# Surfer Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Surfer the right Mining solution for you? Explore 27 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/106531/Surfer/reviews --- Surfer 4.6 (27) 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 # Reviews of Surfer Ease of use 4.1 Customer Service 4.4 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 27 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Rafael B. Jefe del departamento de Oceanografia Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good option for fast data processing and generation of associated three-dimensional maps. " March 9, 2018 4.0 Almost all aspects of the map can be customized, so the final presentation is practically what I want, with few format restrictions. The most recent versions have incorporated improvements that allow me: Develop 3D views to visualize data in real 3D, with the ability to walk on the surface and fly through the visualizations. Now I can process and visualize the data more quickly on the surface that I have created. I have also noticed that aspects related to data import formats have improved. Pros For the mapping and modeling of small areas, I prefer it before more complex software such as Arcgis, simply for convenience and faster results. Almost all aspects of the map can be customized, so the final presentation is exactly as the user intended. Cons I can not use it to model buildings and it also does not have video output format It does not allow me to do double visualization in the same interface, option that if they have other similar programs like the qGis, for example. Review Source aP alessio P. geophysicist Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "easy and powerful after many years" September 10, 2022 5.0 easy to use with high efficiency and powerfull, the customer service support is a plus Pros the possibility that the software offer is so wide with any type of geographic, geophysical and geotechnical data, the limits is imposed only by the user which always discover how powerful is the software and solid on the geostatistical parameter management Cons sometime i had issue in the integration and communication between surfer and voxler which are still from Golden Software, but the customer assistance is so clear and fast to reply that after several years i never be blocked in my reporting production Review Source PPV Pedro Pablo V. Student Research Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Isovaloras" April 9, 2021 4.0 It is good for basic stuff. Pros It is ideal to plot points in 3d. Easy to create isovaloras. Cons It needs more vision in 3D and calculation of areas. Review Source Response from Golden Software April 16, 2021 Hello Pedro, Thank you for your review! We want to be sure you see that Surfer can calculate and display areas (and volumes and lengths). Areas can be calculated between contours levels, for existing polygon areas, or by drawing a polygon. We are also interested in hearing what type of 3D functionality would be most useful to you, and want to make sure you are aware of our student discount offer! Our student discount offers significant savings on the price of Surfer for students. If you have any questions about calculating areas, are willing to describe what you would like to do in the 3D, or have any questions about the student discount or anything else, please reach out to our support staff at support@goldensoftware.com. Thank you! Golden Software AK Abbas K. Geologist Oil & Energy Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Surfer" October 6, 2021 5.0 I mostly use Surfer for contouring maps in my academic projects, but it is a multi application tool for a Geologist and can be used for ground water search, oil and gas discovery, mining etc. I also love it for it for the fact that it rarely crashes. Pros Surfer is an excellent software for geological operations and is highly customizable in regard of visualization. It helps you to easily map surface features and create contouring maps bot in 2D and 3D. It gives you the liberty to control almost all parameters of a map. It is also useful in surface and subsurface geological analysis and data evaluation for Hydrocarbon Prospecting, hydrogeology, Geotechnical Investigation and mining. It has a lot of other tools to carryout various specific tasks like generating 3D images, creating cross sectional view or volume or cut and fill calculation. Also it generates extremely accurate maps on the basis on input data. Apart from these, their customer support is very active and helpful. Also the price tag is quite low in comparison to its competitors and that too for a life time use rather than yearly subscription. Cons It is a bit hard to master it for novice users due to its deep learning cure. Also they should integrate support for other languages especially python. Review Source Response from Golden Software October 11, 2021 Hi Abbas - thank you so much for reviewing Surfer! I so happy to hear you enjoy using it. I wanted to add that Surfer does support Python, however, our support team is not trained in this language and is not able to provide technical support in this area. I have added your vote to our suggestion file that we add support for Python for the support team, as well as move the default