If you like reading about Windows software then check out Windows Help & Advice magazine. Windows Help & Advice is totally dedicated to Windows users. We’ll show you how use your new Windows PC, tablet or all-in-one device, what all the apps do and how to solve common problems. Free, that’s the magic number. At least, it is when it comes to PC software. Why break the bank populating your PC with applications when enterprising individuals and organizations have created a raft of software that does the job adequately completely gratis?
Now, we’re well aware that there are several different categories of free software. There’s the stuff that comes from the open source community, which is usually a little rough around the edges owing to its many-cooks approach to development. But open source software has its own advantages: sometimes it’s home to experimental features that those in the commercial market might hold back on; or perhaps it’s designed for a niche that commercial developers can’t profit from. There’s also that guarantee that your software is going to stay free – while it might take an age to update and basically come with no warranty, open source software suddenly attempting to dig around in your wallet is a rare occurrence. The other side of the coin is ‘free’ software, in quotation marks. There’s a swathe of it in this list, but we’ve done our best to dodge anything too feature-light. Essentially, as has been the case for decades, software publishers will often offer a taste of the goods in an effort to get you hooked enough to buy the real thing. Often, that taste is adequate on its own. And sometimes, it’s not really a taste for you as much as it is for the business market, where expensive per-seat licences can be a real money-spinner. You can have the software for free if for personal use, but these guys in their office need to pay. The best free photo editor for Windows 10: Polarr (Image credit: Polarr; Shutterstock)
1. Photo Editing: Polarr
Polarr has crept up on us over the past few years, but since it made the jump from mobile to PC app, it’s proved to be one of the coolest and most capable photo-tweaking tools available, paid or not.
2. Music making: Cakewalk
Originally a DOS sequencer launched in 1987 and coming to Windows in 1991, Cakewalk recently came under new ownership and is back from the dead – those new owners decided the app was best given to the world for free. Pro-level recording, all the tools you need to mix and master tracks, not to mention a host of software instruments and effects.
3. Audio editing: Audacity
Audacity almost annoys us: we’re absolutely desperate to recommend something different in this slot, but there’s still nothing else that can hold a candle to it for audio cutting or tweaking. It’s a tool that everyone should have installed at all times. The best free video editor for Windows 10: Shotcut (Image credit: Meltytech LLC)
4. Video editing: Shotcut
Shotcut has been carving out its own niche in the video-editing world, and while it’s still catching up to the big boys, it’s also entirely free – no surprises, no restrictions. Unless you look on the Microsoft Store, where it’s inexplicably paid-for. Don’t do that.
5. Notes: Notepad++
There’s a whole lot of contextual formatting in Notepad++ (it is, after all, made for sketching code in all manner of languages), but it’s just as much a straightforward and capable alternative to Microsoft’s Notepad. And that’s a good thing. The best free office software for Windows 10: LibreOffice (Image credit: Open Document Foundation)
6. Office: LibreOffice
Pretty much a free equivalent to Microsoft Office, and compatible with the same file formats, LibreOffice is a non-paid essential. It even does more: There’s a full database and a complex formula editor included.
7. Disk rescue: TestDisk
Whole drive letting you down? Mechanical disk giving you the click of death? TestDisk can ignore all the usual safeguards and filesystems in order to wade through the raw data, sector by sector, giving you one last chance to rescue your files.
8. File manager: Tablacus
Quite why Windows Explorer doesn’t have tabs in 2019 we don’t know, but Tablacus solves that problem: It’s a file manager that, yes, includes tabs. It also lets you tile folders in panes, and disable any components you don’t need.
9. Backup: Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is one of the most capable free backup packages there is. Send your files off to an external drive, send them to a network location, send them to an FTP server: whatever works.
The best free system cleaner for Windows 10: CCleaner (Image credit: Piriform)
10. System cleaner: CCleaner
- This is the best free software for any operating system
The Best Universal Windows 10 Apps
Windows 10 lets you easily install apps that run on all manner of devices: tablets, phones, PCs, and Xbox. These are our favorite Windows 10 UWP apps, and most of them are free.
With the arrival of Windows 10 Fall Creators update, it’s time to revisit the app store. What? An app store for PCs? That’s right, though many people may not realize it’s one of the highlights of Windows 10. The apps in the store are lightweight, touch-friendly, and can run either full-screen or windowed. Updates are handled automatically, and you can install apps purchased on multiple devices. In short, if you haven’t made the leap from Windows 7, you’re missing out on these perks.
Universal apps (more recently dubbed UWP apps, for Universal Windows Platform) have some other benefits over traditional PC programs, too. They can interact with Windows’ built-in notification and sharing features. UWP apps can display current info on live tiles in the Start menu—handy for things like weather, sports, and messaging. They are also vetted for security and quality, and run in their own sandboxes so as not to affect the rest of the operating system.
