Go to Settings → Options → Rendering and check "Render layers in parallel" to utilize multi-core CPUs.
QGIS 3.28, code-named , was released on October 21, 2022, as a version that introduced significant UX modifications and usability enhancements. Although it is no longer the current version, you can still download it directly from the official QGIS Download Repository Download and Installation Steps Access the Repository : Navigate to the official QGIS Downloads page to find installers for all previous versions. Select Your OS
: Choose the folder corresponding to your operating system (e.g., Windows, macOS, or Linux). Find Version 3.28 : Look for the specific installer labeled QGIS-OSGeo4W-3.28.x-Setup.exe (for Windows) or the file (for macOS). Run the Installer
: Follow the setup wizard instructions. Note that QGIS typically installs new versions alongside old ones rather than overwriting them. Key Features of QGIS 3.28 "Firenze"
Firenze focused on maturing features from previous releases into a stable Long-Term Support (LTR) format. User Interface
: Improved map tools and symbology for better visualization. Data Management
: Enhanced integration with proprietary services and data backends. Analysis Tools
: Updates to the processing toolbox and point cloud capabilities. 3D Features
: Continued improvement of 3D rendering and mesh data support. Essential Plugins for QGIS 3.28 Once installed, you can expand your capabilities via the QGIS Python Plugins Repository
: Provides AI-powered geospatial analysis, such as tree and water segmentation. QuickMapServices : Easily add base maps from Google, OSM, and Bing. Orfeo Toolbox (OTB) : Specialized in remote sensing and image classification.
: Allows for fast downloading of OpenStreetMap data directly into your project. QGIS Plugins data sources compatible with QGIS 3.28 for your first project? Changelog for QGIS 3.28 · QGIS Web Site
QGIS 3.28 'Firenze' is a significant release in the QGIS lifecycle, primarily serving as the Long-Term Release (LTR) since March 2023. It balances "bleeding edge" innovation with the rock-solid stability required for professional production environments. Key Feature Upgrades
Enhanced ESRI Integration: This version is a major milestone for mixed-software environments, offering vastly improved workflows for users working with ESRI-based formats and services. It includes field domain management for non-GeoPackage OGR sources, allowing you to manage and create tables in ESRI File Geodatabases directly from the QGIS browser.
New Symbology & Markers: New ellipse marker options are available, including pentagon, hexagon, octagon, star, and fractional circles.
Point Cloud & Mesh Support: Significant updates to point cloud features and mesh support enhance 3D visualization and complex data handling.
Automated Accessibility: A new font application feature automatically adds fonts from project layers that aren't installed on your local machine, ensuring consistent project visuals across different platforms.
Data Safety: Includes a new "confirm delete" action to prevent accidental data loss during editing. Performance and Usability
Processing Power: The Processing toolbox was redesigned for better speed and stability. Many tasks now run in the background, so you can continue working while complex tools execute.
User Interface: The "Identify Results" panel can now hide null values, making it much easier to clean up and view information in sparse datasets.
System Compatibility: It remains fully cross-platform, running on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Pros and Cons qgis2web 3.28.0 — QGIS Python Plugins Repository qgis 3.28 download
It was 3:47 PM on a sluggish Wednesday when Clara’s boss, Martin, leaned over her cubicle wall. "The Firefly map," he said, holding a cold coffee like a sacred offering. "The client wants it by Friday. And they just sent new building footprints. Five thousand of them."
Clara nodded, already feeling the weight of the request. The Firefly map was a flagship project—an interactive vegetation and fire-risk map for a national park. It had been built two years ago in QGIS 3.22, a stable, reliable version that had never let her down. But the new building footprints came in a modern GeoPackage with attributes that required the latest expression engine.
"Just download the new version," Martin said, as if updating software were as trivial as changing a lightbulb. "It's free, isn't it?"
She turned back to her screen. Her cursor hovered over the search bar. She typed slowly, deliberately: qgis 3.28 download.
The first result was the official QGIS website—green, earthy, open-source proud. "QGIS 3.28 'Firenze' released November 2022." She remembered the announcement. Firenze. Named after Florence. A tribute to beauty, precision, and Renaissance mapping. She clicked.
The download page offered standalone installers, OSGeo4W networks, and source code. She chose the 64-bit standalone for Windows. The file was 487 MB. A modest size for a cartographic titan.
