Picterra vs XMAP (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Picterra is our pick, scoring 6.5/10 against 5.5/10 for XMAP on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 4/10). Neither Picterra nor XMAP lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
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.
XMAP
5.5/10
XMAP is a UK cloud-based web GIS from Geoxphere that lets local councils and public bodies map, edit and share spatial data across departments and with the public.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.5/10 | 5.5/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 6/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| 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 | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Drone Inspection | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
Who Picterra and XMAP suit
Picterra fits enterprise better; XMAP fits government better.
| Audience | Picterra | XMAP |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 7/10Large customers use the auto-scaling cloud and country-scale analysis, and pricing is negotiated through sales. | 4/10Unlimited users and SSO help larger organisations, but there is no ISO 27001 certification and the vendor team is small. |
| Government | 7/10Government agencies such as the UK RPA use it to monitor more than 130,000 km2 of land. | 9/10Built for UK local authorities, with council-specific workflows for planning, housing, waste and street services, and it is sold through G-Cloud. |
| Drone Service Providers | 7/10Forge processes drone imagery and turns it into custom detections and shareable reports that can be delivered to clients. | Not rated |
| Energy Companies | 6/10Solar panel detection and infrastructure inspection are among the documented use cases. | Not rated |
| Engineering Firms | 6/10Crack assessment and railway component detection show it can be used for inspecting civil assets. | Not rated |
| Small Business | Not rated | 5/10The vendor markets to small businesses, but its documented customers are almost all councils and pricing is quote-based. |
| Utilities | Not rated | 3/10It can map infrastructure layers but has no network modelling or utility asset maintenance features. |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Picterra
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (7/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose XMAP
- Higher Cost score (6/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Security score (5/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for government (9/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
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.
XMAP
Pros
- Users are unlimited per subscription. Councils report rollouts to 250 to more than 800 staff without per-seat costs.
- Comes with maintained Ordnance Survey mapping and more than 250 ready-made layers, so GIS teams spend less time keeping base data current.
- Data is stored in open PostgreSQL/PostGIS, so QGIS, Esri or Cadcorp desktop users can edit it directly, and the data can be taken elsewhere when the contract ends.
- Vendor-run migration tools for councils leaving Astun iShare or Cadcorp, and the vendor deploys a working system before switchover.
- Hosted in the UK, holds Cyber Essentials certification, offers SSO and MFA, and is listed on G-Cloud, which simplifies procurement for UK public bodies.
Cons
- No public price list. Costs are only available through quotes or G-Cloud pricing documents.
- Not certified to ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials Plus, which some larger buyers require.
- No installable mobile app, and some GIS tools are restricted on mobile devices.
- The G-Cloud listing states no API is offered for the core service, even though the marketing site names an XMAP API.
- Small vendor team of about ten people, with phone support on weekdays only, 9 to 5 UK time.
- Almost no independent user reviews exist. The evidence comes mostly from vendor-supplied council case studies.
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 5.5/10 for XMAP. The largest gap is in Analytics: 7/10 for Picterra and 4/10 for XMAP.
No, neither Picterra nor XMAP lists a free plan.
Picterra is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 4/10 for XMAP.