language to Python in future versions of Surfer. Thank you for your feedback - we greatly appreciate it. If you (or anyone else) have any questions about the current scripting language, or Surfer in general, please reach out to our support team (support@goldensoftware.com). We're happy to help! Thanks, Brittany Bodane Golden Software VR Verified Reviewer Geologist Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fantastic Mapping Software" April 23, 2019 5.0 Surfer offers a wide range of functionality from creating very basic figures to complicated 3D visuals. I have had clients mention they were impressed with the mapping I have been able to produce for their properties. Pros The functionality of Surfer incredibly broad. I use Surfer as general mapping tool for site maps and contour figures but also for making 3D site models and visuals. Being able to incorporate LiDAR data into my visuals is a particularly helpful feature of Surfer. The figures I am able to produce with Surfer are visually appealing and allow me to present my data in an easily understandable way. Cons I have no complaints with this software. Review Source Response from Golden Software April 25, 2019 Thank you very much for your review! We are glad to hear you're pleased with Surfer. Don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions. VR Verified Reviewer estudiante Oil & Energy Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Very useful for engineers and geoscientists " August 13, 2018 4.0 I discovered surfer when I was in a physics lab . I had to represent electric fields line and I didn't know how to do that. That is when I found a tutorial using this software to make it possible. Then, when I started to see more advanced subjects at my school . I found out that geoscientist use it a lot, that is where I started exploring all of its awesome features. I made a gravimetric study of all my school for a project and Surfer was really helpful for presenting the results of that study. Pros with surfer we are able to create good quality 2D and 3D maps . It allows you to import an excel sheet and work based on that data. Also you can create different types of maps ( I have made gravimetric and topographic maps ). Cons It is hard to use some of the tools and is not easy to find some kind of tutorial on internet. I have only used in small areas because I've only made school projects. Review Source Response from Golden Software August 14, 2018 Thank you for the review! There is a self-paced tutorial within Surfer's help. You can access the Help directly within the program or online- http://surferhelp.goldensoftware.com/#t=tutorial%2Fusing\_the\_online\_tutorial.htm. You're also welcome to contact our support team directly with any questions you may have - support.goldensoftware.com Hope this helps! Manuel G. Geólogo Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent for contouring maps." May 17, 2018 5.0 I truly recommend surfer to anyone who would like a much more streamlined GIS software that produces beautiful maps and it's cheaper than other top notch GIS programs. Pros As a geoscientist you normally use lots of GIS softwares, and I can honestly tell that working with surfer for me produced the best results, it is a mix of easier than other GIS software with beautiful maps. Its correlation tools and color palettes allow you to create great contour maps to represent any type of geophysical, geological or geographical data, such as magnetic and gravimetric. Cons As many of the GIS softwares it can be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it you shouldn't have any issues, just beware that there are not that many tutorials online. Review Source EYLENTH P. Analista de Ambiente Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great 2D and 3D mapping software" March 23, 2018 5.0 Beautiful maps and representations with nice contouring and excellent interpolation methods Pros What I like the most about surfer is how detailed their maps can be, while working with gravimetric data or magnetic surfer's interpolations end up with beautiful and detailed maps whose outputs are much better than most mapping software. Plus is worth noting that it has excellent compatibility with excel which is a must since almost all data for mapping comes from excel databases. Cons It can be a bit non intuitive, so getting the hang of it can be a little bit overwhelming, but it's not a great issue compared to the benefits the software provides Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Student Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great to work with " August 12, 2019 4.0 Pros Surfer offers a very easy interface, lots of samples while designing to make your work look very real. Cons I've experienced a couple of challenges while exploring files for use on other softwares. Review Source Response from Golden Software August 27, 2019 Thanks you for your review of Surfer! You mention experiencing a couple of challenges while exploring files for use in other software tools. We'd love to learn more about these challenges and see if there's a solution for you. Please email us at support@goldensoftware.com and we can dive into the details. Thanks! VR Verified Reviewer Geologist Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent software for groundwater modeling and contouring" February 2, 2019 5.0 You won't find a better contouring suite. Pros Powerful suite of contouring software with many adjustments available for contour gridding methods (kriging, natural neighbor, minimum curvature, inverse distance, etc.). This software can handle most simple-to-complex contouring situations, as well as topographic relief and other XYZ data you may need to convert to visual formats. Support is also very helpful and knowledgeable when called on. Golden also offers very helpful web seminars. Cons There is a steep learning curve for this software. You will need to watch tutorials or take a few seminars. Review Source Response from Golden Software February 6, 2019 Thanks for your review! If you have any recommendations on how we can make the software easier to use, please let us know! You can email support@goldensoftware.com with feedback. VR Verified Reviewer Técnico Docente Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Buen programa para realizar mapas de resolución vectorial y espacial" February 26, 2024 4.0 Realice varios proyectos universitarios cuando realice mis practicas preprofesionales. El instituto realizaba mapas de topografía y batimetría con visualización en 3d. Pros Siempre resulto fácil integrar diferentes archivos de varios formatos poco reconocidos como formato grd, dlf o gdg que son raros que poder trabajar con diferentes dispositivos. Además permite realizar mapas muy favorables gráficamente 3d con excelentes opciones para visualizar las isolíneas. Cons Tiene un costo muy elevado considerando que muchas opciones que pose se tiene en otros programa como arcmap o Arcgis. Con programa numérico con Matlab o r que permite hacer gráficos y a pesar que es una ventaja la variación de compatibilidad de archivos mas sin embargo se pueden utilizar convertidores para hacerlos compatibles con otros programa de GIS. Switched from [ArcGIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/93333/ArcGIS/)[Civil 3D](https://www.capterra.com/p/199886/Civil-3D/)[ARCHICAD](https://www.capterra.com/p/2018/ArchiCAD/) Por motivo estudiantiles y muchos temas temporales Review Source Response from Golden Software March 1, 2024 Thank you for taking time to review Surfer, we really appreciate our users' feedback for our product development efforts! We are glad you are enjoying enhanced 3D mapping capabilities. We understand that affordability is a key consideration for our customers, and we strive to offer the best value possible while maintaining the quality of our product. If there's anything specific you'd like to discuss or if you have any suggestions on how we can improve, please don't hesitate to let us know. We appreciate your support! SN Salomon N. Étudiant Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Surfeur partout" May 9, 2023 4.0 Son expérience global est que, j'ai assez de logiciels, mais si je veux vraiment très vite, j'utilisais Surfer, puisqu'il est très rapide, facile à manipuler et léger. Pros La facilité avec laquelle tu peux très les cartes, il donne de très bonnes images que les entreprises ont besoin. Facile à installer également, très facile à apprendre. Cons Pour moi particulièrement je ne trouve pas un point négatif, vraiment c'est un logiciel que je recommande suivant aux gens qui demande mon avis. Mais néanmoins, son interaction avec les autres logiciels, certes ça existe déjà, mais s'il y lieu d'augmenter, sa va vraiment booster encore son utilisation. Merci Review Source Response from Golden Software May 26, 2023 Hi Salomon: Thank you for your review! We're glad you found Surfer useful. Please let us know if you have any specific feedback on how we can improve the software! Thanks, Golden Software MK Md. K. Surfer SEO Review Writing and Editing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent tool for content analysis and optimization " August 25, 2021 5.0 : Previously I have used many other tools but this tool gives more quality data than others. It gives much more detail. I am pleased with its unique data and features. For content editing its performance is outstanding. For ranking, it works very well by analyzing the content of a page. Comparatively, it is cheaper. I am satisfied with its quality performance. I hope it will continue its excellent performance. Pros It is a SERP analyzer. It helps to get data on average word count, keyword density, and frequency. By using this software we get data on hidden content, page speed. It is a great content editor. It helps to optimize by analyzing the content structure of the first page results. We get information about word count, number of images and average count by using this software. As it is a keyword research tool, We can find new keywords with search volume. It has an NLP feature that helps to find the sentiment of search results. Cons I have no doubt its quality. It is a great performer. It will be more helpful if a basic keyword research tool provides more information. Alternatives considered [Ahrefs](https://www.capterra.com/p/176340/Ahrefs/) Review Source OO Oluwasegun O. GIS Analyst and Cartographer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Features which makes Surfer to stand out." October 8, 2021 5.0 My overall experience with Surfer has been great. It has