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TL;DR: For Australian teams, the best drone mapping software is the one that stores data where you need it, handles GDA2020 and AHD heights, and fits how you capture. Birdi (birdi.io) suits mixed teams sharing site data, Propeller earthworks, DroneDeploy all-in-one capture, Pix4D processing, Site Scan ArcGIS users, SmartData asset inspection and GeoNadir environmental work.
Key takeaways
- Data location differs more than features. DroneDeploy stores data in the US unless a contract says otherwise, while Birdi, Propeller and PIX4Dcloud can hold imagery in Australia, according to each vendor's documentation (September 2026).
- Australia's coordinates moved 1.8 metres. According to Geoscience Australia, GDA2020 shifts coordinates about 1.8 metres north-east of GDA94, because the plate moves about 7 cm a year.
- Mining is where the savings are forecast. Deloitte Access Economics estimated AU$2.4 billion in savings from drones in mining and AU$1.3 billion in construction between 2020 and 2040.
- You may not need a licence to map your own site. Under CASA's rules, a business can fly a drone of 2 kg or less without a remote pilot licence, once it is accredited and registered.
- No vendor here publishes prices in AUD. Those that publish prices do so in US dollars.
What should Australian teams look for in drone mapping software?
Australian teams should check five things that global roundups skip: where imagery is stored and processed, support for GDA2020 and AHD heights, support hours in an Australian time zone, whether prices are published in AUD, and how capture happens if nobody on the team flies. The mapping features themselves are now broadly similar.
Most drone mapping comparisons are written for a US reader. As a result, they rarely ask where the data sits, or whether the software handles Australia's own datum and height system. For a mine, a council or a head contractor, those can be contract questions rather than preferences.
Why does data location matter?
Data location matters because some clients and government contracts ask where project data is held, and a US default can surprise a team late in a tender. In addition, location affects how fast maps load. Several platforms now let you choose an Australian region, but the detail differs: some keep only the imagery here, and most keep account metadata in the US.
Why does GDA2020 matter?
GDA2020 matters because Australia's official coordinates changed. According to Geoscience Australia, GDA2020 coordinates sit about 1.8 metres north-east of GDA94, because the Australian plate has moved about 7 cm a year since 1994. A map, a ground control file and a design in different datums can therefore disagree by nearly two metres. Look for software that lets you set the output coordinate system and apply an Australian geoid, so heights come out in AHD. For background, see our guide to coordinate reference systems.
How we chose these seven
We started with the platforms AI search engines name for "drone mapping software Australia", then added the options Australian construction and mining teams most often compare. We checked every product fact on the vendor's own site or documentation on 24 September 2026. The list is not ranked. Each entry opens with the job it does best.
The best drone mapping software in Australia in 2026
These seven platforms cover the jobs Australian construction, mining and asset teams most often buy drone mapping software for. Every entry carries the same fields, including where Australian data is stored, so you can compare them directly. They are listed by the job each does best, not ranked from best to worst.
1. Birdi
Best for: construction and mining teams where most of the people who need the site data never fly or process it.
Typical customer size / segment: mid-sized construction and mining organisations, roughly 30 to 500 staff, based on Birdi's own customer focus.
Key strengths:
- Drone maps, point clouds, 360 photos, video, PDFs and design files in one shared map, with cloud processing to orthomosaic, DSM, DTM and point cloud.
- You set the export coordinate system for each processing job, and AUSGeoid2020 and AUSGeoid09 are supported for AHD heights.
- An Australian company. Ultimate customers in Australia can book capture through Birdi's capture network, flown by pilots in the network and paid per capture.
Access for people outside the paid team: Guests view all maps in a workspace and download outputs without using a paid seat, and a view-only link shares one map with no login.
Where Australian data is stored: your organisation chooses a storage region at onboarding: Sydney, Frankfurt or Virginia. It applies to all of the organisation's assets, and a change can be requested later.
Watch-outs: not built for a GIS analyst who needs a full desktop GIS, who would keep ArcGIS Pro or QGIS alongside it. Not the right fit for a sole operator shopping on price.
Pricing: published in USD. Plus costs US$60 a month and Growth US$287 a month, both billed annually; Ultimate is by quote (September 2026).
Birdi is built for sites you return to. Every survey of a location groups into one site, with its ground control ready for the next flight. If your team does not fly, see how Birdi's drone pilot network captures for you.
