5 reasons why I’m switching my software to open source alternatives

Wondering why anyone would abandon all the popular core apps in favor of less familiar options? Is there anything to gain by making this switch? Currently, my software repertoire consists mostly of open source software, and that’s why I made the switch!

I have used closed source software most of my life. The first computer I used ran Windows XP, which I used to access Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and all the other popular proprietary stuff. However, about a decade ago I got my first taste of desktop Linux and have since slowly moved on to open source alternatives. Here’s everything I find useful, fascinating, and profitable about open source applications.

Modern open source software is well designed

A feature-rich experience with a great GUI most of the time

Undoubtedly one of the greatest misconceptions about open source software so it looks old and it looks hard. This may have been true a few decades ago, but modern open source software often looks as polished as its commercial counterparts – sometimes even better!

Buy it Logseq to mention — it can easily go toe-to-toe with paid alternatives like Notion, both in terms of features and looks. Then there are the tools Portmastera network firewall that provides enterprise-grade security with a user interface that puts most commercial security software to shame.

In fact, you probably already use a lot of open source software. For example, VLC media player, Firefox, Note Studioand Blender are undoubtedly the best apps in their domain. Not only do they have a polished and modern interface with tons of useful features, but they are also highly customizable.

Since the code is open source, communities have built massive libraries of themes and plugins. For example, Logseq alone has hundreds of community themes that can completely change its appearance. This level of customization is rarely possible with closed source software.

When you want visual consistency throughout your system, the theme advantage becomes even more apparent. On my Garuda Linux installation, the developers implemented it Catppuccin theme among all the pre-installed apps, from a file manager and text editor to VLC media player and Firefox. This level of design unity is practically impossible with a mix of proprietary software from different vendors.

Rarely has telemetry

I don’t need to ask where my data goes

Telemetry refers to the data an app sends back to its developers. This includes usage examples, bug reports, feature options, and more. can include things like Most proprietary and closed-source applications have some type of telemetry enabled by default, and it can be quite extensive.

Take Microsoft for example. according to XDA DevelopersBy default, Windows 11 tracks your location, your browsing history, what devices your PC is connected to, and what apps you use. It even knows how you use products and services on your system.

Call me paranoid, but I’m not comfortable sharing all this information even with my friends. Even if Microsoft (or any company for that matter) claims to anonymize this information, you are still sending information about your personal and work activities to a third party.

Fortunately, open source applications completely eliminate this concern. For example, no Linux distro will track how you use your operating system – it does as you please. Likewise, LibreOffice, GIMPnor will any other open source app for that matter track how you use it. If available, telemetry options are disabled by default and require you to enable them if you want to send data to developers.

I have my data

No need for predatory cloud syncing

Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek

You keep your family photos in Google Photos, your documents in Google Drive, and your notes in Notion. You may think you have complete control over your data, but you’re actually storing it on leased server space, where it could all be lost if the company decides to change its terms of service, shut down servers, or block you.

If their services go offline, your data is gone. Also, if you violate certain terms of use, they can block your account and your data will be gone again. These are not assumptions – people have actually been like this are not included in their Google Docs accounts or other apps, they lose all the work they’ve created (or saved) over the years!

Thankfully, with open source applications, I can choose where my data lives. Most open source software like Logseq (an alternative to Notion) stores my data locally on my hard drive. In cases where I need a cloud-accessible application, I can download the code and host it myself, either on my own system or by renting a server. I replaced it like this Google Drive with Nextcloud.

So the data is mine, stored where I decide and backed up however I want. Yes, that means I’m responsible for my own backups and security, but I’d rather be in charge of my own data than trust a corporation whose interests don’t align with mine.

You can personally check whether the program is safe or not

There are no secrets in the source code

This is where open source really shines. Every line of code is available for inspection. Anyone on the Internet can inspect the source code and check for bugs in the software or outright malicious code. In contrast, with closed source applications, no one knows the code being used except its developers. So we have to fully trust the developers and cannot check the code for bugs and loopholes ourselves.

Now I realize that not all of us are programmers, including me. So, even if the code is accessible, what’s the point if we can’t read it? Yes, there are other programmers and security experts out there checking the code and if they find any problems, they will report them.

So what happens if you can’t read the code and the open source software has a small user base? Honestly, this can be a problem! That’s why I always suggest choosing open source software that has lots of users or a passionate community behind it. The more eyes on the code, the sooner someone will notice a bug or loophole!

It is free to use

Credit: Dibakar Ghosh | How – Geek / Gemini

If all the above advantages weren’t enough, the vast majority of open source software is free! Yes, some open source software does charge money, but that’s usually due to hosting services or access to premium proprietary add-ons. For example, Bitwarden, an open source password managerpriority support for personal files and charging for access to storage space – both of which are services that require human effort or server space rental, resulting in additional costs.

I should also add that free open source programs are not free because they lack features or are poorly designed. In fact, it’s safe to say that many open source applications can keep up with their proprietary counterparts, providing at least all the basic features you’d expect. Some free and open source software are truly industry leading and professionally used.

For example, Blender is so good that it was Used to create Flow— winner of the 2025 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Then there’s OBS Studio, which has become the go-to tool for professional broadcasters and content creators around the world. In a world where every software company transition to subscription models open source alternatives that slowly roll out of your wallet each month let you save money while empowering you with truly useful tools.

Don’t be a product

Open source software really defies the old adage, “If the product is free, you are the product.” In fact, these apps offer better security, respect your privacy and manage to provide almost all the necessary features with a modern interface – all without asking a penny! This is the reason I’m currently switching all my apps and software to open source alternatives.

That said, just because an app is open source doesn’t make it good by default. Just like proprietary software, there are good and bad software in the open source world. A guide to help you navigate this space and stay away from more problematic open source software.