Above Surveying vs Picterra: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Above Surveying and Picterra to help you choose the right tool for your business.
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.
Picterra
6.5/10
Swiss GeoAI platform for training no-code deep learning detectors on satellite, aerial, and drone imagery, used for infrastructure inspection, land monitoring, and supply chain compliance.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.7/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 4/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| 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 | ||
| Drone Inspection | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Inspection Automation | ||
| Asset Registry | Not listed | |
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| Inspection Checklists | Not listed | |
| SCADA and IoT Integration | Not listed | |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Above Surveying
- Higher Security score (5/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for energy companies (9/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose Picterra
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for drone service providers (7/10 vs 5/10)
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.
Picterra
Pros
- Users with no machine learning background can train custom detectors by annotating imagery in the browser.
- Accepts many imagery types: satellite, aerial, drone, multispectral, thermal, SAR, and height maps.
- Works with ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Image servers, has REST and Python APIs, and supports FME automation for scheduled detection runs.
- Auto-scaling cloud processing supports analysis across large areas, up to country scale.
- Results can be shared by link with people who do not have a Picterra account.
Cons
- No public pricing; the product is sold through sales and custom quotes.
- Recent marketing focuses on agriculture and EUDR compliance, so infrastructure inspection gets less product attention.
- No work orders, asset registry, sensor monitoring, or offline field app.
- Very few independent user reviews and no public security certifications.
- An aggregator notes that results depend heavily on the quality of the input imagery.
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
Picterra scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 6.5/10 against 5.7/10 for Above Surveying. The largest gap is in Customization: 5/10 for Above Surveying and 8/10 for Picterra.
No, neither Above Surveying nor Picterra lists a free plan.
Above Surveying is the better fit for energy companies: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for Picterra.
