What to Buy
The Best of Both Worlds
Key Questions
The first choice is whether you need Manifold's revolutionary new Manifold® Release 9 GIS, or a classic, low-cost Manifold® Release 8 GIS, or both. Taking advantage of special offers for reduced pricing, many people will get both. Release 9 comes in three editions, so depending on your interests you can choose between Release 9 Professional, Release 9 Universal, or Release 9 Server editions.
Release 9 is built on the massively parallel Radian spatial data engine, putting an incredibly broad range of formats and data sources at your fingertips, more than any other GIS or spatial tool. Nothing comes close to 9 for working with larger data at phenomenal speed. Release 8 does not have the raw power, speed and phenomenal DBMS sophistication of Release 9, but Release 8 exceeds any other non-parallel GIS, while providing far lower costs than Esri and significantly lower life-cycle costs for many people than freeware.
As a mature product, Release 8 benefits from many thousands of features added for every last possible detail of doing GIS. Release 9 starts with a far stronger foundation but does not as yet have the vast, seemingly endless set of features found in Release 8 for cartography and presentation. Both Release 8 and Release 9 are famously bulletproof, with totally reliable quality.
Release 9 is gaining features at the rate of a few hundred per base build: already 9 is a superior choice for anything having to do with data manipulation or analytics, and 9 already is a good choice for cartography and presentation. In addition to all the new, hypermodern and advanced features 9 has that 8 does not have (such as total CPU parallelism and automatically parallel spatial SQL), 9 will likely soon surpass even the enormous Release 8 feature set.
Manifold Product Options
See the Products page for product listings and prices.
- Manifold® Release 9: Choose from Professional, Universal, or Manifold Server editions.
- Manifold® Release 8: Get Ultimate Edition for the incredible range of all Release 8 capabilities for one low price.
Release 9 Editions for Every Need
Release 9 comes in three editions so you can get the lowest cost for the features you need:
- Manifold Release 9 Professional edition provides thousands of features and is perfect for standalone use or as a client in workgroups using Manifold Server. Professional edition is the foundation for high performance, high efficiency, professional GIS work.
- Manifold Release 9 Universal edition includes all Professional features plus Manifold Commander for easy automation of common tasks using command line execution and Windows Task Scheduler. Universal also adds a limited version of Manifold Server to support smaller workgroups. Individuals who are automating tasks will use Universal edition, and smaller workgroups who share data through Manifold Server to simultaneous users will also typically use Universal licenses.
- Manifold Release 9 Server edition includes all Universal features and also adds an unlimited version of Manifold Server, with no limits on connections or simultaneous sessions serving out different data sets. Larger workgroups and organizations of all sizes will use Server licenses to serve shared data outbound to many users.
Choosing between Release 9 and Release 8
Which Manifold product is right for you depends on your priorities:
- I work with spatial and non-spatial data in my organization's database servers - Get a Manifold Release 9 edition. You might also want to choose a Release 8 edition as well.
- I'm happy with my current GIS (Release 8, Esri, MapInfo, etc.) but I need more horsepower to crunch data - Get Manifold Release 9.
- I work with Esri ArcGIS® Pro and I would like to be able to use SQL with file geodatabases and other data sources. - Get SQL for ArcGIS® Pro. That provides a customized form of Release 9 that has been integrated with ArcGIS Pro.
- I don't work with GIS or spatial data but I do a lot of work blending and manipulating data - Get Manifold Release 9. It's a bargain at twice the price even if you never touch spatial data.
- I am mainly interested in presentation and map making - Try the free Manifold Viewer to see if Release 9's existing cartographic and presentation capabilities are a good fit. If they are, go straight to 9. Otherwise, choose a Release 8 edition if you have a tight budget, and get both Release 8 and Release 9 if your budget allows.
- I need to convert formats or review large images or vectors - Definitely Manifold Release 9 to get large capacity, and probably Release 8 as well.
- I work with data and databases but I don't know SQL. Is Release 9 OK for me? - Yes. You'll use point-and-click Release 9 templates instead of SQL.
- I have a very limited budget. What's the right choice? - You cannot beat Release 8 for an absolutely vast range of capabilities at an incredibly low price.
- I just need to look at data somebody else created. What should I buy? - No need to buy anything. Get the free Manifold Viewer.
People in an organization who know they need to get into GIS but are just getting started will take advantage of special offers to get both Manifold Release 9 and Release 8 Release 8.00 Universal x64 Edition. The bundle covers all bases and provides an almost unimagineable breadth and depth of capability at a revolutionary, low price. Nothing else comes close.
