Best 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 app in the development category. There are more than 50 alternatives to MATLAB for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Online / Web-based and BSD. The best alternative is GNU Octave, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like MATLAB are Scilab, R (programming language), Julia and SciPy & Numpy.

MATLAB alternatives are mainly Programming Languages but may also be Calculators or Statistical Analyzers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of MATLAB.

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MATLAB

198

Paid • Proprietary
Programming Language

Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Android
iPhone
iPad

MATLAB is a numerical computing environment and programming language. Maintained by The MathWorks, MATLAB allows easy...

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GNU Octave
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No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
BSD
64 alternatives to GNU Octave
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.
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GNU Octave Features
1. Support for scriptingGNU Octave supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
Graphing calculator
Curve fitting
ANOVA test
GNU Octave vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks GNU Octave is a great alternative to MATLAB.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
Guest
It is really an alternative since it is compatible with nearly all scripts created on matlab.
Top positive comment•
10

ahmed_meeske
GNU Octave uses the same language of coding that MATLAB with a very title difference. But currently GNU Octave do not has any tool like Simulink (for simulation and modul-based disign) that MATLAB uses.
Top positive comment•
4

dataculi
Andy Ng's famous introductory ML course uses Octave! It's the perfect alternative to MATLAB
Positive comment•
0

cristianmangano2
it is often faster, as well as being free
Positive comment•
0

Guest
Works just like Matlab (Minus the toolboxes, for those you will need Matlab), but for Matlab 'like' work Octave works great. You can sit down with a Matlab book and go through it with Octave and have few problems. Octave documentation is excellent.
Positive comment•
11

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Scilab
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No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
54 alternatives to Scilab
Scilab is a scientific software package for numerical computations providing a powerful open computing environment for engineering and scientific applications. Scilab is an open source software and includes hundreds of mathematical functions with the possibility to add...

Scilab has no features, suggest some!

Scilab vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks Scilab is a great alternative to MATLAB.
Guest
Scilab has the most features and is the best quality of full-featured numerical computation softwares even though its language is not MATLAB compatible.
Positive comment•
1
R (programming language)
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No
Free • Open Source
Statistical Analyzer
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
96 alternatives to R (programming language)
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.
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R (programming language) Features
1. Support for scriptingR (programming language) supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
Customizability
Communities
Data Mining
Automatic data loading
Quantitative data analysis
Data science
R (programming language) vs MATLAB opinions
Most users think R (programming language) is a great alternative to MATLAB.
LoGaIta99
It's a good alternative only for statistics and data analysis.
Negative comment•
0

Guest
Very different syntax, not very efficient for numerical computation outside the libraries available.
Negative comment•
0
Julia
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No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
41 alternatives to Julia
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...
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Julia Features
Parallel Computing
Compiled Language
Julia vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks Julia is a great alternative to MATLAB.
SciPy & Numpy
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No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
Python
45 alternatives to SciPy & Numpy
SciPy (pronounced "Sigh Pie") is open-source software for mathematics, science, and engineering. It is also the name of a very popular conference on scientific programming with Python. The SciPy library depends on NumPy, which provides convenient and fast N-dimensional...

SciPy & Numpy has no features, suggest some!

SciPy & Numpy vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks SciPy & Numpy is a great alternative to MATLAB.
Mathematica
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Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
76 alternatives to Mathematica
Mathematica is a computational software program used widely in scientific, engineering, and mathematical fields and other areas of technical computing.
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Mathematica Features
Symbolic Computation
Calculus solving
Equation solving
Constructive geometry
Graphing calculator
CAS
Graphical component
Mathematica vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks Mathematica is a great alternative to MATLAB.
Guest
MATLAB is a Software to find Numerical solutions for Mathematical Problems while Wolfram is a CAS system
Negative comment•
-7
SageMath
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No
Free • Open Source
Calculator
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
57 alternatives to SageMath
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.
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SageMath Features
1. Currency ConversionSageMath lets you convert different currencies based on the latest exchange rates.
2. Ad-freeSageMath doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
3. PortableSageMath can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Symbolic Computation
Calculus solving
CAS
Python-based
SageMath vs MATLAB opinions
Most users think SageMath is a great alternative to MATLAB.
fxSolver
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No
Free • Proprietary
Calculator
Online
120 alternatives to fxSolver
Online math solver, equation editor and database, graphing calculator and science/engineering problem helper.
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fxSolver Features
Formula Builder
Math Solver
Equation editor
Editable calculations
Engineering calculator
Equation solving
Shared links
Graphs
Built-in editor
fxSolver vs MATLAB opinions
Almost everyone thinks fxSolver is a great alternative to MATLAB.
Maxima
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No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
31 alternatives to Maxima
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.
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Maxima Features
CAS
Symbolic Computation
Symbolic manipulation
Maxima vs MATLAB opinions
pros, cons and recent comments
cryoff
Best free tool for symbolic computations
Positive comment•
0
GnuPlot
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
50 alternatives to GnuPlot
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...
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GnuPlot Features
1. Command line interfaceGnuPlot either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Headless
Curve fitting
Plot visualisation