There is a new kid on the block and it is free. And open-source. Yes, that is right, after years of dominance by Pix4D and Agisoft there is a contender. For a long time, both Pix4D and Agisoft (and more recently DroneDeploy) have ruled the hearts of mapping professionals around the world with their easy-to-use and powerful photogrammetry softwares but the recent rise of the WebODM project can give them a run for their money.
Free
Most photogrammetry softwares have two pricing plans. Either you can purchase a lifetime license which is tied to a single computer or you can purchase a subscription payable monthly or yearly. The cost of perpetual license of Pix4D’s desktop software, Pix4D Mapper, is $4990 and its subscription costs $350 per month. Similarly, license of Agisoft Metashape Professional costs $3499. Clearly these amounts are significant investments for any new business. DroneDeploy’s monthly subscription comes at $150 and Pix4D Cloud’s monthly subscription starts from $199. In stark contrast, WebODM is a free software. It can be downloaded for free from https://github.com/OpenDroneMap/WebODM. That is some serious money saved that can be invested elsewhere.
Open-source
All the commercial photogrammetry softwares available in the market currently, be it Pix4D Mapper, Agisoft Metashape or DroneDeploy are closed-source proprietary softwares. Compare this with the fact that WebODM is completely open-source. This is completely unheard of in this industry. Being open-source gives the users the flexibility to tailor the solution to their needs and even contribute back to the community.
No Processing Limits
Pix4D Cloud comes with a limit of 2,500 images or 20 projects per month. Similarly, DroneDeploy’s Pro plan has a monthly limit of 1000 images/map. Clearly these limits are very restrictive for many businesses. With you run your own deployment of WebODM, the limits are only dictated by the limits of your hardware. If you already have high performance hardware then you are done. If not, you can easily get WebODM set up on one of the many cheap cloud-providers such AWS, Google Cloud etc.
Same Outputs, Same Quality
Pix4D and Agisoft Metashape have been known for the quality of their outputs for a long time. Whether you need Orthomosaics, DTMs, DSMs or 3D Models, WebODM can generate them all and is also equally good at them as the other commercial providers. Don’t believe it? Check out UAV Arena and decide for yourself.
Go FOSS
So what are you waiting for? Give WebODM a try today and we are sure that you will be blown away by how powerful and easy-to-use WebODM is. Download the free version from the Github page or you can download Windows and Mac installers at a price of $57 from the downloads page which will help fund the development of WebODM.
Get It Deployed On Your Own Cloud
Deploying WebODM on cloud can allow you to process multiple datasets in parallel without limits on number of images. This can massively speed up processing of large datasets. If you are not familiar with Ubuntu or Docker, it can be a bit difficult to get WebODM set up in a scalable manner on the cloud. Reach out to webodm@algopixel.tech if you need any assistance in getting WebODM up and running on the cloud.
