QGIS

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Softwareqgis.org

QGIS is a free, open source desktop geographic information system (GIS) founded in 2002, serving governments, academia, NGOs, and commercial users worldwide. Built on Qt6 with OGC-compliant server and web components, it is sustained by donations and a sustaining membership program rather than software sales.

Company typePrivate
Founded2002
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingSoftware

What QGIS does

QGIS is a free, open source desktop geographic information system (GIS) project founded in 2002 and hosted on QGIS.org under the GNU GPLv2+ license. It serves a global, horizontal user base spanning federal, state, and local government agencies, academic and research institutions, commercial GIS consultancies, NGOs, and individual hobbyists, with named use cases in journalism (Financial Times Graphics Team), municipal planning (City of Frankfurt), conservation (Waterberg Biosphere Reserve), humanitarian demining (Danish Demining Group in Afghanistan), and scientific research (QGreenland). The platform is delivered across Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, Android, and iOS via direct downloads, mobile app stores, Linux package managers, and Docker container images.

The core product portfolio consists of QGIS Desktop (the primary application for creating, editing, visualizing, analysing, and publishing geospatial information), QGIS Server (publishing OGC-compatible WMS, WMTS, WFS, and WCS services, with WMS 1.3 considered the reference implementation), and the QGIS Web Client. The codebase is built on the Qt6 framework following the QGIS 4.0 migration in March 2026, supporting hundreds of spatial data formats (vector, raster, mesh, point cloud) and hundreds of built-in analysis tools for network, terrain, raster, and vector geometry operations. The offering is extended by more than 2,000 community-developed plugins, third-party mobile field-data applications (QField by OPENGIS.ch, Mergin Maps by Lutra Consulting, IntraMaps Roam), and a PyQGIS Python API for custom automation and extension.

QGIS has no commercial software revenue; the project is owned by its contributors and sustained by a tiered sustaining membership program (Flagship €27,000+, Large €9,000+, Medium €3,000+, Small €500+) and one-time donations via bank transfer, Stripe, and PayPal. It operates as a member project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo), which provides organizational and infrastructure support, and was recognized as a Digital Public Good by the Digital Public Goods Alliance in February 2025. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on local user groups in at least nine European countries, an annual international QGIS conference, peer documentation, and organic word-of-mouth within the GIS professional community rather than traditional sales or marketing channels.

QGIS firmographics

Firmographics

Name: QGIS
Legal name: QGIS
Website: https://qgis.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2002
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: QGIS is a free, open source desktop geographic information system (GIS) founded in 2002, serving governments, academia, NGOs, and commercial users worldwide. Built on Qt6 with OGC-compliant server and web components, it is sustained by donations and a sustaining membership program rather than software sales.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

QGIS industry classification

Industry

Product category: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software
NAICS: Software Publishers (5132), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)
SIC: Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
akta.pro primary industry: GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)
akta.pro secondary industries: Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC), Open-Source & Developer Communities (BPAMABAM), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

Keywords

Open source GIS
Geospatial analysis software
Desktop mapping
Spatial data processing
OGC web services

Where QGIS is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: London
HQ country: United Kingdom
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

QGIS business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

Free Open Source Software: QGIS is provided completely free of charge under GNU GPLv2+ license. The project is sustained by donations, sustaining memberships, and volunteer contributions rather than software sales.
Sustaining Memberships: Organizations can become sustaining members at various levels (Flagship €27,000+, Large €9,000+, Medium €3,000+, Small €500+) to support project development and receive public acknowledgment.
One-time Donations: Individual and organizational donations of any amount through direct bank transfers, credit card payments via Stripe, or PayPal to support bug fixes, server infrastructure, and project improvements.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Others	Free and Open Source

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

QGIS product offering

Product offering

Core offering

QGIS provides a free, open source Geographic Information System (GIS) platform consisting of QGIS Desktop for viewing, editing, analysing and publishing geospatial data, QGIS Server for exposing projects as OGC-compliant WMS/WMTS/WFS/WCS web services, and QGIS Web Client for browser-based map publishing. The software is distributed at no cost under GNU GPLv2+, supports hundreds of spatial data formats across desktop, server and mobile environments, and is extended by a community ecosystem of over 2,000 plugins.

