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TL;DR: WebODM is free, open source drone mapping software that runs on your own computer, with full control over processing. Birdi (birdi.io) is a paid cloud workspace that processes imagery for you and shares drone, 360 and design data with people outside the paid team. WebODM wins on price and control; Birdi wins when many people need the result.
Key takeaways
- WebODM is genuinely free. Its installers for Windows, macOS and Linux have been free since April 2026, and the software is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license.
- Free software still needs a machine. According to WebODM's own download page, 8 GB of RAM limits you to about 100 images, and 16 GB or more is recommended.
- Open source holds up on quality. According to a 2025 ISPRS study, OpenDroneMap "produces comparable results to Agisoft Metashape," a commercial package.
- WebODM and OpenDroneMap are now separate projects. WebODM left OpenDroneMap in April 2026 and now processes with its own engine, ODX.
- The real cost is time and sharing. Processing, storage, uptime and who can open the result all fall on whoever runs the WebODM machine.
What is the difference between Birdi and WebODM?
WebODM turns drone photos into maps, elevation models, point clouds and 3D models on a computer you control, for free. Birdi processes in the cloud, then puts the outputs in a shared map with 360 photos, design files and documents for non-specialists. WebODM is a processing tool, and Birdi is a workspace for the team.
That difference shows up in who does the work. With WebODM, one person with a capable computer processes every flight and then decides how to get the results to everyone else. With Birdi, anyone with access can request processing in the browser, and the result is already where the rest of the team will look for it. Every fact below was checked on each project's own site or documentation on September 24, 2026.
How do Birdi and WebODM compare, row by row?
| Birdi | WebODM | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Shared site data for the wider team | Free, self-hosted photogrammetry |
| Software cost | Plus $60 and Growth $287 a month, billed annually | Free and open source (AGPL-3.0) |
| Hardware and hosting | None; runs in the browser | Your computer: 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB or more recommended |
| Setup | Create a map and upload | Install on Windows, macOS or Linux; macOS runs through Docker |
| Processing control | Output types, resolution and RTK settings per job | Full control of every processing option |
| Outputs | Orthomosaic, DSM, DTM, point cloud, mesh, contours | Orthomosaic, DSM, DTM, point cloud, 3D models, gaussian splats, contours |
| Outside access | Guests use no seat; no-login map links | Share links; hosting and security are yours |
| Data types in one view | Maps, point clouds, 360 photos, video, PDFs, DXF | Processing outputs |
| Support | Birdi support by chat and email | Community forum and Discord |
| Works offline | No | Yes |
What does WebODM really cost to run?
The software is free, so the cost is the computer, the time and the sharing. WebODM needs at least 8 GB of RAM and 20 GB of disk, which its own page says handles about 100 images. Larger surveys need a 16 GB or bigger workstation. Then someone has to run each job and send the results.
The machine
According to WebODM's download page, "With 8 GB of RAM, you may not be able to process more than 100 images," and it recommends 16 GB or more with 100 GB of free disk. Memory is also the most repeated complaint among its users. In a January 2026 forum thread asking users for their biggest pain with the processing engine, running out of memory and slow processing came up again and again.
The time
Processing time lands on one person's computer, often overnight, and a failed job has to be diagnosed and re-run. One forum user wrote in February 2026 that "the most common failure is due to lack of memory and the reason why is often quite opaque." For a single experienced operator, that is manageable. By contrast, for a construction team flying several sites a week, the queue becomes the bottleneck.
The hosted option: WebODM Lightning
WebODM's developer also runs WebODM Lightning, a hosted processing service. It offers pay-as-you-go processing per map, or plans at $24, $35 and $99 a month billed yearly, handling up to 1,500 or 3,000 images a map. New users get 150 free credits. Lightning removes the hardware cost, and its plans include share links to results for clients.
What Birdi costs
Birdi publishes Plus at $60 a month and Growth at $287 a month, both billed annually, with Ultimate by quote. Processing is included up to a yearly allowance on each plan, and the cost of a job depends on the number and size of its images. See how Birdi processes maps and models in the cloud.
What do WebODM users run into?
WebODM's users value that it is free, open and backed by a responsive community, and its results hold up in independent tests. Their most repeated complaints are memory limits and slow processing on large datasets, with ground control editing a second theme. These come from the OpenDroneMap community forum, a support forum, which over-represents problems.
What they value. WebODM is free, runs offline, and gives full control over every processing option. Maintainers answer in the same threads where users raise problems. On quality, according to Kostrzewa and colleagues (ISPRS, 2025), OpenDroneMap "produces comparable results to Agisoft Metashape." A 2022 study in Drones compared WebODM, Metashape, Pix4Dmapper and Correlator3D, and found "no single software package" won on every measure.
Memory and speed. In the January 2026 "biggest pain" thread (38 posts), one user with a 128 GB machine said "the processing time is terribly slow compared to alternative software." Another, in February 2026, said the most common failure was running out of memory.
Ground control editing. Users raised it in the same thread and again in May 2026, when one wrote that commercial software "is way ahead in this area specifically."
Fixed since. Several users asked for support for NVIDIA's newest graphics cards, which WebODM 3.3.0 added on September 5, 2026. Older threads are full of Docker and installation problems. Since April 2026, however, free installers exist for all three systems, so treat those threads as history.
Birdi. Birdi has 5 reviews on Capterra, all rated 5, which is too few to show a pattern. One reviewer wished for "more drone specific algorithms" and custom workflows, which is the control WebODM offers. We could not read Reddit for this comparison, and Capterra and G2 hold very few WebODM reviews.
Is WebODM accurate enough for surveying?
