To understand the value of Linux - besides it being the best operating system in the world, for free - consider the cost of proprietary software for Windows and Apple, for the many tasks people do with a computer - the things you may want to do - and that with Open Source you may do all of these things for free. For reference, look over the following list of open source programs comparable to Windows programs and realize Windows programs are not free... open source programs are free - list from linuxquestions.org [1]:
When migrating to Linux from Windows [2], a common question is "Where can I get an application for Linux that is similar to XYZ program on Windows?" Fear not! Listed below are programs that could be considered roughly equivalent to certain popular Windows applications. Note that the Linux programs might not have all the features which can be found in Windows proprietary software, but unless you are an expert in some Windows program this should not be a major obstacle.
Office and Productivity
| Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org | OpenOffice [4], KOffice [5], Siag Office [6] | Office package |
| Word | OOWriter [7], AbiWord [8], KWord [9], LaTeX [10] | Word Processing [11] |
| Notepad, Wordpad, TheGun, EditPlus, SciTE | Text Editors [17] | |
| Access, dBase, Foxpro, Paradox | Kexi [18], OOBase [19] | Database |
| Excel, Lotus123, QuattroPro | OOCalc [20], Gnumeric [21], KSpread [22] | Spreadsheet |
| Visio | Kivio [23], Dia [24] | Diagramming |
| PowerPoint | OOImpress [25], KPresenter [26] | Presentation |
| Microsoft Project Manager | RationalPlan [27], MrProject [28], Imendio Planner [29], Kplato | Project management |
| Outlook, Thunderbird + Lightning, Sunbird | Evolution [30], Kontact [31], BALSA [32], Thunderbird [33] + Lightning [34], Sunbird [35] | Personal information managers |
| Alcohol 120%, Discjuggler, Easy CD Creator, Nero Burning ROM | CD burning | |
| Quicken, Microsoft Money, TurboTax | GnuCash [39], KMyMoney [40], jGnash [41], MoneyDance [42], Grisbi [43], PLCash [44], CrossOver [45] Office with Quicken, lazy8ledger [46] | Accounting |
| ActiveSync |
SynCE [47] |
Synchronization with Windows Mobile devices |
| WinEdt, TeXnicCenter | Kile [48], Texmaker [49], LyX [50] | LaTeX IDEs |
| Veritas Backup Exec, Cobian Backup [51] |
UniSon [52], Veritas Netbackup [53], more [54] |
Backup [55] |
| Google Desktop |
Beagle [56], Recoll [57], Google Desktop [58] |
Desktop Search |
| Norton Ghost |
Partition Image [59], g4u [60], Mondo [61], dd [62] |
Disk imaging |
| Norton Partition Magic | Disk partitioning | |
| Disk Size Explorer [65] | File Light [66], Konqueror [67] | Disk usage analyzers |
| Filemon [68], Regmon [69] | syscalltrack [70] | system call tracking (file monitor & others) |
| WinMerge, SyncToy | File synchronization | |
| Windows Update, Add/Remove programs |
apt-get [75], Aptitude [76], portage [77], rpm [78], urpmi [79], yast [80], yum [81], Synaptic [82] |
Every Linux distribution has an infrastructure to manage installed software which is quite different from Windows. For instance, all updates are handled by a single program. See package management [83]. |
| WinRunner | xautomation [84] | automating interactive applications |
| 7-Zip, Winzip, Winrar |
Karchiver [85], File Roller [86], ark [87], hjsplit [88]; command line tools [89] |
Archivers |
| chkdsk | fsck [90] | check your file system (and the hard disk [91] beneath it) for errors |
| Daemon Tools |
mount [92], GMount-ISO [93] |
ISO mounting |
| Disclib | gWhere [94] | Disk cataloging programs |
Desktop Publishing
| Dreamweaver, NVU, KompoZer | Web Design [98] | |
| Quark, Quark Express, Microsoft Publisher |
Scribus [99] |
DTP software |
| Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader |
Adobe Acrobat Reader [100], Xpdf [101], Kpdf [102], Ghostview [103], Evince [104]; more [105] |
PDF readers |
| Adobe Acrobat Distiller, PDFCreator |
CUPS-PDF [106], OpenOffice.org [107], kprinter [108] -- can convert to pdf. more [105] |
PDF authoring |
| Adobe Acrobat PDF editor | PDF editing tools | |
| SilverFast | scanning [114] | |
| FinePrint |
page-crunch [115], mpage [116], Kprinter [108], psnup/PSutils [117], pdfnup/PDFjam [111] |
Document printing/reformatting tools |
Networking
| Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, Lynx, etc. |
Firefox [118], Galeon [119], Konqueror [67], Netscape [120], Opera [121], more [122] |
Internet browsers for the World Wide Web. |
| Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird, Pegasus, Lotus Notes |
Kontact [31], Evolution [30], Thunderbird [33], Claws Mail [123] Sylpheed [124] |
Email clients. |
| ICQ, MSN Messenger, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Trillian, Pidgin |
PidgIn [125], Kopete [126], aMSN [127], Gabber [128], Emesene (MSN) [129], Centericq [130] |
Instant messaging [131] software [132]. |
| Microsoft Netmeeting |
Gnomemeeting [133] |
|
| Microsoft HyperTerminal |
