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Free Alternatives to 10 Popular Commercial Mac Applications

makeuseof.com — List of the most frequently used Mac applications and provided a free counterpart for each of them. Hopefully, they’ll serve you as well as the paid versions.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 18, 2008

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  • shitton, on 09/18/2008, -1/+35http://softratty.com/article/7008031a0c4032b9b619a ...

    Commercial app #1: AppZapper $12.95
    Free counterpart: AppCleaner

    Commercial app #2: Parallels Desktop for Mac $79.99
    Free counterpart: VirtualBox

    Commercial app #3: Xslimmer $12.95
    Free counterparts: TrimTheFat, Monolingual

    Commercial app #4: CoverSutra 14.95€
    Free counterpart: GimmeSomeTune

    Commercial app #5: TextExpander $29.95
    Free counterpart: RapidoWrite

    Commercial app #6: Awaken $12.95
    Free counterparts: iTunes Alarm, iTaf

    Commercial app #7: iWork $79, Office 2008 for Mac (Home and Student Edition) $149.95
    Free counterpart: NeoOffice

    Commercial app #8: Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X $39.95
    Free counterpart: NTFS-3G with MacFUSE

    Commercial app #9: Photoshop CS3 $649
    Free counterpart: GIMP.app

    Commercial app #10: Cha-Ching $40, MoneyWell $39.99
    Free counterparts: Cashbox, Mini$
  • guestDOTgr, on 09/18/2008, -0/+21nice list, but you should also check out Aurora for alarms. And open office mac edition is native now, so I am using that instead of NeoOffice.
  • ExSlashdotter, on 09/18/2008, -0/+20Other excellent free apps not mentioned:

    CoRD - THE BEST windows remote desktop app (better than the microsoft app)
    CarbonCopyCloner - clone disks, make backups
    Textwrangler - basically BBedit for free on the mac
    Cyberduck - the best free FTP client

    //apple developer
  • stukdog, on 09/18/2008, -2/+15iWork is great, but it doesn't come free with your computer. It comes as a trial that can be unlocked with the purchase of a license. (Just had to clarify.)
  • Monotonousblob, on 09/18/2008, -0/+9I didn't think it would be possible for a site like this, but mirror?
  • annjay, on 09/17/2008, -4/+12I am also not using Mac but the list is interesting.
  • cawpin, on 09/17/2008, -0/+7While I did use NeoOffice for a while because it ran natively, it is no longer needed. The OO3.0 Beta is now Mac native and runs perfectly. The GUI is also improved.

    Also, VirtualBox is not a complete replacement for Parallels or VMWare Fusion. It cannot use a bootcamp partition, or any separate partition for that matter.
  • BrendanSheehan, on 09/18/2008, -0/+7That's what I used to say; now I use a Mac :D

    In my personal experience on the Mac though, if you pay things usually go smoother and are easier to use, and 9/10 look better with more clarity of UI.
  • Bakdan87, on 09/18/2008, -11/+17I just use bittorrent. It provides me with everything I need.
  • inactive, on 09/18/2008, -0/+5While Seashore is "better" due to being a native app, it is missing a lot of the functions that GIMP has. GIMP still prevails, and Photoshop still prevails over GIMP.
  • kinglenster, on 09/18/2008, -0/+5No it doesn't. It's £55/£79. Where are you getting this crap from?
  • readme, on 09/18/2008, -1/+5Seashore is a better version of GIMP for OS X:

    http://seashore.sourceforge.net/
  • shitton, on 09/18/2008, -1/+5still had the full text on the clipboard:

    Commercial app #1: AppZapper $12.95

    AppZapper is an uninstaller. Mac applications are very simple to install: it’s a straightforward click-and-drag over to the ‘Applications’ folder. Uninstallation is supposedly just the same, dragging the application to Trash. But there are always remnants of the application in System and Preferences folders. An uninstaller finds these remnants and removes them as well. AppZapper is the best in the game.

    Free counterpart: AppCleaner
    There are hardly any noticable differences between these two applications, even if you put them side by side. AppCleaner works just as well as AppZapper.

    Commercial app #2: Parallels Desktop for Mac $79.99

    Parallels Desktop for Mac is a virtualization program which enables installation of multiple operating systems in a virtual environment. Use this to install Windows, Linux or any other OS while running Mac OS X at the same time.

    Free counterpart: VirtualBox
    Jason has covered this program in great detail. Check out his post to learn more about using VirtualBox and what it has to offer.
    Commercial app #3: Xslimmer $12.95

    Xslimmer is a program which removes unnecessary architecture from Universal Binaries. Because of Apple’s transition to Intel, developers had to make their programs cater for both PPC and Intel processors. It will also remove unwanted localization (language) files to drastically reduce the amount of space used by the application.

    Free counterparts: TrimTheFat, Monolingual
    TrimTheFat will only remove the PPC architecture from applications leaving the Intel side of it. Then use Monolingual to remove unwanted languages. Monolingual can also remove unneeded architecture but this feature is very unpolished and there are some reports that Monolingual causes severe damage to Intel Macs. Do not use Monolingual for that purpose, although removing languages works without a glitch. So, two free apps to replace Xslimmer’s functions. Using these two applications, you can very well free up several gigabytes.