It can be, with good ground control. According to a 2025 ISPRS study, OpenDroneMap's results are comparable to those of Agisoft Metashape, a commercial package. As with any photogrammetry software, accuracy depends mainly on ground control points and checkpoints, not on the brand of the processing engine.
The independent evidence on ground control applies equally to both. According to a 2018 study in Remote Sensing, accuracy improves as ground control points increase and are spread evenly. The ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards, Edition 2, call for at least 30 checkpoints to assess a dataset's accuracy. Birdi publishes its own table by capture method: 2 to 4 cm vertical with RTK and three to five well-distributed ground control points.
When is WebODM the right choice, and when is a cloud platform?
WebODM is the right choice for one skilled person, a capable computer, a modest number of flights, and results that only a few people need. A cloud platform such as Birdi is the right choice when processing has become a queue, when several people fly or request maps, or when the results must reach people who will never install anything.
In more detail:
- Sole operator, small budget, full control: WebODM.
- Offline or air-gapped work: WebODM, which runs without an internet connection.
- No capable computer, but a WebODM workflow you like: WebODM Lightning.
- Several sites a week, and processing is the bottleneck: Birdi, with processing in the browser.
- Results shared with managers, clients and consultants: Birdi, where Guests view and download without a paid seat.
The two can also work together. Birdi takes in maps and models processed elsewhere, so a team can keep processing in WebODM and share the outputs in Birdi. For other processing options, see our guide to photogrammetry and orthomosaic platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Is WebODM really free?
Yes. WebODM is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, and since April 2026 its installers for Windows, macOS and Linux are free too. What costs money is the computer to run it on, the time to process and manage jobs, and WebODM Lightning, its optional hosted processing service, if you use it.
What computer do I need for WebODM?
According to WebODM, the minimum is a 64-bit CPU, 8 GB of RAM and 20 GB of free disk, which handles about 100 images. It recommends 16 GB of RAM or more and 100 GB of disk. Larger surveys need more memory, or WebODM Lightning's hosted processing.
Is WebODM accurate enough for surveying?
It can be. A 2025 ISPRS study found OpenDroneMap's results comparable to Agisoft Metashape's. As with any photogrammetry software, survey-grade accuracy depends on ground control points and checkpoints. The ASPRS positional accuracy standard calls for at least 30 checkpoints to assess a dataset's accuracy.
Can I share WebODM maps with clients?
Yes. WebODM can share maps and 3D models by link, and WebODM Lightning includes share links to results for clients. On a self-hosted install, though, the server's uptime, security and access are yours to manage. Birdi, by contrast, hosts the map and lets clients view and download as Guests without a paid seat.
What is the difference between OpenDroneMap and WebODM?
They are now separate projects. On April 6, 2026, WebODM became independent of OpenDroneMap, and it now processes with its own engine, ODX, a fork of ODM. OpenDroneMap keeps the ODM processing engine and its community forum. Before the split, WebODM was the web interface for OpenDroneMap.
About the author
This comparison was written by the Birdi team. Birdi (birdi.io) is a geospatial AI workspace that construction and mining teams use to process and share drone, 360 and design data in one map. We checked every fact against each project's own site or documentation on September 24, 2026, and read the forum threads ourselves.
Related reading
- Drone mapping software for teams: a wider comparison, including WebODM.
- Four platforms compared: Propeller, DroneDeploy, Pix4D and Birdi head to head.
- How ground control improves accuracy: why ground control decides accuracy on any platform.
- DroneDeploy alternatives: other options for teams weighing a paid platform.
Sources
Research and standards
- Kostrzewa, A., Płatek-Żak, A., Banat, P. and Wilk, Ł. "Open-Source vs. Commercial Photogrammetry: Comparing Accuracy and Efficiency of OpenDroneMap and Agisoft Metashape." International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLVIII-1-W4-2025, 2025. https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-1-W4-2025/65/2025/
- Pell, T., Li, J.Y.Q. and Joyce, K.E. "Demystifying the Differences between Structure-from-Motion Software Packages for Pre-Processing Drone Data." Drones 6(1), 24, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6010024
- Sanz-Ablanedo, E., Chandler, J.H., Rodríguez-Pérez, J.R. and Ordóñez, C. "Accuracy of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and SfM Photogrammetry Survey as a Function of the Number and Location of Ground Control Points Used." Remote Sensing 10(10), 1606, 2018. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10101606
- Abdullah, Qassim A. "The ASPRS Positional Accuracy Standards, Edition 2." LIDAR Magazine, October 6, 2023. https://lidarmag.com/2023/10/06/the-asprs-positional-accuracy-standards-edition-2/
WebODM and its users
- WebODM. Home page, "Download," and "Announcement" (April 6, 2026). Checked September 24, 2026. https://webodm.org/ · https://webodm.org/download/ · https://webodm.org/blog/announcement
- WebODM Lightning. "Pricing." Checked September 21, 2026. https://webodm.net/pricing
- OpenDroneMap Community. "What is your biggest pain with ODM / OpenSfM?" (opened January 20, 2026) and "What works and doesn't in photogrammetry / drone image processing interfaces" (May 4, 2026). Read September 24, 2026. https://community.opendronemap.org/t/what-is-your-biggest-pain-with-odm-opensfm/25791 · https://community.opendronemap.org/t/26685
Birdi
- Birdi. "Pricing." Checked September 24, 2026. https://www.birdi.io/pricing
- Birdi Help Center. "How to request processing"; "Processing outputs and file types"; "How accurate are my maps?"; "User seats, roles and permissions." https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/10434238 · /14492980 · /13837409 · /11091551
- Capterra. Birdi reviews (5). Read September 21, 2026. https://www.capterra.com/p/10026509/Birdi/reviews/
Reddit could not be read for this comparison, and Capterra and G2 hold very few WebODM reviews.
