# Page 4 | ArcGIS Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 4 - Is ArcGIS the right GIS solution for you? Explore 503 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/93333/ArcGIS/reviews --- ArcGIS 4.6 (503) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/93333/ArcGIS/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 4 - Reviews of ArcGIS ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 76-100 of 503 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Eduardo G. Analista Programador de Sistemas Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simply the best of its kind!" June 12, 2018 5.0 An indispensable tool to work every day in my business, helping to manage all my spatial information quickly and easily for all my employees.. Pros It provides an extensive possibility of resources for the spatial analysis of data. With this tool you can create, consult and analyze in a very easy way your data in the territory, combining layers easy and fast and obtain new information from that data. Amazing compatibility with most used formats and the best for analyse interpolation of data values in the space Cons Maybe the license, ArcGIS forces you to connect to a license to perform certain geoprocessing operations. Therefore, although it has a good geoprocessing framework, solid and broad, its license level determines which tools can be used in this tool Review Source Justin C. Customer Success Analyst Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The industry standard" April 27, 2022 4.0 Pros ArcGIS has an application anywhere within the GIS space. Thus knowledge of this software is transferable to any position so long as it requires GIS data to be handled. There are lots of forums, posts, and additional resources to help you along the way so you will not get lost. Cons When exporting or handling data ESRI prefers to keep things proprietary. This means being forced to use their organizational systems if you want to share and examine data in an efficient manner. This also means you are at the mercy of ESRI capabilities and trust in their ability to roll out feature updates in a timely matter. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Docente Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excelente Aplicación de Manejo Geográfico " December 12, 2022 4.0 Es una aplicación que consume mucho recurso digital y muchos formatos con los que se guarda los productos generados en este programa tiene una codificación que no son compatibles con plataforma similares de manejo de gestión geográfica. Pros Es un software excelente con un motor de procesamientos poderoso para la gestión de archivos cartográficos y geográficos. Recibe y procesa casi cualquier archivos y formato de data base con información geográfica. Cons Es una aplicación que consume mucho recurso para su funcionamiento, congestiona la memoria RAM que equipo así como su aplicaciones externas. Switched from [QGIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/185949/QGIS/) Por su consumo de memoria virtual es mucho menor y una interfaz mas aplicable al usuario. Review Source Rafael M. Analista Used the software for: 2+ years ### " The best GIS for enviromental analysis" February 20, 2018 5.0 Analyze enviromental data in multiple scales and mak studies with precision and detail. Pros ArcGIS has a lot of tools to do enviromental analysis that increase the precision and details of this can of studies, you can analyze satellite images, manage spatyal data in shapefiles about vegetation, fire, crops, desertefication processes and so on. You can also use hydrology analysis to know the level of degration of a watershed, and manage 3D models for a better exposition of your investigation. Cons The price is the greatest limitation of ArcGIS, because the license is so expensive and every modul is sell separately, that is a big limitation for people who wants to use another moduls and only can use the basic one because of the price. Review Source MP Matthew P. PhD Researcher Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Robust but expensive" April 27, 2022 4.0 ArcGIS is the go to for everything geospatial. If you have access to a licence. It can interact with a wide range of workflows, and rarely is there a geographic analysis that ArcGIS cannot solve. Pros ArcGIS offers a full suite of various programs for working with geographical data, ArcScene, ArcView, ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro. If you have a need, ArcGIS can solve it. Cons The annual licence for ArcGIS is extremely expensive. If you are willing to put in the extra time, you can find free alternatives that fit within your workflow. For example, QGIS, if you need a GUI, or Python if you or a team member are comfortable coding. Review Source SP Surya P. GIS expert Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "ArcGIS" November 8, 2023 4.0 im totally love with this software. last 6 years im working with ArcGIS software.the best part is visualization and professinal data quality and Delivery also customer support . Pros ArcGIS is totally a professional Software. most favourite part of this software is the wide range of functions,tools,and also online support of ESRI. Cons too costly. the user interface is bit slow.need good configration system for good working condition. Review Source ZW Zabeehullah W. Monitoring Officer Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Mapping tool" July 17, 2022 5.0 I have used this software for my masters thesis and then in field to find disaster destruction, vegetation cover, temperature change and comping old and new features on surface of earth Pros It is easy to use especially data handling is very easy. A verity of tools are present to apply on data. Knowledge to use is widely avaliable on youtube Cons Software installation is still a problem. It is difficult to install. It is very heavy and cannot be used on low space systems Review Source Parag Jyoti D. Assistant Professor (S-3) Logistics and Supply Chain Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ArcGIS: My old trusted friend" January 21, 2019 5.0 Distribution Network Analysis for Marketing of Fertilizer The company’s marketing strategy coupled with spatial and attribute data enabled us to simulate the market in ArcGIS for the identification of the most suited distribution Network. By combining ArcGIS with workflow and a messaging system, we have automated a large portion of the marketing operation. Using reports on expenditures and success rates per location, the number of staff members is then estimated with ArcGIS and forwarded to the management for review. Pros Most intuitive GIS Clutter-free menus Bug-free algorithms Research-oriented design Built on a best-in-class database engine Documented guidance for every feature and option Never fails to deliver Cons Should have been free for students Should have minimum pricing for academia Review Source CK Christa K. Graduate Researcher Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "ArcGIS Review" November 23, 2022 5.0 Amazing Software! Pros ArcGIS is the to-go software for all your mapping needs. I have run geoprocessing projects using ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Online, and the latest ArcGIS Pro. There are various unique features you can use ArcGIS to get the best results possible for your project. These include data collection, data management, remote sensing, geocoding, spatial analysis, spatial statistics, mapping, visualization in 3D, and cartographical work, to name but a few. It's super friendly for both beginners and pros. Cons Even though the software is not open source and may not be affordable to an individual, you could acquire its license through organizational affiliation and enjoy its excellent capabilities. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer GIS Analyst Government Administration Used the software for: 2+ years ### "GIS Powerhouse but could use some updates" February 12, 2019 5.0 ArcGIS provides a suite of programs that create incredible map visuals and can integrate huge amounts of data or simple tables for different projects I work on. Pros ArcGIS is packed with tools for 2D and 3D, Raster and Vector, and small scall and large scale. It's tool set provide an incredible array of options to a trained user. Cons This software is very expensive and it's obvious ESRI is trying to make this a legacy product when it should be their biggest investment. It was a big disappointment that ESRI chose to only put python3 into ArcGIS Pro and left the ArcGIS suite alone. Once python2.7 becomes officially unsupported this program will be much less useful even after costing so much. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Public Safety GIS - Training and Customer Support Coordinator Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "GIS User" December 5, 2018 5.0 Customer service is good although not always quick. Pros Functionality is the thing I look for most while using a GIS software and ESRI's ArcGIS has that hands down. No where else will you find such a user friendly software to edit maintain and analyze spatial data. I've been in the field for over 6 years and have exclusively used ESRI products. Yes, I've also always worked at places that can afford the hefty license fee - however in my opinion it's worth every penny for the analysis the software can perform. Cons Cost is quite expensive and many smaller government and non professionals cannot afford it. On the plus side they have a great student rate option! Review Source LEWIS M. urban planner Architecture & Planning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best tool for planners" June 10, 2021 5.0 Efficient and reliable Pros The fact that planners can use it to do variety of analysis including transportational analysis,geographical analysis,economic analysis,built form analysis among many others with the software makes it the most convinient tool in possession of urban planners and designers Cons The complexity of the software especially for newbies makes it a little challenging but with various tutorials installed in the software it enables them to catch up and be able to utilize the software. Reason for choosing ArcGIS It is able to deal with large areas efficently unlike archicad Review Source JC Jacob C. Director of Operations Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Online Map User" December 3, 2019 4.0 ArcGIS is really the only product that competes well in the outdoor map market for large amounts of data. There are some improvements we would like to see, but for a company that large, this might be unreasonable. You kind of get what you get, since they are the only show in town. Pros ESRI is the big dog when it comes to digital maps. We use these a lot to map our facilities and specifically our underground utilities. This is the best product on the market. The only competitor might be AutoDesk, but even that doesn't compete. It is a very functional product and can contain all the information we need. Cons Sometimes when you load some of the basemap images that software can really slow down. Also the zoom function for the online database interaction can be a little glitchy at times. A lot of these can be fixed by changing some of the detail settings, but that can take some digging to find. The company is so big, that if you have a question; you are not likely to get ahold of anyone. You are better off to look up videos on youtube or try posting questions on forums. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Airport Planner Airlines/Aviation Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best GIS Software " June 29, 2022 5.0 Pros At GIS suite of products has made spatial analysis and map creation (important tools in our industry) easy and visually appealing. Cons The geolocation tools is very glitch at times so it required going into the excel file and modify things to make it easier to locate which was tedious. Review Source JAG Jose Alfredo G. Gerente de Proyectos Telecommunications Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "SIG lider mundial para recopilar, administrar, analizar, compartir y distribuir información digital" June 4, 2023 5.0 Pros La creación de mapas, polígonos, muestreo de árboles... Cons El zoom de las imágenes satelitales hay que mejorar. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Partnership Management and Communications Intern Utilities Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best Mapping Software Out-there" January 2, 2019 5.0 My use of ArcGIS has ranged from an academic setting - where I was trained to use the product - to using it for mapping water pipelines in the water utility industry. The software is incredibly effective and can handle just about any map product that someone wants to make. However, it does require time and effort to become a master of ArcGIS and it cannot be accomplished in a few hours. Pros If you can dream it up, ArcGIS allows you to do it. This software has every function imaginable. Plus, it's super easy to input and export data. One major thing that makes it the best software and the most widely used, is how easy it is to combine different maps together into one product. During graduate school, I worked on a map with a couple classmates combining data to create a map of Nigeria that featured hospital locations, sites of conflict, and areas of concern for food security. We had an incredibly easy time inserting all the data, generating a map that looked how we wanted it to look, and correctly labeling all the