Affinity’s move to free tier is a big deal, and Apple ships a genuinely capable app suite out of the box. And yet seven open-source apps still earn a permanent spot on every one of our Macs. These are the tools that outlast subscription cycles, keep working when a vendor pivots, and hold up next to their commercial counterparts on file compatibility, feature depth, and long-term reliability.
What to look for in an open-source macOS app
- Native Apple Silicon build. Rosetta-only apps still work but eat power. The best open-source projects ship native ARM binaries alongside Intel builds.
- File-format parity with the commercial standard. An open-source suite that cannot open the format your collaborators use is a partial solution.
- Signed, notarized packages. Unsigned .dmg installs work around Gatekeeper but produce a frustrating first-run experience. Look for projects that pay for Apple’s notarization step.
- An active maintainer and community. Open-source projects fade quickly without active maintainers. A recent release and a healthy issue tracker are non-negotiable.
- No telemetry surprises. The whole point of open source is that you know what the app does. Check the settings for any opt-out you should flip.
- Reasonable macOS integration. Menu bar, keyboard shortcuts, drag-and-drop, and dark mode all matter. An app that ignores macOS conventions is a chore to use.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Native Apple Silicon | Free | License | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LibreOffice | Office suite | Yes | Yes | MPL 2.0 | 4.5 |
| GIMP | Bitmap image editor | Yes (3.0+) | Yes | GPL | 4.3 |
| Inkscape | Vector graphics | Yes | Yes | GPL | 4.4 |
| OBS Studio | Live streaming and recording | Yes | Yes | GPL | 4.7 |
| Krita | Digital painting | Yes | Yes | GPL | 4.6 |
| Handbrake | Video encoding | Yes | Yes | GPL | 4.5 |
| IINA | Media player | Yes | Yes | GPL | 4.7 |
The 7 best open-source apps for macOS in 2026
1. LibreOffice – best open-source office suite
LibreOffice by The Document Foundation is the mature open-source counter to Microsoft 365 and Apple iWork. Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and Base cover documents, spreadsheets, presentations, vector graphics, and databases. File compatibility with .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx has been solid for years, though very complex Word documents still round-trip imperfectly.
The 2026 releases are the first to run natively on Apple Silicon with real speed improvements. The Notebookbar UI mode makes the app feel closer to modern Microsoft Office if you dislike the classic toolbar look.
Where it falls short: No real-time collaboration in the same league as Google Docs. Impress presentations look dated next to Keynote.
Pricing: Free, MPL 2.0 licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: libreoffice.org
Bottom line: The default pick if you want a real office suite without a subscription and can accept a slightly clunkier real-time collaboration story.
2. GIMP – best open-source bitmap image editor
GIMP hit its 3.0 milestone in 2025 with a proper native Apple Silicon build, non-destructive editing (finally), and the long-awaited GEGL-based pipeline. The gap to Photoshop for most photo editing tasks has narrowed enough that most non-professional photo work can happen in GIMP without regret.
Where it falls short: No real Adobe Camera Raw equivalent. Text rendering is still weaker than commercial competitors. The UI still requires some learning if you come from a Photoshop background.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: gimp.org/downloads/
Bottom line: The pick for a real bitmap editor when Affinity Photo’s free tier is not enough or when licensing terms matter.
3. Inkscape – best open-source vector graphics
Inkscape is the open-source vector editor that most designers reach for when Illustrator is not available. SVG is the native format, which makes exports for web and print reliable. The 2026 release added a native macOS ARM build with proper touch bar support and stopped requiring XQuartz.
Where it falls short: Text-on-path handling is weaker than Illustrator. Some SVG filters render slower than their commercial equivalents.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: inkscape.org/release/
Bottom line: The pick for anyone who needs a vector editor without a Creative Cloud subscription.
