Skip to main content
TrustRadius
QGIS

QGIS

Overview

What is QGIS?

QGIS (formerly Quantum GIS) is a free and open source geographic information system.

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

QGIS is a versatile and user-friendly geoprocessing software that is highly valued by its users for its wide range of use cases. Users …
Continue reading

QGIS Review

8 out of 10
November 23, 2021
Incentivized
QGIS is open-source software that can create, edit, store, analyze, visualize geospatial data. In our organization, we used QGIS for the …
Continue reading
Read all reviews
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing

QGIS

Free

On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Return to navigation

Product Demos

QGIS Demo 49: Image Segmentation

YouTube

Demo 16 - Semi-Automated Mapping in QGIS with the Atlas Panel

YouTube

QGIS Demo 22: Raster NoData

YouTube

QGIS Demo 29: Raster Resample

YouTube

Creating a racial dot density map using QGIS

YouTube

Demo 14 – Making Maps in QGIS with the Print Layout (Pt. I)

YouTube
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is QGIS?

QGIS Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(38)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

QGIS is a versatile and user-friendly geoprocessing software that is highly valued by its users for its wide range of use cases. Users have highlighted its importance in various stages of geoprocessing work, from data collection to the final output. It has proven to be valuable for displaying textual data on maps and analyzing them both quantitatively and qualitatively. The ability to print and export maps to different formats such as PDF, JPEG, and SVG has been particularly useful for users.

QGIS finds extensive application in the interpretation and analysis of satellite images, making it an essential tool for tasks related to climate change analysis, mangroves analysis, land use, land cover analysis, and watershed analysis. Additionally, it is employed for network planning, route optimization, and the creation of vector data. This versatility extends further into domains such as urban planning, environmental conservation, hydrographic analysis, and transportation planning.

One of the key advantages of QGIS is that it addresses licensing issues by being open-source software that does not require costly licenses. Users appreciate the ease of installation and stability of QGIS compared to other proprietary GIS packages like ArcGIS. Its stability translates into increased efficiency and productivity during usage. Moreover, QGIS offers excellent support for social and economic data visualization, enabling organizations to effectively communicate their mission and views on children and adolescent health through maps.

Planning departments and offices involved in gathering information about specific urban spaces frequently rely on QGIS as a tool for creating plans, organizing information, managing spatial data, and explaining urban areas to the public. With features like spatial analysis, topographic and thematic cartography, and connections with statistical software like R, QGIS serves as a comprehensive tool for researchers to visually present their findings using maps and schemes.

Businesses also benefit from QGIS as it supports spatial analysis of large property datasets, facilitates the development of thematic layers with customized styling options, and aids in building monthly reports for clients. QGIS has even been recommended as a functional and cost-effective alternative to other proprietary GIS packages. Furthermore, it has proven invaluable for tasks such as creating and modifying shapefiles, generating spatial data, and visualizing US election datasets, enabling strategic mapping of voter precincts and targeting volunteers and canvassing efforts.

Over time, QGIS has evolved to become the premiere free GIS software with an improved workflow and a user-friendly interface. Users appreciate the value and accessibility it offers by allowing them to work with open formats and free tools while still utilizing essential GIS skills across organizations. Moreover, QGIS has evolved greatly over time and is now considered the premiere free GIS software with a user-friendly interface and improved workflow. This has made it a popular choice among users who want to keep their work with open formats and free tools while still benefiting from essential GIS skills. The software's customizability through Python scripts and models designer has further enhanced its appeal.

Another key use case of QGIS is research visualization, where it serves as a valuable tool for visually presenting research through maps and schemes. Its comprehensive suite of instruments and seamless integration with statistical software like R make it a preferred choice for researchers in various fields.

In addition, QGIS has proven effective for spatial analysis of large property datasets, allowing users to develop styling for thematic layers and build monthly reports for clients. This functionality, paired with its cost effectiveness, has led to QGIS being recommended as a functional replacement for other proprietary GIS packages.

QGIS also finds utility in strategic mapping of voter precincts for political campaigns and targeting volunteers and canvassing efforts. Its ability to generate visualizations of US election datasets enables a deeper understanding of voting patterns and aids in decision-making processes.

