Open-source alternatives to tools You pay for
hey makers, I've spent the whole night to compile this list out of > winners of Product Hunt > best dev tools on DevHunt > recently active on GitHub > most internet backlinks > most mentions as "alternative to .." Let me know if I should add anything there.
In plain words
This is a curated directory of open-source software alternatives to paid tools, compiled from Product Hunt winners, top DevHunt entries, active GitHub projects, and tools frequently mentioned online as alternatives. It helps developers and makers find free, open-source replacements for commercial software they currently use. The list is based on popularity, recent activity, and community recognition across multiple platforms.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
More dev tools this month
the category →
Open-source GTM skills for technical founders
Dev tools · 29d ago · gtmcofounder.com
OpenTrailPaper is open-source bike computer firmware for the LilyGO T5S3 4.7" E-Paper PRO. It supports offline maps, GPX routes, FIT recording and Bluetooth sensors.
Dev tools · 2d ago · opentrailpaper.com
Launched alongside, December 2023
the whole month →- BM
Hi HN! I’m proud to share that we have built a real 3rd party iMessage client for Android. We did it by reverse engineering the iMessage protocol and encryption system. It's available to download today (no waitlist): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima and there's a technical writeup here: https://blog.beeper.com/p/how-beeper-mini-works. Unlike every other attempt to build an iMessage app for Android (including our first gen app), Beeper Mini does not use a Mac server relay in the cloud. The app connects directly to Apple…
Commerce · 2023 · beeper.com
- HA
Hey! I made Heynote entirely for my own use case. For many years, I always had an Emacs instance running with the scratch buffer open, even long after I had abandoned Emacs as my programming editor in favor of more recent IDE:s. The simplicity of having just one big scratch buffer appeals to me, but I still want to separate the different things I jot down somehow (without using tabs or similar). Previously, my solution was to insert a bunch of blank lines between the notes, but hitting C-A would still select the entire buffer. That's why I came up with the concept of "blocks", which turned…
Work · 2023 · heynote.com
FuseBase▲941Client collaboration platform for professional services
Dev tools · 2023 · thefusebase.com
Beep! 2.0▲871Fastest tool to assign and share visual tasks with your team
Work · 2023 · justbeepit.com
