QGIS is a free, cross-platform desktop geographic information system for viewing, editing, analyzing and mapping spatial data.
14.8K+51 this week3.6KC++GPL-2.0Well maintainedUpdated 15 hours ago
3 alternatives
3 best open-source alternatives to ArcGIS (2026)
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to ArcGIS? These 3 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.
How to choose
Start by deciding where you want to work with spatial data. QGIS is a cross-platform desktop GIS for viewing, editing, analyzing and mapping; GeoLibre is a lightweight, cloud-native platform that runs in the browser, on desktop, on mobile and in Jupyter; RustGIS is written in pure Rust, offers both desktop and web versions, and adds scriptable commands and an AI assistant. QGIS is under GPL-2.0, a copyleft license, so check that first if you plan to bundle or redistribute it with your own product.
- QGISBest for anyone who wants a full desktop GIS for viewing, editing, analyzing and mapping spatial data.
- GeoLibreBest for people who want a lightweight, cloud-native GIS that runs in the browser, on mobile or in Jupyter.
- RustGISBest for developers who want a pure-Rust desktop and web GIS with scriptable commands and an AI assistant.
Quick comparison
| Project | Stars | License | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| qgis/QGIS | ★ 14.8K | GPL-2.0 | 15 hours ago |
| opengeos/GeoLibre | ★ 8.4K | MIT | 3 hours ago |
| opengeos/RustGIS | ★ 2.4K | Apache-2.0 | 2 hours ago |
A lightweight, cloud-native GIS platform that runs in the browser, on desktop, mobile, and Jupyter for visualizing and analyzing geospatial data.
8.4K+111 this week949TypeScriptMITWell maintainedUpdated 3 hours ago
A desktop and web GIS written in pure Rust for mapping, analyzing and sharing geospatial data, with scriptable commands and an AI assistant.
2.4K+216 this week363RustApache-2.0Well maintainedUpdated 2 hours ago
FAQ
- Is there a free, open-source alternative to ArcGIS?
- Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to ArcGIS on Repolode are QGIS, GeoLibre, RustGIS.
- Which ArcGIS alternative should I choose?
- QGIS has the most GitHub stars and is released under GPL-2.0. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.
How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 7, 2026. How Repolode works