This GDAL 3.13.3 free download guide gets you the current release of the world’s most important geospatial library — completely free. GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) is the open-source engine behind QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, GRASS GIS, and nearly every raster and vector tool students use. Version 3.13.3, published on August 18, 2026, is a focused bugfix release: its headline fix repairs a file-reading regression introduced in 3.13.0, alongside driver fixes for COG, ENVI, netCDF and Zarr and several security hardening patches. Below you will find every change in this release, how to install it on Windows, macOS and Linux, the system requirements, and answers to the most common questions.
GDAL 3.13.3 Download: What’s New in This Release
GDAL 3.13.3 is the project’s current release, listed on the official GDAL download page at gdal.org. Like the 3.13.1 and 3.13.2 updates before it, this is a maintenance release — no new drivers, no API changes — which makes it a safe, drop-in upgrade for anyone already running 3.13.x.
Headline fix: the 3.13.0 file-reading regression is repaired
The most important change in 3.13.3 fixes a Unix file read() regression that 3.13.0 introduced in its buffering behavior (#14997, #15005). If you upgraded to 3.13.0 and noticed odd read performance or behavior on Linux and macOS, this release is the fix. Upgrading from any 3.13.x build to 3.13.3 is strongly recommended.
COG, ENVI, netCDF and Zarr driver fixes
Several widely used raster drivers get targeted repairs. The COG driver fixes multi-threaded, multi-band BuildOverviews() (#15003), so overview generation on cloud-optimized GeoTIFFs is reliable again. The ENVI driver fixes a 3.12.2 regression where multiband BSQ creation and opening failed when the band offset exceeded INT_MAX (#14968). The netCDF driver now parses subdataset names containing multiple colons in the path correctly (#14978), and the Zarr driver fixes a null-pointer dereference when a filter id uses ‘bitround’ in non-lowercase. The S102/S104/S111 drivers also get corrected dataCodingFormat enumeration names in the writer and validator (#14985, #14998).
Security hardening across drivers
Security gets real attention in this release. The GIF driver’s internal libgif picks up the security updates from Ubuntu 24.04’s libgif 5.2.2-1ubuntu1.2. The DOQ2 driver prevents a potential integer overflow found by OSS-Fuzz (#538762606), the GDALG driver fixes a null-pointer dereference triggered by a space-only command line (#542869626), and the raster core fixes a memory leak in GDALNoDataValuesMaskBand::IReadBlock() on the error path (#539042122). If you process untrusted geospatial files, these fixes matter.
How to install GDAL 3.13.3 on Windows
The GDAL project ships source code and containers only, so Windows users install through trusted third-party builds. The easiest path is conda-forge: install Miniforge, then run conda install -c conda-forge gdal. Alternatively, use the OSGeo4W installer (trac.osgeo.org/osgeo4w) which bundles GDAL with QGIS and GRASS, or the GISInternals builds (gisinternals.com) for standalone MSI-style packages. After installing, open a terminal and run gdal --version to confirm 3.13.3.
How to install GDAL 3.13.3 on macOS
On macOS, Homebrew is the standard route: brew install gdal pulls the latest release including 3.13.3 with its common drivers. Conda-forge works identically on macOS (conda install -c conda-forge gdal) and is the better choice if you also need a managed Python environment for the GDAL Python bindings. Both methods keep upgrades to a single command when the next bugfix release lands.
How to install GDAL 3.13.3 on Linux
Linux users have three solid options. Conda-forge (conda install -c conda-forge gdal) gives you the newest build on any distribution. Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Alpine all carry GDAL in their official repositories, though distro packages may lag the latest point release — check with gdalinfo --version after installing. For containerized workflows, official Docker images for tagged releases are published on the GitHub Container registry (ghcr.io/osgeo/gdal).
System requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 10/11 64-bit via conda-forge, OSGeo4W, GISInternals, NuGet or vcpkg |
| macOS | macOS via Homebrew (brew install gdal) or conda-forge |
| Linux | 64-bit; conda-forge, distro packages (Debian/Fedora/Alpine), or Docker |
| Python bindings | Python 3.9+ (setuptools 77+ requires 3.9 minimum); pip or conda install |
| Build from source | CMake 3.x, C++17 compiler, PROJ 9+ and GEOS 3.12+ recommended |
| Disk space | ~500 MB for a full conda-forge install with common drivers |
| Check your version | gdal --version (new CLI) or gdalinfo --version (classic utilities) |
Frequently asked questions
Is GDAL 3.13.3 really free?
Yes. GDAL is fully open-source software released under the MIT-style X/MIT license. There is no paid version and no locked features — 3.13.3 costs nothing on Windows, macOS or Linux.
What is new in GDAL 3.13.3?
It is a bugfix release: the headline change repairs a Unix file-reading regression introduced in 3.13.0, plus fixes for the COG (multi-threaded overviews), ENVI (multiband BSQ band offsets), netCDF (subdataset names) and Zarr drivers, corrected S102/S104/S111 enumeration names, and security hardening in the GIF, DOQ2 and GDALG drivers and raster core.
Should I upgrade from GDAL 3.13.0?
Yes. 3.13.3 exists specifically to fix a regression that 3.13.0 introduced, and it carries no API or behavior changes beyond bug fixes — it is a safe, drop-in upgrade.
Do I need to install GDAL separately if I use QGIS?
No. QGIS, GRASS GIS and most desktop GIS apps bundle their own GDAL. Install GDAL separately only if you need the command-line utilities (gdal_translate, ogr2ogr, the new gdal CLI) or the Python bindings outside those apps.
Why is there no official Windows installer from gdal.org?
The GDAL project distributes source code and containers only. Windows binaries come from trusted third parties: conda-forge, OSGeo4W, GISInternals, NuGet and vcpkg — all listed on the official download page.
How do I check which GDAL version I have?
Run gdal --version for the modern CLI or gdalinfo --version for the classic utilities. If either reports 3.13.0, upgrade to 3.13.3 to pick up the regression fix.
GDAL 3.13.3 is a focused maintenance release: no flashy new drivers, just fixes that remove real friction — a repaired file-reading regression from 3.13.0, steadier COG overview generation, corrected netCDF and Zarr handling, and security hardening where it counts. It installs in minutes through conda-forge, OSGeo4W or Homebrew, and it costs nothing. If your GIS work touches raster or vector data, this is one upgrade worth making today.
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