The tools I use and why I chose them

May 19, 2026

There are lots of software out there. I happen to have a bit of a habit of not using the market leaders or obvious options, so I figured I'd compile a list of what applications I actually use, why I chose them, and in some cases why I didn't go with the obvious alternative.

My goal is to keep this updated over time.

An overall guiding principle is that I don't pick the popular one because it's popular, I pick the tools I like. Crazy concept, I know. I've also been trying to move away from the US tech giants for multiple reasons, which, yes, is possible if challenging at times.

Browser: Vivaldi

Market leader: Chrome Common alternative: Firefox

I stare at a browser for a good chunk of the day. I want it to run the way I want. And Vivaldi has a crazy amount of customization allowing me to run it the way I want to. Things like tiled pages and the sidebar really come in handy. The browser used to run somewhat slower than the competition, but that's improved quite a bit over the years.

Why not Firefox? I stepped away from it around version 29, the Australis release, as I didn't really liked how it looked and never came back. It's improved in the past years and would probably be the one I'd use if Vivaldi didn't exist.

Email client: eM Client

Market leader: Outlook (Gmail doesn't count) Common alternative: Thunderbird

I wrote a detailed post about the email client options, so I'll keep this section short. The new Outlook that's being promoted is terrible. Thunderbird only really works well for email, while the other sections (calendar, contacts, chat, ...) all have very rough edges. eM Client works really well for my work flow and I've been very satisfied with it, even if it's not an open source option like so many entries I've listed here.

Office suite: OnlyOffice

Market leader: Microsoft Office Common alternative: LibreOffice

This is tentative as I'm still testing it as of May 2026, but so far I'm really liking OnlyOffice. It's speedy and focused on compatibility with Microsoft's option, so I can easily swap files with other people without running into major formatting issues. It's available on all the platforms I use. I'm still waiting to see if I'll run into any limitations while working with it.

LibreOffice is the obvious option, but I just don't gel with it. There's no major issue making it a deal breaker, it's the addition of small things. It feels slightly slower than I'd like it to, the dark mode support isn't 100% there, the user interface lacks some polish, I run into kerning issues once in a while, and the list goes on. It's not bad. But I don't love it.

Note taking: Joplin

Market leader: No obvious one

I had been using OneNote for everything related to note taking. Quick daily reminders, shopping and grocery lists, detailed project notes, it was all there. Eventually, though, the free-form formatting it offers didn't appeal to me, and I wanted something using Markdown formatting since I already use that in multiple places.

Enter Joplin. Open source, fully featured, customizable through plugins, and yes, using Markdown for formatting. I've been gradually shifting over to it, one project at a time, and I'm almost done with the transition. It's available on desktop and mobile with multiple sync options, so I can always have my latest notes available. Since it's Markdown, I can also use it to directly preview my writing that would go in other places, like this very blog post you're reading!

Market leader: Google Maps Common alternative: OpenStreetMap-based options

This one was tricky because I have two key requirements: * Accessible on both desktop and mobile * Include public transit options

Apps that hit both of these are rare. Either they're mobile app focused for transit, or they're oriented toward car driving only. Since I frequently use public transit, I need something that includes the schedule of busses and trains. HERE WeGo is one of the few to actually do it all: it's accessible as a web page, it's installable as a mobile app, and it's got transit routing. It even does turn-by-turn navigation for drivers! Address searching is a bit finicky at times, but it works well overall.

Market leader: Facebook, Instagram, X, ... Common alternative: BlueSky, Mastodon, ...

The choices for leader and alternatives could be argued for quite a while, so let's move ahead already.

I'm not a big social media user, and I prefer smaller platforms since they seem more genuine. Mastodon sounds right up my alley, but I actually opted for Misskey since it has more features and a user interface that I prefer. I even run my own instance! Mastodon has been catching up in the past few years and feels better now than it did in 2023, but I still prefer Misskey. The two being mostly compatible with each other through the Fediverse means I can follow many people and not miss out on content.

Cloud storage: Proton Drive

Market leader: iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive

Some scoff at using cloud storage at all, but I like it for some content. It's a convenient way to keep some of my files accessible from multiple devices at once and acts as an extra off-site backup option. I used OneDrive extensively in the past and it worked well, but I wanted to get my personal data off the American platforms.

Proton Drive seemed like an ideal option: Swiss-based and well supported for years. I carefully tested it over some weeks, everything worked smoothly, so I went ahead and shuffled about 400 GB of data over. Good thing my home Internet connection now has an unlimited data cap!

Now, if only that fabled Linux client would come out to make it even more widely available...

Password manager: Proton Pass

Market leader: In-browser options

This is the first Proton product I adopted as I liked their approach. I don't like saving passwords directly in the browser as they only live there and they're not accessible through other means. Proton Pass works across multiple browsers and can even be used standalone in its own app, ensuring I'm not tied down. I even managed to bring my mom into using it, which is saying something about its ease of use!

Authenticator: Proton Auth

Market leader: Google Authenticator

I used to be on Microsoft Authenticator, but it didn't offer any simple export option and I didn't like the idea of my data being confined to a single device. Proton's take on this works well and can be saved and synchronized safely across devices, making sure I don't accidentally lose access to my various accounts.

Not applicable

Not everything I have needs to be shuffled to a different platform, as I'm already happy with what I have and it meets all my requirements. * Email accounts: All tied to my own web hosting, located in Canada. * Game servers: Hosted in Canada with OVH.

Still to be resolved

There are some items that I'd like to replace but I haven't found a good alternative yet, or they're underdeveloped. Suggestions are welcome. * Chat: Currently on Discord. Everyone's there. I'm building up XMPP as an alternative, but will people follow? * Photos saving: Currently on OneDrive, it's convenient to automatically back up the photos out of my phone. * Search engine: Most of the alternatives have too many ads or too much AI.

– Doctacosa