NVivo organizes, analyzes and displays information with powerful search, query and visualization tools. The application allows users to organize their material by topic, uncover trends and emerging themes, and create diagrams, charts or models to present and clarify discoveries.

NVivo is available for Windows and Mac. Windows licenses can be used for both Windows and Mac installations—Mac licenses for Mac installations only.

Project and other NVivo files can be moved between the platforms, but NVivo Mac does not have all the functionality that NVivo Windows has, so data can be lost moving a project from Windows to Mac.

  • View all data coded to a pattern in a single place
  • Identify frequently occurring terms in data
  • Precise searches of all or a portion of data
  • Code data automatically from text search
  • Display a matrix of codes in data
  • Visualize data with models and relationships
  • Capture and analyze social media data from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
  • Import a wide range of data formats including (but not limited to):
    • Word, Excel, PDF and rich text
    • Audio Files – .mp3, .mp4, .m4a, .wma, or .wav
    • Video Formats -.mpg, .mpeg, .mpe, .wmv, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .qt, .3gp, .mts & .m2ts
    • Digital Image Formats – .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .tif or .tiff formats
    • Reference management software files – EndNote, Zotero or RefWorks.
    • Evernote or OneNote Files

Software Requirements

BU has access to the most recent release of NVivo (NVivo 14) and the previous releases (NVivo Release 1/NVivo 20 and NVivo 12). Each release has a Windows version and a PC version, each with their own hardware requirements.


Download and Install

NVivo for Mac OS X and Windows can be downloaded and activated for free by active Boston University faculty, staff, and students.
Download now

Renew/Replace a License

Renew your license

The new license key is only available to those who have agreed to the download terms.