Is LibreOffice good enough for university assignments?

Yes. LibreOffice opens and saves in Microsoft Office formats including DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX with excellent compatibility. Most professors cannot tell the difference between documents created in Word and LibreOffice. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation app. The only edge case where it struggles is complex PowerPoint animations, which rarely matter for academic work.

How does Anki help with studying?

Anki uses spaced repetition — an algorithm that shows you flashcards just before you would forget them. Research shows this technique improves long-term retention by 50% compared to traditional studying methods. Medical students use Anki to memorise thousands of terms, and it works equally well for language learning, history dates, and scientific formulas. The Mac app is free via Homebrew.

Do I need to pay for any Mac apps as a student?

No. Every app in this collection is completely free. Obsidian, Notion, Rectangle, AltTab, Anki, LibreOffice, and Firefox are all free to use with no trials or subscriptions. Students can build a fully capable academic workstation without spending a cent on software. If your university provides free Microsoft Office, you can use that alongside these tools.

What is the best window manager for Mac students?

Rectangle is the best free window manager for Mac. It lets you snap windows to halves, thirds, and quarters using keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+Option+Arrow. This is essential for multitasking — placing lecture slides on one side and your notes on the other. Rectangle is open source, completely free, and installs in seconds via Homebrew.

How do I set up my Mac for studying efficiently?

Install Homebrew, then run `brew install --cask obsidian notion rectangle alt-tab anki libreoffice firefox` to get your entire student toolkit in one command. Configure Rectangle shortcuts for window snapping, set up Obsidian with a vault folder in your Documents, and create your first Anki deck. The whole process takes under ten minutes and gives you a distraction-free study environment.

How do I install all students apps at once?

Use Bundl's one-command installer. Visit the build page, select the Students preset, and run the generated Homebrew command in Terminal. All 7 apps install automatically.

Are these students apps free?

Many of the recommended apps are free or open source, including Obsidian, Notion, Rectangle, AltTab, Anki, LibreOffice, Firefox. Some professional tools may require a paid licence for advanced features.

Do these apps work on Apple Silicon Macs?

Yes. Every app listed here runs natively on Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel Macs through Homebrew's universal install process.

Can I customise the students app bundle?

Absolutely. Use the Bundl builder to toggle individual apps on or off. You can also combine apps from other categories like productivity and utilities to create a fully personalised setup.

Best Free Mac Apps for Students 2026

College and university life demands great tools without the hefty price tag. Every app in this collection is completely free and installs with a single Homebrew command. From note-taking powerhouses like Obsidian and Notion to productivity boosters like Rectangle and AltTab, these tools help you study smarter, write better papers, and manage your time effectively. No subscriptions, no trials — just great free software.

Featured Apps

Obsidian

Knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

Free

Notion

All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases

Free

Rectangle

Move and resize windows using keyboard shortcuts

FreeOpen Source

AltTab

Windows-like alt-tab window switcher

FreeOpen Source

Anki

Powerful flashcard program

FreeOpen Source

LibreOffice

Free and powerful office suite

FreeOpen Source

Firefox

Web browser focused on privacy

FreeOpen Source

Why This Stack for Students

Every app in this collection is 100 % free — no trials, no subscriptions, no surprise paywalls. Homebrew lets you install them all in one shot, so you can set up a brand-new Mac for the semester in under five minutes. When you upgrade or switch machines, re-run the same command and your study environment is back.

Suggested Workflow

Research

Browse with strong privacy defaults and distraction-blocking extensions.

Firefox

Notes

Capture lecture notes, link ideas, and organise projects.

Obsidian

Notion

Study

Use spaced-repetition flashcards to retain what you learn.

Anki

Write

Draft essays, presentations, and spreadsheets — fully compatible with Office formats.

LibreOffice

Head-to-Head Comparisons

Obsidian vs Notion Rectangle vs Magnet

See all comparisons → Mac App Comparisons

Free Alternatives Worth Checking

Free alternative to Microsoft Office Free alternative to Adobe Photoshop

Browse the full list → All Free Alternatives

Deep Dive: Students on Mac

Setting up your Mac for academic success does not require spending money on software. Every tool in this collection is completely free, open source, or offers a generous free tier for students. Start with Obsidian for note-taking — it uses plain Markdown files stored locally, so your notes are never locked into a proprietary format. The linking and graph view features help you connect concepts across courses, building a personal knowledge base that grows throughout your degree. Notion works alongside Obsidian as a project planner for group assignments and semester scheduling. For window management, Rectangle lets you snap windows to halves, thirds, and quarters with keyboard shortcuts — essential when you are juggling a lecture PDF, your notes, and a research paper simultaneously. AltTab replaces the limited macOS Cmd+Tab with a Windows-style switcher that shows window previews. Anki is the gold standard for spaced-repetition flashcards, used by medical students worldwide to memorise thousands of facts efficiently. Studies show spaced repetition improves long-term retention by 50% compared to traditional studying. LibreOffice provides full compatibility with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats so you can submit assignments in any format your professors require. Firefox with uBlock Origin blocks distracting ads and trackers while respecting your privacy. The entire stack installs via Homebrew in under five minutes.

Tool Philosophy

As a student, your primary criteria for tools should be: free, reliable, and distraction-free. Avoid apps that require monthly subscriptions — your budget is better spent elsewhere. Choose tools that work offline so you are not dependent on campus Wi-Fi. Prefer apps that store data in open formats like Markdown and ODT so you can always access your work regardless of what software you use in the future. Keep your setup minimal — five to seven core apps is enough. Every additional tool adds complexity and potential for distraction. Focus on mastering a few tools deeply rather than installing dozens you barely use.

A Typical Week

Monday starts with reviewing your Notion semester dashboard — checking deadlines, updating project timelines, and planning the week. During lectures, capture notes in Obsidian using the Zettelkasten method, creating atomic notes that link to related concepts. After class, spend fifteen minutes creating Anki flashcards from key terms and concepts — this daily habit pays enormous dividends by exam time. Midweek is for deep work: use Rectangle to arrange your screen with research material on one side and your LibreOffice document on the other. Thursday is group project day — share files through Notion workspaces and collaborate with classmates. Friday review sessions use Anki's spaced repetition to reinforce the week's material, and you export any LibreOffice documents needed for submission.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Paying for Microsoft Office when LibreOffice handles the same formats perfectly and is completely free for students.

Taking notes in a proprietary format that locks you in — use Markdown in Obsidian so your notes outlast any single app.

Not using spaced repetition for memorisation — Anki is proven to improve retention by 50% compared to re-reading textbooks.

Ignoring window management — dragging windows around manually wastes significant time when multitasking with lectures and notes.

Installing too many productivity apps and spending more time organising your system than actually studying.

Pro Tips

Set up Obsidian with the Zettelkasten method — create one atomic note per concept and link them together for powerful knowledge connections.

Use Anki's image occlusion feature for diagrams and anatomical charts — it tests you on specific labelled parts of complex images.

Configure Rectangle keyboard shortcuts to snap your note-taking app to one half and your lecture slides to the other half of the screen.

Install the Firefox extension "LeechBlock" to automatically block social media during study hours — it is more effective than willpower.

Create a Brewfile with your entire student setup and share it with classmates — everyone gets identical tools in one command.

Students FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about Students

Obsidian is the best free note-taking app for students. It stores notes as plain Markdown files on your computer, supports bidirectional linking between concepts, and has a graph view that visualises connections across your entire knowledge base. The free tier includes all core features. Notion is a strong alternative if you prefer a more structured database approach with built-in project management for group assignments.