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The directory
Every tool we have reviewed, listed A to Z with its score out of 30. Switch the order to see the most convivial first, where tools with the same score share a rank.
Affinity
A professional design, photo and layout app that is free for individuals and owned by Canva.
AI Horde
Free image generation in your browser, powered by volunteers who lend their spare graphics cards.
Aider
A terminal tool that pairs you with the language model of your choice, on new or old codebases.
Ampache
A web app that streams your own music collection to any device.
Anki
Flashcards that use spaced repetition to help you remember.
AnythingLLM
A desktop or Docker app for chatting with your documents using local or cloud models.
Are.na
A quiet place to collect things and connect ideas over time.
Argos Translate
An offline translation library for Python, with a command line and a simple desktop app.
ArtCraft
An open-source studio for composing AI images and video, with 2D and 3D controls.
Audiobookshelf
A server you run yourself for your audiobooks, podcasts and ebooks, with apps to listen on your phone.
Aurora Store
A way into the Google Play catalogue without a Google account.
Baïkal
A calendar and contacts server for CalDAV and CardDAV, now kept up by volunteers.
BigBlueButton
An open-source virtual classroom with slides, polls, whiteboards and breakout rooms.
Bitwarden
A password manager with an open-source core and a generous free tier.
Blender
A complete 3D creation suite for modelling, animation, rendering and more.
Bluesky
A social feed built on an open protocol, where you choose your feed.
Briar
A messenger that works with no internet, through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Tor.
Buzz
Transcribe and translate recordings on your own computer, with exports to subtitle formats.
Calibre
Manages, converts and reads your ebook library on your own computer.
Chatbox
A desktop chat client that keeps your conversations on your own device and talks to the model you choose.
Chatterbox
An MIT-licensed text-to-speech model with voice cloning, from a company that sells voice AI.
Cline
An open-source coding agent for your editor, terminal or desktop that asks before it changes anything.
Collabora Online
LibreOffice in the browser, with real-time editing.
CoMaps
Offline maps and navigation built on OpenStreetMap, run by its community.
ComfyUI
A node-based tool for building image, video and 3D generation workflows that run on your own machine.
Cryptomator
Encrypts the files you keep in any cloud folder before they leave your device.
CryptPad
An encrypted office suite for writing, spreadsheets and slides together.
darktable
A non-destructive RAW photo editor and library for photographers.
Datasette
Turns a database file into a browsable, shareable website.
DAVx5
An Android app that syncs your calendars, contacts and tasks with a server you choose.
Delta Chat
A chat app that runs on ordinary email, with no phone number needed.
digiKam
A desktop photo manager that keeps your library on your own disk.
Draw Things
Image generation that runs entirely on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, with no connection needed.
Element
A messenger built on the open Matrix standard, which you can host yourself.
Element Call
Group video calls on the open Matrix network, from the makers of Element.
Ente Photos
End-to-end encrypted photo backup and sharing.
eSpeak NG
A compact speech synthesizer that covers more than a hundred languages and accents.
ESPHome
Turns cheap chips into smart home devices that you program yourself.
Etar
A material-design calendar for Android that shows whatever calendars your phone already syncs.
Etherpad
A simple shared text page that several people can edit at once.
Excalidraw
A browser whiteboard for sketching diagrams that look hand-drawn.
F-Droid
An Android app store with only free software, and labels for what each app does.
Feedbin
A paid feed reader that also turns newsletters into feeds.
Ferdium
Puts your email and messaging accounts in one desktop app.
Firefox
A full browser from a nonprofit foundation, on its own engine.
Firefox Translations
Translate web pages inside Firefox, with the language packs and the work all on your own device.
Flathub
The main app store for Linux, built on the Flatpak format.
Fooocus
Image generation on your own computer that works from a prompt, with very few settings to learn.
Fossify Calendar
A plain Android calendar with no ads, no tracking and no internet permission.
FreeTube
A desktop app for watching YouTube without an account.
FreshRSS
A self-hosted RSS reader that runs on a Raspberry Pi.
Funkwhale
A federated audio platform where communities host their own music.
G'MIC
Hundreds of image filters and effects, as a plugin or on the command line.
