Skip to content
SPECIFICTION
Get listed

GRASS GIS

grass.osgeo.org

Free plan WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAPISelf-hosted
Visit grass.osgeo.org
Spec score 8.2 #13 of 64 in GIS Software

What it is

GRASS GIS is a geospatial processing system for raster, vector, and other geographic data, including terrain, ecosystem, hydrology, data management, and imagery work. It contains more than 500 modules for processing and rendering geographic data, with tools for 3D voxel, temporal, image-processing, and spatial-statistics tasks alongside raster, terrain, hydrological, and vector analysis. Through GDAL-OGR, it supports nearly all common GIS file formats. Interfaces include a graphical user interface, command line, C API, Python, Jupyter Notebook, and WPS. GRASS integrates with QGIS and R and provides PostgreSQL and SQLite database interfaces; its official Addons repository has more than 300 extensions. It is free and open source under GPL (>=v2), with no warranty. The listed platforms include Linux, macOS, Windows, API, web, and self-hosted deployment. Prebuilt macOS applications are signed and notarized. Support includes a worldwide community as well as commercial consulting, training, and custom development.

Spec sheet

Purpose
GRASS is a computational engine for raster, vector and geospatial processing, including terrain, ecosystem, hydrology, data management and imagery work.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Audience
GRASS is used by scientists, developers, researchers, government agencies, universities and private companies.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Platforms
Official downloads cover Linux, macOS and Windows, with Docker images and conda packages also available.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Integrations
GRASS integrates with QGIS and R, and supports PostgreSQL and SQLite database interfaces.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Security
The roadmap commits to vulnerability detection tools, fixing reported security issues and maintaining CI workflows for standards compliance.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Support
GRASS offers worldwide community support plus commercial consulting, training and custom-development services.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Founded
1982Read 23 Sep 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Analysis
Features include raster, 3D voxel, terrain, hydrological, vector, temporal, image-processing and spatial-statistics tools.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Containers
Official Docker images are published as osgeo/grass-gis with Alpine, Debian and Ubuntu variants.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Data formats
GRASS supports nearly all common GIS file formats through the GDAL-OGR library.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Extensions
The official GRASS Addons repository has more than 300 extensions.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
GIS modules
GRASS contains over 500 modules for processing and rendering geographic data.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Governance
The Project Steering Committee guides direction, budget and governance under OSGeo, with NumFOCUS fiscal sponsorship.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
Interfaces
GRASS provides GUI, command-line, C API, Python, Jupyter Notebook and WPS interfaces.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org
macOS security
The prebuilt macOS applications are signed and notarized.Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org

Plans and prices

GRASS GIS Free free and open source · GPL (>=v2) · no warranty Read 1 Oct 2026 · grass.osgeo.org

Every GRASS GIS plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • More than 500 processing and rendering modules
  • Supports nearly all common GIS file formats
  • Offers GUI, command line, APIs, Python, and WPS
  • Integrates with QGIS and R
  • Free and open source under GPL (>=v2)

Limits

  • No warranty is provided
  • Some support services are commercial

Who it suits

GRASS GIS suits scientists, researchers, developers, government agencies, universities, and companies working with geographic data. Its range of interfaces and analysis tools can serve both command-line and graphical workflows.

Verdict

GRASS GIS covers a broad range of geospatial processing through multiple interfaces and integrations. It is free and open source, but its stated terms include no warranty.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to GRASS GISAll alternatives →