incredible functionalities. I has helped me alot in my 3D representations with beautiful colors. Plotting and creating contour with Surfer is one of its features I like most. Pros One of the things i love about the software is its ability to make beautiful maps, the color management is great, and creating contour map on Surfer is one of the best thing everyone would want to see. Surfer is easy to use, it has the ability to manage geological, geophysical, etc. Cons The GUI is great. It ability to perform 2D and 3D and great visualization makes it stands out. I will recommend Surfer to anyone who would to produce beautiful maps and enjoy the great visualization of its capabilities. Review Source GP Graile P. Web content writer Accounting Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Surfer SEO: Your perfect on-page optimization tool to rank higher in SERPS" August 9, 2022 5.0 1\. Improving your site's visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). 2. Identifying the weaknesses of your site in comparison to those at the top of the SERPs. 3. Fixing these weaknesses to improve your site's ranking and visibility. Pros The tool offers an extensive analysis of a site, including a breakdown of how it compares to the top-ranking sites for specific keywords. This information can be helpful in identifying areas of improvement and developing a strategy for optimizing the site. Cons The least likable feature of Surfer SEO is the monthly subscription fee. While the tool is effective, many users may not be willing to pay a monthly fee in order to use it. Review Source MM Marcos M. Researcher Environmental Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Making the best plots in science" March 15, 2019 5.0 I have been using Surfer for more than 15 years in oceanography and hydrology. The continuous updating of this software has provided the tools I need to face the ever-increasing demands of my work. I've tried similar software but none was up to the task as Surfer. Pros Surfer provides an absolutely amazing range of tools to process and plot all kinds of data. From topography, geology, oceanography and even astronomy, a wide range of scientific disciplines can rely on Surfer to create amazing plot and graphs. Cons Surfer offers a significant amount of tools, most of them with high freedom degrees in available options (e.g., formatting axis, kriging method options, etc.). A significant degree of complexity is obviously expected in the interface, and sometimes it is not intuitive for the user. Review Source NH Nermin H. Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "When the maps come to life" September 13, 2018 5.0 I dealt a lot with geophysics, and when I had to present my plan for fieldwork and profile positions to investors, and the problems that I would encounter, only with the surfer, I could convey to them the complete situation. With ordinary maps, this did not work for me because the investors are mainly people who are not from this profession and do not have a clear picture of the issues of geophysical profiling Pros That fantastic feeling when a cold, flat map is turned into a 3D display where you can do whatever you want. Very precise coordinates and altitude. Of course, everything depends on how much data you supply to it; more points, better 3D display Cons I do not know. Sometimes I have the feeling that the tools are insufficiently used, and that the software offers a lot more than I use. Perhaps the constant work on all kinds of tutorials would be of great help Review Source Response from Golden Software September 27, 2018 Thank you for your kind words! Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We'd be glad to discuss ways you could further utilize Surfer's tools. Zidane L. Chef de projet Mining & Metals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Sans doute le plus simple et ergonomique des SIG" December 31, 2022 4.0 J'ai Pros J'ai particulièrement apprécié l'ergonomie du logiciel. Cons Le manque d'option de personnalisation, les échelles parfois ratés (à cause d'une mauvaise reconnaissance du SCR et de l'ellipsoïde par le logiciel). Review Source Francisco D. Professor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A good choice to scientists " October 11, 2018 5.0 I like it, but when I need a powerful functions I need user other program. Pros Too easy interface with beginner user. Many options of math functions and import/export formats. Cons The too easy interface, turns the program some limited to high-end users due do not offers a personable options. Review Source Response from Golden Software October 15, 2018 Hello Professor Dourado: Thank you for your kind words! We now offer an educational site license that would grant access to an unlimited number of Surfer licenses for the University of Rio de Janeiro State. More information can be found here - http://www.goldensoftware.com/education Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions! Thehani P. Civil Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Surface Mapping app" September 13, 2019 5.0 I am using Surfer to create geographical profiles for pile foundations. Pros Surface is the best surface mapping app to create geographical profile of an area. It can include depths in different colour schemes which makes