--- title: "QGIS Reviews, Pros and Cons - 2026 Software Advice" description: "Reviews of QGIS. Learn how real users rate this software's ease-of-use, functionality, overall quality and customer support. Talk to our advisors to see if QGIS is a good fit for you!" source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/qgis-profile/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- 1 million+ businesses helped. Get advice Get Free Advice [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [GIS Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/gis-comparison/) / [QGIS](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/qgis-profile/) / QGIS Reviews Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. [Overview](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/qgis-profile/) Reviews [Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/qgis-profile/alternatives/) # QGIS User Reviews ## Reviews summary - Overall rating: 4.5/5 - Total reviews: 100 ### Secondary ratings - Ease of use: 4.2/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Value for money: 4.6/5 - Functionality: 4.4/5 ### Rating distribution - 5 stars: 59 reviews (59%) - 4 stars: 35 reviews (35%) - 3 stars: 4 reviews (4%) - 2 stars: 0 reviews (0%) - 1 star: 2 reviews (2%) ### Most mentioned pros - The map creation allows a variety of possibilities of layout and every kind of user can quickly have a grasp on. - It supports a wide range of data formats and has robust plugins that extend its functionality. - Its a perfect tool to plan my network development and existing resource availability for future sales requirement. ### Most mentioned cons - All I got was a bunch of files that did not want to open on my computer and took unnecessary space. - The software lacks tools that are available in competitive products such as ArcGIS Pro. - I experienced constant problems, slow-downs, freezes, and crashes with the program. ## QGIS customer reviews Showing reviews 1-25 of 100 (page 1). ### Best open-source software for geospatial mapping!! - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Chanchala D. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Research - Company size: 501-1000 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. QGIS is open-source software that can easily download and deploy. It consists of a variety of plugins and tools to work with geospatial data. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 3/5 - Functionality: 3/5 #### Pros QGIS is totally free software that helps us to perform spatial analysis, data management, geospatial data preparation, satellite data interpretation, etc. This software is updating day by day and adding very important plugins and features to it. QGIS has plugins to connect with other platforms too. For example, Send2GoogleEarth plugin can join with Google Earth Pro, Google Earth Engine Plugin can work with GEE platform. This software provides plugins and tools for quick land use classifications compared to other GIS platforms. Digitization of spatial elements like buildings, roads, streams, and land cover is very comfortable with QGIS. QGIS has the facility to load base maps such as OpenStreetMap, Google Hybrid, Google Satellite, Google Road, and Bing Arial by adding the URL. This service is very valuable for those who are working with base data preparation and interpretation. #### Cons QGIS doesn’t support adding data from file geodatabases. Sometimes QGIS is unexpectedly ended due to crash reporting. Especially at the time, we are doing digitization activities using google satellite images. --- ### Excellent GIS tool - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Alexis F. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Environmental Services - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered a positive experience is easy to use and the elements are available to the user #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros a quality software and it is also free for all users #### Cons which is available to all users for free and has a large number of tools to work with --- ### Just use ESRI. - Overall rating: 1/5 - Reviewer: Cooper S. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Architecture & Planning - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used monthly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: October 2024 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered Honestly terrible, i used it for a very brief period of time due to all of its issues. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 1/5 - Functionality: 1/5 #### Pros In theory, it was easy to use, however there were always problems. #### Cons The opensource nature of the product led to a lack of overall support and compatibility. I experienced constant problems, slow-downs, freezes, and crashes with the program. --- ### Review of QGIS - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Chancy S. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Information Technology and Services - Company size: 501-1000 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: June 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. QGIS is very useful software in the Geoinformatics field. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Customer support: 2/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros QGIS is free and open-source software. QGIS supports all possible formats such as raster, vector, point clouds of GIS, and Remote Sensing. QGIS is highly customizable and the Developer can develop various plugins as per requirements. #### Cons QGIS sometimes encounters a bug and immediate Support is not available. QGIS needs more tools for raster data processing. --- ### Free and easy to use - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Carlos B. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Higher Education - Company size: 201-500 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered Qgis is one of the most complete geographic information processing software out there today. