The best drone survey delivery platform depends on one question: do you want the platform to process your flights, or only to deliver what you have already processed? DroneDeploy, PIX4Dcloud, Propeller and Birdi process drone images and let clients view the maps. Swyvl and DronePortal do no processing and focus on getting finished outputs to the client. Below, seven platforms are compared on what the client can do without a paid seat, whether you can upload outputs from other software, branding, file types and price.
Disclosure: I am the founder of Swyvl. I have tried to present every platform fairly, including where it beats Swyvl, and Swyvl’s gaps are listed as plainly as anyone else’s. Every competitor fact comes from the vendor’s own website or help center, read on 31 October 2026. Where their documentation does not say something, the table says “not documented” rather than guessing. Prices and plans change, so check with them before you buy.
What changed in 2026
- Procore bought DroneDeploy. The deal was announced on 29 July 2026, and DroneDeploy says it became part of Procore in September.
- PIX4Dcloud renamed its plans. In January 2026 Basic became Starter and Advanced became Pro.
- Caterpillar bought Skycatch in July 2026 and folded it into its mining products, so it is no longer a standalone delivery option.
What to look for
- Processing or delivery? If you already process in Pix4Dmatic, Metashape, DJI Terra or similar, you need a platform that accepts finished outputs: orthomosaic GeoTIFFs, DSMs, LAS or LAZ point clouds and meshes.
- What the client can do without a seat. View only, measure, comment, download? And do they need an account?
- Branding. Whose logo does the client see?
- Everything else from the job. Drone video, 360° photos, ground scans, CAD and PDF reports.
- File size. Orthomosaics and point clouds often run to tens of gigabytes.
- Where the data is stored, if your clients ask.
Comparison table
| Platform | Processes drone images | Upload your own outputs | Client access | Branding | Starting price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swyvl | No | Yes: GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ/E57, meshes, 3D Tiles, video, 360s, splats, CAD, PDF. Up to 100 GB per file | Branded link, no account. Public, password or named people. Invited clients reply on notes free | Logo and colors from $49/mo | Free; Solo $49/mo |
| DroneDeploy | Yes | Limited: 8-bit uncompressed GeoTIFF, LAS only (not LAZ) up to 5 GB | Public view-only link per capture date; non-account viewers see a basic map | Company logo on maps | Flight & Analysis $4,188/yr |
| PIX4Dcloud | Yes (credits) | Yes: one ortho, DSM and point cloud per dataset, GeoTIFF up to 50 GB | No-login link, view and measure or edit and save. No password or expiry | Not documented | Starter $1,290/yr |
| Propeller | Yes | Yes: ortho GeoTIFF with DEM, LAS or zipped LAZ, design files | Invited users, view only by default, with measure and export added per site | Not documented | Not published |
| Birdi | Yes | Yes: rasters and vectors on Plus; 3D, LAS and 3D Tiles from Growth | Guests don’t take a paid seat; guests can comment since October 2026 | Workspace logo on paid plans | Plus $60/mo yearly |
| DronePortal | No | Documents, photos and thermal images only. Maps and 3D are embedded from other tools | Link and access code, no account, optional expiry | White label from €59/mo | Starter €29/mo yearly |
| Site Scan for ArcGIS | Yes | Through ArcGIS | Unlimited free read-only users inside your organization; wider sharing through ArcGIS Online | Through ArcGIS | $5,310/yr per operator (AWS Marketplace) |
Getting started, and where your files are stored
| Platform | How you start | Prices published | Where files are stored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swyvl | Free plan, sign up yourself, no card | Yes | Your choice of 8 regions at signup: Australia, US East, US West, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan, Singapore |
| DroneDeploy | 14-day trial, no card. Only the single-user plans are bought online; the rest need a quote | Partly | US, unless your contract says otherwise. South Korea, UK and Australia through sales, and some features still run outside the region |
| PIX4Dcloud | 15-day free plan, no card, plans bought online | Yes | One of 10 clusters chosen for your organization (US, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Singapore). Project names and filenames stay in the US |
| Propeller | 14-day trial, no card, processing not included | No | Picked automatically by network speed; some data (hydrology) is US only |
| Birdi | Free plan; 7-day trial of Plus; Growth and Ultimate through a demo | Yes | Sydney, Europe or USA |
| DronePortal | 14-day trial, no card | Yes, in euros | ”EU hosted”, no country named |
| Site Scan for ArcGIS | Contact Esri sales | No (AWS Marketplace only) | Not stated |
As of 31 October 2026. DroneDeploy’s and Propeller’s help centers would not load for us, so those two rows come partly from search summaries of their help articles. Check them with the vendor.
Swyvl
What it is: a delivery platform and site record. You upload finished outputs, Swyvl files them by physical site and capture date, and the client opens them in a browser from one branded link.
What the client gets: the orthomosaic and elevation models on a map, the point cloud streaming at full size, DJI video with its SRT flight path, 360° photos placed on the map, Gaussian splats and XGRIDS scans, DXF, DWG, IFC and PDF. 40+ file types in 14 viewers. They can measure distance, area and height on the link, each result badged Georeferenced, True scale or Indicative, and clients you invite by email can reply on a note pinned to the exact spot, free, with no account. You see every open and download.
Pricing: Free with 5 GB and 3 sites. Solo $49/month, Team $199/month with 5 seats, about 15% off yearly. Client viewers are always free. Pricing.
Data regions: eight, chosen at signup on every plan: Australia, US East, US West, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan and Singapore.
Where it falls short: Swyvl does not process drone images, so you need Pix4D, Metashape, DJI Terra or similar first. It does not calculate volumes or cut and fill, does not cut cross-sections, does not compare a design surface against as-built, and has no Procore integration. If those are the deliverable, look at Propeller, DroneDeploy or PIX4Dcloud.
