Marble is a virtual globe application which allows the user to choose among the Earth, the Moon, Venus, Mars and other planets to display as a 3-D model. It is free software under the terms of the GNU LGPL, developed by KDE for use on personal computers and smart phones. It is written in C++ and uses Qt.
Marble is intended to be very flexible; beyond its cross-platform design, the core components can easily be integrated into other programs. It is designed to run without the need for hardware acceleration, but it can be extended to use OpenGL. An important user-experience objective being that the application start fairly quickly, it ships with a minimal but useful off-line dataset (5–10MB).
Contributors have added support for on-line mapping sources such as OpenStreetMap and the ability to interpret KML files. Marble also provides route planning capabilities. A navigation mode called MarbleToGo was developed as part of Google Summer of Code 2010. It was later partially rewritten and renamed to Marble Touch.
From the Wikipedia article “Marble (software)”, CC BY-SA 4.0
What is Marble?
Marble is an open-source maps & gi program for Windows from KDE. It ranks 9th by popularity among maps & gis in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2006. It is written in C++. Besides Windows, it is available for Unix-like operating system and Linux. Its interface is available in 30 languages.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as EXE (Inno Setup). The main installer is 31.9 MB. Installation asks for administrator rights. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 1,992 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 15 of our languages. On Windows it registers 5 file types, including .json, .kml, .kmz, .gpx and .geojson. Similar programs include QGIS (LTR), Google Earth Pro and GeoDa.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on Unix-like operating system and Linux
- Mature project (since 2006)
- Interface in 30 languages
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
- No update for more than a year
In short: Marble is an open-source maps & gi tool for 64-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is Marble safe to download?
- The file is served by files.kde.org, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
10B47FB07CAE61D48EA9ADE811261D3A7FF26B5E96F362E663A583D4D8773E10· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link answered when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 1 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2.0Latest | March 30, 2021 | 31.9 MB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id KDE.Marble -echoco install marble -yscoop install extras/marbleMarble-setup_2.2.0-1_x64.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
flatpak install flathub org.kde.marbleInformation
- Publisher
- KDE
- Category
- Maps & GIS
- Licence
- LGPL-2.1-or-later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- invent.kde.org
- Written in
- C++
- Interface languages
- English, Ukrainian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish, and Slovene +24 more
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Other platforms
- Unix-like operating system, Linux
- Version
- 2.2.0
- Released
- March 30, 2021
- First release
- 2006
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 1
- Chocolatey downloads
- 1,992
- Website
- marble.kde.org
- winget ID
- KDE.Marble
- Chocolatey package
- marble
- Scoop package
- extras/marble
File types it opens (5)
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Marble free?
Yes. Marble is open-source software under the LGPL-2.1-or-later licence.
Is Marble safe to download?
The download comes from files.kde.org, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Marble with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Marble be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Marble run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
What are alternatives to Marble?
QGIS (LTR), Google Earth Pro, GeoDa, OpenOrienteering Mapper and Garmin Express. The alternatives page compares them.