the presentation of details much easy. Surfer files can be saved as pdfs and can be converted onto autocad files. Time taken for creating a file is easy and software is also user friendly. Cons With so many details, sometimes app produces very complicated and dense mappings which are barely readable. Review Source Response from Golden Software September 17, 2019 Thank you very much for your feedback! Please let us know if you have any specific feedback on how we can make your maps more readable. The majority of our software development comes directly from user feedback. KT Kurt T. Used the software for: ### "Surfer: A Softwaretool for Geographers" January 20, 2017 5.0 With Surfer you can visualize and analyze data from multiple sources as Surfer is able to import a huge range of file-formats. Of course all Industry-standards like shape-file and xlsx ' to name only two ' are supported. Surfer also provides numerous interpolation methods to grid regularly or irregularly spaced data. With Surfer you can generate a lot of different high-quality map-types in a minimum of time. As a geographer I especially like 3D-maps. You can make two different kinds: 3D wireframes and 3D-Surface maps. You can even georeference rastermaps with just a few mouseclicks and add them to your 3D-map or add various features (e.g. rivers, boundaries') from vectorfiles. Surfers list of export formats is impressive: Various raster and vector formats, Google Earth KML/KMZ or PDF to name just the most popular. For presentation beside using for example png-files in powerpoint exporting from Surfer as html-imagemap-file comes handy. A nice to have in the future would be the possibility to use animation via threejs or something similar. Overall Surfer is an extremely well-designed Sofwaretool! Pros Extremly powerful and good support (documentation and free support from staff at goldensoftware) Cons I would like to have animation export, e.g. like fly over Review Source Response from Golden Software January 20, 2017 Thank you, Kurt, for your review! We'll add your suggestion for a 3D flyover to our customer request database. VR Verified Reviewer Editor In Chief E-Learning Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Nothing quite like it." July 1, 2022 4.0 Once you get the hang of it, using this is a breeze. Pros Surfer is a fantastic program for geological activities and has a lot of visualization customization options. It makes it simple to map out surface features and produce contour maps in both 2D and 3D. It allows you to have practically complete control over a map's parameters. Additionally, it helps with data interpretation and surface and subsurface geological analysis for mining, hydrogeology, geotechnical investigation, and hydrocarbon prospecting. It contains a ton of additional tools to perform a variety of specialized jobs, such as making cross sections, 3D views, or volume or cut and fill calculations. Cons Due to its deep learning method, it is exceedingly challenging for beginners to master. Needs more awareness about the product. Review Source DG Dakshina G. Civil Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easiest Software for Topography detailing" September 26, 2019 4.0 zi have used the Surfer to produce bed rock profiles for a pile construction site. Based on the bore hole details I have produced these drawings which made presentations very easy and understandable. Pros Surfer is the easiest and simplest software to produce a geographical representation in 2-D format. Colour codes can be used to represent different depths while contours can be made to mark the similar depth levels. Easily understandable and output can be export as pdf files. Cons Scaling needs to be improved. Software is a very basic product and not much advanced techniques such as 3-D detailing is not available. Review Source Response from Golden Software October 2, 2019 Thank you very much for your feedback! We would love to hear more about your ideas on how we can improve the scaling and include more advanced 3D techniques. If you're interested, please contact us at support@goldensoftware.com and we can get your feedback! Thanks, Blakelee WN Wilfred N. Freelancer Entertainment Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good optimization" October 9, 2023 5.0 Pros Surfer has greatly helped me optimize articles for my website. I easily rank in search engines giving me more traffic. I highly recommend you to start using surfer for your content needs. Cons It can be difficult for a beginner to navigate surfer. Please consider this. Review Source Corey H. Archaeologist Environmental Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great visualization software with many applications" April 1, 2019 5.0 Golden Software is used by my company to create artifact density contour maps for use in our analysis and also publication in technical reports. Pros Ability to create visually appealing contour maps, high degree of customization, wide range of applications Cons Fairly large learning curve, earlier versions missed some key functions Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Mining](https://www.capterra.com/mining-software/)[GIS](https://www.capterra.com/gis-software/)[Location Intelligence](https://www.capterra.com/location-intelligence-software/)