Trusted by over 100,000 scientists and engineers worldwide, Surfer simplifies transforming complex geospatial datasets into accurate 2D and 3D models.
Analyze Complex Data With Confidence
Stakeholders rely on you to provide insights that save time, money, and headaches. With Surfer’s robust suite of analysis features, you’re equipped to deliver exactly that.
Your expertise combined with Surfer’s arsenal of analysis tools makes a powerful combination to develop meaningful interpretations. Take command of your data analysis journey today with Surfer – the tool you can trust to deliver accurate, insightful results every time.
Create Meaningful Maps with Unparalleled Speed
In a fast-paced world, every moment counts. With Surfer’s lightning-fast capabilities, you can transform raw data into insightful maps in record time. Say goodbye to tedious manual processes and hello to streamlined efficiency. Whether you’re mapping geological features, visualizing spatial trends, or presenting survey results, Surfer’s intuitive interface and powerful tools empower you to produce high-quality maps with unmatched speed.
Experience the thrill of effortlessly generating visually stunning maps that captivate your audience and convey your message with clarity. With Surfer, you’re not just creating maps—you’re shaping narratives and making impactful decisions at unprecedented speeds.
Surfer’s data assembly tools help you work more efficiently and effectively.
Clearly Communicate Results to All Audiences
You’re driven to leverage your expertise to solve real-world problems, but communicating your solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences presents a challenge.
Surfer bridges this gap, enabling you to develop a comprehensive understanding of your data and convey your discoveries to diverse audiences. Experience the satisfaction of seeing your work translate into tangible insights that resonate with everyone, sparking those coveted ‘Aha!’ moments.
While you may not always give clients the answer they like, with Surfer, you give them an answer that improves their understanding.
Take Total Control of the Results You Present
Get buy-in from stakeholders with visuals that speak directly to their concerns. Our tools empower you to turn complex data into clear narratives and give you full control over the presentation of your results.
“The happiest part of my job is looking at data and putting it into a plot that explains it to people.”
Extend Your Team With Expert Support!
You love solving complex problems. So do we.
You’re pressed for time with demanding clients, budget pressures, and an ever growing to-do list.
We’re here to answer your questions quickly and unleash time-saving techniques tailored to your needs, empowering you to impress stakeholders and win clients.
We are the company you WANT to contact, and we are excited to hear from you.
| Comprehensive Library Of Scripts, Sample Files, & KBs
Starting from scratch can be daunting. Dive into Surfer’s extensive resource library for inspiration, guidance, and tools to kickstart your projects. From beginner to advanced, our resources are designed to elevate your visualization skills. |
Quickly Access Technical Reference Info From Anywhere
Whether you’re in the office or the field, Surfer’s online knowledge base and in-app help are at your fingertips. Find answers to your questions, learn new techniques, and discover best practices to enhance your modeling capabilities. |
Useful Information
The most recent version of Surfer is version 29.2.289 released on May 3, 2025.
Packed with new features and improvements, these updates are available to users with an active software subscription or software maintenance.
Explore the latest release: New Features in Surfer
The most recent version of Surfer Beta is version 30.0.167 released on May 6, 2025. Surfer Beta is available to users with an active subscription or maintenance.
We provide full support to only the current versions of Surfer and Surfer Beta. Please see the Golden Software Support Policy for more details.
Surfer is a Windows based, desktop software.
For Mac, Linux, or Unix users, Surfer can be run using your preferred Windows emulator. We recommend testing the functionality with our trial version before purchasing.
Minimum requirements
- Windows 10, 11 and higher
- 64-bit operating system
- 1024×768 or higher monitor resolution with minimum 16-bit color depth
- At least 1GB free hard disk space. 500GB or larger hard drive with 25% disk space available recommended
- 2GB RAM minimum, 16GB RAM recommended
- .NET Framework 4.8
3D View requirements:
- Graphics card with OpenGL v3.2 or later
- Dedicated graphics card (e.g. NVIDIA, AMD) highly recommended
- Windows emulators, such as VMs and Parallels for Mac, may not support all the required features for viewing data in the 3D view
Fine Tuning Surfer Performance
- Issues with 3D View features may be corrected by upgrading to the latest graphics drivers.
- Many heavily computational operations, including gridding and contouring, are multi-threaded and processor reliant. A faster processor will improve Surfer’s performance.
- For processing very large data files, such as LiDAR or some vector data files, fast and large RAM storage capacity is recommended.
- Click the File | Options command and on the General page, set the Max number of processors to use all processor cores.
- For improved performance, you can disable Save auto recovery information (File | Options | General). However, disabling this feature means you will lose any unsaved work if the program closes unexpectedly. Auto-recovery is highly recommended to protect your data.
Single-user license: This license may be used by a single individual. They are ideal for a single user, an individual who needs access to Surfer at any point, or those who frequently visit client sites or are away from the office.
Concurrent-use license: Also called a “network” or “floating” license, this license is tied to a network and Surfer can be installed on as many client machines as desired. The number of users who can use Surfer at a given time is limited by the number of seats purchased.
Both license options are available in a subscription or perpetual plus maintenance model.
Subscription license: Access to the latest version of Surfer for either a monthly or annual term with automatic renewal.
Perpetual license: A one-time purchase that gives you lifelong access to Surfer. The first year of software maintenance is included and at the end of the year, you must renew software maintenance to continue receiving the latest Surfer releases.
For further information on licensing, review the Licensing articles or our End User License Agreement.
Golden Guarantee
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or 100% of Your Money Back
We know Surfer and Grapher’s visualization capabilities will help you stand out from the crowd, WOW clients, and leave a lasting impression!
But… we realize you don’t know this yet. And you won’t until you experience our products for yourself.
This is why we provide this guarantee. This is the distillation of a 40+ year adventure designing, developing, and honing powerful visualization and analysis features as requested by scientists and engineers like you.
Our products can produce results far beyond its license fees. We are assuming all your risk, so you have none.
TESTIMONIALS
Hear what other scientists & engineers have to say!
Golden Software is like a close family. Your team is always ready to answer questions, to solve problems, your products are of fine quality, low prices for updates.
Thierry Hatt
Historical GIS Cartographer Université de Strasbourg, France
We have been Golden Software clients for 35 years and have never been disappointed. For us, it’s the premier data presentation package.
Felicia Bechtel
Senior Geophysical Advisor
I’ve used Surfer for many years. It helps me tell my data’s story which allows me to clearly communicate important information with clients.
Richard Koehler, PhD
PH Founder, Visual Data Analytics, LLC
The wide variety and functionality of the interpolation/extrapolation algorithms, as well as the geostatistical functionality, is simply awesome!
Grant van Heerden, MAIG
Mine Geotechnical Engineer / Engineering Geologist
As an author, I make beautiful maps of the ground surface from LiDAR data. Surfer allows me to tease out subtle features. It is a delight to use and the tools are there, no matter what function I wish to apply.
Peter Hatherly
Geophysicist
Golden Software products are the most intuitive of any software I've ever used.
Anna Klene, PhD
Professor
Surfer is the best GIS software I have ever used…better than AutoCAD and ArcGIS … I love it!
Liliana Cecan, PhD, PE
Senior Project Manager
Surfer appears to have been designed by people who really understand what scientists like myself want to do. This allows me to look at data and ask questions without being concerned at the technicalities of how to load, manipulate and map data.
Barry Gardiner
Senior Scientist