Software can be really expensive and add up quickly. If you want to be legal and licensed (and you do, you are a church after all 🙂 the different licenses & upgrades can add up quickly and become a multi-thousand dollar per year expenditure for even small churches. There is a lot of free software available that can cut down on your software costs by thousands of dollars per year while at the same time providing the same ease of use as their expensive counterparts.
Average Software & Expenses
Below is a list of software that seems to be standard in most churches today.
- Microsoft Office Professional (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) ~$300
- Microsoft Outlook (Email, included in Microsoft Office Pro)
- Norton Security Suite (Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware) ~$100
- Bible reference program ~$100
Total Expenses Per Computer: ~$500
Alternative Software & Expenses
Now here is a list of alternative software that will do the exact same thing as the above mentioned applications.
- OpenOffice (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) – $0.00
- Mozilla Thunderbird (Email) – $.0.00
- AVG Free (Anti-Virus), Windows XP SP2 (Firewall), Windows Defender (Anti-Spyware) – $0.00
- E-Sword Bible Reference – $0.00
Total Expenses Per Computer: $0
List of free software resources for churches: http://coo.test/FreeResources/FreeResources.aspx
If you use the free alternatives listed above it will save your church hundreds of dollars per computer in your church!
Thanks!