| Name | Description | Pros | Costs | Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESRI ArcGIS | ESRI is the leading commercial software for GIS mapping and analysis. Penn's Esri Educational Site license includes ArcGIS Advanced, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Server, and access to high quality training modules. | ESRI ArcGIS is available at no additional cost to students and staff with a PennKey. ArcGIS is cloud-integrated. ESRI produces extensive educational materials. |
Subscription based premium. Available at no cost for users with a PennKey.
|
ArcGIS Pro - Windows only however Virtual Labs on campus can allow Mac users to run the software remotely. ArcGIS Online - all platforms with an internet connection |
| QGIS | QGIS is an open source GIS software which is as powerful as other commercial products. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. | QGIS is open source and is built on verifiable code from GDAL/OGR, GRASS GIS, SAGA. QGIS has thousands of available plugins. | Free, open source | Cross platform |
| GeoDa | GeoDa is a free software package that conducts spatial data analysis, geovisualization, spatial autocorrelation and spatial modeling. | GeoDa is fantastic for exploratory analysis thanks to a unique interface, and contains useful econometrics modelling methods such as Geographically Weighted Regression. | Free, open source | Windows, MacOS, Linux |
| SAGA | Advanced GIS analysis capabilities. Not all of the tools found in SAGA are in GrassGIS. SAGA functions are also accessible through QGIS. | SAGA is an easy to learn GIS software intended for geoscientific applications. | Free, open source | Windows, Linux |
| GRASS GIS | Another GIS with advanced GIS analysis capabilities. Not all of the tools found in GRASS GIS are in SAGA. Grass GIS functions are also accessible through QGIS. | GRASS GIS is a widely used GIS toolkiit which is able to conduct raster and vector analysis, such as image processing and topological vector analysis. | Free, open source | Windows, MacOS, Linux |
| Manifold System | GIS software designed for handling big data and efficiently automating workflows. Originally intended for massively parallel computation, Manifold Systems supports both CPU and GPU parallelism. | Manifold provides greater benefits to users with high performance (multi-GPU and CPU) systems, such as servers and clusters, that run Windows. | $145 | Windows |
| MapWindow5 | Lightweight desktop GIS for Windows with programmable functions. Often used for modelling watershed hydrology. Developed for the US EPA. | MapWindow5 provides greater benefits to users who want lightweight and fast GIS software. | Free, open source | Windows |