Galène
A videoconference server light enough to run on a small machine.
GIMP
A long-running image editor for retouching, compositing and creating pictures.
Gnumeric
A fast, precise spreadsheet from the GNOME project.
goose
An open-source AI agent that runs on your machine and works with the model you choose.
Handy
Press a shortcut, speak, and the words appear in whatever app you are using, transcribed on your own computer.
Hermes Agent
An open-source AI agent that learns skills from the tasks it does and remembers you.
Home Assistant
Runs your smart home on your own hardware, with local control.
Immich
A self-hosted photo and video library that backs up your phone to a server you run.
Inkscape
A vector graphics editor for logos, illustrations and diagrams, built on the open SVG format.
InvokeAI
A friendly image studio with a canvas, a gallery and node workflows, running on your own computer.
IronClaw
A Rust assistant that runs untrusted tools in WebAssembly sandboxes and says it collects no telemetry.
IzzyOnDroid
An F-Droid compatible repository with more open source apps.
Jami
Peer-to-peer calls and messages with no central server, from a GNU project.
Jan
An open-source chat app that runs AI models fully offline on your computer.
Jellyfin
A media server for your own films, shows and music.
Jitsi Meet
Free video meetings in a browser or app, with no account needed and a server you can host yourself.
Joplin
Open-source notes with sync through whichever service you choose.
Kagi
A paid search engine with no ads and no tracking.
Kdenlive
A free multi-track video editor from the KDE community.
KeePassDX
A KeePass password vault for Android, stored in a file you own.
KeePassXC
A password manager that keeps one encrypted file on your own computer.
Khoj
A self-hostable AI second brain that answers from your notes and the web with a model you choose.
Kilo Code
An open-source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal that charges model prices with no markup.
Kiwix
Wikipedia and other libraries of knowledge, saved to read with no internet.
Kodi
A media centre for your TV that plays your own films, shows and music.
Kokoro
A small open-weight text-to-speech model with Apache-licensed weights that runs on modest hardware.
KOReader
An open-source reading app for e-ink readers, phones and computers that opens almost any file.
Krita
A full painting and illustration studio that costs nothing.
Ladybird
A new browser built from scratch, on an engine that nobody else controls.
LibreChat
A self-hosted chat site that puts many AI providers behind one login you run yourself.
LibreOffice
A full office suite for documents, spreadsheets and slides, from a foundation.
LibreTranslate
A translation server you run yourself, with a web page and an API and no dependence on Google or Azure.
LibreWolf
Firefox with the tracking and telemetry removed and strict privacy on by default.
Lingva Translate
A Google Translate front end that fetches translations without your browser visiting Google.
Linkwarden
Save links and keep a copy of each page, in collections you control.
LocalSend
Send files between any two devices on the same Wi-Fi.
Logseq
An outliner for notes and daily journals, stored as plain files on your computer.
Loops
A federated short-video app from the Pixelfed team, with no ads.
Marginalia Search
A search engine for the small, personal and odd corners of the web.
Mastodon
A social network of independent servers with no ads and no algorithmic feed.
Miniflux
A plain, fast feed reader you host yourself or pay a small fee to host.
Mojeek
A search engine with its own index and no tracking.
Moltis
A single Rust program that runs a persistent assistant on your own hardware, with every command sandboxed.
Mopidy
A music server you can control from your phone, with extensions for many sources.
mpv
A minimal video player controlled by a config file and keys.
Mullvad Browser
A privacy browser made with the Tor Project, without the Tor network.
nanobot
A small self-hosted Python assistant that works through a web page, a terminal or your chat apps.
NanoClaw
A small assistant that runs each agent in its own Linux container and keeps credentials outside it.
Navidrome
Your own music library, streamed to your phone from your server.
NetNewsWire
A fast, free RSS reader that brings the sites you choose to you.
NewPipe
A lightweight Android app for watching YouTube without an account or ads.
Newsboat
An RSS reader that lives in your terminal.
Nextcloud
Your own file storage, calendar and contacts, on a server you choose.
Notesnook
Notes that are encrypted before they leave your device.
OBS Studio
Record and stream your screen and camera, with backgrounds and a virtual camera.
