Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GnuPlot VS WinPython

Compare GnuPlot VS WinPython and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GnuPlot logo GnuPlot

Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility.

WinPython logo WinPython

The easiest way to run Python, Spyder with SciPy and friends out of the box on any Windows PC...
  • GnuPlot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13
  • WinPython Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18

GnuPlot features and specs

  • Highly Customizable
    GnuPlot offers extensive customization options for creating plots, allowing users to tweak almost every aspect of the graph, including colors, labels, line styles, and more.
  • Scriptable
    GnuPlot can be driven by scripts, making it convenient for automating complex plots and integrating with other software workflows.
  • Wide Range of Output Formats
    It supports many output formats such as PNG, PDF, SVG, and EPS, making it easy to generate graphics for different purposes like presentations, publications, and web content.
  • Cross-Platform
    GnuPlot runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring that it can be used in diverse computing environments.
  • Complex Plotting Capabilities
    GnuPlot supports a wide variety of plots, including 2D and 3D plots, histograms, heatmaps, and more, which caters to the needs of advanced visualization requirements.
  • Performance
    GnuPlot is efficient and can handle large datasets with ease, offering fast rendering times which is crucial when dealing with complex visualizations.
  • Free and Open Source
    Being free and open-source software, GnuPlot is accessible to everyone, and users can modify the source code to suit their needs.

Possible disadvantages of GnuPlot

  • Steep Learning Curve
    GnuPlot has a complex syntax and a steep learning curve, especially for beginners who may find it difficult to get started without substantial effort.
  • Limited GUI
    GnuPlot lacks a full-featured graphical user interface (GUI), making it less user-friendly for those who prefer point-and-click interactions over scripting.
  • Documentation
    While comprehensive, the documentation can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate for new users trying to find specific information quickly.
  • Date Handling
    Handling and formatting dates can be cumbersome in GnuPlot, requiring more manual setup compared to other dedicated plotting tools.
  • Interactive Features
    GnuPlot's interactive plotting capabilities are limited compared to other modern plotting tools that offer more dynamic and real-time interactivity.
  • Integration
    Integration with some modern programming environments and languages may not be as seamless as with other plotting libraries specifically designed for those ecosystems (e.g., Matplotlib in Python).

WinPython features and specs

  • Portable
    WinPython is completely portable and can be run directly from a USB device without the need for installation, making it easy to use on different machines.
  • Pre-configured Environment
    It comes with a wide range of pre-installed packages commonly used in scientific computing, data analysis, and machine learning, saving time required for setup.
  • Standalone
    It includes a standalone version of Python and can be used alongside other Python installations without conflict, allowing for multiple environments.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface is user-friendly, including a comprehensive control panel that lets users manage their packages and environment easily.
  • Open Source
    WinPython is open-source, allowing users to modify and contribute to its development, fostering a collaborative improvement route.

Possible disadvantages of WinPython

  • Windows Only
    As the name suggests, WinPython is only available for Windows users, making it irrelevant for users of other operating systems like macOS or Linux.
  • Large Size
    The distribution is relatively large compared to other distributions, which can be a downside when dealing with limited storage or downloading bandwidth.
  • Update Management
    Managing updates for both the Python version and the individual packages can be cumbersome compared to alternatives like Anaconda, which can handle updates more seamlessly.
  • Resource Intensive
    It might consume more system resources, which can be a limitation for users working on machines with limited specifications compared to lighter setups.
  • Less Popular
    WinPython might have less community support and fewer resources available online compared to more popular distributions like Anaconda, which could be a concern for beginners seeking help.

GnuPlot videos

Gnuplot Introduction

More videos:

  • Review - DTrace Latency Visualization in gnuplot
  • Review - Basics of Gnuplot - Make your plot look Good

WinPython videos

[ENG] Python programming 1: WinPython/Anaconda Installation

More videos:

  • Review - #1 WinPython - installing, saving & loading
  • Review - Install Python 3 in Windows 10 | Winpython best Windows Python 3 IDE for win10 win7

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GnuPlot and WinPython)
Technical Computing
93 93%
7% 7
Python IDE
0 0%
100% 100
Numerical Computation
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GnuPlot and WinPython. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, WinPython should be more popular than GnuPlot. It has been mentiond 19 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.

GnuPlot mentions (5)

  • Question about Project Management
    To some extent it extends the concept of tasks which only can be reasonably executed after the completion of other ones (though results of branches eventually may join each other) and offers an additional assisting birds' eye visual of projects. So far, I'm aware about the documentation on worg interfacing org-taskjuggler and taskjuggler, as well as a video tutorial interfacing gnuplot instead. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How do I make a transparent background on .ps or .eps file imported to groff
    Gnuplot is a program to plot diagrams. The Commands issued to use it don't change regardless if it is used in Linux/Windows/MacOS and it comes with less dependencies than a Spread sheet, or a statistics program. This is why I started to Become comfortable with it, and venture out some of its features. Here, "conditional plot" referred to "the diagram only displays a Thing/uses a pixel if the value in the table... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Drawing graphs and diagrams
    Or, does drawing diagrams refers to plotting data, but neither using matplotlib, nor gnuplot (export to .svg, .pdf, .png; pstricks, tikz to mention a few options)? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Are specific softwares avialable that are suitable for converting different diagrams, graphs and mindmaps to latex codes?
    There may the occasion you actually need the data from a publication, and want to plot them altogether with data newly collected data in one diagram in common. An overlay, though possible, can become tricky (scaling, centering, alignment, etc.) and plotting all data in a diagram generated from scratch (gnuplot/octave, matplotlib, Origin, ...) exported as an illustration in the usual formats (.pdf/.png), or... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Introducing Graphs
    Have you looked at the graphing capabilities of Octave or Gnuplot? Gnuplot in particular has a lot of options, and a GUI for those who want it. Source: over 2 years ago

WinPython mentions (19)

  • One path to connecting a Python script to a COM application on Windows
    STEP 1: Python on Windows What to install Download and install WinPython from https://winpython.github.io. I researched Python on Windows and in very short order understood that WinPython is the way to go. While it’s stated audience is scientists, data scientists and education, it fully serves the needs of personal projects. Also, it is available as a portable distribution with no requirement to register with... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • qBitTorrent search plugins - portable python runtime ?
    How can I use the portable version of winpython from https://winpython.github.io to configure into qbittorrent to detect the runtime pre-requisites so that my portable qbittorent search can work? Thx in advanced. #portablepython. Source: about 2 years ago
  • What you guys use to process data? Excel? r? python?
    You equally are barred from e.g., WinPython which can work without an installation into the OS, too? Then - mechanically speaking - it wouldn't matter that the USB ports are permanently plastered with some polymer. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Jupyterlab Desktop
    Thank for answering. I understand that the interpreter situation can be annoying. There is WinPython [0] to circumvent that to some degree. I feel like if I don’t do it the „VSCode and py-file“ way, it’ll be more and more difficult to keep everything together when teaching about modularity and putting functions in helper scripts, putting tests in other directories and such. I think it’s just because I got used to... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • How to learn Python without installation
    One option would be to use a portable Python runtime. Like this one: https://winpython.github.io/. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GnuPlot and WinPython, you can also consider the following products

GeoGebra - GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for learning and teaching.

Portable Python - Minimum bare bones portable python distribution with PyScripter as development environment.

Matplotlib - matplotlib is a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety...

PyCharm - Python & Django IDE with intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error checking, quick-fixes, and much more...

SciDaVis - SciDAVis is a free application for Scientific Data Analysis and Visualization.

Thonny - Python IDE for beginners