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Alternatives to Windows Apps
A list of cross-platform replacements for Windows apps which work in Zorin OS.
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Some apps are currently not able to run in Zorin OS and Linux, or as web apps in a web browser. For the best experience, we recommend that you use alternatives to these apps which work cross-platform.
The following are a few examples of cross-platform alternatives to Windows apps. Most of them can be installed from the Software store in Zorin OS.
Tip
Many of the alternative apps listed below are free and released under Open Source licenses (marked with the
symbol). Switching to Open Source software can help you to reduce or even eliminate licensing costs for the software you use.
Office
Windows app | Cross-platform app |
---|---|
Microsoft Office/365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) | LibreOffice Microsoft 365 (in a web browser) WPS Office SoftMaker FreeOffice Google Docs (in a web browser) |
Microsoft Outlook | Evolution Thunderbird Mailspring Microsoft Outlook (in a web browser) Hiri BlueMail |
Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams (in a web browser) Zoom Jitsi Meet Jami Google Meet (in a web browser) Skype BlueJeans |
Microsoft OneNote | Logseq Xournal++ Joplin Obsidian |
Microsoft Publisher Adobe InDesign Affinity Publisher | LibreOffice Draw Scribus |
Adobe Acrobat Nitro PDF | Evince Document Viewer LibreOffice Draw |
Autodesk AutoCAD SOLIDWORKS | FreeCAD LibreCAD Autodesk AutoCAD (in a web browser) DraftSight BricsCAD SketchUp (in a web browser) |
Graphics & Reading
Windows app | Cross-platform app |
---|---|
Adobe Photoshop Affinity Photo Paint.NET PaintShop Pro | GNU Image Manipulation Program Krita Pinta Photopea (in a web browser) |
Adobe Illustrator Affinity Designer | Inkscape Figma (in a web browser) Gravit Designer |
Adobe Lightroom | Darktable RawTherapee |
Sketchbook | Krita MyPaint |
Amazon Kindle | Kindle Cloud Reader (in a web browser) Foliate calibre |
Sound & Video
Windows app | Cross-platform app |
---|---|
Adobe Premiere Pro VEGAS Pro | Kdenlive Shotcut DaVinci Resolve Lightworks |
Autodesk 3ds Max Cinema 4D | Blender Autodesk Maya Foundry Modo |
Adobe After Effects | Natron Blender |
Ableton Live FL Studio Adobe Audition | Ardour LMMS Bitwig Studio REAPER |
Streamlabs Desktop XSplit Broadcaster | OBS Studio |
Apple Music | Cider Apple Music (in a web browser) |
System Tools
Windows app | Cross-platform app |
---|---|
Microsoft Phone Link | Zorin Connect |
Remote Desktop | Remmina TeamViewer Chrome Remote Desktop (in Google Chrome) AnyDesk NoMachine |
Microsoft Hyper-V | VirtualBox Boxes VMware Workstation Player or Workstation Pro |
Internet Explorer | Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge (with Internet Explorer mode) Google Chrome Brave Vivaldi Opera |
Other apps
You can search for alternatives to many other apps on AlternativeTo.net.
Because Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu and Linux, please make sure to find alternative apps that are natively compatible with Ubuntu and Linux.