    Commercial app #4: CoverSutra 14.95€

    CoverSutra is an iTunes controller and Last.fm scrobbler which provides a beautiful album art jewel case on the desktop. But 14.95€ is too much money to pay for something which will only help me control my music.

    Free counterpart: GimmeSomeTune
    Although GimmeSomeTune is free, in many ways it could possibly be better than CoverSutra. GimmeSomeTune can automatically fetch album artwork and lyrics, scrobble to Last.fm and has global hotkeys to control almost every aspect of iTunes.
    Commercial app #5: TextExpander $29.95

    TextExpander allows you to use customized abbreviations to “expand” frequently used phrases and text-strings. This application is valuable when you are always finding yourself typing the same line of text repeatedly such as in HTML editing.

    Free counterpart: RapidoWrite
    I honestly can’t tell the difference between TextExpander and RapidoWrite. To pay or not to pay?
    Commercial app #6: Awaken $12.95

    Awaken is an iTunes alarm, when it goes off, it will play a preset playlist. It can also be set to sleep your Mac after a certain time period is over, allowing you to listen to music while drifting off into slumber.

    Free counterparts: iTunes Alarm, iTaf
    I’ve covered this topic of alarms for iTunes before. iTunes Alarm and iTaf are very capable to perform the same tasks as Awaken, perhaps even more! Check out my older post to learn more about these little gems.

    Commercial app #7: iWork $79, Office 2008 for Mac (Home and Student Edition) $149.95

    I’m sure we all know what Office 2008 is. iWork is the Mac productivity suite which comprises of Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheet) and Keynote (presentation).

    Free counterpart: NeoOffice
    NeoOffice is a full set of office applications and is a port of OpenOffice created specifically for Mac OS X. Some may argue that the interface is not as polished as it could be but we’re looking for productivity here. NeoOffice has just been recently updated and performs quicker among other enhancements. If what you’re looking for is a capable word processor (which is the most often used application within a productivity suite), why bother paying so much when NeoOffice is free?
    Commercial app #8: Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X $39.95

    If you are in a community where you’ll get exposed to a Windows NTFS formatted hard disk (like student life), you’ll definitely need to have NTFS support on your Mac. One method to do this is to buy Paragon NTFS. The other way is completely free!

    Free counterpart: NTFS-3G with MacFUSE
    I’ve explained how to use NTFS-3G in my first Macnifying OS X post. The NTFS-3G project has come a long way since it first started. The driver is pretty stable now and there is even a ublio version for better performance.
    Commercial app #9: Photoshop CS3 $649

    Photoshop is an image editing tool which is incredibly successful because it is simply so capable.

    Free counterpart: GIMP.app
    Right, this is a very touchy topic. So, let’s get this straight: No free application will ever be good enough to completely replace Photoshop. There are always alternatives if you’re not looking to spend $650 to touch up your photos. This is one of them. GIMP.app is specifically ported to Mac OS X so don’t mistake it with GIMP. Before this, running GIMP.app requires X11 to be installed but there is now an experimental native version which doesn’t need X11 to run. I’ve tried it, takes a little long to launch but it works. I don’t mind waiting a bit and saving $650.

    Commercial app #10: Cha-Ching $40, MoneyWell $39.99

    These two applications are personal finance managers, and pretty good ones at that. But they cost a bomb. I don’t know about you but I’m hardly willing to spend $40 to manage my finances.

    Free counterparts: Cashbox, Mini$
    Simple, easy-to-use, straightforward, free. That’s all I need. Granted, Mini$ and Cashbox are not as fully-featured as Cha-Ching and MoneyWell, they don’t have the fancy frills of schedulers and buckets styles but they still manage to help me keep track of my finances.

    So I hope that this list prevented the major hole in your pocket which could have been if you paid for these applications. Are there any other applications you use which I didn’t list? Maybe you would like to find out if the application you were thinking of buying has a free alternative? Shoot away in the comments!

    More from MakeUseOf.com :

    - MakeUseOf Directory : Read about up-to 5 truly useful web apps on a daily basis.
    - MakeUseOf ‘Geeky Fun’: - Fun Geeky Pics, Cartoons and Videos.

    (By) Jackson Chung is a full-time medical student attempting to perform a juggling act with relationship, studies and his future.
  • inactive, on 09/18/2008, -0/+4people actually pay for photoshop?
  • InverGoatie, on 09/18/2008, -0/+4Great stuff, just what I was looking for having just purchased my first Mac
  • alansky, on 09/18/2008, -2/+5Don't know about the rest of you, but I have no interest whatsoever in installing a program (VirtualBox) that needs a helper app to make the cursor "less jittery." People who want everything for free are *just plain dumb* if you ask me. Sometimes you get exactly what you pay for!

