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Anaconda

The world's most popular data science platform

As of 30 August 2026, Anaconda has a free plan and paid plans start at $15/month. Anaconda is a distribution of Python and R programming languages for scientific computing that aims to simplify package management and deployment. Softwr lists it under Machine Learning. Anaconda is made by Anaconda, Inc., launched in 2012, available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web.

Overview

What Anaconda does

Anaconda is a distribution of Python and R programming languages for scientific computing that aims to simplify package management and deployment. It includes over 1,500 data science packages and provides conda package manager, environment management, and tools for machine learning and data analysis.

What people use it for

  • Machine learning
  • Data analysis
  • Model training
  • Predictive analytics

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Anaconda.

  • Dependency resolution slower than pip due to SAT solver complexity
  • Not all PyPI packages available through default Anaconda repository
  • Requires paid licenses for organizations with 200+ employees
  • Larger disk footprint than minimal Python installations

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Anaconda

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

  • Anaconda logo
    Anaconda
    vs
    Jupyter logo
    Jupyter

    Jupyter: Open-source notebook environment for interactive data science and Python development.

  • Anaconda logo
    Anaconda
    vs
    Dataiku logo
    Dataiku

    Dataiku: End-to-end data science platform with GUI-based data preparation and modeling.

  • Anaconda logo
    Anaconda
    vs
    PyCharm logo
    PyCharm

    PyCharm: Full-featured Python IDE with integrated data science and debugging tools.

  • Anaconda logo
    Anaconda
    vs
    KNIME logo
    KNIME

    KNIME: Visual data science platform with no-code workflow builder and similar package management.

Pricing

What Anaconda costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Free

Free

  • 600+ pre-installed packages
  • Anaconda Navigator
  • 5GB cloud storage
  • Package access

Starter

$15 /mo

  • 10GB cloud storage per user
  • Professional development environment
  • Team workspace controls
  • Up to 15 seats

Business

$50 /mo

  • Automated vulnerability scanning
  • Audit trails
  • Enterprise SSO
  • Centralized access management
  • Threat intelligence

Capabilities

Features

  • Conda package manager

  • Environment management

  • 1500+ packages

  • Navigator GUI

  • Cross-platform support

  • Jupyter

    Integration with Jupyter

  • VS Code

    Integration with VS Code

  • PyCharm

    Integration with PyCharm

  • RStudio

    Integration with RStudio

  • Linux support

    Available on linux

  • Mac support

    Available on mac

  • Windows support

    Available on windows

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Does Anaconda have a free version?

Yes. Anaconda Distribution is free and includes 600+ pre-installed data science packages, Navigator, and 5GB of cloud storage. Organizations with 200+ employees must use paid plans unless they qualify for academic or non-profit exemptions.

Source
What is the difference between Anaconda Distribution and Miniconda?

Anaconda Distribution includes 600+ pre-installed packages optimized for data science out of the box. Miniconda is lightweight with only conda, Python, and essential packages, requiring manual installation of additional libraries.

Source
Does Anaconda integrate with VS Code?

Yes. Anaconda environments can be activated in VS Code, and you can run Jupyter Notebooks directly. Both JupyterLab and conda can be managed through the VS Code Jupyter extension.

Source
What platforms does Anaconda support?

Anaconda runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with cloud-based deployment options. Anaconda Notebooks provides a cloud-based JupyterLab environment requiring no local installation.

Source
Do all PyPI packages work with Anaconda?

Not all PyPI packages are available through Anaconda's default conda repository. When a package is unavailable in conda, you can install it from conda-forge or pip as an alternative.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Anaconda

Company
Anaconda, Inc.
Based in
Austin, Texas
Founders
Peter Wang, Travis Oliphant

Timeline

Anaconda over time

  1. Funding2025-07-31$150m

    Series C of $150M led by Insight Partners, valued at $1.5B

    Source
  2. Acquisition2022-06-22

    Acquired PythonAnywhere, a cloud-based Python development environment

    Source
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Anaconda, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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