Overall, QGIS's user-friendly interface, extensive functionality, open-source nature, and compatibility with various data formats make it an invaluable tool in geoprocessing work across numerous industries. Users appreciate its versatility, stability, and customizable features that enhance productivity and efficiency.

Fast and Easy Installation: Many users have found the installation process of QGIS to be fast and extremely easy on both Windows and Linux. They appreciate how quickly they were able to get the software up and running without any complications.

Abundance of Documentation and Tutorials: Users greatly appreciate the abundance of documentation and tutorials available on the QGIS website as well as other online sources. This wealth of resources makes it easy for them to learn and use the software effectively. They mention finding step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and forums where they can find answers to their questions.

Free with No Licensing Issues: One major advantage mentioned by users is that QGIS is free to use without any licensing requirements. This saves them time and frustration compared to other GIS tools that require licenses or subscriptions. Users value the accessibility of QGIS as an open-source software option for their mapping needs.

Clunky and unintuitive user interface: Several users have found the user interface of QGIS to be clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to make maps quickly and efficiently. They have expressed frustration with the convoluted process of editing and adding feature layers, as well as changing colors of added point or line features. Additionally, they feel that the labeling interface is overly complicated and suggested adding a feature for manual label placement.

Lack of extensive courses and support: Some users have mentioned that QGIS lacks a large library of courses specifically made for the program, which makes it harder for beginners to use. They also pointed out the difficulty in finding support for QGIS as there is no single company responsible for providing support. Although consulting companies are available, some users still find it limiting and frustrating that QGIS relies solely on support from other users due to its open-source nature.

Continuous updates and data accuracy issues: There have been complaints about the continuous updates of QGIS being annoying and unnecessary. Users caution that the data used in QGIS can sometimes be inaccurate or incomplete since it is sourced from various contributors worldwide. This can cause issues when working with the software. Furthermore, stability issues such as unexpected program closures have been reported by some users, requiring them to restart the program to execute certain actions effectively.

Users of QGIS commonly recommend the following:

  1. Try QGIS before purchasing any other software. Many users suggest giving QGIS a try before investing in other GIS software. They believe that QGIS is a reliable tool for all mapping projects and recommend using it for both analysis and geographical analysis.

  2. Utilize online support and add-ons. Users highly recommend taking advantage of the online support and add-ons available for QGIS. They find these resources helpful in maximizing the functionality of the software.

  3. Read the documentation and attend user group events. It is suggested that users who are new to QGIS should read the documentation thoroughly and dive into learning the software. Some users also recommend attending QGIS user group events or utilizing the Google+ page for additional resources.

Overall, users find QGIS to be a great tool for mapping service users, buildings, and key landmarks. They appreciate its intuitive interface and consider it a useful basic mapping tool. To fully explore its potential, users recommend taking courses or using tutorials to learn QGIS and exploring other forums dedicated to this software. Additionally, users urge others to consider trying out QGIS as a free product and installing it via the OSGEO4W installer for proper setup and access to other useful open-source GIS software and tools. The online support community is regarded as fantastic, with many users finding it easy to use and navigate. Users also suggest weighing the cost vs benefits of commercial packages against the potential savings of using QGIS. Lastly, some users recommend procuring a 'crash course' book or video course series on QGIS for beginners, finding it valuable for their specific purposes and staff.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-12 of 12)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Mauricio E Gleizer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I work constantly with geoprocessing products, and QGIS is fundamental for all phases of this work, from data collection to the final result. Displaying originally textual data (albeit with a spatial reference) on maps, and then analyzing (quantitatively and qualitatively) those maps are the main reasons to use this software here at GISMarxev.
Finally, the possibility of printing and exporting the map to various formats (PDF, JPEG, SVG) with the help of tools that add even more information (scale rulers, wind roses, titles and legends, etc.) free and open source, are decisive for choosing QGIS.
November 23, 2021

