Nate
The internet is a magical place that’s revolutionized humanity as we know it. I mean, it brought us together right here, right now.
On the other hand, it’s too easy to look at all of the bad things that have come along as a result of the internet. Sometimes we forget how much cool stuff is online and a lot of it is completely free!
People are sharing their favorite useful websites and services that they use for free. Some are just for fun and others really provide valuable services and you’ll definitely want to bookmark them.
1. Skiplagged
“skiplagged.com for flights. It’s so good that United sued them and lost.
They essentially exploit the pricing manipulation that airlines use. For example, if you want to go from Phoenix to Atlanta, sometimes a ticket from Phoenix to Ft. Lauderdale connecting through Atlanta is cheaper. This website finds those flights for ya. Just don’t check in a bag!”
2. My 90s TV
This is more of a novelty website, but I think it’s pretty cool and you can lose yourself for hours with nostalgia. It basically uses YouTube videos to simulate watching TV in the 90s and you can specify what year you want and what categories you want to see when you change channels.
There is also a My 80s TV and a My 70s TV”
3. Scihub
“Scihub. Endless Free college books.”
4. Khan Academy
5. Photopea
“Photopea. It’s a Photoshop clone that is completely free (unintrusive side banner ad, can be removed by a one-time payment) and has all the basic features of Photoshop, using basically the same interface. If you’re used to Photoshop and just need to get something quick done, there’s nothing better out there. Best of all, it’s completely contained within your browser. There’s no installation, no local files, not even an account or sign-in.”
6. Gimp
“GIMP, it’s a free version of photoshop.”
7. Freecycle
“Freecycle its literally people giving away stuff they don’t need/want anymore that they can’t/don’t care enough to sell”
8.
Dolly Partons Imagination Library if you have a child younger than 5. They send an age-appropriate book once a month. It’s amazing! I have so many books for my daughter since I signed up and she loves getting them in the mail!
9. Project Gutenberg
“Project Gutenberg. Lots of free classic books.”
10. Archive
“Archive has lots of old but free content online. For example a lot of DOS games, directly playable through the browser.”
11. Unsplash
“Unsplash is where you can get free photos of just about anything, provided by the photographers themselves, to do with what you like.”
12. Duolingo
“Duolingo I have been using this for quick Spanish lessons with my morning coffee for a couple of years now. It doesn’t override the need to take classes for college credits, but I recently had to take a course and it was a breeze. There are a few hundred languages that it teaches and the mobile app makes it easy to do anywhere while waiting.”
13. 1aauto
“1aauto. It is a car parts supplier, but their videos show exactly what tools you need, what parts you need, and how to do a repair yourself. Great money saver if you don’t know much about mechanics. Someone I knew was going to get screwed by their mechanic (700 bucks for a water pump replacement). Showed them that, they did it themselves for 30 bucks. It makes it quicker too, knowing what tools you need ahead of time for your particular car.”
14. Futureme
“Futureme.
You can write letters to yourself (or other people) in the future! I personally love this type of self-reflection and self-support from my past self.
This way, I’ll always have someone wishing me a happy birthday, even if it’s just past me.”
15. Zotero
“Maybe not everyone, but for students, Zotero is a lifesaver. It will store your sources, import them to a bibliography in whatever citation style you need, and even create in-text citations in your paper. It saves hours of work.”
16. Camelcamelcamel
“Camelcamelcamel is really nice to track online prices to help you get the best deal. Also, Black Friday is a myth and the sales aren’t good at all.”
17. Library Genesis
“Library Genesis, a great place to look for and download college/university textbooks for free online, as well as other books.”
18. Openlearn
“OpenLearn from the UK’s Open University – free courses for all levels of study, samples of university materials, study skills, and tie-ins to BBC documentaries. Everything under Creative Commons license so you can use it as you see fit.”
19. Waze And Google Maps
“Google Maps and Waze are so useful if still blows my mind that they are free. Waze does have ads that show up when you are stopped but it’s still free and had a lot of great features. They have slowly been moving the more popular features to Google Maps too like speed trap reports and current speed/speed limit.”
20. Terms Of Service; Didn’t Read
“A free site online for people too lazy to read the entire ToS.”
21. Heavens Above
“Astronomer here! You can look up all the satellites flying over your house tonight, including the ISS, Hubble Space Telescope, those pesky Starlink satellites, and whatever else your heart desires, complete with star maps and precise timing. The website is called Heavens Above and there is an Android app, but unfortunately no iOS one last I checked. (For iOS I use “Sputnik!” which is free and tells me the ISS and Hubble passes overhead.)
It should be noted btw that many if not most of these objects are visible even in a city if on a good pass right above you. So out and see some cool stuff! :)”
22. Top Class Actions
“Top Class Actions basically a site that lists active class action lawsuits you might qualify for. I’ve used it for trivial things like suing red bull for a free case because it “didn’t give me wings” but on a serious note. It made me aware of the suit against Equifax for leaking my data. That should be a settlement worth over $100. It’s a cool way to hold corporations semi accountable, and score some money/freebies for any wrongdoing that went under the radar.”
23. Free File
“If you’re in the USA and you earn less than a certain amount of money — currently $69,000 — you can use the same software to file your taxes for free online.
The system is called Free File, and companies that sell you tax software are trying very hard to make it difficult to find. Don’t let them.”
24. Melody Ml
“I recently found this
Use it. I swear.
You can isolate vocals, drums, bass from mp3. Files You’ll need an email address to download the isolated files”
25. Blender
“Just started using Blender, an open source video editor, and animation tool. Good for making YouTube videos.”
26. Flightradar24
It allows you to see plane traffic live”
27. Codecademy
“Codecademy is an awesome site to learn how to use some programming languages. Doesn’t get into the really advanced stuff, but it’s good for a start. ”
28. Thenounproject
“Thenounproject has a wide selection of icons. I use them for presentations!”
29. Nexus Mods
Nexus mods has thousands of video game mods, made by independent content creators, available to download for free online.
I recently downloaded a bunch of mods for a new Fallout 3 playthrough from nexus! The game still crashes every 15 minutes but damn it’s still soo good.”
30. The Anki Flashcard
“The Anki flashcard app for laptops is really dope for committing things to long-term memory and is free”