Obsidian
A notes app that works on a plain folder of Markdown files.
Obtainium
Installs and updates Android apps directly from their makers' pages.
Ollama
Runs open AI models on your own computer and gives other apps a local server to use them.
ONLYOFFICE
An office suite that looks like Microsoft's and works in the browser.
Open Interpreter
A terminal coding agent tuned to get strong results from cheaper open models, with commands run in a sandbox.
Open WebUI
A polished self-hosted AI interface whose licence now carries a branding clause.
OpenClaw
An open-source AI assistant that runs on your own computer and works through your chat apps.
OpenCode
The open source coding agent for the terminal, desktop and your editor, with any model provider you like.
openHAB
Home automation that works with many brands and runs locally.
OpenStreetMap
The free map of the world that volunteers edit and most of the tools here are built on.
Organic Maps
Offline maps for walking, cycling and driving, built on OpenStreetMap.
OsmAnd
Offline OpenStreetMap maps and navigation for Android and iOS, with a setting for nearly everything.
PairDrop
Send a file to a nearby device from the browser, with nothing to install.
pass
The standard Unix password manager: each password is an encrypted file.
PeerTube
Video sharing on servers run by many people, built by a French non-profit.
Penpot
An open-source design and prototyping tool for interfaces, built on web standards.
PhotoMosh
Glitch your photos, videos and webcam in the browser.
PhotoPrism
A photo library you host, with search that sorts pictures by place and subject.
Pi-hole
Blocks ads and trackers for every device on your network.
Piper
A fast, local neural text-to-speech engine you install with one command.
Piwigo
A web gallery for sharing and organising a large photo collection.
Pixelfed
A free, open-source photo-sharing network that works like Instagram without the company.
Posteo
Paid email from a Berlin company, with no ads and no tracking.
Project Gutenberg
More than 75,000 free ebooks from a volunteer library that started in 1971.
Proton Calendar
An end-to-end encrypted calendar from Proton, where Proton says it cannot read your event details.
Proton Mail
Encrypted email from a Swiss company, with a free plan and paid upgrades.
Proton Pass
An end-to-end encrypted password manager with a free plan, from the makers of Proton Mail.
Radicale
A small calendar and contacts server that keeps everything as plain files in a folder.
RawTherapee
A free raw photo editor with fine control over colour and tone.
SearXNG
A search page that asks many engines for you and keeps you out of the tracking.
SherpaTTS
An Android text-to-speech engine that uses Piper or Coqui voices and reads aloud with no connection.
Shotcut
A free video editor with filters, transitions and effects.
Signal
A private messenger run by a nonprofit, with end-to-end encryption by default.
SimpleX Chat
A messenger with no user IDs, not even a phone number.
Speech Note
Notes you dictate, read aloud and translate, all processed on a Linux desktop with no network connection.
Standard Ebooks
Free, carefully made editions of public-domain books, with no account and no catch.
Strawberry
A music player and library organiser for large collections of files.
Syncthing
Keeps folders in sync directly between your own devices.
Thunderbird
A free email, calendar and contacts app that works with any mail provider.
TiddlyWiki
A whole notebook inside one HTML file that you own forever.
Tor Browser
A browser that hides where you are by sending traffic through several relays.
Translate Locally
A desktop app that translates text on your own machine with small, fast models.
Transportr
Public transport trips in your city, from an app that asks for nothing.
Tuta
Encrypted email, calendar and contacts from a German company.
Vibe
Local audio and video transcription with batch jobs, speaker labels and a long list of export formats.
VLC
The cone-shaped player that plays almost any file, with no ads or account.
VoiceInk
A Mac dictation app with local models, free to build from source and paid if you want the ready-made download.
wallabag
Save articles to read later, without the tracking.
Zed
A fast code editor where the AI features are optional and can be switched off with one setting.
Zigbee2MQTT
Frees Zigbee devices from their makers' hubs and apps.
Zotero
Collects, cites and organises your research sources, and keeps them yours.
A total hides detail, so open a review to see how a tool did on each of the six questions, and pick within a category when you are choosing, because a password manager and a painting program do different jobs. The giants we reviewed as benchmarks are not ranked here.