3-GIS vs SPIDA (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
SPIDA is our pick, scoring 6.5/10 against 6.4/10 for 3-GIS on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 5/10). Neither 3-GIS nor SPIDA lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
3-GIS
6.4/10
3-GIS sells GIS-based network management software that telecom operators and electric and gas utilities use to plan, design, record, inspect and maintain fiber and utility networks.
SPIDA
6.5/10
SPIDA, now owned by Bentley Systems, makes pole loading analysis and overhead asset management software (SPIDAcalc, SPIDAsilk, SPIDAstudio) for electric and telecom utilities and their engineering contractors.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | S SPIDA |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.4/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $2,627/user/mo SPIDAcalc 12-month Virtuoso subscription |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Asset Registry | ||
| Engineering Design | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Engineering Simulation | Not listed | |
| Inspection Checklists | Not listed | |
| Offline Field App | Not listed | |
| Power Line Inspection | Not listed | |
| Work Orders | Not listed | |
3-GIS vs SPIDA cost by team size
| Team size | 3-GIS | SPIDA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | $2,627/moSPIDAcalc 12-month Virtuoso subscription |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who 3-GIS and SPIDA suit
SPIDA fits engineering firms better than 3-GIS.
| Audience | 3-GIS | SPIDA |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering Firms | 6/10Fiber design contractors can use the design and work-packet tools, with contractor access managed in Admin. | 9/10Engineering providers use SPIDAcalc for make-ready and attachment design work. |
| Energy Companies | 7/10Electric and gas network operators are a stated target market, though the products focus on network records rather than generation assets. | 8/10It suits power distribution companies that own overhead networks. |
| Enterprise | 8/10The vendor cites deployments with thousands of users and more than 500 million network records, and offers role-based administration and APIs for OSS/BSS integration. | 7/10Enterprise licensing and cloud batch analysis support large utility programs. |
| Utilities | 9/10The utility products cover Esri Utility Network editing, mobile inspections, work management and pole attachment management for electric and gas networks. | 10/10It was built for electric and communications utilities to analyze and manage their poles. |
| Field Teams | 8/10The Mobile and MIMS apps let crews redline, inspect, take photos and trace outages offline, then sync back to the office. | Not rated |
| Small Business | 3/10Quote-only pricing, implementation services and a reliance on the Esri ecosystem make it heavy for very small operators. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose 3-GIS
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 6/10)
SWhy choose SPIDA
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Cost score (5/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for engineering firms (9/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
3-GIS
Pros
- One web system covers the fiber lifecycle: planning in Prospector, design and work packets, strand-level tracing, and operations reporting.
- The Mobile app supports offline work on iOS and Android, and syncs crew redlines, photos and asset updates back to the central record.
- The utility products build on Esri ArcGIS and Utility Network, which suits utilities already invested in Esri.
- Customers can choose between SaaS and on-premises deployment, and the company displays an ISO 27001 badge from A-LIGN.
- Capterra reviewers praise the support team and the ability to configure the software to their needs, giving customer service a 4.4 sub-score.
Cons
- No public pricing, and implementation and data migration services add to total cost; Capterra users scored value for money at 3.9.
- Capterra reviewers report lag and slow navigation at times.
- Users coming from ArcGIS say they miss some ArcGIS features in the 3-GIS interface.
- Only a handful of independent reviews are public, so peer evidence is limited.
- Few turnkey OMS, ADMS or SCADA connectors are documented; deeper integrations rely on APIs or services.
- The November 2026 acquisition by SAM adds some roadmap uncertainty.
SSPIDA
Pros
- Supports geometric nonlinear analysis, as well as linear analysis, for wood, steel, concrete, composite, and decayed poles.
- Comes with NESC, CSA, and GO95 code criteria already set up, and accepts custom load cases.
- Cloud batch processing lets large pole programs be analyzed at once.
- Scenario reruns and a design comparison tool make make-ready comparisons repeatable.
- A 30-day free trial is available, and students and educators get free access.
Cons
- Specialist scope: it is not a general maintenance or work order system.
- Preparing raw field data for modeling can slow projects.
- CAD-heavy teams may need extra steps to produce drawing deliverables.
- Enterprise and SPIDAstudio pricing is not published.
- Focused on North American codes and markets.
Not sold on either?
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)Our product
Plans DJI drone inspection missions for power line towers from LiDAR scans: it finds the towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and splits the route into battery flights.
Made by the team behind b stack radar. Shown here because it fits this topic. It is not part of our rankings. How we rank tools
Frequently Asked Questions
SPIDA scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 6.5/10 against 6.4/10 for 3-GIS. The largest gap is in Analytics: 5/10 for 3-GIS and 8/10 for SPIDA.
No, neither 3-GIS nor SPIDA lists a free plan.
SPIDA is the better fit for engineering firms: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for 3-GIS.
