MATLAB is hired to do numerical computing: analysis, algorithms, modeling and plotting. The language itself has open-source cousins, but the add-on libraries and Simulink models around it are what hold most teams in place. Below: the one price MathWorks prints, the options we verified, and how to test your own scripts before cancelling.
A script written years ago still runs a calculation someone depends on. Rewriting it risks changing a number, and nobody wants to be the person who changed a number.
Add-on libraries and Simulink models add a second layer: they are not just a language, and no one has time to compare them line by line. That is why we test real scripts before recommending anything.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| GNU Octave | Open source | GPL-3.0 | GNU Octave repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Julia | Open source | MIT | Julia repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
| Plan | Price as published | Includes | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| MATLAB Individual License | USD 940 per year | Annual license, 12-month right to use with maintenance included; the page lists MATLAB, Simulink, the Online Training Suite and other add-on products | MathWorks pricing and licensingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
As printed on MathWorks' page on the checked date, excluding tax. The page printed one price; other license types showed no online price. Check the page for the license type you hold.
MATLAB is hired for numerical work: analysis, algorithms, models and plots. The language can often be replaced by another language. The product around it, with its add-on libraries and Simulink models, is the harder part.
That is why we rate this one hard. The sensible order is to find out which scripts are core and which are leftovers, test a few of each in the replacement, and only then decide how many seats are worth keeping.
Samples are made up and are not MATLAB's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Treat it as a test of your own code, not of the product. In outline:
List every script, model and add-on product in use, who owns each, and when it last ran. Ask which ones feed a result someone else relies on.
Split the list into work that is just numerical scripting and work that needs Simulink, a specific toolbox or generated code. Only the first group is a candidate for a replacement language.
Run a representative script in the candidate tool next to the original and compare outputs on the same input data. Keep both outputs.
Move one team or project, keep the old license through a full cycle of that work, and agree with anyone who consumes the results on what they will accept.
Archive code, models and data, then end seats inside the contract's notice window.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. MATLAB is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.