This page contains a list of free alternatives to proprietary software useful for Scientists. Please feel free to add more. For non-science alternatives, see SoftwareEquivalents. About software useful for Scientists, see also UbuntuScience.
| Proprietary | Free alternative | Info | Link | |
| Packages python-scipy, python-numpy, python-matplotlib - software for mathematics, science, and engineering | http://www.scipy.org/, http://numpy.scipy.org/, http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/ | universe | ||
| Matrix based computing environment using MATLAB syntax | universe | |||
| Scilab | Matrix based computing environment | multiverse | ||
| Spyder | Spyder is a free open-source Python development environment providing MATLAB-like features in a simple and light-weighted software, available for Windows XP/Vista/7, GNU/Linux and MacOS X. It supports well to performing interactive work via IPython based on NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib and other scientific python libraries. | universe | ||
| S-PLUS, SAS | R | statistical package | universe | |
| SPSS | PSPP | statistical package | universe | |
| SPSS | JASP | statistical package | ||
| IDL | GDL | Interactive data language using IDL syntax | universe | |
| Simulink | SciCraft | Based on Octave (Available for Debian, I think) | 
 | |
| Simulink | Scicos | Provided with Scilab | 
 | |
| Origin | SciGraphica, RLPlot, Qtiplot, SciDAVis, LabPlot, Matplotlib | Data plotting and analysis | universe (rlplot qtiplot labplot) | |
| PeakFit | Fityk | Peak separation and analysis | universe | |
| Mathematica, Maple, MuPad, MathCad | Maxima | A computer algebra systems | universe | |
| Mathematica, Maple, MuPad | SAGE | A computer algebra systems | 
 | |
| WinEdt(Shareware), ScientificWord | Kile, Texmaker, Lyx | LaTeX frontends | universe | |
| COMSOL | ELMER | tool for multi-physics problems | 
 | |
| Fluent, CFX, Star-CD | OpenFOAM, Code_Saturne | Computational Fluids Dynamics Software | 
 | |
| Cabri Géomètre | GeoGebra | Didactic dynamic visualization of geometry | 
 | |
| Cabri Géomètre | Kig | Didactic dynamic visualization of geometry | main | |
| KBibTex | Reference management | 
 | ||
| Reference management | 
 | |||
| ? | Scanning probe microscopy data visualization and analysis | universe |