In some instances, there are instances where all functionality is removed until the license is purchased.

Demo programs offer limited function for no cost, but they are charged for more advanced options or the elimination of ads from their interfaces. This technology is especially useful to the telecoms industry, where network planning dynamics create huge geospatial data sets, and variables must be processed and analyzed. Today, users can move seamlessly between raster and vector domains within the same software making data modeling easier and visualization, even for the most complex data integration projects.

Although the majority of free software programs are limited to a certain time period, there are some that come with limitations on features.