Above Surveying vs ArcGIS Comparison
Compare Above Surveying vs ArcGIS features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Above Surveying
5.7/10
UK drone inspection and data company for utility-scale solar plants. It pairs aerial thermographic surveys with its SolarGain cloud platform for inspection, QA and digital twin data.
ArcGIS
7.2/10
Esri's GIS platform for mapping, spatial analysis and field data collection, used by utilities, governments and infrastructure owners to manage networks and assets.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.7/10 | 7.2/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 3/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Asset Registry | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Inspection Checklists | ||
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| Drone Inspection | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| Offline Field App | Not listed | |
| SCADA and IoT Integration | Not listed | |
| Work Orders | Not listed | |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Above Surveying
- Higher Cost score (4/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose ArcGIS
- Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for utilities (9/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Above Surveying
Pros
- Built only for solar: thermography finds hotspots, string faults, junction box failures and PID at the module level.
- One platform covers the full lifecycle, from topographic surveys and construction monitoring to O&M inspections.
- SolarGain accepts data from third-party providers as well as Above's own flights, so the platform is not tied to Above's survey service.
- Large track record: Above reports more than 10,000 sites, and its acquisition of ucair expanded its reach in Europe.
- ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certified.
Cons
- No public pricing; every engagement needs a quote.
- Only useful for solar assets, not other infrastructure.
- No published integrations list, API documentation or security and trust page.
- Few independent user reviews on G2, Capterra or similar sites.
ArcGIS
Pros
- One platform covers desktop, cloud, self-hosted and mobile GIS, so office and field teams work from the same data.
- Field Maps works fully offline for maps, forms, tasks and utility network tracing.
- Integrates with Cityworks, Salesforce, Power Automate and offers APIs for custom systems.
- G2 reviewers praise how it handles layers and datasets and how easy cloud access makes remote work.
Cons
- No public pricing, and reviewers cite subscription and credit costs as the main complaint.
- Credits are consumed by premium services, which can limit heavy use.
- ArcGIS Online lacks some geoprocessing tools found in ArcGIS Pro and Desktop.
- Reviewers report a steep learning curve without training.
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
ArcGIS scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 7.2/10 against 5.7/10 for Above Surveying. The largest gap is in Customization: 5/10 for Above Surveying and 8/10 for ArcGIS.
No, neither Above Surveying nor ArcGIS lists a free plan.
ArcGIS is the better fit for utilities: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for Above Surveying.
