Category guide · 10 comparisons

Open-source creative app alternatives

Explore free and open-source projects for capturing, editing, converting, and publishing visual or written work on a Mac.

Setapp apps
10
Recommendations
30
Unique projects
27

Showing 10 Create apps · sorted by selection rank

Explore create apps

Downie

Download YouTube videos

Create
1 Open Video Downloader Top pick AGPL-3.0-only 9.0k ★
2 yt-dlp Unlicense 185.3k ★
3 yt-dlp GUI MIT 220 ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Permute

Convert audio, images, and videos

Create
1 Shutter Encoder Top pick GPL-3.0-only 2.7k ★
2 HandBrake GPL-2.0 +2 24.1k ★
3 FFmpeg LGPL-2.1-or-later 63.4k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Nitro PDF Pro

Work with your PDFs

Create
1 LibreOffice Top pick GPL-3.0-only 4.2k ★
2 Okular GPL-2.0-or-later 1.5k ★
3 PDFsam Basic AGPL-3.0-only 4.5k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Ulysses

Write and publish from one app

Create
1 Zettlr Top pick GPL-3.0-only 13.4k ★
2 novelWriter GPL-3.0-only 3.1k ★
3 Joplin AGPL-3.0-or-later 56.0k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Craft

Create and structure documents

Create
1 AppFlowy Top pick AGPL-3.0-only 75.7k ★
2 Joplin AGPL-3.0-or-later 56.0k ★
3 Logseq AGPL-3.0-only 44.5k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

MindNode Classic

Mind map and brainstorm ideas

Create
1 Freeplane Top pick GPL-2.0-only 4.3k ★
2 VYM - View Your Mind GPL-2.0 189 ★
3 Mindolph GPL-3.0-only 199 ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Folx

Download videos and torrents

Create
1 AB Download Manager Top pick Apache-2.0 17.3k ★
2 Persepolis Download Manager GPL-3.0-only 7.4k ★
3 qBittorrent GPL-3.0-or-later 39.5k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Pulltube

Download and trim videos

Create
1 Open Video Downloader Top pick AGPL-3.0-only 9.0k ★
2 ytDownloader GPL-3.0-only 10.2k ★
3 yt-dlp Unlicense 185.3k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

PDF Squeezer

Compress PDFs without quality loss

Create
1 FS PDF Compressor Top pick AGPL-3.0-only 6 ★
2 Ghostscript AGPL-3.0-or-later 266 ★
3 pdfcpu Apache-2.0 8.8k ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

Boom 3D

Boost volume and audio quality

Create
1 FineTune Top pick GPL-3.0-only 8.7k ★
2 SystemEQ for Mac GPL-3.0-only 18 ★
3 Equaliser GPL-3.0-only 59 ★
Evidence · Aug 18, 2026 Compare all three

About this category

This collection covers screenshot capture, photo editing, video downloading and conversion, PDF workflows, compression, and long-form writing. Creative replacements rarely match a commercial app feature for feature, so every shortlist pairs capabilities with license details, project status, platforms, and specific caveats to make the trade-offs visible.