2. Propeller
Best for: earthworks, civil, quarry and mining teams measuring volumes and checking grade against design.
Typical customer size / segment: civil contractors, quarries and mines, from single sites to large operators; its platform fee includes 40 standard users.
Key strengths:
- AeroPoints smart ground control and a PPK workflow built for survey-grade results.
- Stockpile, cut and fill, haul road and tailings tools, plus integrations with Procore, Autodesk and Trimble Connect.
- Founded in Sydney in 2014, according to SmartCompany and Crunchbase.
Access for people outside the paid team: invited users get view-only access by default and cannot create, edit or export, according to Propeller's help centre.
Where Australian data is stored: Propeller says all data for processing or display is uploaded to its Australian AWS region, and processed on servers in Australia or Singapore. Outputs go to the region closest to the customer, and metadata sits in a US region.
Watch-outs: built around earthworks, so teams whose work is mostly buildings and interiors use less of it. AeroPoints need an annual processing subscription for standalone users.
Pricing: by quote. AeroPoints processing for standalone users costs US$999 a year per AeroPoint group (Propeller help centre, July 2026).
3. DroneDeploy
Best for: construction and energy teams that want flight planning, 360 walks and integrations in one platform.
Typical customer size / segment: from single pilots to enterprise construction firms; its team plans are sold by quote.
Key strengths:
- Flight planning apps, aerial maps, 360 walkthroughs and BIM overlays in one platform.
- Integrations with Procore, Autodesk Build, Esri, SharePoint and more.
- A help centre article on drone regulations in Australia.
Access for people outside the paid team: every paid plan can share a view-only link to one map date without a login; inviting unpaid users into a project needs an Enterprise organisation, according to its help centre (May 2026).
Where Australian data is stored: in US data centres unless a contract says otherwise. Australia is one of its data residency regions, but metadata stays on US servers, and some features, including Safety AI and Livemap, are not regionalised (help centre, June 2025).
Watch-outs: Australian data residency has to be written into the contract. Access for people outside the paid team is wider on Enterprise than on smaller plans.
Pricing: the one-user Flight & Analysis plan costs US$4,188 a year; team plans are by quote (September 2026).
4. Pix4D (PIX4Dcloud and PIX4Dmatic)
Best for: survey and engineering teams that want control over photogrammetry, on the desktop or in the cloud.
Typical customer size / segment: survey firms and engineering consultancies of all sizes; PIX4Dcloud includes unlimited users.
Key strengths:
- Detailed control over processing, especially in PIX4Dmatic on the desktop.
- PIX4Dcloud share links let a client view and measure without logging in.
- Point cloud classification and integration with Trimble and Esri.
Access for people outside the paid team: unlimited users on every PIX4Dcloud plan, plus no-login share links.
Where Australian data is stored: you choose a processing and storage cluster when the organisation is created, and an Australia cluster is one option. The US cluster is the default, according to Pix4D's support centre.
Watch-outs: PIX4Dcloud caps a dataset at 4,000 images and does not take 360 panoramas as input. Pix4D's Capterra reviewers raise price and hardware demands.
Pricing: PIX4Dcloud costs US$1,290 a year for Starter and US$4,490 for Pro (September 2026).
5. Site Scan for ArcGIS (through Esri Australia)
Best for: organisations already running ArcGIS that want drone data inside it.
Typical customer size / segment: councils, utilities, government agencies and large enterprises with an ArcGIS licence.
Key strengths:
- Flight planning, fleet management and cloud processing, with outputs published straight to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise.
- Local sales, training and technical support from Esri Australia.
- Unlimited read-only users that do not use a licence, according to Esri's documentation.
Access for people outside the paid team: read-only users do not use a licence, though they sign in through ArcGIS Online.
Where Australian data is stored: not stated on Esri Australia's product page. Ask Esri Australia before you buy.
Watch-outs: it makes most sense inside an existing ArcGIS organisation. Publishing to ArcGIS Online consumes ArcGIS credits.
Pricing: by quote from Esri Australia.
6. National Drones SmartData
Best for: asset owners in telecommunications, energy and mining who inspect towers, poles and plant.
Typical customer size / segment: asset teams in large Australian infrastructure and resources organisations.
Key strengths:
- Inspection AI, 2D maps, 3D models and PDF reports in a web platform built for asset inspection.
