MATLAB Alternatives

MATLAB is described as 'Numerical computing environment and programming language. Maintained by The MathWorks, MATLAB allows easy matrix manipulation, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs in other languages' and is a very popular programming language in the development category. There are more than 50 alternatives to MATLAB for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Web-based and BSD apps. The best MATLAB alternative is GNU Octave, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MATLAB are Scilab, R (programming language), SciPy and Mathematica.

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MATLAB alternatives are mainly Numerical Computation Software but may also be Programming Languages or Calculators. Other popular filters include Android + Free. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of MATLAB.
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MATLAB is a numerical computing environment and programming language. Maintained by The MathWorks, MATLAB allows easy matrix manipulation, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user...

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MATLAB alternatives page was last updated Nov 1, 2024
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Alternatives
  1. GNU Octave icon
     219 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.

    68 GNU Octave alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Graphing calculator
    2.  Curve fitting
    3.  ANOVA test
    4.  Support for scripting
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Portable

    GNU Octave VS MATLAB

     
    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
    Mar 12, 2023
    1

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

    Most Recent Comment
    LinuxDoge
    Positive Jun 22, 2023
    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 Aug 31, 2022
    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
     101 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.

    61 Scilab alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    Scilab Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  3D visualization
    4.  Data visualization

    Scilab VS MATLAB

     
    Comments about Scilab as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Positive Aug 23, 2020
    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.

    MATLAB Icon
    Scilab icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Scilab is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • Scilab is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
  3. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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.

    101 R (programming language) alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Data Mining
    2.  Communities
    3.  Quantitative data analysis
    4.  Data science
    5.  Automatic data loading
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Support for scripting
    8.  Portable

    R (programming language) VS MATLAB

     
    Comments about R (programming language) as an Alternative to MATLAB
    LoGaIta99
    Negative Mar 21, 2023
    0

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

    Guest
    Negative Jul 12, 2020
    0

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

    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
  4. SciPy icon
     92 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.

    49 SciPy alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Python

    SciPy Features

    1.  Supports Python
    2.  Python-based

    SciPy VS MATLAB

     
  5. Mathematica icon
     157 likes
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    Definitive technical computing system spanning machine learning and neural networks, data science, visualizations and much more.

    77 Mathematica alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online

    Mathematica Features

    1.  Symbolic Computation
    2.  Calculus solving
    3.  Equation solving
    4.  Constructive geometry
    5.  CAS
    6.  Graphical component

    Mathematica VS MATLAB

     
    Comments about Mathematica as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Negative May 24, 2016
    -7

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

    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
  6. Julia icon
     60 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

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Julia Features

    1.  Parallel Computing
    2.  Compiled Language

    Julia VS MATLAB

     
    Comments about Julia as an Alternative to MATLAB
    Guest
    Positive Nov 1, 2024
    0

    Similar sintax, REPL, plotting tools, julia is faster

    MATLAB Icon
    Julia icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Julia is a great MATLAB alternative.

    • Julia is Free and Open SourceMATLAB is Paid and Proprietary
  7. SageMath icon
     153 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

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Symbolic Computation
    2.  Calculus solving
    3.  CAS
    4.  Python-based
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Currency Conversion
    7.  Portable
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  No registration required

    SageMath VS MATLAB

     
  8. fxSolver icon
     59 likes
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    Online math solver, equation editor and database, graphing calculator and science/engineering problem helper.

    144 fxSolver alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Educational

    Features

    1.  Formula Builder
    2.  Equation editor
    3.  Editable calculations
    4.  Engineering calculator
    5.  Equation solving
    6.  Shared links
    7.  Graphs

    fxSolver VS MATLAB

     
8 of 89 MATLAB alternatives