I replaced $1000+/year in subscriptions with these 50 free GitHub tools

Every month, you pay for software that you could be running for free

Dropbox, 1Password, Acrobat, Slack, TeamViewer, YouTube Premium, individually they cost pennies, but together it adds up to several hundred dollars a year just to rent things you could install once and host on your own server

I’ve gathered 50 GitHub repositories. Each one replaces a paid subscription -> they’re all open-source and entirely self-hostable. I’ve broken them down by category below

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supabase/supabase

Supabase is a platform built around Postgres for developing web, mobile, and AI applications. At its core is a dedicated Postgres database with immediately accessible, auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs, as well as real-time change subscriptions.

On top of the database, it provides authentication and authorization, file storage with access controls, and functions (including Edge Functions).

2. NYTEMODEONLY/polyterm

A terminal client for Polymarket that tracks prediction markets, whales, arbitrage, and insider activity directly in the console. It features a TUI with 73+ screens, along with alerts and notifications for Telegram and Discord.

3. Vaibhavs10/insanely-fast-whisper

A command-line audio transcription tool powered by OpenAI's Whisper. Running locally, it utilizes GPU acceleration and modern optimizations, such as Flash Attention 2, batching, and fp16, to convert speech to text significantly faster than standard solutions. It can process 2.5 hours of audio in about a minute and a half on a solid graphics card.

4. myshell-ai/OpenVoice

An instant voice cloning tool developed by MIT and MyShell. It takes a short audio snippet of a voice and replicates its timbre in synthesized speech. It supports multi-lingual generation, including zero-shot cloning, where the source recording and the output languages do not match and were not present in the training data.

5. roboflow/supervision

A Python library for computer vision that provides ready-to-use tools for data loading, video/image annotation, and real-time object counting within specific zones.

It is model-agnostic, working seamlessly with any classification, detection, or segmentation models. Built-in connectors are available for Ultralytics, Transformers, MMDetection, and Inference.

6. calesthio/OpenMontage

An open-source agentic system for automated video production. It accepts a natural language text prompt and autonomously handles the entire lifecycle: topic research, scriptwriting, asset generation/sourcing, editing, and final rendering. It can be deployed locally.

It includes 12 pipelines, 52 tools, and over 500 agent skills.

7. capcom6/android-sms-gateway

An Android application that turns a smartphone into an SMS gateway. You can send and receive SMS messages from third-party apps and services via a REST API or a CLI tool. It runs on Android 5.0 and above, with no registration required.

It supports two operating modes: a local on-device server, and a cloud server for cases when direct access to the device is unavailable.

8. rmyndharis/OpenWA

A self-hosted WhatsApp gateway operating via a REST API. It allows you to send and receive messages, media files, reactions, and delivery statuses. It supports group chats, WhatsApp Channels, label management, and bulk messaging.

Built on a pluggable architecture, its database (SQLite or PostgreSQL), storage (local or S3/MinIO), and cache (memory or Redis) can be swapped via configuration without modifying the code.

9. greensock/GSAP

JavaScript library for creating animations in the browser. It works independently of the framework: it is compatible with React, Vue and any other environment. Animates CSS properties, SVG, canvas, WebGL, colors, strings, movement paths, and custom JavaScript objects. It has no dependencies and connects via NPM or CDN.

10. puppeteer/puppeteer

A JavaScript library for controlling Chrome and Firefox browsers via the DevTools Protocol and WebDriver BiDi. By default, it launches the browser in headless mode (without a graphical user interface). It installs via npm and automatically downloads a compatible version of Chrome during setup.

11. odoo/odoo

Odoo is a suite of business management web apps including CRM, a website builder, eCommerce, warehouse management, project management, billing & accounting, POS, HR, marketing, manufacturing, and other modules.

Modules can be run individually or combined; data and processes integrate seamlessly to turn the system into a full-scale ERP suite.

12. JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template

A boilerplate template to clone any website into a Next.js project using AI agents. Simply provide a URL and run the /clone website command, the agent will analyze the site, extract design tokens and assets, map out component specifications, and rebuild each page section concurrently.

13. shadcnstudio/shadcn-studio

An open collection of components, blocks, and templates built on top of shadcn/ui. It is not an NPM-installable library. Instead, the code is copied directly into your project, allowing you to modify and adapt the styles and logic without the constraints imposed by traditional packages.

