FARO Sphere XG vs Picterra: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of FARO Sphere XG and Picterra to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
FARO Sphere XG
5.9/10
FARO Sphere XG is a cloud platform where construction, operations and geospatial teams process, view, measure and share point clouds, 360 photos and BIM models.
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 | F FARO Sphere XG | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.9/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 4/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| 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 | ||
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| Drone Inspection | Not listed | |
| GIS and Mapping | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| LiDAR Processing | Not listed | |
Which One Should You Choose?
FWhy choose FARO Sphere XG
- Higher Security score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Picterra
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
FFARO Sphere XG
Pros
- It accepts data from FARO terrestrial and mobile scanners, from iPhone LiDAR and from 360 cameras, so mixed capture methods end up in one cloud project.
- The Stream app pre-registers Orbis scans in the field, which reduces failed registrations and repeat site visits.
- Scans are placed on floor plans and sorted by date, which suits progress documentation and dispute records.
- A SOC 2 Type 2 examination by A-LIGN covers FARO Sphere and HoloBuilder.
- Capterra reviewers give it a high average rating and mention responsive customer support.
Cons
- There is no public pricing. Every package needs a custom quote from FARO.
- It works best with FARO hardware, and third-party integrations are not well documented.
- Some reviewers say the editing layout is hard to navigate, and others say pricing could be better.
- It has no maintenance, work-order or asset-registry functions for industrial operations.
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 5.9/10 for FARO Sphere XG. The largest gap is in Security: 8/10 for FARO Sphere XG and 4/10 for Picterra.
No, neither FARO Sphere XG nor Picterra lists a free plan.
