SciDAVis vs SigmaPlot: Free Alternative or Commercial Standard?

SigmaPlot is one of the long-standing commercial tools for scientific graphing and data analysis — a Windows program known for wizard-driven graph creation, deep graph customization aimed at print-quality output, and tight integration with Microsoft Office. SciDAVis is the free, open-source (GPL) alternative modeled on the same Origin-style workflow of tables, matrices, and plot windows. If you are wondering whether the free tool can do what you need, this page gives you an honest comparison.

You can download SciDAVis for Windows, macOS, and Linux at no cost. SigmaPlot is proprietary software sold by its vendor under a commercial license (several hundred USD, see official pricing), with a free trial available so you can evaluate it yourself.

The quick comparison

Dimension	SciDAVis	SigmaPlot
License	Free and open source (GPL) — no cost, no license server	Commercial license (several hundred USD, see official pricing); free trial available
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows only
Graph creation	Direct table-to-plot workflow with fine manual control — see our multi-layer plots tutorial	Wizard-driven graph creation plus deep property editors, tuned for print-quality output
Statistics and analysis	Curve fitting (linear, polynomial, exponential, Gaussian, Lorentzian), FFT, integration, smoothing — see our curve fitting tutorial	Broad built-in statistical test library and regression wizards
Office integration	Export to EPS, PDF, SVG, PNG for use in any document	Seamless Microsoft Office integration
Scripting	Python scripting plus muParser formulas — see our Python scripting tutorial	Automation via the application’s own macro facilities
Support	Community support via forums and issue trackers	Commercial support from the vendor
Best for	Free, cross-platform plotting and analysis on any operating system	Print-oriented workflows on Windows where official support and Office integration matter

What users coming from SigmaPlot notice first

Reviewers who have used both tools tend to describe SciDAVis as the friendlier, lighter sibling: the core workflow — data in a table, plot on a page, fit a curve — feels familiar within minutes, and for everyday 2D plots and standard curve fitting it produces publication-ready output without the cost of a commercial license. Several long-time users in the SciDAVis community forums have described switching their routine plotting to SciDAVis while keeping their old SigmaPlot install only for legacy files and the occasional specialized wizard.

They are also candid about the trade-offs. SciDAVis does not match SigmaPlot’s depth in guided statistical workflows, its documentation is community-written rather than professionally produced, and development moves at a volunteer pace. If your work depends on a specific statistical test wizard or on official vendor support, the commercial tool earns its price.

What SigmaPlot does that SciDAVis doesn’t

To be fair to the commercial side, SigmaPlot’s price buys you things a volunteer project cannot easily replicate. Its graph wizards walk you through dozens of graph types step by step; its statistics library is built for researchers who want guided tests rather than raw functions; its Office integration lets you refresh figures inside Word and PowerPoint documents; and when something breaks, you can call the vendor. SciDAVis has none of that infrastructure — it has a solid core, community forums, and volunteer developers.

Whether that gap matters depends entirely on how you work. If you mostly make line graphs, scatter plots, and bar charts with error bars, run standard curve fits, and export figures for papers, SciDAVis covers your daily routine completely. The commercial advantages only bite when you need a specific guided workflow, deep Office round-tripping, or guaranteed support. For students, hobbyists, and labs without a software budget, the cost difference — zero versus a commercial license (several hundred USD, see official pricing) — usually settles the question before the feature comparison even starts.

Migrating from SigmaPlot to SciDAVis

Thinking of switching? A few practical notes:

• Move data, not projects: export your worksheets to CSV or Excel format and re-import them into SciDAVis, then rebuild your key figures. There is no direct SigmaPlot-to-SciDAVis project converter.
• Recreate your templates: if you have house styles for figures, rebuild them once in SciDAVis and save them as your defaults.
• Keep SigmaPlot around during the transition: run both for a month or two so legacy files and the occasional specialized wizard remain available while you settle in.
• Coming from Origin instead? SciDAVis reads legacy Origin OPJ projects directly — see our OPJ import guide.

Which should you pick?

• Pick SciDAVis if you want a free, cross-platform tool for everyday plotting, curve fitting, and data analysis — especially on macOS or Linux, where SigmaPlot does not run at all.
• Pick SigmaPlot if you work on Windows, need its print-oriented graph wizards and Office integration, or require vendor support and a broad guided statistics library — and can cover a commercial license (several hundred USD, see official pricing).

Still deciding? Our alternatives page puts SciDAVis next to the full field of free and commercial graphing tools, including Origin and GraphPad Prism.