Air Inspection Automation (AiA) vs Katapult Pro: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Air Inspection Automation (AiA) and Katapult Pro to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Disclosure: b stack radar is run by the maker of Air Inspection Automation (AiA). We score it with the same criteria and sources as every other tool. How we rank tools
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)
Our product6/10
Windows software that plans drone inspection missions for electric power line towers from LiDAR scans. It finds towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and exports DJI flights.
Katapult Pro
6.5/10
Katapult Pro is a cloud pole attachment platform. It covers field data collection, make-ready engineering design, and joint use management for utilities, telecom builders, and OSP engineering firms.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Not listed | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Not listed | $116/mo Data Collection |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Not listed | $116/mo Data Collection |
| Features | ||
| Engineering Design | ||
| Engineering Simulation | ||
| Safety and Compliance | ||
| Asset Registry | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Power Line Inspection | ||
| Condition Monitoring | Not listed | |
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| Document Control | Not listed | |
| Drone Inspection | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| Inspection Checklists | Not listed | |
| LiDAR Processing | Not listed | |
| Offline Field App | Not listed | |
| Predictive Maintenance | Not listed | |
| Preventive Maintenance | Not listed | |
| SCADA and IoT Integration | Not listed | |
| Spare Parts Inventory | Not listed | |
| Work Orders | Not listed | |
Air Inspection Automation (AiA) vs Katapult Pro cost by team size
| Team size | Air Inspection Automation (AiA) | Katapult Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Not listed | $116/moData Collection |
| 5 users | Not listed | $116/moData Collection |
| 10 users | Not listed | $116/moData Collection |
| 25 users | Not listed | $116/moData Collection |
| 50 users | Not listed | $116/moData Collection |
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.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Air Inspection Automation (AiA)
- Higher Security score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Katapult Pro
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Scalability score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for engineering firms (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Includes Engineering Design, which Air Inspection Automation (AiA) lacks
- Includes Engineering Simulation, which Air Inspection Automation (AiA) lacks
Pros & Cons
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)
Pros
- Finds towers in LAS and LAZ scans of a whole line automatically, including towers split across two files.
- Checks every photo stop, launch site, and path segment for clearance, climb, line of sight, and camera limits before export, then plans a collision-free path.
- Splits a route into battery-sized flights with launch and pickup sites and estimates of distance, duration, and battery use.
- Photo stop templates per tower design, editable in a 3D tower editor, make repeat inspections consistent.
- Works offline, with maps, imagery, roads, and terrain stored in each project, and an offline licence for computers without internet.
- Support comes directly from the team that builds the software.
Cons
- Exports only for DJI enterprise drones, through DJI Terra KML or DJI Cloud API KMZ files.
- Runs only on Windows 10 and 11.
- Prices are not published; the website offers a free trial and contact by email.
- Built for electric towers, so it does not plan inspections of other asset types.
- Matching photos to stops after the flight is still marked as beta.
- There are no team accounts, work orders, or integrations with asset management systems.
Katapult Pro
Pros
- Pricing is published, contracts are month to month, and there is no cancellation penalty, which is rare among pole engineering tools.
- Read-only users are free, so stakeholders can review data without paying for a license.
- Field crews can collect pole photos and heights without entering the power space, and photos are matched to poles automatically.
- Clearance violation detection and pole loading are built in, with SPIDAcalc export included.
- Joint use workflows track FCC shot clock deadlines for utilities.
Cons
- O-Calc Pro export costs an extra $231 a month.
- Joint Use Management and Site License pricing are not published.
- The one-time setup fee of $1,815, plus optional equipment the site lists at $3,200 to $3,450, raises the cost of getting started.
- Reviewers say results depend on clean, consistent input data, and clearance checks can feel worksheet-like for edge cases.
- It is focused on pole attachment work and does not offer general CMMS features such as work orders or spare parts.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Katapult Pro scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 6.5/10 against 6/10 for Air Inspection Automation (AiA). The largest gap is in Analytics: 4/10 for Air Inspection Automation (AiA) and 6/10 for Katapult Pro.
No, Katapult Pro does not list a free plan.
Katapult Pro is the better fit for engineering firms: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 6/10 for Air Inspection Automation (AiA).
Katapult Pro has Engineering Design, Engineering Simulation and Safety and Compliance, which Air Inspection Automation (AiA) lacks.
