Quick comparison
| # | App | Pricing | Verified price | Open source | Platforms | Verified facts | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  QGIS | Open source | — | Yes | Windows, macOS, Linux | 4 of 4 | 68.8 |
| 2 |  GRASS | Open source | — | Yes | Windows, macOS, Linux | 5 of 5 | 64.8 |
11. QGISTop pick
Best for: Analysts, researchers and organisations that want full desktop GIS without licence fees
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
Why switch from ArcGIS Pro
Free and open source on Windows, Mac and Linux, covering most everyday mapping and analysis.
Pros
- Free for any use under the GPL, with no seat licences
- Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
- Strong cartography with layouts, atlases and reports
- Large plugin library and Python scripting
Cons
- Less integrated with Esri's ArcGIS Online and Enterprise services
- Support comes from the community or third-party firms, not one vendor
- Frequent releases mean plugins can lag behind new versions
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
2Best for: Researchers and analysts who need heavy raster, terrain or hydrology processing and can script it
Open sourceWindows, macOS, Linux
Why switch from ArcGIS Pro
Free engine for heavy raster, terrain and hydrology analysis, scriptable with Python.
Pros
- Very deep set of raster, vector and imagery analysis modules
- Python API and command line make large batch jobs repeatable
- Built-in temporal framework for time-series rasters
- Free under the GPL, with decades of documentation and teaching material
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than QGIS, with its own project and region concepts
- Weak at cartography and print layouts compared with QGIS or ArcGIS Pro
- The desktop GUI looks dated next to commercial GIS tools
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula