01In plain English
Open-source software publishes its code under a license that lets anyone read it, change it and run it. Some companies release everything this way. Others open part of the product and sell the rest.
02Why it matters when you are choosing
Open source means you are not locked in: if the vendor changes course, the code is still yours to run. It also lets your team check exactly what the software does.
03What to check
Ask the vendor
Check the license (some limit commercial use), which features are in the open version, and how active the project is.
04The tools
13of 83 checked
13 of the 83 tools we checked are open source. Each one is checked against the vendor's own pages. A tool missing from this list may not have been checked yet, which is not the same as a no.
Zed
7.2
Rank #6 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Agents and your codebase5
Bring your own API key: yes
From $0Free plan
100% from published facts · checked 14 Sep
→
Cline
7.2
Rank #6 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Agents and your codebase4.5
Bring your own API key: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 14 Sep
→
Aider
6.4
Rank #11 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Agents and your codebase2.5
Bring your own API key: yes
FreeFree plan
96% from published facts · checked 14 Sep
→
Warp
7.4
Rank #5 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing8.9
Weakest:Privacy and security5
Bring your own API key: yes
From $20Free plan
94% from published facts · checked 14 Sep
→
Audacity
8.5
Rank #1 of 3 audio editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:What it adds beyond the basics6.7
Free plan: yesFree trial: noAPI: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 27 Sep
→
GIMP
5.9
Rank #6 of 9 photo editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:What it adds beyond the basics2.2
Free plan: yesFree trial: noAPI: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 21 Sep
→
Inkscape
6.6
Rank #4 of 5 vector editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Workflow and output4.7
Free plan: yesFree trial: noAPI: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 26 Sep
→
Kdenlive
6.1
Rank #9 of 10 professional video editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:AI in the editor1.8
Several editors on one project: no
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 26 Sep
→
Krita
6.6
Rank #4 of 9 photo editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:What it adds beyond the basics3.5
Free plan: yesFree trial: noAPI: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 26 Sep
→
OpenAI Codex
7.2
Rank #6 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Privacy and security5
Bring your own API key: yes
From $8Free plan
88% from published facts · checked 14 Oct
→
Penpot
7.3
Rank #5 of 8 AI UI design tools
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Privacy and trust6
Free plan: yesFree trial: yesAPI: yes
From $7Free plan
93% from published facts · checked 27 Sep
→
Shotcut
6.2
Rank #8 of 10 professional video editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:AI in the editor1.2
Several editors on one project: no
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 26 Sep
→
darktable
7.3
Rank #3 of 6 raw photo editors
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Workflow and sharing4.5
Free plan: yesFree trial: noAPI: yes
FreeFree plan
100% from published facts · checked 26 Sep
→