But the most appealing aspect of universal apps may be their ability to run on a wide variety of devices, from smartphones to tablets to laptops to powerful desktop PCs to game consoles and eventually the HoloLens 3D extended-reality headset. Let’s not forget the enormous Surface Hub business conferencing unit, either.
Getting a UWP app mean acquiring one app for all of these device types at once, from the same app store, called the Windows Store (where you also find games, music, movies, and TV shows). UWP apps make things easier for both the app developers and their consumers. Developers get to use about 80 percent of the same code regardless of the target platform, and users only have to acquire an app once, for all their devices.
Of course, a full PC app differs from a phone app and an Xbox app, hence the 20-percent difference in code. The unification also means that a developer can target the entire audience of several device types with (mostly) the code of one app. I tested all the apps listed below on a Surface Book running Windows 10 and a Lumia 950 running Windows 10 Mobile.
More and more in-demand apps are making their way into the Windows Store, as you can see from group below. Some major apps aren’t technically universal, however. For example, Spotify and the excellent Nook reading app only run on PCs and tablets, though they are still modern Windows apps.
Older apps are also being converted to Universal apps, and Microsoft offers tools for developers to ease the process. For example, several of the top Windows apps, including Facebook, Pandora, and Microsoft’s own OneDrive made the transition. I hope the trend continues. App providers that left the fold because they didn’t want to spend the development effort to create apps for the small percentage of Windows Phone users may be more enticed by reaching a potential Windows 10 PC, laptop, and tablet audience of more than 500 million.
The list below doesn’t include PC games, of which there are plenty in the Windows Store. In fact, the store is aligned with the Xbox Store. Games in the Store range from casuals like Crossy Road and Cut the Rope to top-notch drivers like Asphalt and Forza and shooters like Gears of War, Modern Combat, and Quantum Break. And of course, Minecraft is in there, too. I also left out apps that are bundled with Windows 10, such as OneNote, Skype, and Office Mobile, Outlook Mail, Calendar, Maps, and many more. And the classic Paint app, which is being replaced by Paint 3D, moves to the store with the advent of Fall Creators Update. To learn about our top picks among third-party universal Windows apps, read on.
Dropbox
Free, subscription fee for additional storage
Dropbox is probably less essential now that OneDrive is included with Windows and Windows Phone, but for users who’ve become accustomed to Dropbox, there’s a universal app. This excellent cloud storage and syncing app not only lets you download files from your Dropbox, but also lets you view documents and photos. You can favorite items by tapping a star, and the app can act as an auto-uploader for any photos shot on the device on which it’s installed.
Duolingo
Free
This popular language-learning app (and PCMag’s Editors’ Choice for free language-learning software) is now available as a Windows Universal app. Get the same drills you’ve come to expect on your PC, with 16 languages to choose from for English speakers. You get the same fun progression through difficulty levels, starting by simply choosing the picture of the word in the other language and hearing it spoken, then you move on to typing translations and more. Setup is super simple, to boot.
eBay
Free
The premier online auction house offers a simple Universal Windows app that does what you need it to. You can search for items with good filtering options, see items you’re watching, and sell items, all in a very clear, touchable interface. Of course, notifications about bidding activity in the Windows Action Center and sharing through the standard share panel are good reasons to use an app rather than the service’s perfectly serviceable website.
FourSquare
Free
Though I prefer Yelp overall, Foursquare has it beat in the Universal Windows app race. And Foursquare has a legion of devout users. The app doesn’t even require an account, but if you do become a regular user, it can learn your tastes. You can save favorite places, leave tips about them, or just like or dislike them. The fun, large tile design is eminently touchable and swipe-able, and Bing Maps integration means you’ll never have trouble finding your next palate-pleasing venue.
Facebook Messenger
Free
If you want all your messages on all your devices, no matter their operating system or size, it’s hard to do better than Facebook Messenger; it boasts apps for iOS, Android, Web, and Windows. The Windows Universal app features easy navigation between your conversations, along with media options like photos, voice recording, and GIFs. As with many Universal apps, integrated notifications are a big plus when it comes to messaging. It still lacks a couple of features found in the Web client, including video and voice calling and pasting of images.
