Can freelancers use freeware?

I use freeware for my freelance audio and video editing work and though these programs aren’t as full-featured as licensed ones, they’re more than adequate for my needs.

I would assume the main issue would be compatibility with your employers’ software. Can any files you share be translated into their applications? Definitely worth exploring though.

I know for certain that GIMP allows saving into Photoshop’s native format, as one example. I’m downloading OpenOffice now, but I’m sure it allows Word formatting.

OpenOffice definitely will allow you to open, create, and save Word docs. I use Google Drive (Docs) for personal use and refuse to use Microsoft Office. I’ve never had any problems working with Word or Excel docs. If I need to edit them, I do so in Google Drive and then save them as Word or Excel.

@Seek_Kolinahr: “Would I have to disclose the use of freeware instead of Brand X?”

I can’t see why you would.

Edit: You might want to experiment a bit though. Do you have a friend who has Microsoft Office? You can try editing docs, complex formatting, tables, versions of Word, etc.

I know I can not do that.
I have to use the .max format, dreadful as the program may be, and unfortunately there is no freeware that can even open it.

I hired a jelly to do some freelance excel wooed for me and just the different versions of excel caused some formatting issues.
then I ended up going in a different direction anyway and didn’t need the work she did.

Most freeware will spell out very clearly in its licensing agreement (sometimes even on the download page before you even decide whether or not to evaluate it) whether it is “free for personal use” or “free for all use”.

Not to argue, but GIMP seems impossibly complicated even for a brilliant person such as myself. It has too many options and configurations. It’s a wonderful program, no doubt, but it was too much for me.

That doesn’t answer your question.

The real answer is this – if you’re going to be delivering your product (spreadsheet, presentation, document, etc.) to a client, you need to make sure that he will be able to read/use the format you supply.

So if your client gets crappy spreadsheets because YOU used LibreOffice and he used Excel, guess who isn’t going to get another contract?

Can you not write off the cost of proprietary software (in addition to many other home office costs) on your taxes?

For most things OpenOffice or Gimp will work fine. If you’re doing something complex with Office, then even having Apple’s suite or something along those lines won’t make it perfect if you have to convert it to Word, Excel, Access, etc. As @Judi noted, even a different versions of those pieces of software can cause problems.

But, most also have an open, compatible alternative, like .rtf for a document or a .csv file for data. They’s simpler but those will work across all software. I guess it really depends on what they’re asking for.

Personally I drop everything on Google Docs/Drive like @tom_g, that way they can see it right there and get edits right away. Never had complaints. Some people love it.

There’s also the option to get a short term subscription to software from Adobe or Microsoft now. It’s cheaper than buying it if it’s absolutely required to get the gig.

@glacial – expenses would just reduce your income, so you don’t pay taxes on it, but you still have to spend the loot as I understand it

I haven’t bought bread in two weeks. Believe me, I can’t afford it right now. Anyway, not the point.

It looks like the Office365 thing is free for the first month. And 10 bucks per month if you want to continue.

Maybe that is easier to swallow than a couple hundred up-front.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/home-premium/

In short, yes absolutely. Whatever creates a good product for your client will work. Also consider Google Docs (now known as google drive) where you can convert to word and excel and PDF and stuff. I use drive extensively.

Freeware and free software are actually two pretty vastly different things. “Freeware” usually implies proprietary software distributed for free (think WinAMP). “Free software” implies a license that protects users’ rights. GIMP is free software, not freeware. I think it’s not a problem to use freeware, for practical purposes, but be aware that freeware licenses sometimes restrict commercial use. “Free software,” according to the FSF, by definition allows commercial use, so it might actually be the safest option from a legal standpoint under many circumstances.

For the end user, the best licenses for software are those approved by the Free Software Foundation. The FSF’s own GNU General Public License is the most famous of these, but there are plenty of others. The ones marked as free software licenses should all allow you to use the software for free for commercial use as you wish. There are serious philosophical disputes about these licenses, but for practical purposes you’re legally safe using them.

Re downsides: besides wasted time, not many. Since you don’t need to pay for it, you can just stop using it if it doesn’t work for you.