14. rustdesk/rustdesk

RustDesk is an open-source remote desktop application and a powerful alternative to TeamViewer. It is ideal for connecting to a remote computer, sharing your screen, or providing quick technical support.

It works out of the box and can use either public connection servers or your own self-hosted rendezvous/relay servers if data control and infrastructure security are priorities.

15. syncthing/syncthing

Syncthing is a continuous file synchronization tool for two or more computers. It keeps selected folders synchronized and updates changes automatically without manual copying.

Perfect for personal workflows: keeping work documents updated across a laptop and home PC, maintaining a shared folder between multiple machines, or backing up critical files to a secondary computer.

16. dani-garcia/vaultwarden

An alternative Bitwarden server implementation written in Rust. It works seamlessly with official clients, including browser extensions, iOS/Android mobile apps, and desktop programs, without requiring any modifications on their end.

It is ideal for users who want to self-host their password manager but prefer to avoid the heavy resource footprints of the official server.

17. Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF

A PDF manipulation tool that can be self-hosted locally or used as a desktop application. All operations are processed entirely on your machine without sending documents to external servers.

It packs over 50 tools, covering editing, merging, splitting, signing, converting, OCR, and compression.

18. FreeCAD/FreeCAD

Parametric 3D modeling means a model is built not as a static shape, but as a series of steps driven by parameters. If you change a part's dimension, everything dependent on it recalculates automatically. This is exactly how FreeCAD works: every action is saved in the history tree, allowing you to go back and tweak it at any moment.

19. pi-hole/pi-hole

A network-wide DNS sinkhole for blocking ads and unwanted content. It requires no client-side software installation on individual devices, simply set Pi-hole as your router's DNS server. Blocking works not just in browsers, but also within mobile apps, smart TVs, and other connected devices. It fully supports IPv4 and IPv6.

20. actualbudget/actual

A personal finance application featuring local data storage. Built with Node.js, it is free, open-source, and can be deployed locally or via Docker. Ready-made desktop applications are also available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It supports seamless cross-device synchronization out of the box, ensuring all financial data remains under the user's control.

21. mattermost/mattermost

A self-hosted platform for team communication and collaboration. It features channel-based chat, direct messaging, workflow automation, voice calls, screen sharing, and AI integrations. Written in Go and React, it runs as a single binary on Linux and utilizes PostgreSQL.

It supports deployment via Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, and tarballs.

22. fatedier/frp

A tool to expose local services to the internet through NATs or firewalls. Operating as a reverse proxy, the client is installed on the local machine while the server runs on a public host. It is a completely self-hosted solution.

It supports TCP, UDP, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols, and can route requests to internal services using domain names.

23. pavlobu/deskreen

Deskreen turns any device with a web browser into a secondary screen for your computer. You run the app on your PC and open a URL on a phone, tablet, or secondary laptop to stream a selected screen or window.

Powered by WebRTC, it is perfect when you don't have an extra monitor handy, use it to display notes/chats during a call, keep documentation open, or mirror your screen to an iPad on the same network.

24. awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted

A curated list of self-hosted alternatives to cloud services, ranging from email and calendars to monitoring tools, CRMs, and media servers. Each section covers a specific category of tasks, listing concrete solutions complete with descriptions, licensing, and links.

Highly useful if you want to break free from SaaS dependency but don't know where to start.

25. TeamNewPipe/NewPipe

A lightweight Android client for watching videos and listening to audio without a platform account. The app bypasses official SDKs and proprietary libraries, including Google Play Services, by utilizing direct API requests or site scraping. This allows it to run smoothly on devices without Google apps and on custom ROMs.

26. AutoTrustAI/PaperGuru-Benchmark

Microsoft-Activation-Scripts (MAS) is an open-source Windows and Office activation tool utilizing HWID, Ohook, TSforge, and Online KMS methods. It can be executed via PowerShell or run as a local script, presenting an interactive menu with activation options.

Handy for quick activations or troubleshooting standard activation failures, as MAS includes advanced diagnostic prompts.

Important: This is an unofficial tool. It is recommended to purchase official licenses.

27. jesseduffield/lazygit

A terminal interface for Git that eliminates the need to type commands manually. Navigation is handled via an interactive TUI: you can stage individual lines of a file, perform interactive rebases, cherry-pick, run git bisect, and manage worktrees.

