freewarecatalog

About This Catalog

How a program gets in

Every listing goes through the same path before it appears:

  • It is genuinely free. Freeware or open source with a usable free tier. Trials, shareware timers and freemium limits are either excluded or labelled as such.
  • It comes from the vendor. The download link points at the developer's own page. Mirrors, download portals and installer wrappers are not accepted, no matter how well they rank.
  • It is still alive. The project shipped a release within the last year, or the software is stable enough that silence is expected.
  • The installer is watched. Installers are run in an isolated Windows machine. Anything that quietly adds extra software loses its place in the catalog.

What we do not do

  • No cracked or modified paid software, and no links to sites that host it.
  • No ad networks or sponsored placements inside the catalog pages.
  • No "download" buttons that lead somewhere other than the vendor's own page.
  • No scraping of other catalogs: programs are checked against the vendor's release notes, not copied from a competitor.

How the catalog is maintained

Checking versions, licences, download links and installer behaviour is repetitive work, so it is automated: a pipeline collects candidate programs, verifies the installer, drafts the page and flags anything suspicious. A person reviews the result before it goes live, and every change to a page is recorded, so a bad edit can be reverted.

If a listing is wrong, outdated or unsafe, tell us and it will be corrected or removed.

Frequently asked questions

Who runs this catalog?

A small team that got tired of downloading a free tool and ending up with three browser toolbars. The catalog is maintained by us, with automation doing the repetitive checking and a human approving every page.

How do you make money?

Not from ads on the programs you download, and not from bundled offers. If that ever changes, it will be stated here before it happens.

Can I suggest a program?

Yes. Use the contact page and include the program name, the official download page and why it belongs in the catalog. Suggestions that link to a download portal instead of the vendor are ignored.