Surfer Review
What is Surfer?
Surfer is a comprehensive 2D and 3D mapping software that allows engineers, scientists, educators, healthcare professionals, and government agencies across the globe to effortlessly turn geospatial data into valuable knowledge. It provides the essential tools and features you need for collecting, mapping, visualizing, and analyzing various types of geospatial data from multiple sources and unlocking insights for better decision making.
Surfer enables you to build maps and 2D and 3D models so you can easily analyze and understand different aspects of the geospatial data you gathered. These visualizations also help you present your ideas and findings to stakeholders in a clear and beautiful way.
The software comes with a large collection of analysis and geoprocessing tools built to streamline and improve how you analyze geospatial data. You can change parameters for interpolation and gridding, perform mathematical calculations on grids, and query objects depending on the values of their attributes. Last but not least, Surfer lets you quickly share maps and models for seamless collaborations or presentations.
Show MoreOverview of Surfer Benefits
Geospatial Data Collection
With Surfer, it is now easy for you to gather all the essential geospatial data you need to visualize and analyze for any relevant project, scientific study, or program you’re working on. You can integrate the software with supported public and private servers and collect large volumes of geospatial data of various types from these sources, including map imagery, vector data, and terrain data.
Data Visualizations
The software is equipped with mapping and modeling tools that aid you in creating intuitive, dynamic, and high-quality visualizations of the geospatial data you collected. Surfer gives you the ability to create different types of maps such as base, contour, 3D surface, 1-grid/2-grid vector, viewshed, and point cloud. Through it’s modeling tools, you’ll be able to build models that present your geospatial data in 2D or 3D perspectives.
You’re also given numerous ways to customize and enhance your maps and models. For instance, you can combine multiple maps together, add magnifiers, scale bars, texts, symbols, polylines, and color scales; and change tilt, rotation, and field of view angle. With all these capabilities, you can comprehensively and deeply analyze key geospatial data and convey information, insights, and findings to stakeholders in a way that they can clearly understand and appreciate.
Geospatial Data Analysis
Surfer lets you easily and accurately process, manipulate, and analyze the geospatial data presented through your maps and models. Thus, the software makes it easy for you to discover relationships, patterns, and trends in your data and produce valuable ideas, concepts, and knowledge out of it
It has tools that provide you with complete control over grid data. You’ll be able to interpolate evenly or unevenly-spaced data onto a grid or raster using a wide range of methods and apply mathematical calculations to grid data like grid volumes and areas, transformations, and filtering. Moreover, you can manage object attributes, calculate the values of these attributes, and apply symbol properties to represent the values of the attributes.
Workflow & Collaboration
The mapping software offers a user interface designed to simplify your workflows. This user interface organizes your workflows into separate windows so you can focus and quickly complete the activities and tasks you need to do without being overwhelmed with too much information and content.
Surfer also streamlines how you collaborate with people involved or concerned with your project, research, or program. You can export your maps and models and print them as PDF or TIF files or publish them online in JPG or PNG format. In addition, you can copy and paste your visualizations into MS PowerPoint, Word, and other similar programs if you want to include them for your upcoming presentations.
Show MoreOverview of Surfer Features
- Geospatial Data Acess
- Maps
- 2D & 3D Models
- Map/Model Customization
- Grid Control
- Coordinate Systems
- Contour Editing
- Geoprocessing Tools
- User Interface
- Collaboration
Surfer Position In Our Categories
Since businesses have unique business needs, it is reasonable that they abstain from seeking an all-in-one, “perfect” solution. Nonetheless, it is difficult to try to stumble on such a software solution even among widely used software solutions. The logical thing to undertake would be to jot down the different important functions which entail inspection including critical features, budget, technical skill levels of staff, company size, etc. Then, you must do the product research comprehensively. Browse over some Surfer evaluations and look into the other software programs in your shortlist in detail. Such detailed product investigation ensures you circumvent mismatched software products and buy the system that offers all the benefits your company requires.