- Side-by-side comparison of current and previous imagery to track asset condition.
- Hosted, private cloud or self-hosted deployment, and a parent company that also flies inspection and survey work in Australia.
Access for people outside the paid team: stakeholders can be given access with managed permissions, according to National Drones.
Where Australian data is stored: not published. Private cloud and self-hosted options let an organisation choose.
Watch-outs: built around asset inspection rather than construction progress or earthworks. Its own photogrammetry engine is listed as in development, so it works mainly with data processed elsewhere or from supported sensors.
Pricing: by quote.
7. GeoNadir
Best for: environmental consultants, ecologists and mine rehabilitation teams.
Typical customer size / segment: individuals and small environmental teams, with custom plans for mining and large environmental teams.
Key strengths:
- An Australian company, founded in 2020 in Far North Queensland, according to Crunchbase.
- Cloud processing, satellite imagery and change detection for environmental monitoring.
- A free plan, and unlimited guests on paid plans.
Access for people outside the paid team: unlimited guests on the Essentials and Professional plans.
Where Australian data is stored: GeoNadir says data is stored on AWS cloud servers; the pages we read did not name the region.
Watch-outs: built for environmental work, so construction teams will find fewer site tools. The free plan allows one user and 500 images per dataset.
Pricing: Essentials is free; Professional costs US$84 a month; Pro+ and mining plans are custom (September 2026).
What about Nearmap and Metromap?
Nearmap and Metromap sell aerial imagery subscriptions: they fly whole cities and sell access to the photos. That is a different purchase from drone mapping software, which works with imagery you capture or commission for your own site. Many teams use both, bringing Nearmap imagery into their mapping platform as a base layer.
Do you need your own drone and pilot?
No. You can fly yourself, pay a local operator, or use a platform's capture service. Under CASA's rules, a business can fly a drone of 2 kg or less for work without a remote pilot licence, once it holds an aviation reference number and operator accreditation, and registers the drone. Heavier drones, or flying for paying clients, need more.
What do CASA's rules allow?
According to CASA, the categories that need no remote pilot licence (RePL) or operator certificate (ReOC) are:
- Micro (250 g or less) and very small (up to 2 kg): flown for business within the standard operating conditions, with an ARN, operator accreditation and a registered drone.
- Small (2 to 25 kg) over your own land: allowed without a RePL or ReOC, provided you accept no payment for the work.
- Medium (25 to 150 kg) over your own land: needs a RePL, but no ReOC.
Flying for paying clients, or outside those categories, is where a licensed operator comes in. Always check CASA's current guidance before you fly, because the rules change.
What are your capture options?
Most Australian teams use one of three. Some fly their own sub-2 kg drone on their own sites. Others contract a licensed operator, and some book capture through their software provider. Birdi's capture network, for example, is available to Ultimate customers in Australia, paid per capture, and flown by pilots in the network. National Drones also flies inspection and survey work itself.
Whichever you choose, consistent ground control matters more than who flies. The same ground control points on every flight is what makes two surveys comparable. See our guide to how ground control improves accuracy.
Which drone mapping software should an Australian team choose?
Choose by the job first, then check data location and datum support. Birdi suits mixed teams sharing site data with people who never fly, and Propeller suits earthworks and quarries. DroneDeploy suits all-in-one construction capture, Pix4D processing control, and Site Scan ArcGIS organisations. SmartData fits asset inspection, and GeoNadir fits environmental monitoring.
In more detail:
- Head contractors and mining teams sharing data with non-specialists: Birdi, on construction and mining sites alike.
- Quarries and bulk earthworks: Propeller.
- Builders who live in Procore or Autodesk and want 360 walks: DroneDeploy, with Australian residency written into the contract if you need it.
- Surveyors who want processing control: Pix4D.
- Councils and utilities on ArcGIS: Site Scan through Esri Australia.
- Tower, pole and plant inspection: SmartData.
- Environmental monitoring and rehabilitation: GeoNadir.
For a wider comparison that is not limited to Australia, see our guide to drone mapping software for teams.
Frequently asked questions
Where is drone mapping data stored for Australian companies?
It depends on the platform. Birdi lets you choose Sydney at onboarding, Propeller uploads to an Australian AWS region, and PIX4Dcloud offers an Australia cluster. DroneDeploy stores data in the US unless a contract sets Australian residency. Most platforms keep account metadata in the US, so ask what stays onshore.