Choosing a Release 9 Edition
Choosing a Release 9 edition depends on two factors: whether you want to operate Manifold Server to share data to other Manifold users, or if you need to automate GIS, DBMS, or ETL tasks, for example, running a conversion job early every morning to update project that will used for that day's work. If either of those factors is a requirement, you need either Universal or Server edition.
- I want to operate an unlimited Server to share data to many Manifold users in my organization - Easy: Get Manifold Release 9 Server edition. You'll need one Server license for each server machine that you operate. Keep in mind that a Server license allows running an unlimited number of server instances on a single server machine, so with one license you can host very many server instances that could share out thousands of projects.
- I work in a small GIS shop with just a few people, but we want to share projects to our workgroup - Either get Manifold Release 9 Server edition or get one or more Release 9 Universal licenses for the people in your workgroup. It's routine and realistic to use the same machine as both a server and a client machine, so the people in your workgroup who have Universal licenses can share projects through a Server session on the same machine they use for their own desktop work.
- My organization needs to automate GIS, DBMS and ETL jobs. - Either get Manifold Release 9 Server edition (if you also plan on operating an unlimited Server), or get one or more Release 9 Universal licenses, one for each computer that will host your automation tasks. Both Server and Universal editions include Manifold Commander for automating GIS, DBMS and ETL jobs. You can run Commander for automation at the same time that you use the same machine for interactive desktop work in Manifold, or even for running Manifold Server.
- I don't intend sharing projects to other Manifold users, and I don't have a need for automating tasks - Go with Manifold Release 9 Professional edition. Professional Edition includes the full, incredibly extensive range of Manifold Release 9, excepting only Manifold Server and Manifold Commander.
- I don't need Server to share projects, but in addition to my desktop work I'd like to be able to automate jobs - Go with Manifold Release 9 Universal edition. Universal includes all Professional features and also includes Manifold Commander for automation.
- I don't need to share data, but I do want to connect as a client to servers that share data to me - That's a perfect role for Manifold Release 9 Professional edition. All Manifold products, even the free Viewer, can be clients to Manifold Server instances.
See Release 9 technology in action Watch the Exploring Archaeology in France YouTube video to learn how to enjoy the pre-built, beginner-friendly project for Viewer that lets you discover thousands of archaeological sites and monuments throughout France, from giant Neolithic stone constructions to a Roman amphitheater hidden just off a road that tourists zoom by without even knowing it was there. Try it yourself with Manifold Viewer.
Special Offers
Manifold Commander runs from a command line, and allows running SQL queries within a Manifold project or scripts either within the Manifold project or in external files. It allows launching commands to automatically do work without having to manually launch Manifold and operate it interactively. Using Windows Task Scheduler you can launch tasks using Commander on a regular schedule, such as updating a CSV every night for serving to clients, updating databases, or converting files into different formats.
The limited Manifold Server configuration in Universal edition allows one Server instance per machine launched from a Command Prompt window with a limited number of connections. A universal license is a single desktop license that includes simultaneous interactive use of Manifold 9 along with a Server instance, allowing interactive use at the same time the machine is running as a server. Best buy.
An unlimited number of connections takes advantage of cost-efficient, many core CPUs that can provide very many threads on server machines at low cost. Single machine license that includes simultaneous interactive use of Manifold 9 along with a Server instances, allowing interactive use at the same time the machine is running as a server. Outstanding value for workgroups and organizations
Trade Ins for a Discount
Manifold provides two upgrade options that allow you to trade in a license to get a higher valued product at a discount:
Upgrade Manifold 9.00 Professional to Manifold 9.00 Universal - Trade in a Manifold 9.00 Professional license to get a Manifold 9.00 Universal license at a discount. After the trade in discount, the cost of the Universal license will be only$100 .Upgrade Manifold 9.00 Universal to Manifold 9.00 Server - Trade in a Manifold 9.00 Universal license to get a Manifold 9.00 Server license at a discount. After the trade in discount, the cost of the Server license will be only$300 .
Licenses cannot be traded in if they were acquired as part of a discounted bundle. For example, a Release 9.00 Professional license acquired as part of a 4x Professional + Server discounted bundle cannot be traded in to get a discount on a Release 9.00 Universal license.
For an illustrated, step-by-step example showing how to take advantage of either of the above trade in offers, see the How to Upgrade page.
Quantity Discounts
Manifold Products are 64-bit
All Manifold licenses now offered provide full 64-bit capability with 64-bit Windows. That's a very big deal since true 64-bit operation makes a big difference in performance. Don't even hesitate about this. Get a 64-bit edition of Windows and run 64-bit Manifold.