As the download progressed, Clara made a backup of her 3.22 project. She was cautious by nature—too many GIS horror stories of symbology breaking, plugins vanishing, coordinate systems going haywire. She renamed the old project "Firefly_3.22_backup.qgz" and placed it in a folder marked "DO_NOT_TOUCH."
The installer launched. Administrative privileges. License agreement. Installation path. The usual dance. She kept the default settings, but unchecked the "Launch QGIS" box at the end. Not yet. She wanted to test in isolation.
First, she opened a sandbox project. A few dummy shapefiles, a raster of a fake island. Then she opened the Processing Toolbox. Everything was there. GRASS, SAGA, GDAL—all updated. She ran a simple buffer. It worked.
Encouraged, she opened her real project—Firefly_3.22.qgz. QGIS 3.28 asked if she wanted to convert it. "Yes," she whispered. The screen flickered. Layers repainted. Then nothing. No errors. Just a clean, slightly crisper interface. The new building footprints loaded without a single warning. The expression engine handled a complex overlay_intersects function that had choked in 3.22.
She smiled. Then frowned. The park’s custom fire-risk symbology—based on an SVG of a flame she’d drawn years ago—looked pixelated. Zoom in. Zoom out. Still pixelated. She opened the Symbology pane. In 3.28, the SVG rendering engine had changed. A small note in the changelog: "SVG markers now use a newer Qt rendering pipeline. Some custom SVGs may require resaving."
Clara sighed, but not bitterly. She opened the SVG in Inkscape, resaved it as a plain SVG, and reloaded it. Perfect. Crisp. Even better than before.
By 5:15 PM, the new building footprints were styled, labeled, and integrated into the Firefly map. The client’s new request for "dynamic fire-risk labels that change with zoom" was trivial with 3.28’s new label buffering engine. She tested the print layout. The new Atlas generator ran twice as fast.
She leaned back. The download had taken three minutes. The upgrade had cost her an hour of SVG troubleshooting. But she had gained a faster, smarter, more expressive GIS.
At 5:30 PM, Martin walked by. "Did you get it working?"
She turned her screen to show him. The Firefly map glowed on her monitor—buildings in amber, vegetation in emerald, fire-risk zones pulsing in soft orange. The client would weep with joy.
"Yeah," Clara said. "QGIS 3.28. It's a good one."
She saved the project, closed the laptop, and thought: Firenze. Florence. A city of art and maps. Not a bad namesake for a tool that just saved my week.
And somewhere in the digital aether, a thousand other GIS analysts clicked the same download button, unknowingly sharing in her quiet victory. Go to Settings → Options → Rendering and
In the world of digital cartography, QGIS 3.28, codenamed "Firenze," arrived in October 2022 as a major milestone for open-source mapping. Named after the historic city of Florence, Italy, this version was designed to bridge the gap between experimental features and long-term stability, eventually becoming the reliable "Long Term Release" (LTR) that many professionals and organizations depend on today. The Quest for Firenze: How to Download
If you are looking to embark on your own spatial journey with this specific version, here is how you can find and install it:
The Official Archive: Since QGIS regularly releases new versions (like 3.40), 3.28 is now housed in the QGIS Archive. Choosing Your Installer:
Windows: Most users should look for the standalone 64-bit installer (e.g., QGIS-OSGeo4W-3.28.x-Setup-x86_64.exe) for the best performance.
macOS & Linux: Dedicated packages for these operating systems are also maintained within the Official Download Repository.
Installation: Once downloaded, run the installer and follow the setup instructions. You’ll soon have access to a professional-grade GIS suite without any licensing costs. Why This Version Matters
QGIS 3.28 wasn't just another update; it introduced significant enhancements that made mapping more intuitive and powerful: Changelog for QGIS 3.28 · QGIS Web Site
The download bar for QGIS 3.28 'Firenze' crawled across the screen, a pixelated green vine growing toward the finish line. For Elias, a junior cartographer, this wasn't just software; it was the key to finding what the satellites had missed.
The legend in the valley spoke of a "Sunken Orchard"—a grove of ancient trees that supposedly vanished during the Great Flood of '94. Officials said it was eroded away, but Elias had a hunch. He had spent weeks scouring old soil maps and infrared scans. Now, with the Long Term Release of 3.28 finally installed, he opened the "Data Source Manager." The First Layer
: He imported the high-res LiDAR tiles. The screen bloomed into a grayscale topographic nightmare.
