8 best free open source apps that help me get the most out of my iPhone

8 free open source iPhone apps I personally use to make my daily life easier and more productive.

Apple iPhones are known for having paid apps for almost everything you want to do. But there are some amazing open source apps that are completely free with no paywalls or ads. If you recently switched to an iPhone, here is a list of must-have free apps that will make your experience even better.

My go-to free open source iPhone apps you’ll love too.

By Amit Rahi

For the past seven years, I have tracked consumer tech through constant shifts in hardware, platforms, and the way people actually use devices. Covering everything from budget gear to flagship hardware, I focus on what readers need to know, not on buzzwords or launch cycle hype. My expertise spans gaming laptops and chairs, high-performance PCs, gaming monitors, printers, smartwatches, earphones, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, tablets, and more, with a particular emphasis on how these products hold up in daily use. Reviews, explainers, buying guides, and news pieces all share the same goal: giving readers enough detail to make confident decisions without wading through fluff. Away from deadlines, I spend a lot of time gaming and watching films and anime, which naturally filters back into the work. Performance, comfort, display quality, and sound are judged the way players and viewers experience them, not just by lab numbers, which keeps my coverage grounded in real scenarios rather than just benchmarks.

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VLC

A third-party video player is useful for the iPhone because the default Photos app is not perfect. With VLC, you can play any videos you downloaded from the internet in the Files app. VLC video player app supports a wide range of video and audio formats without conversion, and the performance is also the best compared to other third-party video player apps. It also supports media import via iTunes, Dropbox, and Wi-Fi upload.

LocalSend

LocalSend is an amazing tool that you will find in my other articles about open source apps, like the one I wrote for Windows. This file-sharing app is quick, simple, and completely free to use. Available on almost every operating system, including Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS, it allows you to share files across these devices. It only requires you to connect the devices to the same Wi-Fi network.

NetNewsWire

I have a habit of reading the latest tech news from popular publications during my commute to work. The default news app is good, but since I am an Android user, I love to use RSS readers for a customised news feed. NetNewsWire is the best open source RSS reader app for iPhone that supports syncing across MacBook and iPad too. It offers a clean and distraction-free reading experience.

Syncthing

If you work across multiple devices and you want to cut the hassle of moving files across devices, then use Syncthing. This app syncs your files across all your devices, including iPhone, Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux. Even though the app is not officially available on Android, since it is open source, Android has some third-party forks that work just fine.

Bitwarden

Bitwarden is another open-source app that you will find in my other articles about open-source apps. This is a password manager app for iPhone designed to securely store your passwords and sensitive information. It features end-to-end encryption, cross-device syncing, and password generation. You can use it as the default autofill on your iPhone to quickly insert passwords without typing them every time.

Standard Notes

If you want a notes app that is free and secure, then Standard Notes is the perfect app for you. It offers end-to-end encryption to keep your notes secure so no one can read them. The best part is that this app is available everywhere no matter which device you own. Not only that, there is a web version too, so if you don’t want to install the app, then use the web app. There are some advanced features that you can get with a paid subscription.

Dime

If you love to keep track of your expenses through an app, then Dime is the perfect app for your iPhone. It is an open-source app, which means it is completely free forever with no paywalls or ads. The user interface is very iOS-friendly, and it features charts and everything you expect from a financial app. It also syncs your data across devices using an iCloud account.

Mullvad

A VPN app is important to keep your devices secure from cyber attacks, especially when you are not connected to a known network. Mullvad is an amazing VPN app that does not even require an account; you just create a random ID for anonymity, and it offers strong encryption to protect your data from tracking.