4. OBS Studio – best open-source streaming and recording
OBS Studio is not just the best open-source streaming and recording app, it is the standard the commercial competitors are measured against. Scene composition, plugin ecosystem, multi-source layouts, and NDI over network all work on macOS without paying for a Twitch or YouTube tier.
The 2026 Apple Silicon build finally matches the Windows performance for hardware-encoded output.
Where it falls short: Steep initial setup. Some plugins are Windows-only and have no macOS equivalent yet.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: obsproject.com/download
Bottom line: The default for anyone recording or streaming from a Mac, professional or otherwise.
5. Krita – best open-source digital painting
Krita is the open-source app that digital painters actually use in production. Brush engines, layer effects, animation timeline, and support for Wacom and Apple Pencil (via Sidecar) all work well. The 2026 release added proper Apple Pencil pressure and tilt on iPads paired to a Mac.
Where it falls short: Photo-editing workflow is weaker than GIMP. File format support outside Krita’s own .kra format is narrower than expected.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: krita.org/en/download/
Bottom line: The pick for illustration and digital painting on a Mac, especially with an iPad as a drawing surface.
6. Handbrake – best open-source video encoding
Handbrake handles the specific problem of “I have a video file and I need it to be a smaller video file in a different format.” The 2026 build uses Apple’s VideoToolbox for hardware encoding on Apple Silicon, and the difference is dramatic: a 4K H.265 encode that used to take an hour now runs in under fifteen minutes on an M3 Pro.
Where it falls short: No editing features, only encoding. The UI takes a session to learn.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux
Download: handbrake.fr/downloads.php
Bottom line: The default for any Mac user who ever needs to convert or compress a video file.
7. IINA – best open-source media player
IINA is a Mac-native media player built on top of mpv. It plays every file format that mpv can decode, feels like a native macOS app rather than a cross-platform port, and integrates with the Touch Bar, Picture-in-Picture, and Sidecar. This is the app that finally replaces VLC on modern Macs.
Where it falls short: No native DVD chapter navigation. Some subtitle format edge cases still need manual tweaking.
Pricing: Free, GPL licensed
Platforms: macOS
Download: iina.io
Bottom line: The default video player for any Mac. Install it once and never think about VLC again.
How to pick the right one
- If you need an office suite that opens .docx and .xlsx: LibreOffice.
- If you need a full bitmap image editor beyond what Affinity gives you: GIMP.
- If you need vector graphics: Inkscape.
- If you need to stream or record from your Mac: OBS Studio.
- If you paint digitally: Krita.
- If you convert or compress video files: Handbrake.
- If you play video files on your Mac: IINA.
- Stay on the Apple defaults (Pages, Keynote, Photos, Preview) if you never leave the Apple ecosystem and never trade files with Windows or Linux users.
FAQ
Are these apps really free?
Yes. Every app on this list is open source under GPL or MPL and free to install and use for personal or commercial projects. Donations are always welcome but never required.
Do they all run on Apple Silicon?
Yes. As of 2026 every app on this list ships a native Apple Silicon build. Older versions may run under Rosetta 2, but the current releases run natively for full performance.
Is GIMP 3 finally good enough to replace Photoshop?
For non-professional photo editing and most creative work, yes. GIMP 3 added non-destructive editing, better color management, and a native Apple Silicon build. Professional retouchers who rely on Adobe-specific plugins or the full ACR pipeline will still lean on Photoshop, but for most people GIMP now covers 90% of what Photoshop does.
Why use LibreOffice when Affinity is free and iWork ships with macOS?
Different problems. Affinity is design-focused, not office-focused. iWork’s Numbers and Pages have limited compatibility with the Microsoft formats most workplaces still use. LibreOffice opens and edits .docx and .xlsx files with fewer round-trip issues than either.
Are there any macOS-native open-source alternatives to Notion or Obsidian?
Obsidian itself is free but not open source. For open-source note-taking on macOS, look at Joplin, Logseq, or AppFlowy, all of which have native Apple Silicon builds and mature communities.
