What is QGIS used for?

QGIS is a free, open-source geographic information system for viewing, editing and analyzing spatial data on Linux, Windows and macOS. It is a good fit for creating maps and spatial analyses, and managing geospatial data from many sources.

Yes. QGIS is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at qgis/QGIS and is written mainly in C++.

Yes. QGIS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host QGIS?

Yes. QGIS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is QGIS an alternative to?

QGIS is an open-source alternative to ArcGIS. Other open-source alternatives to ArcGIS include GeoServer.

Is QGIS actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to QGIS was on 2 October 2026. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.

QGIS: open-source alternative to ArcGIS

About QGIS

QGIS is a full-featured, user-friendly and free-and-open-source geographic information system that runs on Unix platforms, Windows and macOS. It is written in C++ and licensed under GPL-2.0, and it is used to manage, map and analyze spatial data.

It supports raster, vector, mesh and point cloud data in many standard formats, including GeoPackage, GeoTIFF, shapefiles, PostGIS, WFS, NetCDF and LAS/LAZ. A data abstraction framework presents local files, spatial databases such as PostGIS, SpatiaLite, SQL Server and Oracle, and web services such as WMS, WCS and WFS through one data model. Users can digitize and edit data, georeference rasters and vectors, reproject coordinate systems on the fly, and use a Nominatim geocoder.

Further areas covered in the README include cartography with a large variety of rendering options, temporal support and 3D map views, geospatial analysis, customization and extensibility, and QGIS Server for publishing maps over the web. The project follows a versioned release cycle and offers documentation, support channels and community participation.

Key features

Raster, vector, mesh and point cloud support
Access to PostGIS, SpatiaLite and web services
Digitizing, editing and georeferencing
On-the-fly coordinate reprojection
Temporal support and 3D map view
QGIS Server for publishing maps

Good fit for

→Creating maps and spatial analyses
→Managing geospatial data from many sources

Built with: C++
Tags: gis; mapping; geospatial; cartography; spatial-analysis; postgis; cpp; cross-platform

QGIS: questions and answers

What is QGIS used for?: QGIS is a free, open-source geographic information system for viewing, editing and analyzing spatial data on Linux, Windows and macOS. It is a good fit for creating maps and spatial analyses, and managing geospatial data from many sources.
Is QGIS open source?: Yes. QGIS is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at qgis/QGIS and is written mainly in C++.
Is QGIS free?: Yes. QGIS is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host QGIS?: Yes. QGIS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is QGIS an alternative to?: QGIS is an open-source alternative to ArcGIS. Other open-source alternatives to ArcGIS include GeoServer.
Is QGIS actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to QGIS was on 2 October 2026. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.