Image at right: Release 8 can do 3D charting presentations. Click for a bigger image. Awesome!
You need a 64-bit, x64 Windows operating system to run 64-bit Manifold. When Windows boots up you'll see a clear "x64" as part of the Windows logo if you are running 64-bit Windows. Note: Surprisingly many computer system vendors will sell 64-bit processors with 32-bit Windows installed. In that case, as far as Windows is concerned you have a 32-bit processor.
What Should I get for Web Server Applications?
To create GIS-enabled web sites, get Release 8. Release 8 includes an Internet Map Server (IMS), but Release 9 does not as yet include IMS. See also the What to Buy for IMS page. Note that both Release 8 and Release 9 can show layers served by webservers. Release 9 has more options for using layers served by web servers.
Advice for Applications Developers
Every Manifold license is a development environment. There is no need to buy some separate "objects library" because each Manifold license exposes the Manifold API. In fact, every Manifold license from Personal on up includes sophisticated development facilities as well, such as the Manifold Debugger, the ability to script in .NET or ActiveX languages within Manifold with full syntax highlighting (coloring) in script windows. Developers may also use standard development environments such as Visual Studio to work with Manifold objects.
Developers create applications that utilize Manifold Release 8 in one of two ways:
- Standalone Applications - The classic way of developing applications that are then distributed to run locally on customer computers. Order one Manifold license for each developer. Deploy the application to your customer by installing a Manifold license with each customer.
- Web Applications - Create your application as a web site utilizing Manifold IMS. There are many advantages of creating an application as a web application, not the least of which is that your cost of GIS becomes nearly zero. The requirements are the same as for an IMS application, discussed above.
Release 9 does not yet offer IMS capability, so applications developers working with the Release 9 API will create standalone applications. If you plan on developing standalone applications, without doubt you should go straight to Release 9 as the Release 9 API is far more sophisticated, far more powerful, and far easier to work with than Release 8. See the Release 9 API Documentation.
See the following for information of interest to developers:
- What to Buy for IMS - Suggestions for Release 8 IMS applications development.
- Programming Manifold - A Release 8 User Manual topic that discusses the merits of creating standalone applications or web applications.
- Developing Applications - A Release 8 User Manual topic providing general advice to applications developers.
- Release 9 API Documentation - Highly detailed API documentation for developers working with Release 9 with many examples provided simultaneously in C#, VBScript and IronPython.
Complete Details
For complete details on all Manifold products see the User Manuals page - Manifold user manuals provide thousands of pages of lavishly illustrated, detailed information on every aspect of the product. Hundreds of examples show how to use Manifold facilities.
Product Downloads
Manifold products are delivered by download over Internet. See the Product Downloads page.
Manifold.net provides a very large range of free downloads that will enhance your use of Manifold on the Product Downloads page and the links it contains. For example, the free downloads from the Image Servers and Geocoding Servers page provide some of the most extraordinary and most popular features in Release 8, unavailable at any price from other GIS vendors, like the automatically downloaded and composed images and maps seen at right of Sydney, Australia, and London, England.
Must I buy Maintenance or Support?
Routine maintenance for a Manifold release consist of free updates that may be downloaded at any time. No "maintenance" charge or other fee is required to download such updates. It is very important to take advantage of free updates. Free updates provide product improvements and fix bugs. If you have not installed the latest Manifold update you will not be able to utilize Manifold Technical Support.
All Manifold technical support is paid, with two prepaid incidents of standard technical support by email provided with a license. Additional incidents are very inexpensive, providing the lowest cost and highest quality technical support in the GIS industry. However, experience shows that users who read documentation in the suggested order and participate in the Georeference forum or other online communities will never use a technical support incident, not even one of their two free incidents. Most users, therefore, will not buy any technical support products until they need them. For information on technical support, please see the Support page.
Routine updates are published from time to time for a given release to fix bugs and to add new features. Manifold on startup will check via Internet for any updates and will notify the user that a new update is available. Routine updates may be downloaded and installed at no charge.
From time to time a major new Manifold release will be published. By tradition, a new release has been offered for a limited time to licensees of the previous release at a greatly discounted price. New releases have many benefits. They include many improvements, typically hundreds of new items, and they provide a fresh serial number with five more activations.
Although upgrading to a new release is not required, technical support is available only on the current release. Because of the low cost of upgrading and the many benefits from upgrading to a new release, almost all Manifold licensees will take advantage of the initial discount offer to upgrade.
When launched, Manifold will check the web for you and notify you if any updates are available.
Do I Need a Money-Back Guarantee?