28. BurntSushi/ripgrep

A command-line utility for recursive regex file searching. By default, it respects gitignore rules and automatically skips hidden files, directories, and binary files.

It is cross-platform, running on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

29. oven-sh/bun

A fast JavaScript runtime written in Zig and powered by JavaScriptCore. It executes TypeScript and JSX without prior compilation, starts noticeably faster than Node.js, and uses less memory. It features drop-in compatibility with most existing Node.js projects.

Alongside the runtime, the single executable ships with a package manager, a test runner, and a bundler.

30. sxyazi/yazi

A terminal file manager written in Rust for macOS, Linux, and Windows. All I/O operations are asynchronous, and tasks are distributed across multiple threads, accelerating file operations and rendering.

It supports image, video, PDF, archive, and code previews directly inside the terminal, complete with built-in syntax highlighting and file pre-loading.

31. gchq/CyberChef

A web application for manipulating data directly in the browser. It supports encryption/decryption (AES, DES, Blowfish, XOR), encoding/decoding (Base64 and other formats), compression/decompression, hash and checksum generation, IPv6 and X.509 parsing, binary and hex dumps, and character encoding conversion.

32. CorentinTh/it-tools

A suite of 200+ useful developer utilities right in the browser, including converters, generators, encoders, formatters, and more. It is self-hosted and fully functional offline once deployed.

33. ShareX/ShareX

ShareX is a feature-rich screen capture and recording tool. A single hotkey allows you to capture a selected area, window, or your entire screen, including scrolling web pages. Ideal for quick screenshots in workflows, documentation, and support.

Post-capture, ShareX can process the output (applying effects or actions), perform OCR text recognition, and instantly upload files, routing images, text, and other media to different destinations.

34. LGUG2Z/komorebi

A tiling window manager for Windows 10 and above. It operates as an extension on top of the Microsoft Desktop Window Manager without replacing it. Window, virtual workspace, and monitor management are handled via a CLI.

It integrates with third-party tools like whkd and AutoHotKey to allow custom hotkey configurations.

35. jetify-com/devbox

A command-line tool for creating isolated development environments. A developer lists the required packages in a devbox.json file, and devbox provisions the environment with the exact tool versions specified. Every team member gets an identical environment upon running devbox shell.

Powered by Nix under the hood, it grants access to over 400,000 package versions in the Nix Package Registry.

36. tw93/Pake

A tool that packages any webpage into a desktop application with a single command. It supports macOS, Windows, and Linux. Built on Rust and Tauri, it consumes significantly less memory than Electron-based alternatives, bringing the final bundle size down to roughly 5 MB.

37. Genymobile/scrcpy

Scrcpy mirrors your Android screen to a computer and lets you control the device using a keyboard and mouse. It connects via USB or TCP/IP, requiring no root access and no app installation on the phone. It is compatible with Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Excellent for presentations, app testing, messaging, and navigating your phone from a larger display.

38. ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF

A command-line utility to add a searchable OCR text layer to scanned PDFs. Post-processing, the document's text can be searched and copied. It uses the Tesseract engine and supports over 100 languages, including multi-lingual documents within a single file.

By default, it outputs files in the PDF/A format, optimized for long-term archiving.

39. fathyb/carbonyl

Carbonyl is a Chromium-based browser that runs entirely inside the terminal. It renders pages in a text console without a window server, launches instantly, and even works over SSH.

It supports modern Web APIs including JavaScript, WebGL/WebGPU, animations, and audio/video playback.

40. ogulcancelik/herdr

Herdr is an agent multiplexer built for the terminal. It aggregates multiple processes into one interface, organizing workspaces, tabs, and panels with split-screen views and mouse controls (click, drag, split).

It displays each agent's status (blocked, running, finished). You can disconnect from the client and reconnect later, background sessions and panel processes persist seamlessly.

41. phlx0/drift

A terminal screensaver that launches automatically during periods of inactivity. When the user is idle, it displays animated scenes directly within the terminal prompt. Pressing any key instantly returns you to your workspace.

The tool features 13 scenes and 9 built-in themes.

42. kitao/pyxel

A Python game engine deliberately designed with retro constraints: a 16-color palette, 4 audio channels, and pixel graphics. Rather than a drawback, these limitations are a deliberate choice inspired by retro consoles to define aesthetic boundaries and simplify development.

