10 Best Free Open Source Tools for Students

Students tend to live frugally and cut corners wherever possible. While you may need to buy a new laptop or smartphone, paying for software is an expense you can avoid by choosing free and open source alternatives.

Luckily, there are plenty of learning aids that don't cost a dime.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free and open source alternative to Microsoft Office. It includes a complete suite of applications that help you put together documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. It maintains excellent compatibility with Office and really stands out when used alone as a true alternative.

Standout features include Writer, a word processor that can handle everything from a brief outline to the contents of an entire book; the Calc spreadsheet app with tons of advanced functionality, ready-to-use templates, and collaboration features; and a Math formula editor that integrates with other apps in the suite, wherever you need mathematical and scientific formulas.

Zotero

Zotero bills itself as a 'personal research assistant' that makes it easy to compile all of your research in one place. Use the Zotero browser extension to automatically add resources to your collection, then organize them however you like. You can then use your collected resources in word processors like LibreOffice Writer (and many others), and Zotero will format them for you with support for over 9,000 different styles.

Zettlr

Zettlr is an open source solution that can take an idea from the early stages of collecting notes to a published article or even a book manuscript. The app is based on the flexible and easy-to-learn Markdown formatting standard , making exporting to one of the many supported formats a breeze. This keeps the app light and flexible, even when you're dealing with large word counts or switching between multiple open projects.

Logseq

The Obsidian note-taking app is often praised for its 'spider web' approach to organizing your notes, but it's closed-source freeware. If you're looking for a truly open-source alternative, you should check out Logseq. Billed as a 'knowledge management' platform, Logseq is an incredibly powerful tool for organizing your study materials and your life.

Anki

Flashcards can be an invaluable part of the learning experience. Whether you're learning a foreign language, studying for an exam, or mastering a musical instrument; flashcards are worth a try. Anki is an open-source tool for creating and using flashcards, completely free. The app syncs across devices, is highly customizable, and includes the ability to add media to your flashcards (such as audio, video, images, and markup).

Simplenote

Everyone needs a note-taking app, and Simplenote is it. As the name suggests, it's a super simple note-taking app. Store text, organize it by tag, sync across devices, and export it whenever you need it. Notes can be written in markdown, with version control so you can go back to a previous version if needed.

Simplenote apps became open source in 2016, with versions available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS (all free).

1. How to use Simplenote to take notes and manage tasks

Thunderbird

Not everyone needs a desktop email client, with web email solutions like Gmail offering significant power in a browser-based package. However, some people are more comfortable working offline, and that's where apps like Mozilla Thunderbird come in. Thunderbird is arguably the best open-source alternative to Microsoft Outlook , offering a simple, traditional way to manage your email and schedule. It's more than just an email client, it's an organizational tool.

Bitwarden

Password management is incredibly important, and that's where an app like Bitwarden comes in. It's an open-source password manager that stores and generates passwords completely free of charge. The source code is freely auditable, and this transparency provides a level of security that many premium solutions don't offer. Unlike these paid apps, Bitwarden includes cross-device syncing for free (with no limit on the number of devices you can use it on).

1. How to manage passwords with Bitwarden utility

Nextcloud

While you can get a few gigabytes of free cloud storage from Google and Microsoft, the costs can quickly add up once you start taking up a significant amount of space. That's where Nextcloud comes in, a self-contained cloud storage solution that runs on a local server and syncs across your devices.

Kdenlive

If you need a free video editor , you might find the open-source Kdenlive app much better. Rated as the best open-source editor, Kdenlive lets you stitch videos in a non-linear way with a wide range of additional tools available. People especially like its interface, which can be customized for a variety of video editing tasks, including simple editing, color grading, and effects.

Micah Soto

Update 23 August 2025