Does drone mapping software support GDA2020?
Most professional platforms let you choose the output coordinate system, so GDA2020 and its MGA zones are available. The things to check are whether your ground control and design files use the same datum, and whether the software applies AUSGeoid2020 so heights come out in AHD. A datum mismatch can shift a map by about 1.8 metres.
How much does drone mapping software cost in Australia?
None of the platforms here publishes prices in AUD. Published USD prices range from free (GeoNadir Essentials) to US$60 a month (Birdi Plus), US$287 a month (Birdi Growth), US$1,290 a year (PIX4Dcloud Starter) and US$4,188 a year (DroneDeploy's one-user plan). Propeller, Site Scan and SmartData are quoted.
Do I need a CASA licence to map my own site?
Not always. According to CASA, a business can fly a drone of 2 kg or less for work without a remote pilot licence, if it holds an ARN and operator accreditation and registers the drone. Drones from 2 to 25 kg can fly over your own land without a licence if nobody pays for the work.
What is the best drone mapping software for mining in Australia?
Propeller is built for quarry and mine earthworks, with its own ground control hardware. Birdi suits mining teams that need survey results, tailings monitoring data and site imagery shared with finance, operations and consultants. GeoNadir suits rehabilitation and environmental monitoring, while SmartData suits asset inspection.
About the author
This guide was written by the Birdi team. Birdi (birdi.io) is an Australian geospatial AI workspace that construction and mining teams use to share drone, 360 and design data in one map. We checked every product fact against the vendor's own site or documentation on 24 September 2026, and each source is listed below.
Related reading
- Drone mapping software for teams: a wider comparison, not limited to Australia.
- Four platforms compared: four of these platforms compared head to head.
- How accurate is drone data?: what accuracy to expect from each capture method.
- Geospatial software for mining companies: the wider software choice for mine sites.
Sources
Government and research
- Geoscience Australia. "Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020 (GDA2020)." https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/positioning-navigation/positioning-australia/geodesy/datums-projections/gda2020
- Civil Aviation Safety Authority. "Drone weight categories and requirements." Last updated 11 October 2024. https://www.casa.gov.au/drones/operator-accreditation-certificate/drone-weight-categories-and-requirements
- Deloitte Access Economics for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. "Economic Benefit Analysis of Drones in Australia: Final Report." 23 October 2020. https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/economic-benefit-analysis-of-drones-to-australia-final-report.pdf
Vendors
- Birdi. "Pricing." Checked 24 September 2026. https://www.birdi.io/pricing
- Birdi Help Centre. "Multi-region data storage"; "How we handle coordinate systems, GCPs and geoids"; "User seats, roles and permissions." https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/14697179 · /11430561 · /11091551
- Propeller. "Platform security" and "Mining." Checked 24 September 2026. https://www.propelleraero.com/propeller-platform-security/ · https://www.propelleraero.com/mining/
- Propeller Help Centre. "How To Share and Manage Access To a Site" (9 July 2026); AeroPoints subscription (29 July 2026). https://help.propelleraero.com/hc/en-us/articles/19384064976407 · /19383553319703
- DroneDeploy Help Centre. "Data Residency at DroneDeploy" (24 June 2025) and "Data Sharing" (26 May 2026); DroneDeploy "Pricing," checked 24 September 2026. https://help.dronedeploy.com/hc/en-us/articles/27589292559383 · /1500004862021 · https://www.dronedeploy.com/pricing
- Pix4D Support. "Where are my datasets processed and stored: PIX4Dcloud"; Pix4D "PIX4Dcloud pricing." Checked 24 September 2026. https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044757812 · https://www.pix4d.com/pricing/pix4dcloud
- Esri Australia. "Site Scan for ArcGIS." Checked 24 September 2026. https://esriaustralia.com.au/products/site-scan-for-arcgis
- National Drones. "SmartData Software." Checked 24 September 2026. https://nationaldrones.com.au/software/
- GeoNadir. Home page and "Pricing." Checked 24 September 2026. https://geonadir.com/ · https://geonadir.com/pricing/
- SmartCompany. "How Sydney startup Propeller Aero raised $4 million." https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/how-sydney-startup-propeller-aero-raised-4-million-from-some-of-the-biggest-investors-in-the-world/ · Crunchbase company profiles for Propeller Aero and GeoNadir.