minicom [134] |
|
| FileZilla FTP Client, WS FTP, Bullet Proof FTP, CuteFTP |
FileZilla FTP Client [135], KFTP (KFTPGrabber) [136], Kasablanca [137], FireFTP [138], Konqueror [67], KBear [139], CrossFTP [140], Nautilus [141] |
FTP clients. Note that dedicated FTP clients are rarely needed on Linux, since the default file manager can usually browse FTP shares. Several GNOME programs can directly open and edit files on FTP, SFTP and WebDAV shares. |
| mIRC |
Konversation [142], Quassel [143], KVIrc [144], XChat [145], BitchX [146] |
IRC Clients [147] |
| UltraVNC [148], TightVNC, RealVNC, Remote Desktop |
TightVNC [149], RealVNC [150], rdesktop [151], FreeNX [152], x11vnc [153], Synergy [154], XDMCP, SSH [155] with X11 forwarding (-X or -Y option) |
Desktop Sharing [156] |
| MailWasher |
KShowmail [157] |
|
| Forte Free Agent, Thunderbird [33], Pan [158] |
Thunderbird [33], Pan [158], Sylpheed [124], See More Clients Here [159] |
News Reader (Usenet newsgroups [160]) |
| eMule |
aMule [161] |
ED2K P2P network clients |
| Azureus [162], utorrent [163] |
Azureus [162], Qtorrent [164], Ktorrent [165], bittornado [166], Deluge [167], Transmission [168] |
BitTorrent P2P network clients |
| Skype, Voipbuster | VOIP software | |
| Bitvise Tunnelier |
gSTM [173] |
gSTM is a front-end for managing SSH-tunneled port redirects. |
Server
| IIS, Apache [174] |
Apache [174], iPlanet [175], thttpd [176], lighttpd [177], YAWS [178] ZOPE [179] |
Web Servers [180] |
| Folder sharing, printer sharing |
Samba [181] |
Share files and printers between Windows and Linux systems. Installed by default on most distributions. |
| IIS, FileZilla FTP Client & Server [182] | vsftpd [183], pure-ftpd [184] | FTP servers, for hosting files. |
| NetLimiter [185] |
Trickle [186], Level 7 Filter [187], ClarkConnect [188], Bandwidth Arbitrator [189], MasterShaper [190] |
Bandwidth shaping and management. |
| Exchange |
Citadel [191], zimbra [192], Open-Xchange [193] |
Groupware (sharing of appointments, contacts, e-mail, documents, etc. between members of a group) |
| Sharepoint |
KnowledgeTree [194] |
Manage and secure documents, collaborate around document creation and editing, full document contents indexing |
| Norton/McAfee Antivirus, ClamWin [195], AVG, AntiVir |
ClamAV [196], AVG Antivirus [197], Avast Home for Linux [198] |
Antivirus software. |
| ZoneAlarm , Sygate SPF |
Guarddog [199], Firestarter [200], GUFW [201], iptables [202] |
Firewall software |
Multimedia
| Adobe Photoshop [203],Corel Photo-Paint [204], GIMP, GIMPShop |
GIMP [205], GIMPShop [206], Krita [207], Pixel (non-free high quality) [208], LightZone (non-free high quality) [209] |
Raster graphics editors |
| Corel Draw [204], Adobe Illustrator [210] |
Inkscape [211] |
Vector graphics editors |
| Irfanview, ACDSee | Image viewers | |
| 3D Studio MAX, Blender, Maya [216] | 3D modeling software | |
| Windows Media Player, PowerDVD |
MPlayer [220], Xine [221], Totem [222], Kaffeine [223], VLC [224] |
Video Players [225] |
| SIA Smaart Live | BRP-PACU [226] | Sound [227] analysis |
| Winamp, Sonique, iTunes, aTunes [228] |
amaroK [229], aTunes [228], XMMS [230], BMP [231], Audacious [232], noatun [233], RhythmBox [234], xine [221] will play aac and wma, Banshee [235] |
Music Players [236] |
| Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Elements,Multiquence [237] |
Cinelerra [238], KDenlive [239], LiVES [240], Kino [241], AviDemux [242] |
Video Editors [243] |
| Audacity, Cubase, CoolEdit, GoldWave [244] |
Ardour [245], Rosegarden [246], Audacity [247], GNUsound [248], Beast [249] |
Digital audio workstation software |
| Audio Catalyst, dbpoweramp, CDex | Audio Editors [251] | |
| Cakewalk | ||
| NoteWorthy Composer [254], MuseScore, LilyPond | Musical score typesetting | |
| GuitarPro [257], TuxGuitar |
TuxGuitar [258] |
Guitar tablature editors |
| Microsoft Paint, Kid Pix, Tux Paint |
Tux Paint [259], KolourPaint [260] |
Basic raster painting programs |
| Videora |
thinliquidfilm [261] |
|
| TMPGEnc DVD Author, Roxio DVDit |
Bombono DVD [262] |
DVD authoring software |
Education
| KTouch [263] | Touch typing tutors | |
| Maple, Mathematica | Maple, Mathematica, Maxima [264] | Computer algebra systems |
| Matlab | High level numeric computation environments | |
| SPSS, Stata, EViews | Statistical analysis | |
| Verilog |
iverilog [271] |
Verilog Simulator |
| Google Earth, NASA World Wind, Celestia, Stellarium |
Google Earth [272], Celestia [273], Stellarium [274], Marble [275], Geody [276] |
Geography and astronomy |
Please add new applications to this list. A good resource is the BeetleSpace Windows/Linux Software Table of Equivalents [277], which is GNU FDL licensed.
See also
- running windows software [278]
- The table of equivalents / replacements / analogs of Windows software in Linux. [279] (www.linuxrsp.ru)
- Ubuntu software equivalents's page [280] (wiki.ubuntu.com)
- The Linux Equivalent Project [281] (www.linuxeq.com)