Setup
9 Free Tools That Replace Paid Software
Nine open-source projects that do the job of a tool you might be paying for — Figma, Jira, Intercom, DocuSign, Loom, ElevenLabs, Midjourney, Pipedrive and Mailchimp. No code needed.
Free. No email, no signup — the link downloads it.
Stuck on a step? Ask in the community
Most small businesses pay for a handful of tools every month that have a free open-source equivalent. This guide covers nine of them, sorted by how easy they are to start: four that open in your browser with a free plan (Penpot for Figma, Plane for Jira, Chatwoot for Intercom, Documenso for DocuSign), three apps you download (Cap for Loom, Voicebox for ElevenLabs, InvokeAI for Midjourney), and two that are only free on your own server (Twenty for Pipedrive, Listmonk for Mailchimp). Each comes with the address, the steps, and the limits of its free plan — checked on each project's own website on 14 October 2026.
What's inside
- The nine side by side: what each replaces, what it does, and the easiest way in
- Four that open in your browser — nothing to install, free plans and their limits
- Three apps to download, including which computer InvokeAI actually needs
- Two that are only free on your own server — start with the easy ones first