Experience Manifold Power in a Free Tool
Manifold Viewer is the free, read-only version of Manifold Release 9. Although Viewer cannot write projects or save edited data back out to the original data sources, Viewer provides phenomenal capability to view and to analyze almost all possible different types of data in tables, vector geometry, raster data, drawings, maps and images from thousands of different sources. Viewer includes full SQL as well, with hundreds of spatial and other analytic functions.
Viewer can also create and write spatial indices for entire folders full of LiDAR files, save connections to favorite files and data sources, and even edit and save localization files to translate Manifold into new languages.
Manifold Viewer delivers a truly useful, fully CPU-parallel and GPU-parallel Manifold tool that gives you parallel power and endless Manifold capabilities at zero cost. No need to register, no adware, no requests for donations and no selling: use Viewer however you like, including commercial purposes. You can even redistribute Viewer, all for free.
Viewer is a great way to share the amazing projects you create in Manifold for free. Publish multi-hundred GB projects created in Manifold that anybody can pop open in 1/10th second for free using Viewer. Publish projects that include automatic connections to your organization's databases and worldwide webserved data, and include pre-built, sophisticated analytics and dynamic reporting that users can launch with a point and click. Track pandemics, help first responders fight wildfires, or just help your organization do a better job.
Viewer's small download (only 50 MB), instant launch, and clean display - free of convoluted ribbons and endless, confusing buttons - make it perfect for unskilled users. With Viewer a million people can share the dazzling analytics and insights you create with an inexpensive Manifold license, all at fully parallel speed with no need to pay for costly, cloud-based, web processing. Like Manifold, Viewer never crashes, no matter how big or complicated the job.
See Viewer in action Watch the Manifold Viewer Introduction YouTube video."Mfd 9 is becoming a really good tool for sharing data with non-GIS folks. Clean interface makes it easy to teach others simple tasks. Easy to transfer a project. Easy to install software. Free viewer." - Forum post
Buy Now via the Online Store
Buy Manifold products on the Online Store. The store is open 24 hours / seven days a week / every day of the year. Orders are processed immediately with serial number email sent out in seconds. Use Manifold products today!
Special Offers
Manifold Commander runs from a command line, and allows running SQL queries within a Manifold project or scripts either within the Manifold project or in external files. It allows launching commands to automatically do work without having to manually launch Manifold and operate it interactively. Using Windows Task Scheduler you can launch tasks using Commander on a regular schedule, such as updating a CSV every night for serving to clients, updating databases, or converting files into different formats.
The limited Manifold Server configuration in Universal edition allows one Server instance per machine launched from a Command Prompt window with a limited number of connections. A universal license is a single desktop license that includes simultaneous interactive use of Manifold 9 along with a Server instance, allowing interactive use at the same time the machine is running as a server. Best buy.
An unlimited number of connections takes advantage of cost-efficient, many core CPUs that can provide very many threads on server machines at low cost. Single machine license that includes simultaneous interactive use of Manifold 9 along with a Server instances, allowing interactive use at the same time the machine is running as a server. Outstanding value for workgroups and organizations
Trade Ins for a Discount
Manifold provides two upgrade options that allow you to trade in a license to get a higher valued product at a discount:
Upgrade Manifold 9.00 Professional to Manifold 9.00 Universal - Trade in a Manifold 9.00 Professional license to get a Manifold 9.00 Universal license at a discount. After the trade in discount, the cost of the Universal license will be only$100 .Upgrade Manifold 9.00 Universal to Manifold 9.00 Server - Trade in a Manifold 9.00 Universal license to get a Manifold 9.00 Server license at a discount. After the trade in discount, the cost of the Server license will be only$300 .
Licenses cannot be traded in if they were acquired as part of a discounted bundle. For example, a Release 9.00 Professional license acquired as part of a 4x Professional + Server discounted bundle cannot be traded in to get a discount on a Release 9.00 Universal license.
For an illustrated, step-by-step example showing how to take advantage of either of the above trade in offers, see the How to Upgrade page.
Quantity Discounts
Suggestions
Suggestions to improve Manifold are always welcome. Please see the Suggestions page for tips on making effective suggestions.
About Manifold
Manifold is a deep technology company creating advanced, parallel algorithms, next-level technology, and computation know-how that powers faster performance and smarter operations.
License Manifold® technology to power your company's products, or take advantage of Manifold's off-the-shelf commercial products. Jump decades ahead of your competition.
Manifold® brand products deliver quality, performance and value in the world's most sophisticated, most modern, and most powerful spatial products for GIS, ETL, DBMS, and Data Science. Total integration ensures ease of use, amazing speed, and unbeatably low cost of ownership. Tell your friends!