: Using the new "Paint Selection" tool, he filtered out the modern forest canopy. The Discovery
: Beneath the digital trees, the ground surface revealed a perfect, unnatural grid. Pits where roots once took hold.
As the "Identify" tool blinked over a specific coordinate, Elias realized the orchard hadn't washed away. It had been buried under six feet of silt, preserved like a wooden Pompeii. He clicked Save Project
, his heart racing. Tomorrow, he wouldn't be looking at a screen; he’d be grabbing a shovel. tweak the genre
of this story (e.g., make it a mystery or sci-fi) or help you with the actual installation steps for QGIS 3.28?
QGIS 3.28 'Firenze' Download and Installation Guide QGIS 3.28, codenamed
, is a stable, Long-Term Release (LTR) version of the world's leading open-source Geographic Information System. While newer versions like
have since been released (as of April 2026), 3.28 remains a popular choice for users who prioritize stability and compatibility with older plugins. Where to Download QGIS 3.28
Because QGIS 3.28 is no longer the "current" release, it is found in the project's archives rather than the main landing page: Official Repository QGIS 3
: You can browse and download specific 3.28 installers from the QGIS Download Repository Legacy LTR Access
: Older Long-Term Release packages are often maintained for users needing a "hardened" environment with proven bug fixes. Key Features of the 3.28 Release
QGIS 3.28 introduced several major enhancements that continue to make it a powerful tool: 3D Enhancements
: Added Ambient Occlusion and Eye Dome Lighting for improved point cloud visualization. Cartography
: New ellipse marker shapes and support for HTML-style formatting (bold/italic) in labeling. Data Management
: Improved metadata storage for GeoPackage and Postgres formats. User Experience
: New confirmation prompts for discarding expression changes or deleting features to prevent accidental data loss. System Requirements
To ensure a smooth experience, your system should meet these recommended specifications: : Approximately of disk space for the installation. : At least
is recommended to avoid system crashes during heavy processing. : A processor speed higher than is preferred. Operating Systems : Compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, and BSD variants. Installation Steps Download · QGIS Web Site
sudo wget -O /usr/share/keyrings/qgis-archive-keyring.gpg https://download.qgis.org/downloads/qgis-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/qgis-archive-keyring.gpg] https://qgis.org/ubuntu-ltr $(lsb_release -sc) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/qgis.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install qgis qgis-plugin-grass
If you're looking for a stable, reliable, and feature-rich version of the world’s leading open-source geographic information system, QGIS 3.28 "Firenze" is an excellent choice. Released on October 21, 2022, version 3.28 is designated as a Long-Term Release (LTR) , meaning it will receive critical bug fixes and updates for an extended period (typically one year, until the next LTR). This makes it the preferred version for professional work, teaching, and production environments where stability trumps the very latest features.
Here’s how to download QGIS 3.28 safely and what to expect.
The QGIS 3.28 download is your gateway to professional-grade GIS without the heavy price tag of proprietary software. Firenze delivers hundreds of improvements over previous versions while maintaining the stability expected from a Long Term Release. Whether you are analyzing climate data, designing utility networks, or creating beautiful atlases, QGIS 3.28 is a tool you can rely on for years to come.
Do not hesitate—download QGIS 3.28 today from qgis.org and join a global community of over 100,000 daily users who have made the switch to open-source GIS.
Last updated: March 2025. All download links and commands verified for QGIS 3.28.8.
QGIS 3.28, codenamed "Firenze," is a cornerstone of the open-source GIS community. As a Long-Term Release (LTR), it was designed specifically for professional and production-level workflows where stability and reliability are prioritized over the newest, experimental features. Where to Download QGIS 3.28
The safest and most reliable way to obtain QGIS 3.28 is through the official channels:
Official QGIS Download Page: Visit QGIS.org and look for the "Long Term Release" section.
Archived Downloads: Since newer versions are frequently released, you may need to access the QGIS Archived Downloads page if version 3.28 is no longer the primary LTR on the main site.
OSGeo4W Installer (Windows): For advanced users, the OSGeo4W Network Installer allows you to manage multiple QGIS versions and dependencies in a single environment. Key Features of the Firenze Release
QGIS 3.28 introduced several major enhancements that solidified its place in professional mapping: Changelog for QGIS 3.28
Solution: Go to Applications, right-click QGIS, and select "Open" twice. Also, ensure you have granted disk access permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security.