Comments on: 27 Differences Between ArcGIS and QGIS

By: Smith Talian

Smith Talian — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:42:47 +0000

I’ve never been using ArcGIS and QGIS for the previous years. Later-on, I was attending Pacific Adventist University in and my Introduction to GIS lecturer told me every good thing about QGIS. He told me that ArcGIS costs a lot while QGIS is offered free, so I made up my mind to download QGIS into my computer to further continue on with mapping skills in my studies.
Mega congratulations to those who fund this to happen throughout the world effectively.

Greetings from Papua New Guinea

By: Abbas Abdul Wahab

Abbas Abdul Wahab — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 13:49:16 +0000

Beggars cannot be choosers so in this respect, for them, QGIS wins hands down. And with QGIS in hand, a GIS task can now be executed. From that onwards, there can be sharing of data and knowledge.

By: Eric Fielding

Eric Fielding — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 07:25:33 +0000

I might have missed it in the many comments, but the main reason I use QGIS is that it runs on my Mac. QGIS also runs on Windows or Linux. ArcGIS only runs on Windows since about 20 years ago.

By: DK

DK — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 14:40:08 +0000

Any (slight) edge that ArcGIS might have over QGIS isn’t worth the money… Dude, QGIS is free! And we’re highlighting ArcGIS’s great documentation? LOL

Great article though… My training was in ArcGIS and I used it for about 7-8 years, and just transitioned fully to QGIS over the past 2 years. I didn’t know some of the QGIS features you highlighted. Thanks!

By: GISGeography

GISGeography — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 17:06:24 +0000

In reply to Jonny. Here it is - 35 Differences Between ArcGIS Pro and QGIS 3

By: Jonny

Jonny — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 15:15:31 +0000

It’s time to add ArcGIS Pro to the fight!

By: GISGeography

GISGeography — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:11:48 +0000

In reply to Theo Berkhout.

Hi Theo. Please take a look at our new comparison – https://gisgeography.com/arcgis-pro-vs-qgis-3/

By: Theo Berkhout

Theo Berkhout — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 13:49:15 +0000

Hi, if you update an old comparison, please update it properly. 6: you forget XYZ tiles. You forget temporal functionality now built into this, you forget QGIS has now a built-in 3d map. You are still talking about print composer while it is now print layout/layout manager. Anyhow, this comparison is quite silly: when applying these 27 comparisons, how much $ have you spent on Arcgis + extension packs/analysts and how much on Qgis? (>$5000 vs $0). And what about ArcGIS’s propriety file formats that make data exchange almost impossible? It is like comparing a free bus ride with an expensive Mercedes. When it comes to value for money, QGIS is unbeatable.

By: David Kuruc

David Kuruc — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 17:49:30 +0000

Hi, I have a simple question for my university course. My question: Will output (file) created in QGIS be identical with one created in ArcGIS?
I have only OS X and so I cant use ArcGIS, my professor told me I can use QGIS only if the results will be identical with the ArcGIS (which school uses).
It’s for automated control, that’s why results have to be identical.

By: Ferdaus

Ferdaus — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 09:16:05 +0000

Great article on QGIS and ArcGIS
I wish I have seen it earlier but
better late than never