| Component | Recommended | Why it matters | |---|---|---| | | 4-core, 3.0+ GHz (Intel i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7) | Faster geometry calculations, reprojection, and rendering. | | RAM | 16 GB (8 GB absolute minimum for professional use) | QGIS loads data into RAM. Large vector/raster files need memory. | | Storage | SSD (NVMe preferred) with 500 GB free | GIS involves many small file reads (SSD is 10x faster than HDD). | | Graphics | Dedicated GPU with 2–4 GB VRAM (NVIDIA GTX 1050 or higher / AMD equivalent) | Smooth pan/zoom, 3D map view, and terrain rendering. | | Display | 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) or higher | QGIS has many panels (Browser, Layers, Processing Toolbox). | | Page file / Swap | 1.5x RAM size | Prevent crashes when processing large datasets. |
| Component | Performance Tier | |---|---| | | 8+ cores, 3.5+ GHz (Intel i9, AMD Ryzen 9, or Xeon) | | RAM | 32–64 GB (or more) | | Storage | NVMe SSD (e.g., Samsung 980 Pro) + external HDD for archives | | Graphics | Workstation GPU: NVIDIA RTX A2000 or higher, or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060+ with 8–12 GB VRAM | | Display | Dual monitors (both 1080p or higher) or 4K single monitor | qgis requirements
| Component | Requirement | Why it matters | |---|---|---| | | 2-core, 2.0 GHz (Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3) | Rendering maps and running simple processing tools. | | RAM | 4 GB | Loading small datasets. OS will use ~2GB, leaving 2GB for QGIS. | | Storage | 500 MB free (for software) + 10 GB for data | QGIS itself is small; your GIS data is large. | | Graphics | Any integrated GPU (Intel HD Graphics 600 or newer) | 2D map rendering. No 3D or advanced visualization. | | Display | 1280 x 720 resolution | Minimum UI visibility. | | Internet | Required only for installation & plugin downloads | Offline use is fully supported after install. | | Component | Recommended | Why it matters
QGIS is a free, open-source Geographic Information System. Because it is constantly updated, its demands on hardware have increased, but it remains less demanding than proprietary software like ArcGIS Pro. | | Storage | SSD (NVMe preferred) with
| OS | Minimum Version | Architecture | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | | Windows 10 (64-bit) | x64 | Windows 7/8 no longer supported. Windows 11 works perfectly. | | macOS | macOS 11 (Big Sur) | Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) & Intel (x86_64) | Native Apple Silicon support since QGIS 3.30. | | Linux | Ubuntu 20.04 / Debian 11 / Fedora 36 | 64-bit | Installed via apt , dnf , or Flatpak/Snap. | | Android/iOS | Not officially supported | N/A | Use "QField" (mobile version of QGIS) instead. | Important: 32-bit operating systems are no longer supported after QGIS 3.0. 2. Minimum System Requirements (Runs, but slowly) Use this as a baseline for small projects (e.g., a few shapefiles, small rasters <100MB, basic editing).