Perfect for creators looking to build a lightweight Python game without unnecessary complexity. Built-in tools cover graphics, sound, and input all in one package.

43. OpenTTD/OpenTTD

A transport strategy game where players build a network of trains, buses, airplanes, and ships to connect cities and industries while maintaining profitability. The game replicates the classic Transport Tycoon Deluxe experience but introduces expanded capabilities and mod support.

It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is available for free via Steam, GOG, and the Microsoft Store.

44. SerenityOS/serenity

A complete graphical operating system written from scratch. It runs on 64-bit x86, Arm, and RISC-V processors. While its look and feel lean into late-1990s user interface styles, the system is built on a Unix-like kernel with POSIX compliance.

The kernel supports preemptive multitasking, KASLR, web content isolation, and W^X memory protection.

45. HeyPuter/puter

An open-source cloud operating system that can be self-hosted locally. It runs inside the browser, giving users a unified workspace equipped with built-in applications: a text editor, a voice recorder, spreadsheets, a camera, and other everyday productivity tools.

46. pewdiepie-archdaemon/odysseus

A self-hosted AI workspace created by PewDiePie that runs completely on your local hardware without sending data to external servers.

It supports local models via Ollama and llama.cpp, alongside external APIs like OpenAI, OpenRouter, and GitHub Copilot. The built-in AI agent can interact with files, execute code, search the web, and complete end-to-end tasks without constant prompting. It features persistent memory to retain context across sessions. Entirely free, with no subscriptions or telemetry.

47. vogler/free-games-claimer

An automated tool that claims free games and DLC from the Epic Games Store, Amazon Prime Gaming, GOG, and asset drops from the Unreal Engine. It features experimental support for Xbox Live Games with Gold. The scripts launch an automated Firefox browser instance, log into accounts, and secure available free claims without user intervention.

48. wiltodelta/remove-ai-watermarks

A utility that removes visible and invisible watermarks automatically appended by platforms to AI-generated images. It supports watermarks from Google Gemini (Nano Banana sparkle), ChatGPT / DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, and other major models.

49. pcottle/learnGitBranching

An interactive Git learning tool featuring commit tree visualization. Every command you type is instantly reflected on a repository graph—branches, commits, and their relationships update in real time. Available in the browser via a link, it can also be self-hosted locally.

50. trimstray/the-book-of-secret-knowledge

A curated collection of resources for system administrators, DevOps engineers, pentesters, and security professionals. It compiles links to CLI and web-based tools, manuals, tutorials, cheat sheets, blogs, podcasts, and videos, all centralized with clean section-based navigation.

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Links

• github.com/pewdiepie-archdaemon/odysseus
• github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk
• github.com/ocrmypdf/OCRmyPDF
• github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit
• github.com/sxyazi/yazi
• github.com/CorentinTh/it-tools
• github.com/puppeteer/puppeteer
• github.com/NYTEMODEONLY/polyterm
• github.com/pcottle/learnGitBranching
• github.com/HeyPuter/puter
• github.com/capcom6/android-sms-gateway
• github.com/roboflow/supervision
• github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy
• github.com/myshell-ai/OpenVoice
• github.com/pavlobu/deskreen
• github.com/odoo/odoo
• github.com/mattermost/mattermost
• github.com/trimstray/the-book-of-secret-knowledge
• github.com/syncthing/syncthing
• github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep
• github.com/SerenityOS/serenity
• github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage
• github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole
• github.com/phlx0/drift
• github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi
• github.com/tw93/Pake
• github.com/actualbudget/actual
• github.com/greensock/GSAP
• github.com/ShareX/ShareX
• github.com/supabase/supabase
• github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden
• github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe
• github.com/kitao/pyxel
• github.com/shadcnstudio/shadcn-studio
• github.com/fathyb/carbonyl
• github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted
• github.com/gchq/CyberChef
• github.com/vogler/free-games-claimer
• github.com/oven-sh/bun
• github.com/wiltodelta/remove-ai-watermarks
• github.com/rmyndharis/OpenWA
• github.com/Vaibhavs10/insanely-fast-whisper
• github.com/ogulcancelik/herdr
• github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF
• github.com/OpenTTD/OpenTTD
• github.com/AutoTrustAI/PaperGuru-Benchmark
• github.com/fatedier/frp
• github.com/jetify-com/devbox
• github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template