Free Adobe and Office Alternatives (2026): PhotoCraft, GIMP and More

You can replace almost every Adobe and Microsoft 365 app for free today: GIMP or Krita for Photoshop, Inkscape for Illustrator, darktable for Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve or Kdenlive for Premiere, and LibreOffice for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The new Crafting Apps, PhotoCraft among them, are free and open source too, but still alpha: try them beside a stable pick.

Every app below was checked on its project's own website, release page or repository on 21 October 2026. The Crafting Apps release almost daily, so their version numbers will be out of date within a week.

What the Subscriptions Cost, and the Free Swap

Adobe Creative Cloud Pro (every Adobe app) is regularly $69.99 a month on the annual plan, billed monthly, in the US. Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year, or $9.99 a month. Here is what each app maps to:

What Are PhotoCraft and the Crafting Apps?

The Crafting Apps are a set of free desktop apps from ArtCraft, a company founded by Brandon Thomas, each built to replace one paid app: PhotoCraft for Photoshop, WordCraft for Word, CADCraft for AutoCAD, and ten more. They appeared on GitHub from 30 September 2026, and PhotoCraft alone passed 70,000 stars in three weeks.

• License: every app is dual-licensed MIT or Apache-2.0, at your option.
• Price: free. The READMEs describe no paid plan for any of the thirteen apps, and several say it outright: no account, no subscription, no telemetry.
• Built how: written from scratch in Rust, described as clean-room implementations from public specifications and observed behavior, with no proprietary code.
• Platforms: every release ships Windows (.msi and portable .zip), one Mac .dmg for both Apple silicon and Intel, and Linux as AppImage, .deb, .rpm and a Flatpak bundle, for x86_64 and ARM. On Linux they sit well beside the other picks in Best Linux Apps for Students.
• For AI agents: each app has a command line and an MCP server, so Claude and other agents can drive it.
• Status: alpha. DesignCraft, SoundCraft and CADCraft call themselves pre-alpha. Each README lists what's missing, and the lists are long.

Where to download: from each app's GitHub releases page (github.com/storytold) or getartcraft.com, the site the READMEs link. Other sites using the Craft names aren't linked from the project.

What they open, in their own words: PhotoCraft opens and saves layered PSD and PSB files, and its README reports that re-saving keeps the render of 307 of 309 test files. WordCraft opens and saves .docx, GridCraft treats .xlsx as its native format, and DeckCraft opens and saves .pptx. CADCraft opens DWG through R2018. The gaps matter just as much: FilmCraft can't open Premiere .prproj projects yet, and EffectCraft saves its own .ecproj projects: its README says proprietary project formats aren't supported.

Free Photoshop Alternatives: GIMP, Krita, Photopea, Affinity

GIMP (3.2, free, open source, Windows, Mac and Linux) is the long-standing free image editor. Version 3 added non-destructive filters and improved PSD import and export.

Krita (free, open source, Windows, Mac, Linux and Android) is built for painting and illustration. It reads and writes PSD, including raster layers, blending modes, layer styles, vector and text layers, though its own documentation warns that no non-Adobe app supports PSD completely. Its paid store listings (Steam, Epic, Microsoft Store, Mac App Store) fund development.

Photopea runs in the browser, opens and saves PSD files, and processes files on your own computer without uploading them. It is free with ads; Premium removes them.

Affinity, now owned by Canva, is free for individuals and covers photo editing, vector design and page layout in one app, with PSD, AI and IDML import. It needs a Canva account, runs on Windows and Mac only, and its AI tools need a paid Canva plan.

PhotoCraft is the newest of these and the least mature. Try it on a layered PSD that another editor flattens, and keep a stable editor for client work.

Free Illustrator Alternatives: Inkscape, Affinity

Inkscape (1.4, free, open source, Windows, Mac and Linux) is the mature free vector editor. Affinity covers vector work too, inside the same free app as its photo tools. VectorCraft imports and exports SVG and PDF, including PDF-compatible .ai files, and its README lists reliable .ai exchange among the things still missing.