Position of Surfer in our main categories:
TOP
50
Surfer is one of the top 50 GIS Software products
If you are interested in Surfer it might also be a good idea to check out other subcategories of GIS Software listed in our database of B2B software reviews.
Each enterprise is different, and may call for a particular type of GIS Software solution that will be designed for their business size, type of customers and employees and even individual industry they cater to. It's not wise to count on getting a perfect software that is going to be suitable for every business regardless of their background is. It may be a good idea to read a few Surfer GIS Software reviews first and even then you should pay attention to what the solution is intended to do for your business and your staff. Do you require a simple and intuitive solution with only essential functions? Will you really make use of the advanced tools required by pros and big enterprises? Are there any specific tools that are especially beneficial for the industry you work in? If you ask yourself these questions it is going to be much easier to find a solid solution that will fit your budget.
How Much Does Surfer Cost?
Surfer Pricing Plans:
Free Trial
Single-User
$999/user/year
Concurrent-Use
$1,999/seat/year
Custom Agreement
Contact vendor
University
$2,500/year
Student
$50/year
What are Surfer pricing details?
Surfer Pricing Plans:
Free Trial
Single-User
$999/user/year
Concurrent-Use
$1,999/seat/year
Custom Agreement
Contact vendor
University
$2,500/year
Student
$50/year
Surfer offers three licensing plans for you to choose from: single-user, concurrent-user, and custom licensing. Licensing plans for educational institutions and students are provided as well. Here are the details of the enterprise pricing plans:
Single-User – $999/user/year
- For individual users who don’t want to share
Concurrent-Use – $1,999/seat/year
- Designed for teams that need seamless collaboration
Custom Agreement – by quote
- For companies that require a tailor-made solution
Educational Licensing
University (Unlimited Site License)
- Buy an unlimited number of concurrent-use licenses for Surfer or any combination of Golden Software products where Surfer is included. This allows you to use the program/s to in your classrooms and laboratories and install on the devices used by faculty members, staff, educators, researchers, and students.
Just One – $2,500/year
- Select Surfer alone
Pick Two – $4,500/year
- Select Surfer along with either Grapher or Starter
All Three – $6,000/year
- Use all three Golden Software programs: Starters, Grapher, $ Starter
Student – $50/year
- For students who want to improve their skills and start building their career
User Satisfaction
Positive Social Media Mentions
30
Negative Social Media Mentions
0
We realize that when you decide to get a GIS Software it’s crucial not only to find out how professionals score it in their reviews, but also to check whether the real users and enterprises that purchased it are actually satisfied with the service. Because of that need we’ve designer our behavior-based Customer Satisfaction Algorithm™ that gathers customer reviews, comments and Surfer reviews across a broad range of social media sites. The information is then displayed in an easy to understand form indicating how many clients had positive and negative experience with Surfer. With that information at your disposal you should be prepared to make an informed business choice that you won’t regret.
Video
Technical details
Devices Supported
- Windows
- Linux
- Mac
Deployment
- Cloud Hosted
- On Premise
Language Support
- English
Pricing Model
- Annual Subscription
- Quote-based
Customer Types
- Small Business
- Large Enterprises
- Medium Business
- Freelancers
What Support Does This Vendor Offer?
- phone
- live support
- training
- tickets
What integrations are available for Surfer?
Surfer integrates with your presentation tools like PowerPoint and Word. It also works with all programming languages.
Surfer User Reviews
Surfer average rating:
4/5
Overall impression
5/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Write your own review of this product
ADD A REVIEWThe most favorable review
PROS: Surfer enables us to add any kind of data and select our parameters for the plot elements so that it's print-ready.
CONS: Preferences in the settings could be made easier, so it is being able to import specific files to other third-party programs.
The least favorable review
PROS: I like that Surfer is reliable and can be used by just about anyone.
CONS: I can't think of anything I don't like about the product.
