6 open-source Linux apps I’d use even if they weren’t free

Are you looking for some really good open source software for your Linux computer? There are certain apps that I use so much that I would be the first to pay if there was suddenly a price on it.

One of Linux’s biggest selling points isn’t technically a “selling” point at all: much of it is free. Not only are the vast majority of popular distributions offered without monetary fees, but most of the software available in the repositories won’t charge you anything. But that doesn’t mean they’re worthless.

Finamp: Robust music streaming for Jellyfin

To avoid relying on streaming services and their ever-changing catalogs and ever-increasing prices, I host a Jellyfin media server. In addition to being able to watch my movies and TV shows on my local network, I can also stream my music collection. The proprietary Jellyfin app isn’t ideal as a listening app, and that’s where Finamp comes in.

Finamp, especially its redesign in beta at the time of writing, is a great app dedicated solely to streaming music from Jellyfin. Finamp has become my favorite Android music app, and it’s also available on Linux as a Flatpak app. There, it’s gradually replacing Spotify and YouTube for me. It’s worth something.

Heroic Games Launcher: Multi-store PC game management

I’m not a big gamer, so I don’t spend a lot of time optimizing my Linux system for gaming. However, when I want to play and it’s a game I purchased from the Epic Games Store or GoG, my platform of choice is Heroic Games Launcher. This is a graphical application to manage your games from these stores as well as on Amazon Prime Gaming.

The ease with which you can modify Proton and Wine editions, adjust prefixes, and further refine the Linux gaming experience is hard to beat. I prefer the Heroic interface over Lutris and other platforms, and have managed to resolve issues like enabling party support on Fall Guys easily with the launcher. If I had to pay a small fee for Heroic, I honestly wouldn’t mind.

KDE Connect: Desktop connectivity with your phone

Credit:

Lucas Gouveia/Comment Geek | chokchai suttinarakorn/Shutterstock

KDE Connect is one such application that has become ubiquitous on Linux desktops. At least, it is for me. It’s one of many apps I install on every Linux device. It has even gained popularity outside of Linux, such as for those using Mac with an Android phone.

The KDE Connect app has so many plugins that contribute to its power and usefulness that I can’t cover them all here. However, the ones I use the most are the wireless file transfer and shared clipboard functions. It’s so convenient to be able to access the content I just copied to my phone from my desktop. This kind of convenience, along with KDE Connect’s multitude of other features, is why I’d happily pay for it if I had to.

KeePassXC: manage passwords offline

A good password manager is crucial if you want to stay in control of your online accounts. For my part, I trust KeePassXC above all. This is an offline password manager that doesn’t store your valuable logins in the cloud.

This means more responsibility, since I have to take care of my own vault file where all my passwords are stored. However, I feel confident taking on this responsibility and even sync my vault across all devices myself using a self-hosted private cloud server. I want to see KeePassXC continue to be developed and improved, so I’d be happy to whip out my wallet to support this.

Signal: Encrypted messaging

Credit: Signal

In the world of online security and privacy, there’s a lot of snake oil. One of the real McCoys, however, is Signal, which is a chat app in which all conversations are end-to-end encrypted by default. This contrasts with many competing apps that force you to opt for encryption, often at the expense of popular features.

Signal has a handy desktop app, but it’s not just for Linux. It actually requires regular syncing with the mobile version, but that’s okay because I use it on my Android phone as well. I have so many secure discussions on it that I would not hesitate to financially support the project.

The VLC application is a touchstone of open source excellence, having been developed over years into a very mature and feature-rich application. You can use it to watch, listen, convert and stream media of all kinds and from a myriad of sources. From your old DVDs to online radio, it’s one app that plays it all.

For my part, I mainly used VLC to test my DVD rips and convert videos that were not in the correct format. I got so much out of the app that I don’t think I would make a mistake paying for it.

Looking at these free apps, I decided to walk the talk and donate either to the project itself or to one of the individual leaders. I hope that my contributions will help ensure their continued existence and improvement.

If you’re looking for other good software that you might like enough to open your wallet, check out my weekly roundup of Linux apps worth trying.