    NeoOffice (or OpenOffice, etc.) is not really replacements for iWork, which includes the excellent template-based application Pages. You'd need to be a professional graphic designer to use NeoOffice (or any word processing app) to create the beautiful layouts that Pages can produce with just a few mouse clicks.

    Finally, anyone who thinks a free image editor is a replacement for Adobe Photoshop should have their head examined. Similarly, anyone who thinks they need Photoshop to do simple photo retouching is wasting their money.
  • tommasz, on 09/18/2008, -0/+3Photoshop : Gimp :: Boeing 757 : Cessna 150. They'll both get you there, but not at all in the same way.
  • mlavergn, on 09/18/2008, -0/+3Yeah, but GIMP.app is a better version of GIMP for OS X than Seashore!

    http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/

    Basically, it's GIMP, without the X11 req.
  • peterinjapan, on 09/19/2008, -0/+3Free is good, but some things -- like BBEdit, Photoshop, and so on -- are friggin' worth the money. Just sayin'.
  • triferlinks, on 09/19/2008, -0/+2Typically ill run into some teeny bopper who only wants Apple for Photoshop, and I just tell them to use GIMP. mainly because they just want to make little LJ icons and filters. You dont NEED Photoshop for that.
  • beerbarron, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2iWork is fantastic for its templates, but if your writing a bog standard letter, your better off with neo office or open office
  • zeddie2001, on 09/19/2008, -0/+2Or a text editor... like Text Edit
  • mrBitch, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2In addition to your free OSX apps list:

    - WinClone (Take a backup snapshot of your XP/Vista bootcamp partition)
    http://twocanoes.com/winclone/
    - SuperDuper
    (better than CarbonCopyCloner and it's free for personal use)
    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperD ...
  • JayClark, on 09/19/2008, -0/+2... no one is claiming that it's free. Did you happen to notice the "$79" after iWork?

    Reading comprehension FTL!
  • Mithivh, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2Damn. Beat me to it.
  • vault, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2smultron is pretty good for a free OS X text editor, too.

    But they're all crap compared to Textmate which is worth every penny.
  • inactive, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2Had me up until suggesting NeoOffice as a viable alternative to iWork.
  • nealyng, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2Your mirror needs a mirror.
  • iamdravenman, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2??? Seriously ???
    I don't even know how to respond to that.
  • JohnLawson, on 09/18/2008, -0/+2*Mediadefender read Badan87's comment*

    Mediadefender: ZOMMMGGGGG!111111, do see this! We should use this comment in a commercial to get a stock up from less than a penny.

    (there stock is really less than a penny....)

    diggs for you mate.
  • boojoy, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1I'd spend 40 bucks to manage my money - good investment. Well, if the program works right.
  • vault, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1thanks
  • diggimator, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1What's the best free text editor?
  • spvn, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1Yeah sure, give me full compatibility with microsoft word doc files and pages and i'll happily use pages for the rest of my life.
  • XdarkXanarchyX, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1There is also another site called: http://www.opensourcemac.org/ it lists some software stated here and many others for all different useful things. There's even one for Windows.

    A link on the bottom of that page: http://www.freesmug.org/
  • Plughie, on 09/18/2008, -1/+2Oops. Dugg to oblivion. Server couldn't handle the load.
  • CreativeGuy, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1VirtualBox looks awesome... I wish I had a copy of Windows XP or Vista to test it out on my MacPro.
  • zeddie2001, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1Text Edit
  • sambapati87, on 09/18/2008, -2/+3These are the most used Mac apps?
  • RyomaNagare, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1very good alternatives, I have most of those paid apps.
    I must say that give me some tune while good does not replace coversutra. its scrobbling functionality its sketchy.

    good thing about the lyrics finder though.
  • MacParrot, on 09/18/2008, -1/+2You actually expect a paycheck?
  • diggimator, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1TextEdit is fantastic, but it doesn't have the cool features for programmers. Xcode is rather heavy for quick edits. I guess I'm looking for something like SciTE.
  • timeshifter, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1everything you need... you don't have to pay for the karma either (at least not now).
  • inactive, on 09/18/2008, -1/+2I agree most of the ***** they pay for is just a terminal command with a GUI!
  • bedouin, on 09/18/2008, -0/+1Cyberduck = Awesome free FTP client.
  • FHKE, on 09/18/2008, -1/+1LiteIcon+SuperDocker > CandyBar $29
  • dheeruyadav, on 10/06/2008, -0/+0excellent list with nice alternatives
  • LastDitchHero, on 09/18/2008, -0/+0yep!
  • ThumpinRide, on 09/18/2008, -0/+0I'm a MoneyWell user, and I love it. It's a great budgeting tool and well worth the $40.

    Although not the point of the article, You Need A Budget is supposed to be coming out with an OS X version soon for $40 I believe, which mimics the functionality of MoneyWell.
  • joegibes, on 09/19/2008, -1/+1"you'd need to be a professional graphic designer to use NeoOffice"... So what you're ACTUALLY trying to say is, you're too lazy to conquer the learning curve of any other app.
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