MATLAB Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to MATLAB for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is GNU Octave, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to MATLAB and loads of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to MATLAB are Scilab, R (programming language), SciPy and Julia.

filter to find the best alternatives

MATLAB alternatives are mainly Numerical Computation Software, but if you're looking for Programming Languages or Calculators you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Linux, Android, iPad, Free, Mac and Android + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to MATLAB.
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Alternatives list

  1. GNU Octave icon

    GNU Octave

     220 likes
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    Octave is a computer program for performing numerical computations which is mostly compatible with MATLAB . It is part of the GNU Project. It is free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

    66 GNU Octave alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    GNU Octave GUI screenshot
     
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    155
    Comments about GNU Octave as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Comment summary: GNU Octave is praised as a free and compatible alternative to MATLAB, supporting similar syntax and nearly all MATLAB scripts. Users appreciate its integration with Linux via Flatpak and note that it often runs faster. While lacking tools like Simulink, Octave is highlighted in Andy Ng's ML course and is suitable for students needing numerical analysis capabilities. The active development and excellent documentation further contribute to its favorable comparison with MATLAB.
    Top Positive Comment
    dataculi
    1

    Andy Ng's famous introductory ML course uses Octave! It's the perfect alternative to MATLAB

    LinuxDoge
    Positive
    0

    Linux Desktop integration is perfect. There is a flatpak available. Installing Matlab on Linux is a pain, even more if the license always vanishes. So far it looks good, and if it supports lots of commands, no way I use Matlab!

    Cristian
    Positive
    1

    it is often faster, as well as being free

    Show more comments
    3 of 14 comments
    MATLAB Icon
    GNU Octave icon

    • Almost everyone thinks GNU Octave is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • GNU Octave is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & Linux alternative to MATLAB.

    • GNU Octave is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to MATLAB.

    • GNU Octave is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
    • GNU Octave is LightweightMATLAB is not according to our users
  2. Scilab icon

    Scilab

     105 likes
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    Scilab is free and open source software for numerical computation providing a powerful computing environment for engineering and scientific applications. Scilab includes hundreds of mathematical functions.

    58 Scilab alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Scilab screenshot 1
     
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    41
    Comments about Scilab as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Scilab has the most features and is the best quality of full-featured numerical computation softwares even though its language is not MATLAB compatible.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    MATLAB Icon
    Scilab icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Scilab is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • Scilab is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
  4. R (programming language) icon

    R (programming language)

     224 likes
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    R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories (formerly AT&T, now Lucent Technologies) by John Chambers and colleagues. R can be consider.

    96 R (programming language) alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    R (programming language) screenshot 1
     
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    17
    Comments about R (programming language) as an Alternative to MATLAB
    LoGaIta99
    Negative
    0

    It's a good alternative only for statistics and data analysis.

    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Very different syntax, not very efficient for numerical computation outside the libraries available.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    MATLAB Icon
    R (programming language) icon

    • Most users think R (programming language) is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • R (programming language) is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
    • R (programming language) is Customizable and LightweightMATLAB is not according to our users
  5. SciPy icon

    SciPy

     96 likes
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    SciPy is a collection of mathematical algorithms and convenience functions built on NumPy. It adds significant power to Python by providing the user with high-level commands and classes for manipulating and visualizing data.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Python
    SciPy screenshot 1
     
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  6. Julia icon

    Julia

     67 likes
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    Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language for technical computing, with syntax that is familiar to users of other technical computing environments. It provides a sophisticated compiler, distributed parallel execution, numerical accuracy, and an...

    51 Julia alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Julia screenshot 1
     
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    1
    23
    Comments about Julia as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Similar sintax, REPL, plotting tools, julia is faster

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    MATLAB Icon
    Julia icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Julia is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • Julia is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
  7. Mathematica icon

    Mathematica

     160 likes
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    Definitive technical computing system spanning machine learning and neural networks, data science, visualizations and much more.

    74 Mathematica alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Mathematica screenshot 1
     
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    1
    16
    Comments about Mathematica as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Negative
    -7

    MATLAB is a Software to find Numerical solutions for Mathematical Problems while Wolfram is a CAS system

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    MATLAB Icon
    Mathematica icon

    • Most users think Mathematica is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • Mathematica is the most popular Web-based alternative to MATLAB.

    • Mathematica is the most popular commercial alternative to MATLAB.

    • Mathematica is Paid and ProprietaryMATLAB is also Paid and Proprietary
  9. SageMath icon

    SageMath

     158 likes
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    SageMath is a free open-source mathematics software system licensed under the GPL. It builds on top of many existing open-source packages: NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib, Sympy, Maxima, GAP, FLINT, R and many more.

    63 SageMath alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Dynamically visualize effects of of parameters on calculations with Interact
     
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    10
  10. NumPy icon

    NumPy

     7 likes
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    NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing in Python. It is a Python library that provides a multidimensional array object, various derived objects (such as masked arrays and matrices), and an assortment of routines for fast operations on arrays, including...

    52 NumPy alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Python
    NumPy screenshot 1
     
  11. Matplotlib icon

    Matplotlib

     43 likes
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    Matplotlib is a comprehensive library for creating static, animated, and interactive visualizations in Python. Matplotlib makes easy things easy and hard things possible.

    49 Matplotlib alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Python
    • BSD
    Matplotlib screenshot 1
     
  12. GnuPlot icon

    GnuPlot

     67 likes
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    Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility. It was originally intended as to allow scientists and students to visualize mathematical functions and data. It does this job pretty well, but has grown to support many non-interactive...

    60 GnuPlot alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    GnuPlot screenshot 1
     
  13. Maxima icon

    Maxima

     75 likes
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    Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and tensors.

    31 Maxima alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xmaxima interface running Maxima 5.28
     
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    1
    Comments about Maxima as an Alternative to MATLAB
    cryoff
    Positive
    0

    Best free tool for symbolic computations

    MATLAB Icon
    Maxima icon
    • Maxima is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
  14. LabPlot icon

    LabPlot

     17 likes
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    LabPlot is a free, open source and cross-platform Data Visualization and Analysis software accessible to everyone and trusted by professionals.

    35 LabPlot alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • FreeBSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    LabPlot screenshot 1
     
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    Comments about LabPlot as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    A free, open source and cross-platform Data Visualization software.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    MATLAB Icon
    LabPlot icon
    • LabPlot is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
    • LabPlot is Lightweight and Privacy focusedMATLAB is not according to our users
12 of 51 MATLAB alternatives