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Maps · head to head

What3words vs WhiteboxTools

What3words logo

What3words

Maps

What3words has divided the world into 3m squares and given each one

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WhiteboxTools logo

WhiteboxTools

Maps

Open source geospatial analysis engine with several hundred raster, LiDAR and hydrological tools

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only WhiteboxTools has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: What3words the free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second; WhiteboxTools there is no vendor and no commercial support contract, so an organisation whose regulatory or client obligations require an answerable supplier cannot use it for that work no matter how good the algorithms are.
  • They diverge on capability: What3words covers Core Functionality, WhiteboxTools covers Hydrological analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which What3words and WhiteboxTools actually diverge.

Attributes where What3words and WhiteboxTools differ
AttributeWhat3wordsWhiteboxTools
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWindows, macOS, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in What3words

  • Core Functionality
  • User Interface

Only in WhiteboxTools

  • Hydrological analysis
  • LiDAR processing
  • Terrain derivatives
  • Raster analysis
  • Image processing
  • Python and R front ends
  • QGIS plugin
  • MIT licence

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

What3words

  • Referring to a 3 metre square location with three wordsnot WhiteboxTools
  • Adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch appnot WhiteboxTools
  • Converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via APInot WhiteboxTools

WhiteboxTools

  • A hydrologist who needs depression breaching rather than filling on a large DEM, because filling destroys the drainage structure the model depends onnot What3words
  • A forestry or environmental team processing airborne LiDAR into canopy height and terrain models without buying a point cloud licence per analystnot What3words
  • A GIS developer embedding terrain analysis into a commercial product, where the MIT licence avoids the copyleft obligations of GRASS or SAGAnot What3words
  • A university teaching geomorphometry where every student needs the full toolset on their own laptop at zero costnot What3words

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

What3words

  • The free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second
  • Converting to and from what3words addresses starts on the Basic plan at $9.99 per month for 1,000 conversions
  • Priority and developer support require the Standard plan at $45 per month
  • 24/7 phone support requires the Plus plan at $125 per month
  • Custom invoicing and annual payment require the Premium plan at $300 per month
  • Overage pricing is not published; the page states only that a fair usage policy applies
  • The three word address scheme is proprietary and licensed rather than open data

WhiteboxTools

  • There is no vendor and no commercial support contract, so an organisation whose regulatory or client obligations require an answerable supplier cannot use it for that work no matter how good the algorithms are.
  • Maintenance depends on a single academic research group and effectively on one professor, which is a real continuity risk for anything embedded in a production pipeline for a decade.
  • It is command line first; the QGIS plugin and Python bindings help, but analysts who expect a graphical workflow with previews and undo find it unforgiving.
  • Documentation is a reference manual rather than a set of worked workflows, so knowing which of 450 tools to chain for a given problem requires domain knowledge the software does not supply.
  • Naming and behaviour overlap confusingly with the older Whitebox GAT, a separate GPL-licensed desktop GIS from the same group, and adopters regularly install or cite the wrong one.

Pricing, plan by plan

What3words

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the What3words review.

WhiteboxTools

Free
  • WhiteboxTools open coreFree
    • MIT licence
    • Over 450 geospatial tools
    • Python, R and QGIS front ends

Which should you pick?

Choose What3words if

  • You need core functionality.
  • You also want user interface.
What3words review

Choose WhiteboxTools if

  • You need hydrological analysis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want lidar processing.
WhiteboxTools review

Questions people ask

Is What3words or WhiteboxTools better?
Neither clearly leads. What3words starts at On request and WhiteboxTools at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, What3words or WhiteboxTools?
WhiteboxTools has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for What3words and Free for WhiteboxTools.
Does What3words or WhiteboxTools run on more platforms?
What3words runs on Web. WhiteboxTools runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use WhiteboxTools for free?
Yes. WhiteboxTools has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. What3words starts at On request.
What is What3words best used for?
What3words is most often used for referring to a 3 metre square location with three words, adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch app, converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via api. Of those, referring to a 3 metre square location with three words and adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch app are not what WhiteboxTools is typically brought in for.
What can What3words do that WhiteboxTools cannot?
What3words covers Core Functionality, User Interface. WhiteboxTools covers Hydrological analysis, LiDAR processing, Terrain derivatives, Raster analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

WhiteboxTools: Is WhiteboxTools free for commercial use?

Yes. It is MIT licensed, which permits commercial use and embedding without a copyleft obligation.

WhiteboxTools: Is there paid support?

No general commercial support contract is offered. Support is GitHub issues and community forums. Budget internal expertise instead.

WhiteboxTools: Who maintains it?

Professor John Lindsay and the Geomorphometry and Hydrogeomatics Research Group at the University of Guelph, Canada.

WhiteboxTools: How is it different from Whitebox GAT?

Whitebox GAT is an older GPL-licensed desktop GIS from the same group. WhiteboxTools is the newer Rust command line engine with a permissive licence. They are not the same product.

WhiteboxTools: Can I use it from QGIS?

Yes, through a plugin, and also from Python and R.

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