SPSS Alternatives in 2026: Free, Online and Mobile Options Compared

For most students and researchers the best SPSS alternative is one of three free desktop programs: jamovi, JASP or PSPP. If you specifically need SPSS-style menus, syntax and .sav files in a browser or on an iPad, TRTT fills that gap, and if you are willing to write code, R or Python will take you further than any point-and-click tool.

This guide is published by the team behind TRTT, which is one of the tools compared. We say plainly where another tool is the better choice, and we list TRTT's limits next to its strengths. Facts about other products were checked on their official pages in October 2026.

Quick answer by situation

Your situation	Best fit	Why
You want a free, friendly desktop app and don't mind a different interface	jamovi	Results update as you click, it reads .sav files, and it can show the R code behind each analysis
You want Bayesian tests next to the classical ones	JASP	Most standard analyses come in both a classical and a Bayesian version
You need SPSS syntax on a desktop, including Linux, at no cost	PSPP	GNU project, free licence, runs a large part of the SPSS command language
You want SPSS-style menus in a browser with nothing to install	TRTT (web)	Free, no account, opens and saves .sav with labels, computes on your own computer
You have to work on an iPad or iPhone	TRTT (iOS app)	Native app that opens .sav files; free up to 100 cases, optional Pro for larger files
You need reproducible scripts, custom models or large data	R or Python	Free, unlimited, and both read .sav files with labels
Your institution pays and you need vendor support or specialised modules	SPSS itself, Stata, JMP, Minitab or Displayr	Mature commercial products with support contracts

How we compared: five kinds of SPSS compatibility

"Alternative" means different things to different people. We graded each tool on five questions:

Menus and dialogs. Can you follow an SPSS tutorial click by click?
Syntax. Will your existing .sps file run?
Reading .sav. Do variable labels, value labels and user-defined missing values come through?
Writing .sav. Can you send a .sav back to a supervisor who still uses SPSS?
Output. Do the tables look like SPSS output, and can you produce an .spv file?

Tool	SPSS-style menus	Runs SPSS syntax	Opens .sav	Saves .sav	Platforms	Price
jamovi	No, own interface	No (shows R code)	Yes	Yes (File ▸ Export)	Windows, macOS, Linux; jamovi Cloud in a browser	Free, open source; Cloud has a free Guest plan and paid plans
JASP	No, own interface	No	Yes (.sav, .zsav, .por)	No, data exports as text files	Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS	Free, open source
PSPP	SPSS-like data editor, fewer dialogs	Yes, broad coverage	Yes	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux	Free (GPLv3)
TRTT	Yes, Analyze menu mirrors SPSS 32	Yes, a defined subset	Yes	Yes	Desktop browsers; iPhone and iPad app	Web free; iOS free up to 100 cases, optional Pro
R / Python	No	No	Yes (haven, pyreadstat)	Yes	Any desktop OS	Free

No free tool scores full marks on all five, so the right choice depends on which of them matters most to you.

Free desktop tools: jamovi, JASP, PSPP

jamovi is free and open source and calls itself a statistical spreadsheet. Instead of a dialog with an OK button, you tick options and the results table updates live. It covers descriptives, t tests, ANOVA (including repeated measures), correlation, linear and logistic regression, contingency tables, reliability and factor analysis, and community modules add mixed models and Bayesian methods. It opens .sav, SAS, Stata, CSV and Excel files and can export data back to .sav; syntax mode shows the R code behind each analysis. If your course doesn't depend on SPSS menus, jamovi is an excellent default. More in jamovi vs SPSS.

JASP, from the University of Amsterdam, is also free and open source. Its standard analyses come in both classical and Bayesian form, with output designed for APA-style reporting. It opens .sav, .zsav and .por files but exports data only as text files; a request for .sav export has been open on its issue tracker since 2020. See JASP vs SPSS and JASP vs jamovi vs PSPP.

PSPP is the GNU project's free replacement for SPSS (GPLv3, no fees, no expiry) and the closest free tool to SPSS syntax: its manual (version 2.1.2, September 2026) covers DO IF, LOOP, macros, AGGREGATE, MATCH FILES, logistic regression and CTABLES. Not implemented yet: MIXED, hierarchical and TwoStep clustering, discriminant analysis and ordinal regression, among others. Charts are limited to scatterplots, histograms and bar charts. Details in PSPP vs SPSS and TRTT vs PSPP.

Code-first: R and Python

If you are comfortable writing code, R and Python are the most capable free alternatives of all. In R, haven::read_sav() reads .sav files with value labels (and user-defined missing values with user_na = TRUE), and write_sav() writes them back. In Python, pyreadstat.read_sav() returns a data frame plus a metadata object with variable and value labels. The price is the learning curve. A useful bridge: TRTT's Paste button turns a dialog into SPSS syntax and also into equivalent R and Python code (equivalent in what it computes; the printout won't always look the same).

