Executable versions of GNU Octave for GNU/Linux systems are provided by the individual distributions. Distributions known to package Octave include Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, and openSUSE. These packages are created by volunteers. The delay between an Octave source release and the availability of a package for a particular GNU/Linux distribution varies.

The Octave Wiki has instructions for installing Octave on macOS systems. Octave may also be available in third-party package managers such as Homebrew, MacPorts, or Fink.

Executable versions of Octave for BSD systems are provided by the individual distributions. Both FreeBSD and OpenBSD have Octave packages. These packages are created by volunteers. The delay between an Octave source release and the availability of a package for a particular GNU/Linux distribution varies. The Octave project has no control over that process.

The latest stable version is GNU Octave 4.2.1:

All Windows binaries with corresponding source code can be downloaded from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave/windows/.

The latest released version of Octave is always available from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave/.