Science & Technology

10 Github Repos That Will Kill Your Monthly Subscriptions

by The Next New Thing

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📚 main topics

  • Notion alternative: AppFlowyAppFlowy is an open-source workspace with documents, wikis, notes, databases, Kanban boards, templates, and AI features. You can self-host it for free or use the company’s hosted plan. 1:02
  • Google Photos alternative: ImmichImmich offers self-hosted photo backups, facial recognition, search, and map and date browsing. Self-hosting means you’re responsible for keeping your own backups. 2:34
  • DocuSign alternative: DocumensoDocumenso provides document signing, PDF signatures, and a self-hosted audit trail, offering more control over documents than a signing service. 4:05
  • Miro alternative: ExcalidrawExcalidraw is an open-source whiteboard that you can use in a browser without an account, or embed and build upon. Hosting live collaboration yourself takes more work than running the editor. 6:09
  • Figma alternative: PenpotPenpot is an open-source design tool that uses web standards and gives developers free access to inspect designs and get usable code. The host cautions that teams should be ready for potential debugging issues. 9:14
  • Calendly alternative: cal.comcal.com offers customizable booking pages, calendar integrations, and self-hosting, while keeping enterprise features outside the open-source offering. 10:48
  • Mailchimp alternative: ListmonkListmonk lets you manage subscribers and campaigns without a per-subscriber fee, but you must arrange email delivery and handle deliverability and compliance. 12:24
  • Bitly alternative: DubDub combines custom-domain short links with analytics, conversion tracking, and affiliate program features. Most of its code is open source, with some enterprise features under a separate commercial license. 14:27
  • TeamViewer alternative: RustDeskRustDesk is an open-source remote desktop tool with support for major desktop and mobile platforms, file transfer, and a self-hosted relay. Self-hosting also means you’re responsible for resolving service issues. 16:34
  • Wispr Flow alternative: Fluid VoiceFluid Voice runs speech-to-text on your computer and offers a live preview while you dictate. The host highlights its customization and notes that Windows availability was being rolled out. 18:38

    ✨ key takeaways

  • Open source enables customizationThese GitHub projects can be used as-is, self-hosted, or adapted with AI coding tools to make a product that better fits your needs. 0:00

  • Free software still has trade-offsSome projects have hosted or enterprise plans, and self-hosting can require you to manage backups, email delivery, or infrastructure yourself. 3:35
  • Consider control and privacyKeeping photos, documents, remote connections, or voice input on systems you control can reduce reliance on third-party services, but also shifts responsibility to you. 5:07

    🧠 lessons learned

  • Check what the open-source version includesSome products reserve enterprise capabilities for paid plans, so confirm that the features you need are actually available. 11:21

  • Account for operational workRunning your own service can save subscription costs, but may involve maintenance, compliance, backup planning, or troubleshooting. 12:56
  • Choose based on your use caseAn open-source alternative may not be a one-for-one replacement, and the right choice depends on your willingness to manage it and your team’s needs. 9:45

    🏁 conclusion/next steps

  • Explore the repositoriesThe host encourages viewers to check out the linked projects, try the tools, and adapt them to personal or work needs. 21:44

  • Share other projectsViewers are invited to suggest additional GitHub projects and subscribe for more repository-focused videos. 22:14

Transcript excerpt

0:00 I'm going to give you 10 replacements to 10 popular apps that so many people are paying for, but this is about more than just free versus paid. This is about the ability to actually build. We're talking about every one of these is on GitHub, which means that you can do what many people who watch my past GitHub shows have done. They take the source code, they throw it at Codex or Claude or whatever, and they say, "I want you to take that feature and make it into a product that's meant for me." Or I want you to take that feature and add it to a product I'm working on. Or I want you to take this whole thing and build it for me, but with these tweaks. So, this is about free, yes, but it's also about tools that you can build yourself to

0:31 your own personal needs. Timestamps and links to everything below. Let's get into it. Presented by Zapier, the AI automation company. And the very first one, Notion versus AppFlowy. Notion, great document manager, right? But with Notion, your company's memory lives in Notion. Every decision your team made is in Notion. Every spec, every retro, every this, every that is all in Notion. And if you're using it for personal reasons, all that stuff is in there, too. And then Notion charges you 10 bucks per seat per month to keep accessing it. Then $20 for business. And

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