Save Money with Free Open Source

Open Source Initiative Logo

Free Open Source Software can save you a lot of money.

There’s a growing community of people developing and using Open Source Software. They call it “free as in freedom.” This means that you’re free to use it how you please, without forced updates, and you can configure it to work with your unique process.

Additionally, Free Open Source also means free as in no financial cost. This sounds too good to be true. Why would any business give away software that others profit?

Open Source is Good Business

Proving the success of this business style is Raleigh’s Fortune 500 industry leader, Red Hat. They develop and offer a free alternative to Windows called the Linux Operating System. Red Hat pioneered the open-source business model by charging for quality service and giving away their software.

Because they are so successful Red Hat boasted nearly 3.5 Billion dollars revenue in 2019 with nearly half a billion in profit!

Good Software Should be Free for All

However not everyone is in it for the money, others volunteer with online communities making free software because they believe great tools should be available to all people.

Many of these are developed in a way that they run the same on Windows, MacOS, Linux, or any device, adding further benefits.

Quit paying monthly subscriptions or big licensing costs for your software tools now and you’ll save from $32-$100 per month per person.

Free Open Source Solutions

If you use commercial software there’s often a great Free Open Source solution waiting for you.

Save with these free open source solutions:

UseCommercial SoftwareFree Open Source AlternativeAvg Cost Paid/Saved
Image EditingAdobe PhotoshopGNU Image Manipulation Program
Krita
$21/mo
Vector Graphics DesignAdobe IllustratorInkscape$21/mo
Office (Word Processor, SpreadSheet, Presentations)Microsoft Office 365LibreOffice OpenOffice$5-$20/mo
Simple PDF EditingAdobe Acrobat Standard DCLibreOffice
Inkscape
$13-$15/mo
Email ClientMicrosoft OutlookThunderbird*Typically included with MS 365
Video, Voice, and Text ChatZoom; MS Teams; Slack ChatNextcloud Talk$7-20/mo
Video EditingAdobe Premier ProKdenLive
OpenShot
$21/mo
Publishing DesignerAdobe InDesignScribus$21/mo
Grand TotalLow: $32/moHigh: $100/mo
***NOTES: Prices are based on recent best estimates and are subject to change for commercial software, while free open source software will likely remain free. There are some valid reasons you may need to continue or begin using commercial software, depending on your organization’s needs. ***Nextcloud Talk is a part of Nextcloud which is free open source but you may need help setting up a server to use with it, we’d be glad to consult on an installation.

You may want help setting up a server to run software like Nextcloud. Perhaps you want to ask about other free open source solutions. Please contact us and we would be glad to consult with you on how you can host a server or help you find cost savings.

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