WhiteboxTools is a geospatial toolkit for terrain analysis, hydrology, LiDAR, remote sensing and vector GIS. Whitebox Next Gen offers more than 700 tools, including digital elevation model terrain derivatives, watershed delineation, flow routing, point-cloud classification, image analysis, change detection and vector operations. The open tools are available through Python, R and a QGIS plugin, and can be used with notebooks, scripts and local desktop processing. Listed formats include GeoTIFF, Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ, COPC, GeoPackage, FlatGeobuf, GeoParquet, GeoJSON and Shapefile. It supports Windows, macOS and Linux. The company says processing runs locally, which can suit on-premises or offline workflows. The open core costs 0.00 USD per free. Paid annual Entry subscriptions range from 740.00 USD per year to 995.00 USD per year; Standard subscriptions range from 1270.00 USD per year to 1795.00 USD per year. Enterprise pricing is custom and not listed.
Who it is for
It suits GIS practitioners who need terrain, hydrology, LiDAR, remote-sensing or vector tools in Python, R, QGIS or local desktop workflows. The local processing option may suit on-premises or offline environments.
What is good
- More than 700 geospatial tools
- Open tools for Python, R and QGIS
- Supports Windows, macOS and Linux
- Local processing can suit offline workflows
What to know first
- Some Pro use requires a paid subscription
- License-validation reporting cannot be disabled
- Hosted access and SaaS require written authorization
Verdict
The free open core offers a broad geospatial toolkit across common GIS workflows. Before choosing a Pro plan, review its pricing and license limits, including the restrictions on hosted and cloud use.
WhiteboxTools plans and pricing
All plansCompared on point cloud software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Point classification
- Yes
- Processing mode
- desktop
- Geospatial analysis
- Yes
