Escape Subscription Software: Embrace Open-Source Alternatives

Open-source software alternatives empower users to escape costly subscription models and regain control over their tools.

### Escape Subscription Hell: Embrace Open-Source Alternatives
* 💻 Many years ago, software ownership was straightforward, involving a **simple purchase of physical media**, but the introduction of **Software as a Service (SaaS)** changed everything, leading to **ongoing rental fees instead of ownership**.
* 📈 Companies are increasingly finding ways to monetize users, as seen with Peloton's **$95 reactivation fee** and Adobe's recent lawsuit for **hidden fees**, highlighting the growing trend of **subscription models**.
* 🆓 Fortunately, free and open-source software alternatives exist, such as LibreOffice, which offers similar functionalities to Microsoft Office **without the privacy invasions and cloud dependencies**.
* 💰 Self-hosting tools like Nob can replace expensive services like Airtable, allowing users to **manage data affordably** while open-source options like App Flowy provide **powerful note-taking and organizational capabilities**.
* 🤝 Daily.deev is a valuable resource for discovering **open-source tools** and connecting with a community of developers, offering **curated content** and **networking opportunities**.
* 🔄 For CRM needs, Erpnext serves as a **robust open-source alternative** to Salesforce, which can be **set up quickly**, while Mattermost provides a **feature-rich chat application** without the **data hostage situation** typical of proprietary software.
* 📞 Jitsi stands out as an **open-source alternative to Zoom**, offering **extensive features for video conferencing** without the associated costs, while tools like Plane help developers **manage projects without the burden of Jira**.
* 🎨 Finally, alternatives to Adobe's suite, such as Da Vinci Resolve and Blender, showcase that **nearly every SaaS product has a free counterpart**, empowering users to **break free from costly software subscriptions**.

many years ago, long before most of you were conceived, we lived in a Utopia where, if you wanted to use software, you would walk into a store, buy a box with a CD or floppy disc inside of it, insert it into your computer, and then it was yours to keep forever. But then, one day, the devil got a job as a product manager at a software company and had this clever idea called SAS, or software as a service. When you buy it, you don't actually own it and just rent it for a monthly fee until the day you die. This caused profits to go parabolic, and nowadays, companies are looking to squeeze the lemon even harder. Like Peloton is going to charge a $95 reactivation fee if you buy a used bike on Craigslist. Logitech is looking to roll out a pay-as-you-go mouse, which gives a new meaning to pay-per-click. And Adobe was recently sued by the FTC for its predatory hidden early termination fees. The only world that doesn't have this problem is Temple OS, but the reality is that nobody is

forcing you to buy these products in a free market, and the best way to escape subscription hell is to use free and open-source software alternatives that these big companies don't want you to know about. Before we get into it, make sure to draw and quarter that like button and put the subscription button's head on a pike. It really helps out the channel. Aside from Windows itself, which can easily be replaced by Linux, the most profitable software of all time is likely Microsoft Office. They get kids hooked on it in grade school so they can grow up to spin the hamster wheels that churn out Microsoft profits. Luckily, though, there's a free and open-source version called LibreOffice, which can do almost everything that Word, Excel, and PowerPoint do and is compatible with a crazy number of file formats, even dumpster fires like docx. But it is missing some features from Microsoft Office, like it doesn't require an internet connection to invade your privacy. It doesn't automatically upload your documents to the cloud, where they can someday be breached by hackers or

feds, and it doesn't have a bunch of AI garbage built into it. If you really want those features, you should continue to pay Microsoft. But if you're looking for freedom, Libre is the tool. Now, many teams have escaped Microsoft Office only to land in other paid tools like Airtable, which itself is a pretty awesome tool but extremely expensive at $45 per month per seat. What's crazy, though, is you could likely support hundreds of users on your own VPS for just a few dollars per month by self-hosting. Nob stores data in your favorite SQL database but turns all the tables into rich spreadsheets, which is ideal for collaboration. But when your boss tells you to stop, collaborate, and listen, you'll likely need to use a note-taking app like Notion, which is another $10 per month. Once again, there's an open-source alternative called App Flowy, which is written in Rust and Flutter. Not only is the UI beautiful and can do things like note-taking, Kanbans, and calendars, but NOI's most recent innovation was to shoe

horn AI into the platform. Well, App Flowy can do that too and even let you choose your own LLM provider. That's pretty awesome. But you might be wondering how I find out about all these amazing open-source tools. One incredible resource is Daily.deev, the sponsor of today's video. It's a website and rapidly growing community that curates the best developer content on the internet, and the app itself is a free and open-source project. Not only will you find the hottest developer trends here, but you can also fine-tune your interest by joining squads where you'll find other experienced developers openly discussing the tech you care about the most. And it's not just a bunch of anonymous bots; these are real people from the real world that you can network with to land a job in real life. Whether you're learning to code or just interested in tech, Daily.deev is a website that every developer should visit on The Daily. But now it's time to talk about another massive software juggernaut called Salesforce. They provide customer

