Pointly vs QGroundControl: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Pointly and QGroundControl to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Pointly
6.8/10
Pointly is AI software from Berlin that classifies large LiDAR point clouds and extracts vector objects for utilities, railways, mapping agencies and surveyors.
QGroundControl
5.7/10
QGroundControl is a free, open-source ground control station for flight control and mission planning of MAVLink drones running PX4 or ArduPilot.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.8/10 | 5.7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 10/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 4/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | €99/mo Professional S | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free | Free Open Source |
| Features | ||
| LiDAR Processing | ||
| Drone Inspection | ||
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| GIS and Mapping | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| Power Line Inspection | Not listed | |
| Work Orders | Not listed | |
Pointly vs QGroundControl cost by team size
| Team size | Pointly | QGroundControl |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreeOpen Source |
| 5 users | FreeFree | FreeOpen Source |
| 10 users | FreeFree | FreeOpen Source |
| 25 users | FreeFree | FreeOpen Source |
| 50 users | FreeFree | FreeOpen Source |
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 Pointly
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Security score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Includes LiDAR Processing, which QGroundControl lacks
Why choose QGroundControl
- Higher Cost score (10/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Pros & Cons
Pointly
Pros
- Monthly prices are published, from 99 euros for 500 million points, and there is a free tier for testing
- Pointly Box allows on-premise and air-gapped processing for data-sensitive operators
- It holds ISO 27001 certification, and cloud processing defaults to EU data centers on Azure
- Custom classifiers can be trained on a customer's own class catalog
- There are extensions for Esri ArcGIS and Bentley MicroStation, and it exports in many formats
Cons
- It only covers classification, with no asset management, work orders or maintenance tools
- Vectorization and custom classifier training are quoted per project, not list-price items
- There are few independent user reviews on G2, Capterra or Reddit
- The pricing page has a yearly billing toggle but shows no annual prices
QGroundControl
Pros
- Free to use, and the Apache 2.0 license lets companies build commercial products on it.
- Runs natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, unlike Mission Planner, which only runs fully on Windows.
- The Survey tool supports custom camera definitions, overlap targets, and terrain following for mapping flights.
- Forum users prefer it for field work on tablets and for resuming missions.
Cons
- Has no fleet management, role-based access, or audit logging for enterprise operations.
- Has no built-in image processing or AI defect detection, so separate tools are needed for those.
- Support comes only from the community, with no vendor SLA.
- Setup and tuning can take time when configuring a vehicle for the first time.
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
Pointly scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 6.8/10 against 5.7/10 for QGroundControl. The largest gap is in Scalability: 9/10 for Pointly and 4/10 for QGroundControl.
Yes, both Pointly and QGroundControl have a free plan.
Pointly has LiDAR Processing, which QGroundControl lacks.