Product overview

QGIS is a free and open source desktop Geographic Information System (GIS) available on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, and Android. The core product portfolio consists of QGIS Desktop (the primary application for creating, editing, visualizing, analysing, and publishing geospatial information), QGIS Server (for publishing OGC-compatible WMS, WMTS, WFS, and WCS web services), and QGIS Web Client (for web-based map publishing). The ecosystem is extended through over 2,000 community-developed plugins and third-party mobile applications including QField, Mergin Maps, and IntraMaps Roam for field data collection. The latest major version is QGIS 4.0 (March 2026), with QGIS 3.44 LTR serving as the stable long-term release option.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

QGIS Desktop: Desktop application for creating, editing, visualising, analysing and publishing geospatial information on Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android.
QGIS Server
QGIS Web Client

Products and services

QGIS Desktop Free open source desktop application for creating, editing, visualising, analysing and publishing geospatial information on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD and Android.
QGIS Server Server application for publishing QGIS projects and layers as OGC compatible WMS, WMTS, WFS and WCS web services; regarded as a reference implementation for WMS 1.3.
QGIS Web Client Web client application for publishing QGIS projects on the web with symbology, labeling and blending features for browser-based map delivery.
QGIS Plugin Ecosystem Over 2,000 community-developed plugins hosted at plugins.qgis.org that extend QGIS with additional features, tools and integrations.
QField Touch-optimized companion mobile GIS application for field data collection on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, synchronised with QGIS Desktop projects.
Mergin Maps Touch-optimized mobile application for Android, iOS and Windows providing field data collection and synchronisation with QGIS projects.
IntraMaps Roam Touch-optimized mobile application for Windows devices for field data collection with QGIS integration.

Quantifiable outcome

Over 20 years of continuous development and improvement
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use QGIS

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

QGIS technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

QGIS partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

OSGeo (Open Source Geospatial Foundation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerQGIS is a member project of OSGeo, the Open Source Geospatial Foundation that democratizes access to spatial platforms. OSGeo provides organizational support, infrastructure, and governance framework for the QGIS project.
QField (OPENGIS.ch)coreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party touch-optimized mobile app that allows users to take QGIS into the field. Available for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Developed by OPENGIS.ch.
Mergin Maps (Lutra Consulting)coreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party touch-optimized mobile app for field data collection synchronized with QGIS. Available for Android, iOS, and Windows devices.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

QGIS competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

Esri ArcGIS: Esri's ArcGIS is the dominant commercial desktop and enterprise GIS platform with deep format interoperability and a tightly integrated ecosystem; it competes directly with QGIS for professional GIS users and government/enterprise contracts, but at a paid proprietary licensing model.
Mapbox: Mapbox is a commercial platform for mapping, location, and geospatial visualization commonly listed alongside QGIS in market comparisons; it targets web and mobile map applications and competes with QGIS's cloud/web publishing capabilities, especially QGIS Server and Web Client.
CARTO: CARTO is a cloud-native spatial analytics and mapping platform commonly listed in GIS mapping software comparisons alongside QGIS; it competes for location intelligence and enterprise GIS use cases with a SaaS, cloud-first delivery model.
MapInfo / Precisely: MapInfo (Precisely) is a longstanding commercial desktop GIS aimed at business and government users; it competes with QGIS for traditional GIS desktop seats and is often mentioned alongside QGIS and ArcGIS in GIS software comparisons.

Direct peers

GRASS GIS: GRASS GIS is a long-established open-source desktop GIS also under OSGeo, sharing the same community-driven, volunteer-maintained model; it is the most directly comparable open-source desktop GIS to QGIS in licensing and target users, though QGIS has eclipsed it in popularity.
SAGA GIS: SAGA GIS is an open-source desktop GIS focused on geoscientific analysis; it competes with QGIS for academic and environmental GIS users and is similarly free and developer-driven, though with a smaller community and plugin footprint.
GeoServer: GeoServer is an open-source server for publishing geospatial data via OGC standards (WMS, WFS, WCS), directly comparable to QGIS Server; both are OSGeo projects and frequently deployed together or as alternatives in enterprise geospatial publishing.
gvSIG: gvSIG is a free open-source desktop GIS with associated mobile and online components, originally driven by the Valencia regional government; it targets the same open-source GIS user base as QGIS, particularly Spanish-speaking public administrations, and is regularly compared against QGIS in open-source GIS evaluations.

Emerging players

PostGIS: PostGIS is an open-source spatial database extension for PostgreSQL that QGIS integrates with natively; the two are highly complementary (and sometimes substitutive at the storage layer), making PostGIS a key adjacent open-source geospatial peer.
Leaflet: Leaflet is a widely used open-source JavaScript library for interactive web maps; it overlaps with QGIS's web publishing capabilities (QGIS Web Client) as a leading open-source option for lightweight interactive mapping.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

QGIS compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

QGIS financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

QGIS leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

QGIS funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

QGIS M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about QGIS

What does QGIS do?

Is QGIS a public or private company?

QGIS is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was QGIS founded?

QGIS was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is QGIS based?

QGIS is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.

How does QGIS make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Free Open Source Software is the primary driver. The others are sustaining Memberships and one-time Donations.

Who are QGIS's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are Esri ArcGIS, Mapbox, CARTO and MapInfo / Precisely. Direct peers are GRASS GIS, SAGA GIS, GeoServer and gvSIG. Emerging players are PostGIS and Leaflet.

Does QGIS have an API?

No public API is recorded for QGIS.

What industry is QGIS in?

QGIS's product category is Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAK, GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms, with a secondary code of EUAHAKAC, Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.