relationship management software that allows salespeople to strategically annoy you until you buy something. There's a bunch of good open-source CRMs, but one that stands out is Erp next, which is not only a CRM but also an enterprise resource planning tool, which can handle accounting, quality control, and a bunch of other stuff. It's written in Python and also maintains its own custom web framework called frappe. But most importantly, you can run it in 2 minutes with Docker and cancel your multi-million dollar Salesforce contracts. Now Salesforce also acquired the popular chat app Slack for 27 billion, yet another application that you really don't need to be paying for. A better option is to use a tool like Mattermost, which is built with Go and TypeScript and can be deployed as a single binary with a Postgres database. Not only is it packed with features for chat, but also has integrated voice and video chat. It has front-end clients for the web, iOS, Android, and desktop. But most importantly, it gives you total control over your data. A company like Slack

can't hold your data hostage and demand a ransom to get it back, but another thing you might be paying for that doesn't even need to store data is Zoom. Back in the pandemic days, I once built my own video conferencing app from scratch with WebRTC and JavaScript, but an even easier approach is to use an open-source tool like Jitsi. It uses WebRTC under the hood to handle voice calling but also provides a ton of other features like mobile applications, raised hands, polls, virtual backgrounds, and everything else you would expect from a Zoom alternative. But if you're unfortunate enough to be a professional developer, your Scrum Master is likely torturing you with a device called Jira, which forces you to do sprints, epics, burndowns, and tickets. Well, the good news is that there's a tool called Plane that makes this torture device free and open source. It's a torture device for developers by developers. But if you're developing something, you might be using a tool like Firebase, a BaaS which stands for Backend as a Service. Now, I like big back

ends and I cannot lie, but I also don't like paying for them and being locked into a closed-source platform. Nowadays, there are many great open-source alternatives like Convex, Supabase, Pocketbase, but there's a newcomer you likely haven't heard of called Instant. It's not a full backend, but if you're looking to build a real-time chat or collaboration tool, it handles the client-server sync challenges for you, which is a lot of work to do correctly on your own. But one thing that's relatively easy to do on your own is host a website, yet many developers choose to pay companies like Vercel or Heroku a high premium to do this for them. You can avoid these taxes with tools like Kifi, the Vercel alternative, or Daku, the Heroku alternative. You can use tools like this to self-host all of the amazing projects that we've looked at so far in this video on a single virtual private server. You get the UI and APIs of a premium hosting platform, just without the

massive bills and free tour rug Poes, but now we need to talk about perhaps the most greedy software developer, Adobe. I speak to you as a hypocrite, though, as I edit this video in Adobe Premiere, for which I pay a $59 monthly tribute as a free human being. Though I could trade Adobe suite for pirated Adobe suite, or better yet, trade Premiere for Da Vinci Resolve, and trade Illustrator for Crea, and trade After Effects for Blender, virtually every SaaS product has a free and open-source self-hosted alternative. Never paying for software again is going to be a challenge, but remember, as developers, we don't do things because they are easy; we do them because we thought they were going to be easy. Thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next one.

Paying for software is stupid… 10 free and open-source SaaS replacements

High-intensity ⚡ code tutorials and tech news to help you ship your app faster. New videos every week covering the topics every programmer should know. 

The original home of #100SecondsOfCode #TheCodeReport and #CodeThisNotThat. Created by Jeff Delaney. 

Building an app? Get project support, advanced full courses, and more at https://fireship.io

Fireship

The Shift from Software Ownership to Subscription Models

Software ownership has shifted from purchasing a physical copy to renting through subscription services.

Companies are now implementing additional fees and pay-as-you-go models to maximize profits.

Free and open-source software alternatives, like LibreOffice, offer a viable escape from the subscription model.

Exploring Open-Source Alternatives to Paid Tools

Libre offers a free alternative to Microsoft Office, while self-hosting tools like Nob and App Flowy can significantly reduce costs.

App Flowy, with its beautiful UI and AI integration, provides note-taking and project management features.

deev is a valuable resource for developers, offering curated content and networking opportunities.

Alternatives to Expensive Software Solutions

Erpnext is an open-source CRM and enterprise resource planning tool that can be run in 2 minutes with Docker, offering a cost-effective alternative to Salesforce.

Mattermost, built with Go and TypeScript, provides a feature-packed chat solution with total control over data, making it a better option than Slack.

Jitsi offers an open-source video conferencing alternative to Zoom, while Plane provides a free and open-source solution for project management, targeting developers.

Open-Source Alternatives for Backend and Hosting

There are several open-source alternatives to traditional backend services, including Convex, Supabase, Pocketbase, and the newcomer Instant.

Instant specializes in client-server sync for real-time chat or collaboration tools.

Developers can also avoid high hosting costs by using alternatives like Kifi and Daku to self-host projects on a virtual private server.

The Greed of Software Developers: A Personal Reflection

Adobe's software pricing is criticized, with the speaker paying $59 monthly for Premiere.

The speaker considers switching to free and open-source alternatives for all Adobe products.

The challenge of never paying for software again is acknowledged, but the speaker emphasizes that developers often pursue difficult tasks.