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FreeCAD VS GRASS GIS

Compare FreeCAD VS GRASS GIS and see what are their differences

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FreeCAD logo FreeCAD

An open-source parametric 3D modeler

GRASS GIS logo GRASS GIS

GRASS GIS is a free Geographic Information System (GIS) software used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization.
  • FreeCAD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23
  • GRASS GIS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-18

GRASS GIS offers powerful raster, vector, and geospatial processing engines in a single integrated software suite. It includes tools for terrain and ecosystem modeling, hydrology, visualization of raster and vector data, management and analysis of geospatial data, and the processing of satellite and aerial imagery. It comes with a temporal framework for advanced time series processing and a Python API for rapid geospatial programming. GRASS GIS has been optimized for performance and large geospatial data analysis.

FreeCAD videos

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Is FreeCAD any good?

More videos:

  • Review - FreeCAD vs Fusion360 - What is the Best FREE CAD Program?
  • Review - FREECAD review | the best free cad software to download for free ! | mechanical modeling program

GRASS GIS videos

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GRASS GIS Tutorials - Tutorial 2 - Understanding GRASS GIS Data Structure

More videos:

  • Tutorial - GRASS GIS Tutorial 2 - Understanding GRASS GIS Data Structure
  • Tutorial - GRASS GIS Tutorials - Tutorial 1 - Installation - REVISED

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FreeCAD and GRASS GIS)

FreeCAD

GRASS GIS

3D
100 100%
3D
0% 0
Maps
0 0%
Maps
100% 100
Architecture
100 100%
Architecture
0% 0
Mapping And GIS
0 0%
Mapping And GIS
100% 100

Questions and Answers

As answered by people managing FreeCAD and GRASS GIS.

How would you describe your primary audience?

GRASS GIS's answer:

GRASS GIS primarily caters to geospatial professionals, researchers, and students in fields like geography, environmental science, urban planning, and geology. It is also used by government agencies and non-profit organizations for spatial data analysis and environmental modeling.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

GRASS GIS's answer:

As an open-source tool, GRASS GIS doesn't have "customers" in the traditional sense. However, it is widely used by various government agencies, academic institutions, and environmental organizations worldwide. Notable users include space agencies, numerous universities and research institutions as well as companies involved in geospatial studies and analysis.

What's the story behind your product?

GRASS GIS's answer:

GRASS GIS was initially developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a tool for land management and environmental planning. It was first released in the early 1980s and has since evolved into a robust, multi-functional GIS platform, largely due to contributions from a global community of developers. GRASS GIS is a founding member project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo.org).

What makes your product unique?

GRASS GIS's answer:

  • Open-Source and Free: GRASS GIS is completely open-source, allowing users to freely use, modify, and distribute it.
  • Advanced Geospatial Capabilities: It offers a wide range of tools for spatial modeling, geostatistics, and data management, making it suitable for advanced geospatial analysis.
  • Strong Community Support: Being open-source, it has a strong community of developers and users contributing to its continuous improvement.
  • Integration with Other Open-Source Tools: It can be integrated with other open-source GIS software like QGIS, providing a comprehensive GIS solution.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

GRASS GIS's answer:

  • Cost-Effectiveness: Being free and open, it is an excellent choice for those with a strong need for quality.
  • Customizability: Users can customize and extend its functionalities to suit their specific needs.
  • Comprehensive Geospatial Functions: It offers a wide range of geospatial functions that are comparable, and sometimes superior, to those in proprietary GIS software.
  • Strong Data Handling: It can handle large datasets efficiently, which is beneficial for complex geospatial analyses.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

GRASS GIS's answer:

GRASS GIS is primarily written in C, Python, and C++. It uses a range of geospatial libraries and technologies, including GDAL for data conversion, PROJ for coordinate transformations, and can interface with SQL databases.

