Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

PolSAR tools review

Free#47 of 64 in GIS Software

A focused, free QGIS plugin for polarimetric SAR analysis—not general-purpose GIS.

4.5/10Editor score
Visit PolSAR tools
PolSAR tools4.5 Visit PolSAR tools

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

PolSAR tools is an open-source QGIS plugin for processing polarimetric synthetic-aperture-radar data. It is aimed at researchers and other users working with full-, compact- or dual-polarization imagery, rather than people seeking a broad GIS application. The plugin accepts polarimetric matrices and produces descriptors, vegetation indices, scattering-power decompositions and preprocessing outputs. Its results can be viewed in QGIS, keeping the workflow centered on desktop raster analysis.

The feature set is specialized and substantial for radar work: full-polarimetric H/A/alpha, Touzi, Yamaguchi and Freeman decompositions sit alongside compact-polarimetric MF3CC and iS-Omega methods. Dual-polarimetric vegetation indices and descriptors, including RVI, GRVI, PRVI, CpRVI and DpRVI, extend the analysis options. Degree-of-polarization and Shannon-entropy calculations are also available. Preprocessing includes multi-looking and Refined-Lee or Boxcar filters, plus conversion of single-look S data. This breadth suits users who need polarimetric processing in QGIS; it is not a substitute for general GIS tools or web mapping.

PolSAR tools is free and open source, with desktop deployment. Installation is through the QGIS plugin manager or a ZIP package, and documented input formats include GeoTIFF, PolSARpro and ENVI. Integrations with QGIS, PolSARpro and ENVI provide a fit for users already working across those tools, while QGIS import supports visualization of generated descriptors. Documentation is the stated support channel. Choose it if your work depends on polarimetric SAR analysis and you want these functions in a QGIS workflow; look elsewhere if you need mobile apps, web mapping or a wider-purpose GIS product.

PolSAR tools pros and cons

  • Where it wins
    • Offers full-, compact- and dual-polarization workflows.
    • Calculates radar vegetation indices and polarimetric descriptors.
    • Imports generated descriptors into QGIS for visualization.
  • Where it doesn't
    • Its focus is polarimetric SAR, not general-purpose GIS.
    • Desktop deployment only; no web mapping or mobile apps.
    • Support channels are limited to documentation.

PolSAR tools fact sheet, pricing and score →

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Last updated · How we research and update