Raster file formats supported in ArcGIS and QGIS

Raster data is essential for expressing spatial phenomena, including height, land cover, satellite imaging, and climate variables in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For smooth data integration, visualization, and analysis, it is crucial to know which raster formats are supported by ArcGIS, Esri's enterprise-grade GIS platform, and QGIS, the industry-leading open-source substitute.

What Is Raster Data?

Raster data is a grid of cells, or pixels, with a value for each pixel that represents information from satellite photography, such as temperature, height, or reflectance. The best uses for raster data are:

• Satellite imagery

• Digital Elevation Models, or DEMs

• Classification of land cover

• Outputs from remote sensing

List of all the raster formats supported by ArcGIS and QGIS

Raster File Formats Supported by ArcGIS

Numerous raster file formats are supported by ArcGIS for reading, writing, and analysis. Some of the most widely used formats are listed below:

1. GeoTIFF (.tif/.tiff)

• The most popular raster format

• Include georeferencing data.

• Compression is supported (LZW, JPEG)

• ArcGIS efficiently reads and writes GeoTIFF..

2. Esri Grid (.adf)

• ArcGIS native raster format

• Supports both floating-point and integer data.

• Ideal for operations involving local analysis

3. JPEG/JPEG2000 (.jpg/.jp2)

• Frequently used for satellite and aerial photography

• JPEG2000 allows both metadata and lossless compression.

4. IMG (ERDAS Imagine)

• In remote sensing, popular

• Supports a variety of bands

• Combined with satellite data (MODIS, Landsat)

5. NetCDF (.nc)

• Perfect for ocean and climate data

• Multidimensional datasets are supported.

• ArcGIS Spatial Analyst compatibility

6. MrSID (.sid)

• Utilized for expansive aerial photography

• Small file size and high compression

• Needs proprietary libraries.

Raster File Formats Supported by QGIS

The GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library), which powers QGIS, supports a wide variety of raster formats. The following are the main formats:

1. GeoTIFF (.tif/.tiff)

• Completely compatible with QGIS

• Comprises compression and georeferencing.

• Enabled read/write

2. JPEG/JPEG2000 (.jpg/.jp2)

• Native assistance via GDAL

• Perfect for images and web tiles

3. NetCDF (.nc)

• Support for scientific raster datasets is integrated.

• Time series and multidimensional data visualization

4. HDF4/HDF5

• Complete assistance through GDAL

• Used in climate science and remote sensing

5. EHdr (ESRI .bil/.hdr)

• Line-formatted band interleaving

• Typical of elevation models

6. MBTiles (.mbtiles)

• Excellent for tile-based offline mapping

• QGIS allows you to see and change

ArcGIS vs QGIS: Raster Format Comparison

Format	ArcGIS Support	QGIS Support	Notes
GeoTIFF	✅ Read/Write	✅ Read/Write	Industry standard
Esri Grid (.adf)	✅ Native	⚠️ Read-only	Not editable in QGIS
JPEG/JPEG2000	✅	✅	Great for imagery
IMG (ERDAS)	✅	✅	Multi-band raster
NetCDF	✅	✅	Scientific data
MrSID	✅	⚠️ Plugin-based	Requires extension
HDF	✅	✅	Remote sensing
MBTiles	⚠️ Partial	✅	Best in QGIS

Understanding raster file format support guarantees more efficient workflows, improved performance, and wider data interoperability, regardless of whether you choose QGIS for its open-source flexibility or ArcGIS for its robust enterprise capabilities.

For more information or any questions regarding ArcGIS and QGIS, please don't hesitate to contact us at

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