Free Lightroom Alternatives: darktable, RawTherapee

darktable (5.6, free, open source) is the free raw photo workflow that Lightroom users usually land on. On a Mac it needs Apple silicon; there are no official Intel Mac releases. RawTherapee is a free raw developer with fine control over each photo. LightCraft has its own raw decoders for DNG, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fuji and more, and reads XMP sidecars.

Free Premiere Pro Alternatives: DaVinci Resolve, Kdenlive, Shotcut

DaVinci Resolve's free version (Windows, Mac and Linux) handles editing, color and audio in one app, up to Ultra HD at 60 frames per second in 8-bit. The paid Studio version adds higher resolutions and frame rates, 10-bit and more GPU acceleration ($295, on sale for $236 on 21 October). Kdenlive (free, open source, Windows, Mac and Linux) is the strongest open-source editor, and Shotcut is a lighter free one with portable builds. FilmCraft imports XML, EDL, AAF and OTIO timelines from other editors, but not Premiere projects yet.

Free After Effects Alternative: Blender

Blender (free, open source) handles compositing, motion graphics and 3D in one app. Blender 5.0 and later need an Apple silicon Mac; Intel Macs can use Blender 4.5 LTS. Natron, the old free node compositor, has had no stable release since 2022, so it isn't a safe pick today. EffectCraft imports and exports Lottie animations and renders ProRes, HEVC, AV1 and WebM.

Free InDesign Alternatives: Scribus, Affinity

Scribus (1.6, free, open source) is the established free page layout app. Affinity imports InDesign's IDML files. DesignCraft imports and exports IDML and imports INDD, but it calls itself pre-alpha.

Free Acrobat Alternatives: Okular, PDF Arranger, Stirling-PDF

There is no single free Acrobat, so split the job:

• Reading and annotating: Okular (free, open source) highlights, adds notes, signs PDFs and verifies signatures.
• Merging, splitting, reordering pages: PDF Arranger (free, open source, Windows, Mac and Linux).
• Everything else in one place: Stirling-PDF offers 60+ PDF tools free on the web or desktop, or self-hosted with one Docker command.

PdfCraft is built from the PDF specification, and its README is upfront that reliable editing of existing text isn't there yet.

Free Microsoft Office Alternatives: LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE

LibreOffice (26.8, free, open source, Windows, Mac and Linux) is the full office suite: Writer, Calc and Impress, opening and saving DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. It has imported and exported Markdown since version 26.2. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors (free for personal and professional use) has an interface closer to Microsoft Office and focuses on keeping Office files' layouts intact.

WordCraft, GridCraft and DeckCraft read and write the Office formats directly, and WordCraft also opens old .doc files. All three are alpha and were released a week after the Adobe set, so treat them as a preview.

If you want Office itself without a subscription, Microsoft sells Office Home 2024 as a one-time $179.99 purchase for one PC or Mac.

Free OneNote Alternatives: Joplin or Obsidian

Joplin (free, open source, desktop and mobile) keeps notes in Markdown and syncs through Dropbox, OneDrive or its own Joplin Cloud (from €2.40 a month, billed yearly). Obsidian is free for any use, including work, keeps notes as Markdown files on your computer, and charges only for its optional Sync ($4 a month, billed yearly) and Publish.

Sticky Notes on Your Desktop: BetterStickies

The Crafting Apps have no notes app, and Microsoft Sticky Notes stays free whether or not you keep Microsoft 365. It syncs through a Microsoft account, but its formatting is basic: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and bullets, with no font or size choice.