More reviews from 14 actual users:
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Latest
- Latest
- Most useful
- Most positive
- Most negative
I’ve been using it for environment-related projects
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 10.12.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Civil Engineering
PROS: Surfer has a simple interface, so I was able to easily find my way around. After collecting my samples, I like being able to immediately see the results for analysis reporting. It's also flexible enough to adjust in case of data errors, so I never miss a deadline with my clients.
CONS: A better system to check data accuracy would be more than welcome. It's currently taking time to examine each data point and make sure it is accurate.
Plenty of uses
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
5/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 27.09.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Research
PROS: Surfer enables us to add any kind of data and select our parameters for the plot elements so that it's print-ready.
CONS: Preferences in the settings could be made easier, so it is being able to import specific files to other third-party programs.
Above expectations
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
5/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 20.09.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Construction
PROS: I like that the program is intuitive, runs smoothly, but at the same time flexible to tweaks.
CONS: I have a list of suggestions for the next few upgrades.
It’s a great gridding software!
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 10.09.2021
Company Size:
Industry: N/A
PROS: I like that I can easily find my way around and do what I need with the software, from gridding to mapping for trekking and anything my job requires.
CONS: The preference settings can be improved, other than that it's great.
Good for work
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
3/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 23.07.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Environmental Services
PROS: I like that the UI is so simple and easy to use.
CONS: There are some areas of the interface that could be made easier to understand.
Perfect for maps and data grids
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 26.06.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Printing
PROS: I've been using this software for decades because it's user-friendly, intuitive and flexible.
CONS: The new menu and properties window could be improved in the next upgrade.
Beneficial for environment experts
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
5/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 27.05.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Environmental Services
PROS: I like that we can produce quality maps and digitize our data.
CONS: If we can improve licensing policies and user guide payments, that would be great.
The perfect reliable tool for me
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
5/5
Customer Support
5/5
Value for Money
5/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 22.04.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Civil Engineering
PROS: Surfer has been a reliable mapping tool for me for several years, and their support team has consistently been so helpful.
CONS: None at all.
My review about Surfer
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
3/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 25.02.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Environmental Services
PROS: This very capable program for contouring is user-friendly. If you have further questions, online references are also available.
CONS: I wish it was easier to keep up with constant updates.
Good tool for visualization
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 21.01.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Environmental Services
PROS: This easy-to-use software with plenty of features that can also customize color schemes and contour intervals.
CONS: The high learning curve for functionality could be improved in future versions.
Good product
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
3/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 16.03.2020
Company Size: 1-10 Employees
Industry: Architecture & Planning
PROS: I like that it's capable of surface modeling and insight analysis in 3D.
CONS: Mixed reference data could be handled a lot better.
Excellent mapping and 3D graphics tool
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
5/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 12.03.2020
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Oil & Energy
PROS: We like that we can use Surfer for our 3D model mappings and animations. We're able to simulate the work fields for our land explorations from our computer.
CONS: It would be fantastic to be able to use a wider range of colors and shades for the map we create.
Great mapping tool
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 08.03.2020
Company Size:
Industry: Mining and Metals
PROS: Surfer's contoured algorithms are the best I've worked on so far, and it can quickly add contour maps a lot more quickly.
CONS: Following standard units of measurements and giving users more editing control can help the product improve.
What I think about Surfer
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 05.03.2020
Company Size: 1-10 Employees
Industry: N/A
PROS: I like that Surfer is reliable and can be used by just about anyone.
CONS: I can't think of anything I don't like about the product.
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Surfer user reviews
I’ve been using it for environment-related projects
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 10.12.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Civil Engineering
Plenty of uses
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
5/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 27.09.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Research
Above expectations
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
5/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 20.09.2021
Company Size: More than 100 Employees
Industry: Construction
It’s a great gridding software!
Read full review >
5/5
Overall impression
4/5
Customer Support
4/5
Value for Money
4/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 10.09.2021
Company Size:
Industry: N/A
Good for work
Read full review >
4/5
Overall impression
3/5
Customer Support
3/5
Value for Money
3/5
Ease of Use
Published on: 23.07.2021
Company Size:
Industry: Environmental Services
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