Useful software. Clear choices. A better way to find what you need.
ActivityWatch records application and website activity locally to help users understand how they spend computer time. Its open-source approach suits personal reflection without sending a mandatory activity feed to a vendor cloud.
ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors combines document, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF tools in one installed suite. It supports local editing and common office formats for people who want a free cross-platform desktop workspace.
Apache OpenOffice provides word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawing and database tools. It is a free desktop office suite for standard document work, with OpenDocument support and familiar file-based workflows.
Calligra is KDE’s office suite with applications for documents, spreadsheets and presentations. It offers a free desktop option for Linux users who want office tools integrated with their operating environment.
Collabora Online Development Edition provides browser-based office editing for self-hosted environments. It lets home users and small teams explore collaborative documents, spreadsheets and presentations while testing integration with their file platform.
CryptPad provides collaborative documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other shared tools with client-side encryption. Its open-source suite can be self-hosted for teams that want browser collaboration with a different privacy model.
Google Docs is a browser and mobile document editor with simultaneous editing, comments and revision history. Personal Google Accounts can create documents, while organizational controls and selected advanced features belong to paid Workspace plans.
EtherCalc provides a shared spreadsheet that multiple people can edit through a browser. Its self-hosted option suits lightweight tabular collaboration where a simple shared sheet is more useful than a full office suite.
Gnumeric is a focused spreadsheet application for calculations, charts and tabular data. It provides a free desktop environment for people who need spreadsheet functions without installing a broader office collaboration platform.
Okular is a document viewer with PDF annotations, forms and digital-signature support. It handles several document formats and suits readers who need to review and mark up files on the desktop.
GNOME Papers is a document viewer for reading PDFs and other supported formats. It provides a modern GNOME interface for navigation, annotations and forms without the complexity of a full publishing suite.
SumatraPDF is a lightweight Windows reader for PDFs, ebooks and several other document formats. It focuses on opening and navigating files quickly, with a portable option that can run without installation.
PDFsam Basic performs common PDF page operations locally, including splitting, merging, rotating and extracting pages. It is useful for assembling or reorganizing documents without uploading them to a web service.
PDF Arranger provides a visual workspace for rearranging, rotating, cropping and combining PDF pages. It suits small document-cleanup jobs where manipulating page thumbnails is more convenient than a command-line workflow.
Stirling PDF brings a broad collection of PDF tools into web, desktop and self-hosted interfaces. Its individual Free plan covers routine document operations, with limited automation credits and separately priced team administration.
Xournal++ is a handwriting and annotation application that works with stylus input and PDF backgrounds. It suits lecture notes, worked examples and document review where freehand marks are more useful than typed comments.
Skim is a macOS PDF reader and note-taking tool designed around close reading. Highlights, notes, bookmarks and text export make it useful for reviewing papers and other lengthy documents.
PDF24 Creator is a free Windows PDF toolkit for creating, merging, converting and organizing documents. Its desktop workflow processes files locally and can be used by individuals, companies and public organizations.
