Free tools that might save you a ticket — or the joy of hearing me explain it over the phone

Free tools you may find useful, or enjoy — no cost, no accounts you don't need, no affiliate links. If something here fixes it, that's a win — and if it doesn't, that's what I'm here for. Not sure where to start? Just get in touch from the link below and I'll point you the right way.

Pick a category below, or "All" for full selection.

Instant file search across your whole drive.

Free, open-source file archiver — zip, unzip, and more.

Visualise what's eating your disk space.

Lightning-fast filename search for Windows.

Manage and convert ebooks between formats.

LibreOffice ↗

Free, full-featured office suite.

Send files between your own devices over local Wi-Fi, no cloud or account needed.

Free, lightweight text and code editor — a proper step up from Notepad.

Free, open-source screenshot and screen recording tool.

Free, open-source remote desktop — what I use myself for remote support.

qBittorrent ↗

Clean, ad-free torrent client.

Free, open-source Usenet downloader with a clean web interface — the most widely used option.

Lightweight, fast Usenet downloader — a good pick for lower-powered hardware or servers.

Meta-search across your Usenet indexers in one place.

Make a bootable USB without reformatting it every time.

CrystalDiskInfo ↗

Check your drive's health before it fails on you.

Reliable bootable USB creation tool.

Free file and data recovery for accidentally deleted files.

Malwarebytes (Free) ↗

A solid second opinion alongside your antivirus.

Security & Privacy

Free, open-source disk and file encryption.

Security & Privacy

Private mesh network for securely connecting your own devices, wherever they are.

Security & Privacy

Free, cross-platform password manager — also self-hostable.

Security & Privacy

Proton Mail ↗

Encrypted email from the makers of ProtonVPN.

Security & Privacy

Encrypted email with custom domain support.

Security & Privacy

Private-Mail ↗

Privacy-focused email hosting.

Security & Privacy

The classic media server — note: lifetime pricing is no longer good value.

A solid Plex alternative for streaming your own media.

Free, open-source, and fully self-hosted media server.

Genuinely free tier, built-in ad/tracker blocker — fine for light use, not for streaming or heavy usage.

Genuinely free tier, no data cap but slower speeds — fine for light use, not for streaming or heavy usage.

Plays almost anything you throw at it.

Full home-theatre media centre software.

Media Player Classic ↗

An old Microsoft player that's still genuinely underrated.

DaVinci Resolve ↗

A must-have if you're doing any video editing.

Free video converter for re-encoding and shrinking files.

Free screen recording and streaming software.

Blackmagic Desktop Video ↗

Drivers for Blackmagic capture cards — pairs directly with OBS.

Exact Audio Copy ↗

Bit-perfect CD ripping with verification against an online database.

Fast, lightweight image viewer and basic editor.

Professional-grade photo, design, and layout tools.

Free, open-source image editor — a genuine Photoshop alternative.

Mullvad Browser ↗

Privacy-focused browser from the Mullvad VPN team.

Zen Browser (Beta) ↗

Modern, customisable browser — still in beta.

Privacy-hardened Firefox fork, no telemetry.

uBlock Origin ↗

Free, open-source ad and tracker blocker extension.

Encrypted cloud storage with a generous free tier.

Clean, straightforward cloud storage.

Cloud storage with a lifetime plan option.

Customisable DNS filtering — block ads, trackers, and malicious sites.

Free-tier DNS filtering with detailed analytics and controls.

Free, privacy-focused public DNS that blocks known malicious domains.

GOG Free Classics ↗

A rotating shelf of officially, permanently free games — not trials.

Puzzles & Games

Free, open-source remake of Transport Tycoon Deluxe.

Puzzles & Games

Battle for Wesnoth ↗

Free, open-source turn-based strategy game.

Puzzles & Games

Free, open-source real-time strategy game.

Puzzles & Games

Completely free, open-source chess — no ads, no paywall.

Puzzles & Games

Free tier chess with a large community, optional paid membership.

Puzzles & Games

Free, ad-supported sudoku, plenty of difficulty levels.

Puzzles & Games

Free, open-source sliding tile puzzle.

Puzzles & Games

Free, ad-supported solitaire — Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, and more.

Puzzles & Games

CardGames.io ↗

Free collection of classic card games — hearts, euchre, spades, and more.

Puzzles & Games

247 Solitaire ↗

Free, ad-supported, wide range of solitaire variants.

Puzzles & Games

Free, one puzzle a day, no account needed.

Puzzles & Games

Jigsaw Planet ↗

Free jigsaw puzzles, huge library, adjustable piece count.

Puzzles & Games

Puzzle Baron ↗

Free logic puzzles, cryptograms, and variety puzzles.

Puzzles & Games

Nonograms.org ↗

Free picture logic puzzles (nonograms/griddlers).

Puzzles & Games

Free, ad-supported movies and TV — no account needed to start watching.

Free, ad-supported live channels plus an on-demand library.

The Roku Channel ↗

Free, ad-supported movies, shows, and live channels.

Free, ad-supported anime and video content, with an optional premium tier.

No tools match that search.

In a hurry? Skip straight to getting in touch

Get in touch