Short answer: there is no single best replacement for gnuplot — there is a best alternative per situation. If your work moves into Python, that alternative is matplotlib; into R statistics, ggplot2; if you want gnuplot-like plotting through a graphical interface instead of scripts, look at Veusz or LabPlot; and if you want a close…
Short answer: choose gnuplot if plotting is the job — it is a small, free, dedicated tool that does figures extremely well and nothing else. Choose MATLAB if plotting is one step inside numerical computing: matrices, simulation and engineering toolboxes in a single commercial environment from MathWorks. Comparing them only on charts misses the point;…
Short answer: choose Excel for a quick chart of data that already sits in a spreadsheet, especially when the audience will open the workbook itself. Choose gnuplot when the same chart must be rebuilt from fresh data, embedded in a paper, or produced identically every time. Excel charts are made by hand; gnuplot charts are…
Short answer: choose gnuplot if you want free, scriptable, reproducible plotting that runs anywhere and rebuilds from a text file. Choose Origin if you prefer a graphical Windows application where data, analysis and graphs live in one project window and most work is done by pointing and clicking. They solve overlapping problems with opposite philosophies….
Short answer: choose gnuplot if you think in commands — tell the tool exactly what to draw, in order, and save the script. Choose ggplot2 if you think in layers and data mappings, and your analysis already lives in R. Gnuplot is a standalone program; ggplot2 is a package inside the R ecosystem, built on…
Short answer: choose gnuplot if you want a small, standalone tool that turns a text data file and a short script into a finished figure, with nothing else to install or maintain. Choose matplotlib if your data already lives in Python and the plot is one step inside a larger analysis, notebook or application. Neither…
