Introduction Our deliberations are primarily meant for all researchers who are just trying to implement their own research projects using programs from the CAQDA family. In their case, it may be a good idea to have free software distributed under an open license.

Goals Our intention is first of all to present free and fully functional tools. We would like to share our experiences and comments, giving a concise description of several exemplary programmes, as well as to assess their utility assets and present useful tips on how to select the most appropriate program for a given researcher.

Methods Our speech is of a reviewing and explanatory nature. It is based on observations made during our workshops and classes, as well as our personal experience as CAQDAS users. In the methodological layer, it combines the ethnographic and self-ethnographic dimensions.

Results When conducting classes or workshops, we often hear repeated questions: “Is CAQDAS worth using and why?” and “Which program to choose?”. After collecting extensive experience, we can say that using CAQDAS makes the process of data analysis more systematic and transparent which contributes to continuous thinking about data and an in-depth analysis. However, the choice of a given programme is an individual matter. Much depends on what the needs of a particular researcher are, and this in turn depends on the methods they use, the issues they undertake and their personal preferences.

Conclusions Selecting a program we should think about the software functions we will actually use. It is also worth testing various programs. At the same time, using CAQDAS requires a certain amount of effort to learn about the environment of given software but also to change habits regarding organization of a researcher’s workshop.