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QGIS for drone deliverables - anyone doing this professionally? | DroneMapper Forum

c/software•Posted byu/KFowler_GIS•2 months ago

QGIS for drone deliverables - anyone doing this professionally?

I'm trying to reduce software costs and wondering if QGIS can handle professional drone mapping deliverables. Currently using ArcGIS Pro but the $700/year licensing adds up.

Specifically need to:

Style and export ortho maps with annotations
Generate contours from DTMs
Create area/volume calculations
Produce PDF map sheets for clients

Is QGIS production-ready for this or am I going to spend more time fighting the software than saving money?

Comments

uma_geomatics•2 months ago

QGIS is absolutely production-ready. I've been using it exclusively for 3 years. The print composer is excellent for map sheets, contour generation works great with GDAL tools built in.

The learning curve is real if you're coming from ArcGIS but once you get the workflows down it's just as fast. And the plugin ecosystem is solid.

LarryTheMapper•2 months ago

I use QGIS for 80% of my GIS work and ArcGIS for the other 20% (mainly 3D visualization and some specific analysis tools). Totally viable for standard drone deliverables.