I'm planning to start an embedded systems startup and I'm diving into C++ for its efficiency, with Python for prototyping. I've been looking into Qt C++ for creating GUI applications, and while the pricing is quite high, it seems like a solid match for user interaction designs. However, I hadn't heard of it before, and I'm curious to know if it's really worth my time and energy in 2025, especially since many embedded systems don't typically use GUIs. Any insights on its value would be appreciated!
4 Answers
Keep in mind that Qt has a free open-source option, which is great if you can work with the GPL. You’ll only need the commercial license if you want to go proprietary, and there are some scenarios where you can avoid the license altogether.
Qt is great if your main focus is building cross-platform desktop GUI applications. But keep in mind that most embedded systems don’t actually have GUIs since they’re designed to be embedded. You might find that many systems use web or mobile apps instead for control interfaces. If Qt fits into your plans, I’d love to understand how you envision using it!
Honestly, I've had a bad experience with Qt. I was trying to build an app for multiple platforms but had a lot of trouble with Android API recognition and spent days trying to fix it. I ended up switching to Flutter, which worked way better for me. If you’re just focusing on Linux desktop, Qt might work, but I'd personally lean towards Java with JavaFX for GUI instead.
I can relate to that! Working with Qt can feel daunting. I’ve faced some tutorials that were super confusing. Thanks for the Java suggestion; I’ll give it a look.
A friend of mine does GUI design for embedded systems and uses Qt professionally. It's hard to say definitively if it's "worth it" since every project has different needs, and I don't have much personal experience with other tools.
You’re right! I’m looking at Qt primarily to create cross-platform GUI applications that interact with the devices. Since I'm already using C++, it seemed logical to stick to it for the GUI too.