Qt is a cross-platform application framework with design, development and testing tools for desktop, embedded and microcontroller user interfaces. It is a good fit for in-vehicle infotainment interfaces, medical device user interfaces, and industrial HMI and SCADA screens.

How much does Qt cost?

Qt is a paid product with no free plan.

No. Qt is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Developer Tools category, open-source options include Godot, Xlings and Windows Terminal.

What are some alternatives to Qt?

Qt competes with Embarcadero RAD Studio, Visual Studio and Xcode.

Qt: features, pricing and alternatives

About Qt

Qt is a software framework for building user interfaces and applications that run on desktop, mobile and embedded devices from a single codebase. It is developed by the Qt Group, which also sells a wider family of tools for design, development, testing and embedded work.

The core is the Qt Framework, a set of cross-platform libraries and APIs, with Qt for MCUs targeting microcontrollers. Qt Creator is the development IDE, Qt Design Studio is a UI design tool with an AI assistant, and Figma to Qt carries designs onto devices. The group also includes the IAR embedded toolchain and quality products such as Squish for GUI test automation, Coco for coverage analysis and Axivion for static analysis.

Qt serves industries including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial automation, consumer electronics and medical technology. It is widely known to be offered under open-source licenses as well as commercial ones, and the vendor publishes a pricing page.

Key features

Cross-platform libraries and APIs
Qt for MCUs on microcontrollers
Qt Creator development IDE
Qt Design Studio with AI assistant
Figma to Qt design handoff
GUI test automation and code coverage tools

Good fit for

→In-vehicle infotainment interfaces
→Medical device user interfaces
→Industrial HMI and SCADA screens

Tags: cross-platform; gui-framework; embedded; qt-creator; cpp; ui-design; automotive

Qt: questions and answers

What is Qt used for?: Qt is a cross-platform application framework with design, development and testing tools for desktop, embedded and microcontroller user interfaces. It is a good fit for in-vehicle infotainment interfaces, medical device user interfaces, and industrial HMI and SCADA screens.
How much does Qt cost?: Qt is a paid product with no free plan.
Is Qt open source?: No. Qt is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Developer Tools category, open-source options include Godot, Xlings and Windows Terminal.
What are some alternatives to Qt?: Qt competes with Embarcadero RAD Studio, Visual Studio and Xcode.