The Best Open Source ArcGIS AlternativesTop GIS Software & Map Services like ArcGIS

The best open source alternative to ArcGIS is QGIS. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to ArcGIS and 14 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to ArcGIS are R (programming language), GRASS GIS, Placemark and SAGA GIS.

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Alternatives list

  1. QGIS icon

    QGIS

     120 likes

    A fully featured, user friendly, open source Geographic Information System (GIS) with similar power to ArcGIS and MapInfo.

    58 QGIS alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    QGIS main window while editing a project
     
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    10
    QGIS vs ArcGIS Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    4

    QGIS can read geodatabases. The software is frequently updated and print composer is very good alternative to ArcGIS for map layouts.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    powerfull, stable, userfriendly, beautiful rendering and free.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    The GUI is pretty simple and intuitive and it runs decent on windows (at least as fast as ArcMap), but on GNU/Linux it flies. And since the license is GPL you can use it for different purposes (from educational to research or commercial) without worrying for a sue.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 10 comments
    • QGIS is Free and Open SourceArcGIS is Paid and Proprietary
  2. R (programming language) icon

    R (programming language)

     224 likes

    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.

    99 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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    1
    R (programming language) vs ArcGIS Comments
    chtfn
    Positive
    0

    Even though this programming language is not specific to spatial data, the vast collection of R packages available for importing, processing, analysing, converting and visualising spatial makes it an excellent alternative that can create fully reproducible processes. Searching "R Spatial" online will bring up a wealth of books, tutorials and resources.

    • R (programming language) is Free and Open SourceArcGIS is Paid and Proprietary
    • R (programming language) is Customizable and LightweightArcGIS is not according to our users
  4. GRASS GIS icon

    GRASS GIS

     26 likes

    GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is an open source, free software (FOSS) Geographical Information System (GIS) with raster, topological, vector, image processing, and visualization functionality.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Attribute table manager under the Tcl/Tk GUI
     
  5. Placemark icon

    Placemark

     4 likes

    The Placemark application. This is a web application that lets you import, create, export, visualize, and publish geospatial data. It supports many geospatial data formats, and many editing operations, both algorithmic, like buffering, and drawing-based.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker
    • Online
    Placemark screenshot 1
     
  6. SAGA GIS icon

    SAGA GIS

     5 likes

    SAGA - System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses - is a Geographic Information System (GIS) software with immense capabilities for geodata processing and analysis. SAGA is programmed in the object oriented C++ language and supports the implementation of new functions with a...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    SAGA GIS screenshot 1
     
  7. Mapserver icon

    Mapserver

     4 likes

    MapServer is an Open Source platform for publishing spatial data and interactive mapping applications to the web. Originally developed in the mid-1990’s at the University of Minnesota, MapServer is released under an MIT-style license, and runs on all major platforms (Windows...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. PostGIS icon

    PostGIS

     23 likes

    PostGIS adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. In effect, PostGIS "spatially enables" the PostgreSQL server, allowing it to be used as a backend spatial database for geographic information systems (GIS), much like ESRIs SDE...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Preview in DB Manager
     
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    1
    PostGIS vs ArcGIS Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    4

    While PostGIS can collect GIS data, its primary functionality is that of a database and doesn't provide most of the feature set that ArcGIS has.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • PostGIS is Free and Open SourceArcGIS is Paid and Proprietary
  10. OpenLayers icon

    OpenLayers

     9 likes

    OpenLayers is a high-performance, feature-packed library for all your mapping needs.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    OpenLayers screenshot 1
     
  11. OpenJUMP GIS icon

    OpenJUMP GIS

     Like

    OpenJUMP is an open source Geographic Information System (GIS) written in the Java programming language. It is developed and maintained by a group of volunteers from around the globe.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    OpenJUMP GIS screenshot 1
     
  12. Abc-Map icon

    Abc-Map

     1 like

    Abc-Map is a tool for processing geographic information that is easy to understand and use.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    Import and modify data
     
  13. uDig icon

    uDig

     5 likes

    uDig is a GIS software program produced by a community led by Canadian-based consulting company Refractions Research. It is based on the Eclipse platform and features full layered open source GIS. It is written in Java and released under GNU Lesser General Public License.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Taaka, developed using uDig by Arbonaut for Finnish Forest and Park Services
     
  14. MapWindow GIS icon

    MapWindow GIS

     6 likes

    MapWindow is a fully free and open source geographic information system project. It includes an open source programming component, MapWinGIS ActiveX, and an extensible desktop application that supports plug-ins written in .NET (C# and VB.NET).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main UI
     
12 of 14 ArcGIS alternatives