BetterStickies, the app this blog belongs to, is a desktop sticky notes app for Windows, Linux and Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later) that keeps notes on top of your work and holds more than text:

• Paste anything: a screenshot, a link, a sound file or code drops into a note in the right form. Code becomes a colored code block.
• Make it yours per note: colors from a 40-color grid or any hex value, opacity from 1% to 100%, any installed font, image or animated GIF backgrounds.
• Notes, not a notebook: checklists with nested items, reminders, up to 3 pages per note as tabs, search across every note, and export to plain text, Markdown or JSON.
• Offline and private: notes stay on your computer, the app needs no account and doesn't track you.

Price: free for 4 notes (each extra tab inside a note counts as one). Premium is a one-time purchase, currently $7.99, that removes the limit: no subscription, no recurring fees. For comparison, Notezilla costs about $30, and its version with cloud sync renews at about $20 a year.

Weak spots: BetterStickies is not open source, and it has no cloud sync or phone app. If you need your notes on a phone, Microsoft Sticky Notes or Joplin fits better. More detail: BetterStickies vs Microsoft Sticky Notes and the best sticky notes apps of 2026.

Free Figma, AutoCAD and Pro Tools Alternatives

• Figma → Penpot. Free and open source, in the browser or self-hosted, with a free plan for up to 8 members. FigCraft opens .fig files on a best-effort basis.
• AutoCAD → FreeCAD or LibreCAD. FreeCAD (free, open source) is a parametric 3D modeler that imports and exports STEP, DXF and DWG. LibreCAD is a free 2D drafting app. CADCraft, pre-alpha, reads and writes DXF natively and opens DWG files from R13 through R2018.
• Pro Tools and Audition → Audacity or Ardour. Audacity (free, open source) records and edits audio. Ardour is a full open-source studio: the source code is free, and ready-made builds are pay what you want from $1. SoundCraft calls itself pre-alpha, and its README doesn't mention opening Pro Tools sessions.

Should You Switch Now?

• Keep the stable pick for work that matters. The Crafting Apps release almost every day, and their READMEs list real gaps. GIMP, LibreOffice and Kdenlive have shipped for years.
• Try a Crafting App where it fills a gap. PhotoCraft for layered PSDs, for example: install it beside your stable editor and compare on your own files.
• Check your files first. Open three real projects in the free app before you cancel anything. Layer effects, fonts and plugins are where conversions break.
• Read your plan's cancellation terms. An annual plan billed monthly is still a yearly commitment, so check what cancelling early costs and time the switch to your renewal date.

FAQ

Is PhotoCraft free?

Yes. PhotoCraft and the other Crafting Apps are free and dual-licensed MIT or Apache-2.0. Their READMEs describe no paid plan, no account and no subscription.

Who makes PhotoCraft?

ArtCraft, the company behind the ArtCraft AI studio, founded by Brandon Thomas. The apps are published under the storytold organization on GitHub and take outside contributions. The PhotoCraft repository was created on 30 September 2026.

Is PhotoCraft ready to replace Photoshop?

Not yet for most professional work. It is alpha: it opens and saves layered PSD files, but its README lists missing features, including generative AI. Use it alongside GIMP, Krita or Affinity until it reaches a stable release.

Where do I download the Crafting Apps safely?

From each app's GitHub releases page under github.com/storytold, or from getartcraft.com, the site the READMEs link. Other sites using the Craft names aren't linked from the project.

Do the Crafting Apps run on Linux and Mac?

Yes. Every app ships Linux builds (AppImage, .deb, .rpm, a Flatpak bundle) and one Mac download that runs on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs, plus Windows installers.

What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Office?

LibreOffice: free, open source, on Windows, Mac and Linux, and it opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. ONLYOFFICE is the alternative if you want an interface closer to Microsoft's.

What is the best free alternative to Photoshop?

GIMP for general image editing, Krita for painting, Photopea in the browser, and Affinity if you're on Windows or Mac and don't mind a Canva account. All four open PSD files.

Is there a sticky notes app without a subscription?

Microsoft Sticky Notes is free on Windows. BetterStickies is free for 4 notes on Windows, Linux and Apple silicon Macs, and Premium is a one-time purchase, currently $7.99, with no subscription.