don’t have as many features and aren’t as polished as their proprietary counterparts. However, there are some FOSS programs that simply have more functionality and QoL features compared to proprietary offerings.

What are some FOSS programs that are objectively better than their non-FOSS alternatives? Maybe we can discover useful new programs together :D

I’ll start, I think Joplin is a great note-taking app that works offline + can sync between desktop and mobile really well. Also, working with Markdown is really nice compared with rich text editors that only work with the specific program that supports it. Joplin even has a bunch of plugins to extend functionality!

Notion, Evernote, Google Keep, etc. either don’t have desktop apps, doesn’t work offline, does not support Markdown, or a combination of those three.

What are some other really nice FOSS programs?

edit: woah that’s a whole load of cool FOSS software I have to try out! So far my experiences have been great (ShareX in particular is AWESOME as a screenshot tool, it’s what snip and sketch wishes it could be and mostly replaces OBS for my use case and a whole lot more)

  • dave@lemmy.wtf
    0·
    1 day ago

    Keepass. ill skip the obvious and just mention the really neat features that other server/cloud based password managers dont or cant have.

    • on desktop, you dont need any browser extension to fill in passwords since the “autotype” feature in keepassXC handles that. this means your browser has no to access your database at all. any password manager thats connected to your browser in any way is a huge security risk imo.
      (i would recommend this extension that changes the window title though)

    • you can have 2 databases open at the same time (in keepassXC and keepassDX at least), which means you can have important logins in one and everything else in the other one. if you ever get annoyed having to unlock your vault using a really long master password just so you can autofill some crappy forum password then you might get why 2 databases is a good idea!

    • you can fill in login details for desktop programs. (maybe others do this now but they didnt when i switched to keepass years ago)

    Aegis authenticator. its been years since ive used google’s authenticator app so maybe its improved now, but it used to be very spartan. it showed you your OTP codes and thats about it.

    Aegis lets you add an icon to each entry and the different sized text makes things a lot easier to read. the visual timer is much clearer as well and the text turns red when its close to running out.

    you can also backup your codes so if you lose your phone its no big deal. you can unlock the app with your fingerprint. you can tap on a code and then have it add that to the clipboard and then go back to the previous app

  • Horsey@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 day ago

    KDE Connect was rock solid when I was testing it out with an S24u. The only real issue I had with it was that it was missing RCS (RCS is locked down to only proprietary google messages/iMessage systems) and a seamless way to go from desktop notification to SCRCPY/screen mirroring.

  • Venator@lemmy.nz
    0·
    2 days ago

    PCSX2: better resolution than PS2, has save states, and you can use reshade in some games to make them look better.

  • hexmasteen@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 days ago

    Lets not forget about games!

    Hedgewars is better than most “Worms” games.

    Warzone 2100 is more fun than many proprietary RTS games.

  • hexmasteen@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 days ago

    The OpenStreetMap ecosystem (e.g. Organic Maps as an Android Client) is better than Google Maps.

    Tusky is better than any proprietary Twitter client.

    F-Droid and Flathub are both better than Google Play.

    Thunderbird is better than GMail

    Real open Podcasting (e.g. Antennapod) is better than Spotify.

    OpenDesk is better than M365.

    Signal and Matrix are both better than the chat tools from Meta, Apple, Google.

    (It’s about ecosystems/platforms, because most software doesn’t work in isolation)

  • daggermoon@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 days ago

    fre:ac is way, way better than Exact Audio Copy. Audiophiles like to suck the dick of EAC and don’t trust any other software to rip CD’s. fre:ac literally has all the same features and more. There’s a Windows and Mac version as well but they refuse to even acknowledge it. I’m a Linux audiophile btw.

  • endeavor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    As a proffessional, krita shits on photoshop (f tier) and clip (a tier) when it comes to painting.

  • Glifted@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 days ago

    Kdenlive is really really good. This isn’t an expert opinon. I don’t do a ton of video editing but it feels both easy to learn (for a layman like me) and powerful enough to do anything I need it to do

  • Tiger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I just want to comment that this is one of the most helpful and full of good info posts I’ve seen on Lemmy in a long while.

  • rmic@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 days ago

    QGIS for geographic/geospatial data. Built on shoulders of FOSS giants, embracing latest highly interoperable standards, it is amazing !

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
    0·
    2 days ago

    Linux, hands down and tied behind its back. Both for servers AND desktop OS.

  • swelter_spark@reddthat.comEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    Dnscrypt-proxy has no comparison, IMO. DNS encryption, caching, IP & domain blocking, local DoH. It’s so useful.