different pieces of information. Cons You need to know what you're doing before you use this software. Make sure to either watch some YouTube videos, invest in a textbook that teaches you how to use the software, or hire an individual who has experience with the product in an academic or professional setting. While you really can do anything you want with the software, it does require some knowledge to be able to achieve the desired end result. If you forget how a certain function works, make sure to doube check how to do it and do not wing it because you can very easily mess up the map product (one classmate of mine did this and deleted her entire map that took three months to build). Review Source YY Yusuf Y. Land and Water Officer Government Relations Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best commercial GIS toolset but has performance, compatibility issues,falls short in geostatistics" January 11, 2022 4.0 We use ArcGIS as secondary software for the things that we cannot do with other software (better styling and data handling for certain formats) Pros It has a tool for almost anything effective in handling of a large amount of vector data Cons Expensive Interoperability issues Licensing approach (need to pay more for extensions) Tonnes of some bugs and issues with ArcGIS Pro Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Nursing IT Admin Medical Practice Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Fast but Expensive GIS software" June 22, 2022 4.0 It was quite good experience but for me this software is expensive as compare to the features they are providing. Pros Software's speed and data processing ability I liked the most. Software overall user base is too large. Which gives more trust. Cons Less support in India and its limited tools/features. One need different different tools and add-ons to perform specific tasks. Review Source AB Adam B. Director Government Administration Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ArcGIS is the best GIS software on the market" November 24, 2023 5.0 Pros Ease of use, the quality of product and the quality of the output. Cons It does take some time to learn how to use some of the specialized editing tools but if you need to make a quick map, it’s super easy. Review Source RM Ricardo M. Lead Biologist/GIS Specialist Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Esri's Arc Products are Essential Tools for Spatial Analysis" January 12, 2021 5.0 I have formal training in Geography and advanced GIS uses, so ArcGIS has been an essential tool for spatial analysis and spatial database creation. Pros I appreciate the flexibility and thoughtfulness of the software's design. There is almost always more than one way to accomplish a task in Arc products and suggestions for improvement are often met with modifications to the products to maintain their usefulness. The product is pretty much self-contained but there are patches and programs to customize the software. It also allows users to program routines to facilitate repetitive work. It also uses Python and Visual Basic, which allow users to write their own routines. Cons The price of this software can be prohibitive, particularly if users are looking for a full suite of services. Many of the functions are not intuitive and require a long ramp up time. The program crashes more than others on my computer. Reason for choosing ArcGIS Esri provides great service, overall, and lots of ready to use background maps and files. Review Source Isabel H. Planificador Territorial II Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best GIS tool" February 7, 2018 4.0 Pros 1) The graphical interface of ArcGis is easy to use. 2) I like labelling tool called "The Maplex Label Engine", provides best options for labelling. 3) It has the ability to make very nice looking map products, has unmatched cartographic output. 4) ArcGIS can work with CAD data, KML files for Google Earth and other data sources, great! Cons 1) The costs of this software are enormous for the initial purchase price and the subsequent yearly fees for the product. 2) It can be very slow. It takes a few minutes to open and uses a lot of RAM. 3) Limited options for incorporating graphics into maps Review Source Arif M. PHD Candidate Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Usability and Utility of ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Online software " November 21, 2018 5.0 Overall experience is very good. It helps me to teach students "how to make maps" both offline and online. Pros I like spatial data processing and spatial analytical tools offered by ArcGIS desktop. These tools help me to perform numerous spatial statistical analyses including spatial auto-correlation, hotspot mapping, etc. Cons With big datasets, specially rasters, it takes a lot of time (often days) to finish an analysis. For example, if I want to resample raster data of the United States, it takes more than a day to run on my desktop. I wish this processing/calculation time could be made faster! Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Studente Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Probabilmente il migliore" March 28, 2023 5.0 Pros Le numerose funzioni di ArcGIS lo rendono un prodotto indispensabile per chi opera nella pianificazione territoriale ed urbanistica, i competitor gratuiti non offrono le stesse possibilità offerte da questo software Cons Il prodotto è costoso, quindi prima di acquistarlo bisogna capire l'uso che se ne vuole fare, dato che esistono dei competitor gratuiti che possono essere usati in sua sostituzione, al costo di sacrificare delle funzionalità interessanti Review Source Maryory L. Analista Used the software for: 2+ years ### " Satisfactory since it allows georeferencing data and generate products of easy interrelation" February 27, 2018 4.0 Thematic Maps. Databases. Dynamic Presentations Variable correlation 3D views Pros Its ability to correlate spatial and numerical data, has a good graphic interface. It allows to show results in 3D, generate predictive models, manage multiple variables. It is simple to expose beginner students. Cons It presents limitations of license, it is expensive for people who start their studies or who would like to use it on a personal level. The projects do not maintain their characteristics if they are opened with a different version to the saved version, generating loss of information. Review Source Alexis F. Especialista Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent GIS tool" February 22, 2023 5.0 Apositive experience perfect for creating maps and working online Pros the ease and interactivity with the user Cons the moment of loading the data that is a bit complicated everything else is fine Review Source Similar Products Featured