Sounds like a great option for students. I think for a lot of companies, however, Matlab has a leg up on Octave. In particular: -The specific packages offered

Sounds like a great option for students. I think for a lot of companies, however, Matlab has a leg up on Octave. In particular: -The specific packages offered by Matlab (like the mapping toolbox, simulink, parallel computing, etc..). -The training support offered to companies (I am not a huge fan of this, but I meet an awful lot of people who are). -The existing user base. -Finally, $10K (Matlab + a few packages) annually is not that much if it enhances productivity. Even for students, I wonder if they would be better served getting used to Matlab because that is what they will end up using in industry.