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It is an open access software with regular updates available to everyone. Its compatibility with various graphic and semantic information input formats make it a powerful tool for managing geographic information. The management of information in raster and vector formats make Qgis a versatile system, suitable for applications in many themes. The possibility of using web maps as a base or in the representation of the results allows a better visualization of the information. #### Cons Some initial training is needed, once the first steps are taken it is easy to use. --- ### Best GIS software for beginners - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Dilraj S. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Computer Software - Company size: 501-1000 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: July 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. A great GIS software that is available to download free of cost. It provides large number of third party tools and plugins for faster data manipulation and analysis. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 3/5 - Customer support: 3/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Best software for beginners and easy to install. QGIS is a powerful tool for custom geoprocessing to identify trends within the spatial dataset and create professional looking maps, free of cost. Able to handle complicated datasets easily. Allows easy task automation to schedule jobs on a daily basis. #### Cons The software can be a bit unstable and slow while performing heavy tasks, and fails to efficiently manage raster data unlike other GIS software available. --- ### Powerful, reliable, easy to use, extendable... and free (as in free beer and free speech) - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Carlos C. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Architecture & Planning - Company size: 201-500 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2019 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It is extremely powerful: it has plenty of built-in algorithms that range from data analysis, visualization, vector, raster... and it has thousands of 3rd party plug-ins that extend their base functionallities. Furthermore, if everything fails, it can be extended through python scripting. As result it can be used for any purpose that include geospatial data. Furthermore, it is reliable, meaning that it does not hang when working with large datasets or doing complex calculations. The fact that can be used in any major Operating System (GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac, Android) and can read and write a number of file formats (including, but not limited to, all open standards) makes it excellent for sharing your work with others, preventing any kind of platform lock-in. #### Cons It might be not well-known as Arcgis, even though it can do everything Arcgis can do plus more, at a fraction of its cost (0). --- ### Great software in what it proposes - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Oder Henrique R. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Renewables & Environment - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 12 months - Reviewed: April 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I have been using the program for more than 6 months and even then I have no interest in changing software, as it perfectly meets my map creation demands. I can create everything from less complex maps for personal use, to maps for professional use. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros The main benefit of QGIS in relation to competitors is related to cost-benefit. The software is compatible with the most popular operating systems such as Windowns, Linux and Mac. A few months ago I started a course to become professional and 4 months ago I got a new job opportunity thanks to my knowledge and skill with the tool. In addition, QGIS support is very complete, where I can solve problems in a short time. It is possible to download different versions of the program, depending on each demand. #### Cons Comparing QGIS with some similar but paid programs, it is possible to notice that some problems happen more frequently, where the software proves to be more unstable and sometimes the program closes for no apparent reason, however, these are quite sporadic situations and do not affect my Yield. --- ### new user 6 month - Overall rating: 3/5 - Reviewer: Jamal M. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Civil Engineering - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 12 months - Reviewed: November 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. My somewhat recent experience with the program is to solve the problems of the layers that I used to export to and from other expensive programs, which I am doing now with the free program #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 3/5 #### Pros The program is completely free, light and easy to handle with features #### Cons The permanent development of the program and keep abreast of the development that occurs with all programs and devices, and it is free #### Reasons for switching to QGIS money --- ### Still the best Open Source GIS Software - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Deepit K. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Environmental Services - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 6 months - Reviewed: February 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. IT has most features on it for GeoSpatial use along with added Geoprocessing tools and plugins, surprisingly found it a first choice for maybe handling with rasters imagery for simpler work. QGIS does everything I need for professional mapping & analysis. The software is updated on time and regularly. easily connectable to other applications even including hardware GPS devices through plugins and has an easy integration with Excel Databases and supports most Excel Database formats. User Friendly GIS option. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 3/5 - Customer support: 3/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Its pretty useful options if you want to convert from on format to another such as GDAL files having formats of Raster imagery such as converting grid files, image files to ASCII files etc including numerous other formats. Budget friendly option for Geospatial professionals plus easy to use tools for other professionals in the field of Environment or planning for their mapping work. Add on's are another useful feature, recently used and add on for adding surveys for data point collection of reviewing of data points, many developers are able to make add on plugins for QGIS. #### Cons There can arise issues such as lag or time taken for some geoprocessing tools, installation loading times, time taken for bulk tasks, in general using ArcGIS is more easier and better. Tool bar graphics can be out of date. --- ### Exploring QGIS: A Comprehensive Overview - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Raju L. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Education Management - Company size: 501-1000 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. There are a variety of plugins available that can extend the functionality of the software and allow users to perform more advanced analysis. Try it as it is open source. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 3/5 #### Pros 1. QGIS is a free and open-source geographic information system that allows users to visualize, manage, edit and analyze spatial data.2. QGIS offers a wide range of features including support for various data formats, geoprocessing tools, and plugins that can extend the functionality of the software.3. QGIS has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for new users to get started with minimal training.4. QGIS is available for various operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux, making it a versatile tool for a wide range of users.5. QGIS can handle large datasets and perform complex analyses, but users may need to ensure they have sufficient hardware resources to run the software smoothly. #### Cons QGIS may have a steeper learning curve for users who are not familiar with GIS concepts and terminology, but the software's extensive documentation and online resources can help mitigate this issue. --- ### QGIS - An Overview of Pros and Cons - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Sharanbasappa W. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Education Management - Company size: 501-1000 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. QGIS is a versatile tool for GIS professionals, students, and anyone who needs to work with geospatial data. Its accessibility, functionality, and active community make it a valuable option for users looking for open-source GIS software. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros QGIS, also known as Quantum GIS, is an open-source cross-platform desktop geographic information system. Here are the pros and cons of using QGIS:Pros:1. It is free and open-source, making it accessible to anyone regardless of budget constraints.2. QGIS supports a wide range of data formats and is able to work with both vector and raster data.3. QGIS has a large and active community, with numerous plugins and tools available to enhance functionality.4. It offers advanced geoprocessing tools, such as spatial analysis and mapping capabilities.5. It can be easily integrated with other software and systems, making it a versatile tool for a range of applications. #### Cons 1. The user interface can be overwhelming for beginners, and it may take some time to learn and become comfortable with the software.2. It may not have all the same features and capabilities as some of the more expensive commercial GIS software.3. Some of the more advanced features may require coding or scripting knowledge, which can be a barrier for some users. --- ### Free and Powerful Open Source GIS Software - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Verified Reviewer - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Information Technology and Services - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: September 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. My overall experience with QGIS is great, and I will strongly recommend QGIS. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 4/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros QGIS is a free and powerful open source software. The GUI is great and adding data to your data frame is much more easier (click a button and then select which data type you want to add within a single window e.g. Raster, Vector etc.). With availability of so many compatible plugins, QGIS can do all GIS activities and some remote sensing analysis. QGIS is great and installation is very simple. #### Cons I find it difficult to point out one specific part of QGIS that isn't great. QGIS software is robust enough. --- ### Excellent tool for your GIS proyects - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Pamela C. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Education Management - Company size: 1001-5000 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: January 2024 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered Qgis has a wide variety of tools that helps in the quality of the product I'm working on. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It's a fantastic tool for free. I like the facilites in different types of formats, the compatibility with Python and support. #### Cons For me everything works fine cause I get what a need in a easy way without problem. I really enjoy using Qgis. --- ### Karten für Avenza Maps - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Michael H. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Computer & Network Security - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros QGis helps me georeference maps so they can be used in Avenza Maps #### Cons I don't know anything about that. I am fully satisfied. --- ### Excellent free and open source alternative to ArcGIS - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Verified Reviewer - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Information Technology and Services - Company size: 51-200 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: October 2019 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. For bare-bones GIS needs, QGIS is great alternative to ArcGIS. I use the software to keep track of where samples were gathered for my thesis project. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros QGIS does a lot for a free, open source software. For basic GIS needs, for example the type of things you'd learn in an introductory GIS course, QGIS will get the job done without needing to pay money. One thing QGIS actually does a bit better than ArcGIS is organize their menus more logically, which makes finding functions for the first time a bit easier. #### Cons For more complex projects such as those that you'd want to integrate into a web app or website, you'd want to consider paying for ArcGIS functionality. --- ### QGIS - my first GIS SW - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Verified Reviewer - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Telecommunications - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used monthly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It is rich with functionalities and could be customized for specific usage / area. Enable different data export/import therefore critical tool for data analysis when there are geographical data within dataset. #### Cons many versions, one should be careful and track the version that was used for some specific job. --- ### QGIS review - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Verified Reviewer - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Higher Education - Company size: 1001-5000 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: November 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 3/5 - Customer support: 3/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Greater efficiency and improved geographic information recordkeeping lead to cost savings. #### Cons There isn't a proper online lesson and tools can occasionally be out of current. --- ### QGIS supported to plan future network - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Wijesundara Mudiyanselage Priyanthi W. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Telecommunications - Company size: 5001-10000 employees - Product usage: Used monthly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: September 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered Its a perfect tool to plan my network development and existing resource availability for future sales requirement. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 4/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Mapping existing network information with household,area boundary and existing network utilization #### Cons I was not able to upload my existing Geo location information to QGIS --- ### QGIS review - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Gustavo I. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Construction - Company size: 201-500 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2019 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros 1.- It's free! 2.- It is open source! 3.- It has a great variety of tools and if it does not exist, open source! 4.- Do not ask the GIS pay programs for anything. 5.- It has tutorials to start using it #### Cons I have not encountered any problems in the time I have used the program --- ### Free and trusted Geolocalization tool - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Irédon A. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Renewables & Environment - Company size: 1001-5000 employees - Product usage: Used monthly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: March 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 4/5 - Customer support: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros The most loved things, QGIS is a free Software which can be used with a less performante computer or laptop #### Cons At least QGis can be accessible to students and useful to training company --- ### If you need to work professionally on geospatial data - QGIS is a great choice - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Verified Reviewer - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Information Technology and Services - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used monthly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: April 2021 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I was introduced to QGIS through a colleague of mine, so I had someone to show me around, which was very helpful since it can be intimidating at times. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros The fact that it's free, very powerful, can work on any type of data size you put at it and that it's also cross-platform. #### Cons QGIS can be very slow and resource-intensive, it is packed with features and often has a steep learning curve --- ### QGIS - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Mayowa L. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Education Management - Company size: 51-200 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 12 months - Reviewed: March 2020 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Generally, this software can be an alternative to others. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros because this is an open source software for spatial analysis, I give it a thumbs up. I use it from time to time as well. #### Cons Some of the tools are still in the process of being built and so most of them may not the provide the output one is looking for. --- ### Great free software - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Rachel K. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Environmental Services - Company size: 51-200 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 6 months - Reviewed: July 2020 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I have found it really easy to use, with a lot of online advice whenever I have not been able to work something out for myself #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It has a lot of features that other paid-for software does not have. It can convert KML files to shapefiles, and also convert mapinfo files to shapefiles, and raster to shapefiles really easily. #### Cons I haven't found any negatives to using this software yet, but have not used to the extend as other GIS software --- ### Easy start out GIS - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Anthony S. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Architecture & Planning - Company size: 1001-5000 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for free trial - Reviewed: August 2019 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros This GIS software is easy to use for basic functionality and could be used where only limited use is required. It's useful and allows layers to be dragged in and toggled on and off easily. #### Cons A bit basic for more complex operations. ## More reviews [Next reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cafm/qgis-profile/reviews/?page=2) --- QGIS Reviews, Pros and Cons - 2026 Software Advice