3-GIS vs QGIS (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
QGIS is our pick, scoring 7/10 against 6.4/10 for 3-GIS on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Cost score (10/10 vs 4/10). Only QGIS has a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
3-GIS
6.4/10
3-GIS sells GIS-based network management software that telecom operators and electric and gas utilities use to plan, design, record, inspect and maintain fiber and utility networks.
QGIS
7/10
QGIS is a free, open source desktop GIS. Organisations use it to view, edit, analyse and map spatial data, including vector, raster, mesh and point cloud layers.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.4/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 10/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Free QGIS (open source) |
| Features | ||
| Work Orders | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Asset Registry | Not listed | |
| Engineering Design | Not listed | |
| Inspection Checklists | Not listed | |
| LiDAR Processing | Not listed | |
| Offline Field App | Not listed | |
3-GIS vs QGIS cost by team size
| Team size | 3-GIS | QGIS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | FreeQGIS (open source) |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | FreeQGIS (open source) |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | FreeQGIS (open source) |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | FreeQGIS (open source) |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | FreeQGIS (open source) |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who 3-GIS and QGIS suit
3-GIS fits utilities better than QGIS.
| Audience | 3-GIS | QGIS |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 9/10The utility products cover Esri Utility Network editing, mobile inspections, work management and pole attachment management for electric and gas networks. | 7/10It can map networks and assets, and plugins and PostGIS extend it, but it has no built-in maintenance workflows. |
| Engineering Firms | 6/10Fiber design contractors can use the design and work-packet tools, with contractor access managed in Admin. | 7/10It covers spatial analysis and point cloud viewing, but CAD and BIM work need other tools. |
| Consultancies | Not rated | 8/10Firms can deploy it on any number of seats for analysis and map production without licence fees. |
| Education | Not rated | 9/10Reviewers note that being free and open source makes it popular for students and academic projects. |
| Energy Companies | 7/10Electric and gas network operators are a stated target market, though the products focus on network records rather than generation assets. | Not rated |
| Enterprise | 8/10The vendor cites deployments with thousands of users and more than 500 million network records, and offers role-based administration and APIs for OSS/BSS integration. | Not rated |
| Field Teams | 8/10The Mobile and MIMS apps let crews redline, inspect, take photos and trace outages offline, then sync back to the office. | Not rated |
| Government | Not rated | 9/10Public bodies use it widely for mapping because it has no licence cost and supports open standards. |
| Small Business | 3/10Quote-only pricing, implementation services and a reliance on the Esri ecosystem make it heavy for very small operators. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose 3-GIS
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for utilities (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Includes Work Orders, which QGIS lacks
Why choose QGIS
- Has a free plan (3-GIS does not)
- Higher Cost score (10/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
3-GIS
Pros
- One web system covers the fiber lifecycle: planning in Prospector, design and work packets, strand-level tracing, and operations reporting.
- The Mobile app supports offline work on iOS and Android, and syncs crew redlines, photos and asset updates back to the central record.
- The utility products build on Esri ArcGIS and Utility Network, which suits utilities already invested in Esri.
- Customers can choose between SaaS and on-premises deployment, and the company displays an ISO 27001 badge from A-LIGN.
- Capterra reviewers praise the support team and the ability to configure the software to their needs, giving customer service a 4.4 sub-score.
Cons
- No public pricing, and implementation and data migration services add to total cost; Capterra users scored value for money at 3.9.
- Capterra reviewers report lag and slow navigation at times.
- Users coming from ArcGIS say they miss some ArcGIS features in the 3-GIS interface.
- Only a handful of independent reviews are public, so peer evidence is limited.
- Few turnkey OMS, ADMS or SCADA connectors are documented; deeper integrations rely on APIs or services.
- The November 2026 acquisition by SAM adds some roadmap uncertainty.
QGIS
Pros
- No licence fees on any number of seats, under the GPLv2+ open source licence.
- Python and C++ plugins let teams add custom tools and database connectors such as PostGIS.
- It reads many data formats and standard web services, which makes it easy to connect to existing data.
- Its print layout, atlas and report tools suit organisations that produce a lot of maps.
- It loads LAS, LAZ and virtual point cloud datasets with classification-based rendering.
Cons
- Capterra reviewers report slow performance, freezes and crashes on heavy workloads.
- Newcomers describe a steep learning curve and say installation can be difficult.
- There is no vendor-backed support contract; help comes from the community or third-party providers.
- It cannot edit point clouds and has no asset maintenance features such as work orders.
- Some reviewers say it lacks tools that ArcGIS Pro offers.
Not sold on either?
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)Our product
Plans DJI drone inspection missions for power line towers from LiDAR scans: it finds the towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and splits the route into battery flights.
Made by the team behind b stack radar. Shown here because it fits this topic. It is not part of our rankings. How we rank tools
Frequently Asked Questions
QGIS scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 7/10 against 6.4/10 for 3-GIS. The largest gap is in Cost: 4/10 for 3-GIS and 10/10 for QGIS.
QGIS has a free plan; 3-GIS does not list one.
3-GIS is the better fit for utilities: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for QGIS.
3-GIS has Work Orders, which QGIS lacks.