Best for: drone operators and surveyors who process in their own software and deliver several file types per job to clients who will not install anything.
DroneDeploy
What it is: an end-to-end platform for capture, processing and analytics, across aerial, ground and 360° capture, aimed at construction and enterprise. Now part of Procore.
Client access: every paid account can make a view-only public link for one capture date. People without an account see a basic map with the existing annotations and measurements, and a sign-up prompt. Enterprise can block non-account viewers. Password or expiring links are not documented.
Uploading your own outputs: possible but limited. A pre-processed orthomosaic must be an 8-bit, uncompressed GeoTIFF, and a separate elevation file is needed for volumes. Point clouds must be LAS, not LAZ, up to 5 GB.
Pricing: Flight & Analysis is $4,188 a year for a single admin user. Most other plans are quote only. Processing is included under a fair-use policy.
Strengths: a full pipeline from flight planning to analytics, 360° ground capture compared against BIM, and now Procore behind it.
Best for: construction teams who fly and process on the platform, especially Procore customers.
PIX4Dcloud
What it is: cloud photogrammetry with a browser viewer and share links, from the makers of Pix4Dmatic and Pix4Dmapper.
Client access: a no-login link in two modes, “view and measure only” (measurements are lost on refresh) or “edit and save”. Link viewers cannot download inputs or outputs. There is no password or expiry option, though a link can be switched off.
Uploading your own outputs: yes, a “results only” upload of one orthomosaic, one DSM and one index GeoTIFF (up to 50 GB each), one LAS or LAZ point cloud and one OBJ mesh per dataset.
Pricing: Starter $1,290 a year with 500 credits, Pro $4,490 a year with 2,500 credits, unlimited users on every plan.
Strengths: distance, area and volume on every plan, DXF and IFC design overlays and georeferenced Gaussian splats on Pro, and a choice of ten data regions.
Watch-outs: no documented branding, 360° panoramas are not supported for processing, and project metadata always stays in the US.
Best for: surveyors already processing in Pix4D who want an unlimited-viewer handoff.
Propeller
What it is: 3D site analytics for earthworks, aggregates, mining and civil, with AeroPoints ground control and DirtMate machine tracking.
Client access: invited users get view-only access by default, which hides measurements, designs and reports. You add Inspect, Measure and Export per site, person or team.
Uploading your own outputs: yes, a 4-band orthomosaic GeoTIFF with a 32-bit DEM, LAS or zipped LAZ point clouds, and DXF, XML, KML or TTM design files, all in the site’s coordinate system.
Pricing: not published. A 14-day trial you can start yourself, with no card, though processing is not included in the trial.
Strengths: survey-grade volumes, cut and fill, cross-sections and design against as-built. This is the deepest earthworks toolset here.
Best for: civil contractors and quarries where the deliverable is a volume.
Birdi
What it is: a collaborative geospatial workspace that processes, shares and analyzes drone data, aimed at construction, mining and drone service firms.
Client access: guests don’t take a paid seat (20 on Plus, 50 on Growth), view-only links are available, and since October 2026 guests can comment on shared maps.
Uploading your own outputs: rasters and vectors on Plus, with LAS, meshes and 3D Tiles from Growth.
Pricing: Plus $60/month billed yearly ($80 monthly) with 100 GB, Growth $287/month yearly with 500 GB, Ultimate on quote. Processing is metered in gigapixels.
Strengths: per-client workspaces, 360° photos and video, georeferenced PDFs on the map, and workspace branding on paid plans. Data is stored in Sydney, Europe or the USA.
Best for: service providers who want processing and delivery in one place and keep many clients apart.
DronePortal
What it is: a presentation layer for drone inspection operators, launched in 2026. It does no processing and has no map or 3D viewer of its own. Maps and models are embedded from WebODM, PIX4Dcloud, Sketchfab, Matterport and others.
Client access: one link plus an access code per project, no client account, access logs and an optional expiry date.
Pricing: in euros, from €29/month billed yearly (5 active projects, 5 GB) to €99 (100 GB, full theming).
Strengths: a radiometric thermal viewer, PDF reports, quote templates and white labeling from €59.
Best for: inspection pilots whose deliverable is photos, thermal and a report.
Site Scan for ArcGIS
What it is: Esri’s drone flight and processing product, part of the ArcGIS Reality suite.
Client access: unlimited free read-only users inside your organization, who can view and take temporary measurements. Sharing outside goes through ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise.
Pricing: through Esri sales. The only public price we found is on AWS Marketplace, sold by Esri: $5,310 a year per operator license, with downloading and processing on a separate license.
Best for: organizations already running ArcGIS.
Also worth knowing
- WebODM Lightning: hosted open-source processing from about $24 a month on yearly billing, with client share links on every plan.
- Agisoft Cloud: Metashape’s cloud, with storage from $10 a month for 100 GB and processing billed by the hour. The free tier is non-commercial.
How to choose
- You need volumes, cut and fill or design against as-built: Propeller, or PIX4Dcloud if you already process in Pix4D.
- You fly and process construction sites, especially with Procore: DroneDeploy.
- You want processing and delivery in one place, with free guests: Birdi or PIX4Dcloud.
- Your deliverable is inspection photos, thermal and a report: DronePortal.
- You process in your own software and deliver many file types to clients who will not install anything: Swyvl.
Many operators use two. They process in Pix4D, Metashape or DroneDeploy, and deliver through a platform built for the client.
Related
- How to deliver drone survey data
- Deliver a drone survey the client can open
- Best survey data delivery platforms
- How to deliver Pix4D and Metashape data to clients
- Free GeoTIFF viewer and free DJI SRT flight viewer
Create a free Swyvl account and upload your last job’s orthomosaic. No credit card.