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QtiPlot VS GnuPlot

Compare QtiPlot VS GnuPlot and see what are their differences

QtiPlot logo QtiPlot

QtiPlot is a professional scientific data analysis and visualisation solution.

GnuPlot logo GnuPlot

Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility.
  • QtiPlot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-03-23
  • GnuPlot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13

QtiPlot features and specs

  • Open Source
    QtiPlot is an open-source software, which allows users to inspect the source code and contribute to its development. This fosters community-driven improvements and ensures transparency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    QtiPlot is available for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility for users who work across different operating systems.
  • Scientific Data Visualization
    QtiPlot offers a range of data visualization tools specifically designed for scientific research, making it easy to create publication-quality graphs and plots.
  • Cost-Effective
    Being available as free software, QtiPlot is a cost-effective alternative to commercial data analysis and visualization tools, making it accessible for students and researchers with limited budgets.
  • Custom Scripting
    QtiPlot supports Python scripting, allowing users to automate tasks and extend functionality through custom scripts, which enhances its versatility.

Possible disadvantages of QtiPlot

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users might find QtiPlot challenging to learn, especially if they do not have a background in data analysis or visualization tools, due to its complex interface and feature set.
  • Limited Documentation
    The documentation for QtiPlot may be less comprehensive compared to some proprietary software, potentially making it difficult for users to find solutions to specific problems.
  • Performance Issues
    For very large datasets, QtiPlot may experience performance issues, including slow processing speeds or application crashes, limiting its usability for extensive data analysis.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Compared to some commercial alternatives, QtiPlot may lack certain advanced features and tools for specialized scientific analysis, which can be a limitation for expert users.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community of open-source users, the support might not be as immediate or structured as commercial customer support, which can delay problem resolution.

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).

Analysis of GnuPlot

Overall verdict

  • Gnuplot is generally considered to be a good choice for those looking for a reliable and flexible plotting tool, especially if the users need robust scriptability or work across different operating systems.

Why this product is good

  • Gnuplot is a powerful, portable, and multi-platform tool capable of producing high-quality 2D and 3D plots. It supports numerous output formats and can be used interactively or in scripts. Additionally, it has a large support community and extensive documentation, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.

Recommended for

  • Scientists and engineers who need to visualize data across diverse platforms.
  • Users comfortable working with command-line interfaces.
  • Individuals or teams needing to generate plots through automated scripts.
  • Those looking for a free and open-source alternative to other graphing tools.

QtiPlot videos

QtiPlot Intro #3: scatter plot, linear regression, error bars & reading data from graphs

More videos:

  • Tutorial - QtiPlot Intro #1: How to install free QtiPlot build on windows- QtiPlot alternatives
  • Review - QtiPlot intro #5: Boltzmann fits (e.g. for bacteria or protein aggregation growth curves)

GnuPlot videos

Gnuplot Introduction

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to QtiPlot and GnuPlot)
Technical Computing
25 25%
75% 75
Numerical Computation
28 28%
72% 72
Office & Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Data Visualization
23 23%
77% 77

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GnuPlot seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 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.

QtiPlot mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of QtiPlot yet. Tracking of QtiPlot recommendations started around Mar 2021.

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: over 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: over 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

What are some alternatives?

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

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

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

LabPlot - LabPlot is a KDE-application for interactive graphing and analysis of scientific data.

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

OriginLab - OriginLab is a data analysis tool that provide the engineers and scientist with the technical charts and system for 2D and 3D plotting and all kind of fitting including curve and peak fitting.

GraphPad Prism - Overview. GraphPad Prism, available for both Windows and Mac computers, combines scientific graphing, comprehensive curve fitting (nonlinear regression), understandable statistics, and data organization.