QGIS Review

CHANCY SHAH | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
QGIS is open-source software that can create, edit, store, analyze, visualize geospatial data. In our organization, we used QGIS for the interpretation and analysis of the satellite images for the application related to Climate Change, Mangroves analysis, Land Use, and Landcover Analysis, Watershed analysis. QGIS software is also used for network planning, route optimization, and creation of Vector data. QGIS software can be used for various applications such as Urban Planning, Environment Conversation, Hydrographic Analysis, Transportation planning, etc.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Similar to RStudio, QGIS allows any user within our organization with an interest in map-making and spatial analysis to explore data and produce results without needed to go through corporate hoops to get access to commercial software. It allows for the democratization of GIS skills across the organization, without the need to silo it to a few people that would make the most of a commercial license.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use QGIS to do spatial analysis of large property datasets, develop styling for thematic layers, convert the styling into SLD format to use in Geoserver, and build monthly reports for our clients of the results of their spatial analytics. QGIS is our go-to tool for working with spatial data. We also recommend it to local government/municipalities who are our clients, as a functional and cost-effective replacement for other proprietary GIS packages. By reducing licensing costs, organizations can spend the budget on appointing more spatial analysts or even developers to customize the application to suit their unique requirements.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
QGIS is the go-to tool for us to work with the spatial files. It is being used to create and modify shapefiles, generate spatial data, and create maps. We have been using it to add or remove layers in the shapefiles and extract data to and from SQL Server.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use QGIS to visualize US election data sets. We are focused on Florida, and Congressional District 17. We publish maps of registered voter demographic data such as age groups, race, gender, and turnout. We also use QGIS for strategic mapping of voter precincts to better target volunteers and canvassing. The majority of our maps are proprietary.
Maike Holthuijzen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Within my department, we do a lot of GIS. About half of my coworkers use ArcGIS and half use QGIS. QGIS addresses the problems associated with licensing. It is open source software, so no licensing is required. It is also much easier to install than ArcGIS and (in my experience) crashes less often than ArcGIS. Less crashing and faster install times result in more efficiency and productivity.
Ember Urbach, LMSW | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
QGIS was used by select researchers who utilized the mapping software for social and economic data visualization in line with our organization's mission and views on children and adolescent health. This is a low cost/free option for us to create reports and tools for grantors and funders, as well as legislators.
Isabel Huamani | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
QGIS is a very complete tool for spatial analysis as well as the elaboration of topographic and thematic cartography. It seems to me an excellent advantage that QGIS allows the connection with R, which is also open source statistical software, allowing to directly relate the data of the various variables with their spatial location.
Cesar A Siso L | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
QGIS has helped us to make all the cartography and maps to do the spatial analysis or urban areas, with the tools for edit, create, customize and print, we have build maps of the entire city emphasizing the maintenance of the highways, sidewalks, and recreational spaces. The software is used only in the planning area with some implications in others spaces like administration or any office who needs gathering information some particular place or of a specific category of urban space. Qgis it is a really good tool to makes plans, organizes information, manages spatial data, makes maps, and for explaining the people who work in the company or general public which are the places where we need to act and how these are distributed in the city.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been visiting and re-vising QGIS periodically since I began working with GIS softwares in 2005, comparing it always to the commercial products I was learning to use in school (ArcGIS, IDRISI, ENVI, ERDAS). Every software I have listed above has evolved greatly over that period of time, but none quite as much as QGIS.

Part of the continual growth of QGIS is in terms of UI refinement and improvements to ease-of-use and workflow. Steadily, the GUI has improved along with the underlying toolset. I feel that now QGIS is certainly the premiere free GIS software, as well as a strong contender in its own right, with lower barriers to entry than any other GIS software, making it my pick for what GIS students and professionals should be trained on first.

After graduating college, I transitioned all of my previous work to QGIS so that I would still have access to my data, maps, analyses, and work despite no longer having access to the various commercial tools I used while at university. The value of being able to "keep" my work with open formats and free tools cannot be understated.
Vladimir Salnikov | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Well, geospatial analytics is a part of my duties. As long as we are developing software, which strongly uses geospatial analytics - we have to prove some kind of research visually, using maps and schemes. QGIS ideally fits us, because it contains all instruments under one suite. Also, it is highly customizable, (using Python scripts and other powerful tools, such as a models designer and the ability to use algorithms from other external GIS software).
Return to navigation