I don't think I've ever seen Minitab used in professional capacity - only in Universities.
SAS supports better quality graphics and is much better for data manipulation. It has a well developed community and resources going back to the 70's which is sometimes annoying because you google something, find an answer and it's outdated because it's from the 80's.
There are two GUI type interfaces such as SAS Studio and SAS Enterprise Guide.
Another option you may want to consider that can do all of these as well is JMP. They do have a free 30 day trial.
https://www.jmp.com/en_us/home.html
If you want to test SAS out, try downloading SAS UE - note that you may need some specific modules to get everything you need, which may not be included with SAS UE.
@kmcwhite wrote:
Have been considering a purchase of Minitab18 ...However, it has been suggested to get the alternative of SAS
Will the SAS software perform all of these functions: Capability Analysis, Hypothesis Testing, ANOVA, Pareto Charting, DOE, Regression testing