User comments

Share your experience with using FreeCAD and GRASS GIS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FreeCAD and GRASS GIS

FreeCAD Reviews

15 Best Sketchup Alternatives 2022
From the description “FreeCAD” you can decipher that this software is free to use. Hence, you can use it on Windows, Mac, and Linux amongst other operating systems.
Source: rigorousthemes.com
9 Free CAD Software to Download
Although it is open source and free, FreeCAD is on par with other popular CAD programs due to its capability in creating real 3D solids, support for meshes, 2D drafting, right hand coordinate system plus many more features.
Source: www.hongkiat.com
10 Free AutoCAD Alternatives
Its tools and concepts are quite similar to those of AutoCAD. So those who are already familiar with CAD will feel very comfortable using it. The FreeCAD source code can be downloaded, used and transformed as the user wants, because it is free. One of its most striking features is that by having a free source code, FreeCAD users have constantly changing software available...
Source: solidface.com

GRASS GIS Reviews

The Top 10 Alternatives to ArcGIS
Grass GIS is a spatial database and software suite used for creating and managing maps, editing data, conducting spatial analysis, and sharing information. It is an open source software that runs on all major platforms, making it a convenient option for a variety of different users. There are many plugins and extensions available for Grass GIS, allowing you to customize it...
Source: equatorstudios.com
30 Best GIS Software Applications [Rankings]
GRASS GIS is one of those suites that let you geoprocess until the night falls. It’s a loaded gun with sophisticated tools. It’s so powerful that you can unleash GRASS GIS in QGIS as a separate toolbox. But its clunky interface and stubborn map projection rules hold it back.
Source: gisgeography.com
Top 6 Free and Open-Source GIS Software
The free, open-source, and cross-platform compatible solution is the best GIS software solution that comes with the most enhanced features. GRASS was developed by the US government and is well-known by companies across the globe. The raster-based GIS software provides users advanced features such as an image processing system, vector GIS, graphics production system, spatial...
Source: linuxways.net
3 open source alternatives to ArcGIS Desktop
Let's begin with GRASS. GRASS, which stands for Geographic Resources Analysis Support System). It has a very long history, dating back to original development which began in 1982 under the US government. In the time since, GRASS has been adopted by the academic community, where its development continues today.
Source: opensource.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GRASS GIS should be more popular than FreeCAD. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FreeCAD mentions (2)

  • SOLIDWORKS for Linux
    Important note[0] from author: > With the help of my script, You get a way to install Solidworks on your Linux system. > Certain packages and programs that are required will be set up for You, but it's important to know, that my script only helps You to get the program to run and nothing more! Personally I may recommend try & use SolveSpace[1,2] and FreeCAD[3] — free & open-source 2D/3D... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • STL to Gcode for CNC Router?
    Also FreeCAD has a gcode workbench for full 3D. I've used it a little and would describe it as "usable once you work out the quirks". Https://freecadweb.org/. Source: over 3 years ago

GRASS GIS mentions (8)

  • Geospatial Nix – create, use and deploy today
    Https://grass.osgeo.org/ 
        GRASS GIS offers powerful raster, vector, and geospatial processing engines in a single integrated software suite. It includes tools for terrain and ecosystem modeling, hydrology, visualization of raster and vector data, management and analysis of geospatial data, and the processing of satellite and aerial imagery. It comes with a temporal framework for advanced time series...
    - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • What's missing from C# in Godot 4?
    We haven't looked at integrating GRASS yet, as we're more interested in data display, not deep analysis. Just another example of a C/C++ library with front end bindings for Python. Numbers are crunched in C/C++, results returned to Python. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Discussion Thread
    Anyone have good advice for where to learn how to use GRASS. Source: about 1 year ago
  • GIS Developer career path
    Outside of personal experience, based on second-hand insight: GRASS is an extremely powerful tool, if you're not familiar with it already, and you can use it from the CLI and from Python. If you'd like to step out of Python at some point, I hear Java is used a lot for enterprise GIS, while Julia looks like the language of the future (especially now with JuliaGeo), but that still remains to be seen. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What other tools do you use to help you do GIS?
    Sometimes some modules from GRASS like r.lake at the moment. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing FreeCAD and GRASS GIS, you can also consider the following products

SketchUp - 3D for Everyone

QGIS - QGIS is a desktop geographic information system, or GIS.

Blender - Blender is the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.

ArcGIS - ArcGIS software is a data analysis, cloud-based mapping platform that allows users to customize maps and see real-time data ranging from logistics support to overall mapping analysis.

LibreCAD - An open source 2D CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux.

SAGA GIS - SAGA - System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses - is a Geographic Information System (GIS)...

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