Audacity
Free GPL audio recorder and editor, 4.0.2 patch fixes project corruption
PC utilities for Windows
This hub covers 24 Windows utilities for 2026. Each entry shows a version, a last update date, a download size, a price and a license. The entries at the front of the list share a few traits.
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None of them is rated A. Every leading entry is free.
Licenses vary widely: GPL-3.0-or-later for Audacity, GPLv3 for GIMP, Apache-2.0 for scrcpy, AGPL-3.0 for PDFsam Basic, Freeware for Mp3tag, Proprietary for REAPER. Treat the picks below as a group with the same rating, not as a quality ranking.
Apps in this category
GIMP
Free GPLv3 image editor for Windows, version 3.2.6, from download.gimp.org
scrcpy
Free Windows tool that mirrors and controls Android over USB or Wi-Fi
PDFsam Basic
Free open source PDF splitter and merger for Windows, from github.com
Mp3tag
Free Windows tag editor for batch ID3, MP4, WMA, Vorbis and APE edits
MusicBrainz Picard
Free Windows tagger that fills music file metadata from MusicBrainz
REAPER
Multitrack audio and MIDI recording through mastering, in 16.4 MB
LMMS
Free open-source DAW for Windows with MIDI, synthesis and sample mixing
OpenMPT
Free Windows tracker that edits IT, XM, S3M and MOD module files
Voicemeeter
Free Windows audio mixer with a virtual device for routing any sound
Inkscape
Free GPL vector editor that works in SVG, now at version 1.4.4
paint.net
Free Windows image editor with layers, unlimited undo and plugins.
darktable
Free open source raw developer with lighttable and darkroom for Windows
RawTherapee
Free GPL-3.0 raw photo developer for Windows, version 5.13, 45.1 MB
Greenshot
Free 3.8 MB Windows screenshot tool with annotation and obfuscation
Flameshot
Free GPL-3.0 screenshot tool for Windows, now asks which monitor to capture
ShareX
Free GPL-3.0 Windows screen capture, GIF and OCR tool with an image editor
Lightshot
Free 2.7 MB Windows screenshot and annotation tool from Skillbrains
Rufus
Free 1.9 MB Windows tool that writes ISOs to bootable USB drives
balenaEtcher
Free Windows flasher that verifies every byte written to USB and SD media
Ventoy
Free open source tool that boots many ISO and WIM files from one USB drive
PowerToys
Free Microsoft utility set for Windows 10+, MIT-licensed, from GitHub
Display Driver Uninstaller
Free Windows tool that wipes AMD, NVIDIA and Intel graphics driver leftovers
calibre
Free GPL-3.0 e-book manager that converts, edits and catalogs your library
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Top 5 picks
Audacity
Audacity records and edits audio, and runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux. The version is 4.0.2.263060742, updated November 2, 2026, and the download is 47.5 MB. It is licensed GPL-3.0-or-later and is free. Its rating matches every other entry in this group.
GIMP
GIMP, from The GIMP Team, is at version 3.2.6 with an update date of September 10, 2026. At 181.5 MB it is the largest download among the picks here. The program handles photo retouching, image composition and image authoring, and it is released under GPLv3 and is free. Its tier is B.
scrcpy
scrcpy from Genymobile mirrors an Android device, video and audio, to a Windows screen over USB or TCP/IP, and lets you control it with the computer's keyboard and mouse. No root access is needed. Version 5.0.1 was updated October 8, 2026, the download is 10.7 MB, and the license is Apache-2.0.
PDFsam Basic
PDFsam Basic, from Sober Lemur S.r.l., splits, merges, extracts pages from, mixes and rotates PDF files. It is open source under AGPL-3.0 and costs 0. Version 6.0.10.0 has the latest update date among the picks, November 4, 2026, and the download is 92.3 MB. Its rating is B.
Mp3tag
Mp3tag edits audio metadata in batches and reads several tag formats, including ID3v2.4, iTunes MP4, WMA and Vorbis Comments. It can also look up tags and cover art from Discogs and MusicBrainz. Version 3.36.1 from August 29, 2026 is only 5.7 MB, the smallest download among these picks. The license is listed as Freeware.
Questions and answers
How is this list ordered?
No ranking method is published. It is not a simple sort by update date: PDFsam Basic, updated November 4, 2026, sits fourth, while Audacity, updated November 2, 2026, sits first. Size does not explain it either, since GIMP at 181.5 MB comes second.
Does any utility here have an A rating?
No. The hub has 0 entries rated A, and every app in the top group is rated B. Use the order as a starting point and compare versions, sizes and licenses yourself.
Are the leading utilities free?
Each leading entry is free. Terms still vary: Mp3tag is Freeware, REAPER is Proprietary, and Voicemeeter is Donationware.
Related categories
Best-of lists
Check the update date before you download. Most leading entries were updated between August 29 and November 4, 2026, but LMMS lists version 1.2.2 from July 4, 2020, and Voicemeeter lists December 11, 2025. An older date is not a fault by itself, though it tells you how current the build is.
Size is the other quick filter. Mp3tag is 5.7 MB and scrcpy is 10.7 MB, while GIMP is 181.5 MB, so disk space may decide between similar tools.