Is it legal to download software for free?

It's legal to download software for free when the maker distributes it free — which covers a vast amount of software: all open source (LibreOffice, VLC, GIMP, Linux), official freeware, and free tiers of commercial products. Millions of completely legal free downloads happen daily.

What's illegal is downloading paid software without paying: cracked versions, keygens, 'full version free' torrents of commercial products. Beyond the legal exposure, cracked software is a top malware delivery channel — the crack needs you to disable your antivirus, which is exactly what the malware wants too.

The good news that makes piracy pointless in most categories: a legitimate free alternative exists for almost every paid product — often open source and genuinely excellent. Whatever the paid tool is, searching its category for free alternatives usually beats the risk.