Best Free and Open Source Alternatives to Adobe Connect

What if you are looking to move away from Adobe and embark on a new world of online freedom, where you are not tracked, monetised and attached to Adobe’s ecosystem. We only recommend free and open source alternatives. Our recommended software don’t necessarily replicate every feature of their Adobe counterparts but they offer sufficient functionality for many tasks.

Adobe is best known for Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat, but its catalogue also includes other products.

Adobe Connect is a platform for live training, webinars and online meetings, aimed at organisations that need more structure than a straightforward video call.

Hosts can prepare reusable virtual rooms, arrange presentations and interactive tools in different layouts, run polls and breakout sessions, and record what happens. Adobe provides a browser client for Linux, although there is no Linux desktop application. Connect remains proprietary, paid software.

The open source alternatives approach the job from different angles. Some are built for teaching, while others are better suited to webinars or everyday meetings. They can be hosted on Linux and used from a Linux browser. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.

1. BigBlueButton

BigBlueButton is my first choice for replacing Adobe Connect in a classroom or training programme. It was designed around the needs of instructors and students, with the presentation and the people taking part kept in view throughout a session.

Teachers can upload slides and documents, draw on a shared whiteboard, ask questions through polls and send groups into breakout rooms. Shared notes, chat and screen sharing give them other ways to keep a class involved. There is also a learning analytics dashboard showing attendance, participation and responses to polls.

BigBlueButton integrates with learning platforms including Moodle and supports session recording. Its education focus makes it the closest fit for structured online lessons, although running a server calls for more work than starting a meeting on a public service.

2. Apache OpenMeetings

Apache OpenMeetings is another substantial option for online classes, presentations and group meetings. It combines audio and video conferencing with whiteboards, chat, document sharing and tools for organising rooms and participants.

Presenters can bring documents into a whiteboard, manage the files available in a room and run polls. Moderators can control who is allowed to speak, share a screen or draw. Meetings can be recorded and downloaded as MP4 files, while the built-in calendar helps with scheduling.

There is a fair amount to set up on the server, including Java and the Kurento Media Server. In return, OpenMeetings gives you a broad set of conferencing tools under the Apache License, with plenty of control over the rooms you host.

3. Nextcloud Talk

Nextcloud Talk is worth considering if your organisation already uses Nextcloud for files, calendars and collaboration. It brings calls, persistent chats and webinars into the same self-hosted environment.

For presentations, a host can share a window or screen, control who may speak or share video, and hold guests in a lobby until the event begins. Breakout rooms and polls add some of the interaction expected from a virtual classroom. Nextcloud Whiteboard can also be used alongside a call.

Talk is particularly appealing when the meeting continues into work on shared documents and files. BigBlueButton has the stronger teaching toolkit, but Nextcloud Talk makes good use of an installation a team may already have.

4. Jitsi Meet

Jitsi Meet is the simplest choice here for getting a meeting under way. People can join in a browser on Linux, and organisations that want control of their service can host their own instance.

It covers the basics well: video, screen sharing, chat, hand raising and polls. Jitsi is a good fit for team presentations and smaller events where the host wants to send a link and get everyone talking without preparing a full virtual classroom.

For recurring courses with learning analytics and prepared lesson material, BigBlueButton offers more. If your main requirement is reliable open source video conferencing, Jitsi Meet is well worth a look.

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Alternatives to Adobe's Products
	Acrobat Reader is a multi-platform PDF reader. It lets users view, print, sign and comment on PDF documents.
	After Effects is digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing software used in the post-production process of film making, video games and television production.
	Animate is a multimedia authoring and computer animation. Animate is used to design vector graphics and animation for television series, online animation, websites, web applications, rich web applications, game development, and more.
	Audition is a digital audio workstation featuring both a multitrack, non-destructive mix/edit environment and a destructive-approach waveform editing view.
	Bridge is a creative asset manager that lets you preview, organise, edit and publish multiple creative assets quickly and easily.
	Character Animator is software that combines real-time live motion-capture with a multi-track recording system to control layered 2D puppets based on an illustration drawn in Photoshop or Illustrator.
	Connect is a platform for live training, webinars and online meetings, aimed at organisations that need more structure than a straightforward video call.
	Digital Editions is an e-book reader software program. It lets you acquire, manage, and read e-books, digital newspapers, and other digital publications.
	Dimension is 3D rendering and design software. It's designed to build brand visualizations, illustrations, product mockups and other creative work.
	Dreamweaver is a web development tool. It includes a code editor that supports syntax highlighting, code completion, real-time syntax checking, and code introspection for generating code hints to assist the user in writing code.
	Fill & Sign lets users fill out PDF documents on a smartphones and tablet and share them directly with others.
	Firefly is software which uses generative AI and simple text prompts to generate images. Its Firefly generative AI models are trained on licensed content, such as Adobe Stock, along with public domain content where copyright has expired, and images from Wikimedia.
	FrameMaker is a document processor designed for writing and editing large or complex documents, including structured documents.
	Fresco is a vector and raster drawing and painting app. It's primarily used for digital painting by artists, illustrators, animators, and sketchers.
	Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design tool. The software lets you create everything from web and mobile graphics to logos, icons, book illustrations, product packaging, and billboards.
	InCopy is a professional word processor that integrates with InDesign. The software enables editors to write, edit, and design documents.
	Indesign is a desktop publishing and page layout designing application. The software is used to create posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books and ebooks
	Lightroom is a creative image organization and image manipulation. Its main uses include importing/saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images.
	Lightroom Classic is a creative image organization and image manipulation software. This photo editing app is optimised for the desktop.
	Media Encoder is an encoding engine for Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, and Adobe Character Animator.
	Photoshop is a raster graphics editor with multiple layers, masks, alpha compositing. It edits and composes raster images in multiple layers and supports masks, alpha compositing and several color models.
	Photoshop Express is a mobile and Windows app made for all-in-one photo editing and sharing.
	Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing tool. It is geared towards professional video editing.
	RoboHelp is a help authoring tool designed for creating and publishing online help, knowledge bases, policies and procedures, user guides, and other technical content.
	Scan provides a portable scanner that recognizes text automatically (OCR) and allows you to save to multiple files formats including PDF and JPEG.
	Substance 3D Designer is a material authoring application. It uses a node-based workflow to create procedural textures, seamless materials, patterns, image filters and environment lighting.
	XD is a prototyping tool for user experience and interaction designers. Adobe XD features are used for creating wireframes, prototypes, and screen designs for digital products.