COVER FEATURE
BEST FREE DOWNLOADS FOR 2025
Get more for less in the new year by grabbing the web’s best freebies. Robert Irvine recommends 21 brilliant new programs, apps and downloads that won’t cost you a penny
Over the past 12 months, the tech giants have seemed determined to annoy and disappoint their loyal users.
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix and even the BBC have made controversial and unpopular decisions that range from raising prices and displaying more ads to removing features we rely on and stuffing their products with AI gimmicks. Thankfully, some companies and individual developers have adopted an approach that’s more altruistic than these ‘pay more for less’ and ‘put up or shut up’ tactics. In fact, lots of great stuff became available for free in 2024 – or soon will be in 2025 – to help us save money rather than spend more.
This includes brilliant PC software that rivals the features of expensive paid-for programs; innovative mobile apps that don’t collect and share your personal data; and an array of interesting books, videos, photos and audio you can download for free without infringing anyone’s copyright.
However, because many of these freebies originate from independent developers and non-profit organisations – rather than stingy ‘Big Tech’ – they often go unnoticed.
In this feature, we recommend the best free software, apps and content you should download in 2025. All our choices have special relevance and usefulness for the year ahead, and will hopefully make the next 12 months more rewarding than the last.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Try new versions of powerful photo and video software
• Block ads and trackers across all software on your PC
• Replace tools Microsoft has removed from Windows
• Beat the new restrictions on downloading videos
• Switch to more private versions of mobile apps
• Download copyright-free books, movies, images and audio files
10 BEST FREE PROGRAMS TO DOWNLOAD IN 2025
1
Get advanced image-editing
tools
for free
This time last year, in our ‘Best free downloads for 2024’ Cover Feature (Issue 672), we said version 3.0 of the free image editor GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program, www gimp.org) was “almost certain to be released in 2024”. Our prediction was slightly premature, but we’re confident that GIMP 3.0 will appear in 2025.
In fact, you can already download an early ‘release candidate’ version of the updated software from www.snipca. com/52765. This offers lots of new features and improvements that make GIMP an even stronger rival to Adobe Photoshop.
These include a new Welcome screen (see screenshot above right), which addresses the issue of GIMP’s steep learning curve by making it easier to customise the program’s interface, open recent files and create new images.
GIMP 3.0 also introduces ‘nondestructive’ editing, which allows you to undo specific changes to image elements without losing subsequent edits, and auto-resizing layers that adjust their dimensions to align with your images. Additionally, the new version improves GIMP’s colour and font management, adds new filters and refines the Stroke Selection options for working with paint and brush tools.
GIMP 3.0’s new Welcome screen makes it easier to get started with the image editor
2 Try the long-awaited
new
version of VLC
VLC Media Player’s slow development makes GIMP’s look like Usain Bolt. It’s nearly seven years since VLC 3.0 was released and, though there have been incremental updates, many users have given up hope on ever seeing VLC 4.0.
That long-awaited new version should finally arrive in 2025, and is available to preview now by downloading a ‘nightly’ build (aimed at developers) from www. snipca.com/52768. Click the download link for your version of Windows (32bit, 64bit or ARM), then the latest build and select the EXE or ZIP file.
VLC warns that “nightly builds are UNSTABLE and may not work at all”, but if you’re impatient to see what’s new in VLC they’re safe to try (though may trigger a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warning). Note that this will upgrade your current version of the media player, but you can always reinstall it afterwards.
VLC 4.0 has a radically revamped interface, which ditches the old menus in favour of a more minimal and modern design. This features separate tabs for Video, Music and Discover (for network streams), and the option to switch between a grid and list view when browsing files. New features include a much-requested dark mode, a customisable toolbar, a media library and improved support for 360-degree videos.