Linux is one of the top 3 operating systems and is progressing by leaps and bounds. Many apps have been created for Linux or made compatible with Linux thanks to its noticeable number of keen followers. If you are new to Linux or want to explore the options you have, then you should check out some downloadable apps available for Linux. If you are ready, here are our picks of 15 of the best apps for Linux.
Linux can a bit overwhelming especial if you are using it for the first time. So, to make things smoother for you, here are some best Linux app you should try after a fresh install.
Table of Contents
Must-Have Apps on Ubuntu
1. Autokey
A text expansion app is the best tool to boost productivity and Autokey for Linux is a great simple text expansion app. It allows you set hotkeys or abbreviations for frequently used phrases or scripts to quickly input them when required. You can use it to quickly write repeated emails, enter repeated code lines and even frequently used complex words.
2. LibreOffice
LibreOffice is the best alternative to Microsoft Office suit and comes pre-installed on many Linux distros. It has all the features you can expect from an office suit, be it creating presentations, spreadsheets, and documents etc. Best of all it plays really well with Microsoft Office tools, so you can easily use it and exchange files with users using Microsoft Office applications.
3. Pidgin
Pidgin is an instant messaging client that lets you chat with your friends on different IM services. Some of the supported apps include AIM, Bonjour, MSN, Yahoo!, XMPP and Google Talk, etc. However, its real power comes with the plethora of third-party plugins that let you do almost anything. You can get Facebook Chat, LINE, OkCupid, Slack, Skype, Tox, WhatsApp and much more. You can also get many plugins to enhance functionality.
4. VLC Media Player
VLC is one of the most popular media player on almost every platform, and it is especially popular in the Linux community, partly due to the fact that there are no better alternatives and VLC can play and format. You to run almost any type of video format (I’m yet to be disappointed). You can stream live videos, get complete control over audio/video/subtitles, edit video, compress content and a whole lot more.
5. GIMP
Photoshop is the considered the best photo editing app, but GIMP is the only photo editing app that actually gets closest to Photoshop – and it’s free! GIMP can almost all types of editing that Photoshop can do and that most users need. Although it does have a little learning curve, but its amazing community has created handy tutorials to get you started.
6. WineHQ
This app is a blessing for Windows users who have switched to Linux but are missing the apps they could use on Windows. WineHQ makes many of Windows apps usable on Linux without any loss in performance or features. It still can’t let you use all of the Windows apps, but most of the popular ones are supported. As of writing, over 24,250 apps are supported. You can check WineHQ app database to check whether your favorite app is supported or not.
7. Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is considered the best free email client and comes right after Outlook when it comes to popularity. It makes it astonishingly easy to setup your email accounts and has a clean interface to manage multiple email accounts. Furthermore, it is highly customizable thanks to its support for add-ons and themes.
8. OpenShot
OpenShot is the only video editing tool you may ever need on your Linux PC. It is extremely easy to use yet versatile enough to do almost all of the required video editing. It has extensive format support, you can add unlimited layers, make video transitions, 3D effects and much much more.
9. qBittorrent
qBittorrent is solely created to replicate the popular torrent client uTorrent to have an open-source alternative that is functional and free. If you need to download torrents, then qBittorrent is a good choice. It has a simple interface and has all the advanced features such as control over trackers, peers, and torrent or ability to create torrents.
10. TeamViewer
The popular desktop sharing application TeamViewer also supports Linux along with other operating systems. Whether you need to assist someone on their PC or have a meeting, TeamViewer is the perfect cross-platform tool to share desktop and do video calls.
11. KeePass
A password manager is a must tool for anyone to ensure they have strong passwords on their accounts and easily manage them. And KeePass is the best open-source password manager that offers great security and reliable management features. You can use both a master password and a file key to lock your passwords and keep the data in the cloud or locally to take it with you everywhere.
12. Ultracopier
Ultracopier is basically a replacement for the built-in copy/paste feature to take full control over the copy dialog. You can use it to pause/play copying data as you wish, automatically resume or errors, solve basics errors and manage the speed of each copy dialog in case you are copying multiple files. A must have an ability for anyone who needs to move data a lot.
13. VeraCrypt
If you have sensitive data on your hard drive, then you should definitely encrypt it to make it impossible for anyone to access it. VeraCrypt is a handy encryption tool to easily create an encrypted partition and do full disk encryption. It even has features to fool people (authorities to be precise) into giving up fake data and hiding the real data.
14. KeepNote
A simple note taking the app to create fully formatted notes and manage them. You can create multimedia notes, add links, backup data, take screenshots and much more. It automatically organizes your notes based on categories and its universal search makes it a snap to look for required notes.
15. uGet
uGet is a comprehensive download manager that has a sleek interface and extensive list of features. You can queue downloads, pause/resume downloads, auto-categorize downloads, schedule downloads and much more. uGet also speeds up download speeds up to 5 times by creating 16 connections with the server.
Wrapping Up
So these were some of the best apps for Linux that are totally free and offer amazing features. Some of the Linux distros already have few of these apps installed by default, such as LibreOffice or VLC media player. Although, if your’s is lacking, then do give them a try. I personally use VeraCrypt, VLC media player, GIMP and Mozilla Thunderbird, which one of these apps you use?