In the browser

Online statistics tools fall into three groups. Calculators take a pasted column of numbers and run one test. Cloud platforms upload your file and compute on a server: jamovi Cloud processes data on jamovi's servers during the session and removes it afterwards. A third group computes inside your browser, so the file stays on your computer: numiqo says it works this way, and so does TRTT.

TRTT on the web is free, needs no account and has no paid plan. Its engine (Rust compiled to WebAssembly) runs in your browser, so the data set isn't sent to a server; the web version does send anonymous feature-usage counters, switched off by Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track. It opens and saves .sav files with labels, missing values and measurement levels intact, and runs .sps syntax. Its limits:

Built for desktop browsers; the web version isn't designed for phone screens.
No PDF export on the web. You can export output as .spv, save charts as images and copy tables into Word or Excel.
Saving into the same file works in Chrome and Edge; Safari and Firefox download a new copy.
Not supported yet: DO IF, LOOP, AGGREGATE, MATCH FILES, logistic regression, CTABLES, MIXED, repeated-measures GLM and macros, among others.

Walkthrough: SPSS alternative online. Syntax specifically: run SPSS syntax online.

On iPad and iPhone

IBM ships SPSS Statistics 32 for 64-bit Windows and macOS only, so there is no SPSS for iPad or iPhone. jamovi, JASP and PSPP have no native iPad or iPhone apps either; jamovi Cloud can be opened in a tablet browser.

TRTT has a native app for iPhone and iPad (iOS 17 or later). It opens .sav files from Files and Mail, saves changes in place, exports PDF, and uses the same engine as the web version, so numbers and charts match. Every feature is free on data sets of up to 100 cases. With a larger file you can load the first 100 cases or upgrade to TRTT Pro, which removes only the size limit (weekly or monthly subscription, or a one-time purchase; prices are shown in the app). There is no TRTT app for Android. Details: SPSS for iPad.

Paid platforms: Stata, Minitab, JMP, Displayr

If budget isn't the constraint, these are serious tools:

Stata: since version 16, import spss reads .sav and .zsav files, value labels and missing values included.
JMP: commercial, but JMP Student Edition is free for students and educators at degree-granting institutions, on a renewable 12-month licence.
Minitab: annual per-user subscription, with a web app that runs in Chrome, Edge and Safari.
Displayr: a cloud platform for survey and market research analysis that imports .sav files; pricing by plan or quote.

And SPSS itself: IBM lists the base subscription "starting at $99 USD per authorized user", with monthly, quarterly and annual plans (checked October 2026; prices vary by country). Many students get it free through their university; see is SPSS free for students?.

What about "AI" SPSS alternatives? Several newer tools answer plain-English questions about your data. Before relying on one, check where your file is processed and whether you can reproduce the result without the chat. TRTT is not an AI tool.

Which tools keep your .sav metadata

Metadata is what makes a .sav file more than a spreadsheet: variable labels, value labels (1 = "Strongly agree"), user-defined missing values such as 99 = "Refused", measurement levels and weights.

Read it: jamovi, JASP, PSPP, TRTT, R (haven) and Python (pyreadstat).
Write it back to .sav: PSPP, TRTT, R, Python and jamovi (via export). JASP currently exports data only as text.
Lose it: any conversion to CSV drops value labels and missing-value definitions. Export a spreadsheet copy if you need one, but keep the .sav as your master file. See how to open a .sav file without SPSS.

If you are on a Mac, the trade-offs shift a little; see SPSS alternatives for Mac. For a closer look at the free options only, read free SPSS alternatives, and for interface similarity, software like SPSS.

Try it: Open TRTT in your browser – free · Get TRTT for iPhone & iPad

FAQ

What is the best free alternative to SPSS?

For most people, jamovi or JASP: both are free, open source and easy to learn, and both open .sav files. Choose PSPP if you need to run SPSS syntax, and TRTT if you want SPSS-style menus in a browser or on an iPad.

Is there an SPSS alternative that uses the same syntax?

PSPP runs a large part of the SPSS command language, including DO IF, AGGREGATE and MATCH FILES. TRTT runs a defined subset (frequencies, crosstabs, t tests, ANOVA, regression, factor and cluster analysis, recodes and more) in the browser, but not DO IF, LOOP, AGGREGATE or macros.

Which SPSS alternative works on an iPad?

IBM SPSS does not run on iPad. TRTT has a native iPad app that opens .sav files and is free for data sets up to 100 cases. jamovi Cloud can be used in a tablet browser.

Is TRTT the same as SPSS?

No. TRTT is an independent program that follows SPSS menus, syntax and file formats for the procedures it supports. Its results are tested against PSPP and published SPSS algorithms, but it does not cover every SPSS procedure.

TRTT is an independent product. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by IBM. IBM and SPSS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.