Fresh Paint
Free, with in-app purchases
This drawing app has long been one of the most impressive Windows modern apps. It supports five multitouch finger points and offers realistic paint, watercolor, and pencil textures for your digital drawing. Packs of line drawings and cartoons offer prefab starting points in case you’re lacking inspiration. The Fun Pack is free, but the more artistic Variety Pack is a $1.49 in-app purchase, and the Adventure Pack, with its 24 character sketches and Friends Pack of mostly pets cost $1.99 each. Of course, you can just start finger or mouse painting on a blank page or a photo of your own, with a good variety of brush and pencil tips. You also get a choice of a dozen canvas and paper textures. Once you’re done, you can export your masterpiece to a PNG file or easily send it to email and social networks. This is a highly polished app, with impressively real-looking paint.
Netflix
Starts at $7.99 per month
The world’s best-known streaming video service now has a Universal Windows app for phone, tablet, and PC. Watch House of Cards and the rest, no matter what screen you’re near. This will be an even bigger deal when it’s also aligned with the Xbox app. The app remembers what you last left off watching, shows your List of movies and TV shows, and accommodates multiple profiles. Search for titles or browse through many genres, including cult movies, documentaries, and sci-fi/fantasy. You can even enable or disable subtitles and audio.
PicsArt
Free, with in-app purchases
This app offers perhaps the most ways to dress up digital images. You can work on pictures from your camera roll or online accounts. It’s a snap to add text, clipart, and endless effects to photos, or even start drawing from scratch. Collage creation is one of this app’s strengths, too. You even get Photoshop-style selection, masking, and tone curve adjustments. And there are enough filters to put Instagram to shame. Noise reduction, blemish fixing, blur effects—it’s the whole nine yards of digital photo manipulation.
Polarr
Free; Pro version $19.99
Polarr is an impressive, Lightroom-style photography app. It offers raw camera file import, lots of lighting and color adjustments, and a clear, touch-friendly interface. It also boasts a wealth of effect filters, and, if you get the paid Pro version, you can even create your own. A Guide mode is a great helper for showing you how to improve your digital photos.
TeamViewer: Remote Control
Free for personal use; corporate accounts start at $55
TeamViewer combines remote access and shared meeting features in a single secure app, and it hides most of its complexity under an elegant interface. It’s loaded with features and free for noncommercial use. TeamViewer is PCMag’s top pick for remote access software for enterprise and corporate use and it’s available on the Windows Store for PCs and mobiles, as well as for every other major platform.
TuneIn Radio
Free; $7.99 per month Premium account
TuneIn offers many kinds of listening experiences— get access to thousands of sources of music, talk, sports, and more audio goodness from everywhere on the globe. While the excellent Pandora streaming music service is considered «radio»—we all know it’s not real radio: just try finding talk or sports shows on it. The TuneIn Premium account level removes ads and adds live streaming of MLB, NBA, and NFL games, along with a large selection of audio books. TuneIn lets you tune into real radio, and there’s nothing that comes close to it in the Windows Store.
Twitter
Free
The Twitter Universal app supports everything you expect in a mobile app for the microblogging service, including multiple accounts, lists, video, pictures (with people tagging), and location. You can save drafts, edit your profiles, and choose between light and dark themes. The app will, of course, generate notifications, and you can set it up to display new tweets on the lock screen and Start menu tile. Account switching is nice, too, because who has just one Twitter account?
Viber
Viber
Free, with in-app purchases
Another excellent service in the communications genre, Viber offers Skype-like video calling and calling to standard telephones, but, unlike Skype and Facebook Messenger, it requires a mobile phone number and the app installed on that phone in order to work. You can also view public chats manned by celebrities or interest groups. And as with Facebook Messenger, there’s an extensive sticker market. Cool Windows 10 capability: the Viber app lets you reply to text messages right from the Action Center notification.
VLC
VLC
Free
The open-source multi-format video player comes to the Windows Store! VLC instantly finds and can play just about any kind of video or music on you PC or Windows Mobile device. Its interface is simple and clear. Just don’t expect all of the features of the traditional Windows VLC program, such as video effects and file conversion. It does let you add media folder locations, choose caption formats, and use hardware decoding, however. For music playback, VLC also offers 17 equalizer presets, from classical to techno.
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
Free
Windows’s included Weather app is perfectly serviceable, but if you want more bells and whistles, The Weather Channel has you covered. Easily access multiple locations, see animated weather maps, read weather news, and watch weather videos. The app can even notify you about severe weather, rain, or breaking news. The app takes advantage of Cortana voice control, so you can say to your computer «Show me forecast videos» or «Show me weather at work.»
WolframAlpha
$2.99
Vast amounts of scientific knowledge is embodied in this app, which is a must for students of not only mathematics, but also geology, astronomy, and biology. Compare areas, masses, and other dimensions using its massive store of data. There’s even information on music, words, health, nutrition, and transportation. You’d be amazed at some of the statistics available in the app, including movie ticket receipts for box-office hits and the probability of hitting it rich with your Mega Millions ticket.