How to Choose Software to Track Construction Progress With Drone Data

TL;DR: To choose software that tracks construction progress over time, check six things: whether captures line up from month to month, whether you need to see change or measure it, who needs the result, where the report goes, whether you need 360 walkthroughs too, and whether it must sit inside your construction management system.

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Key takeaways

• Progress is the main reason builders fly. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, 80.8% of member contractors who use drones fly them for site progress monitoring.
• Two surveys only compare if their ground control matches. According to the published accuracy table of Birdi (birdi.io), a vertical difference of up to 10 to 15 cm between two RTK-only surveys is normal.
• Access is a recurring complaint. Users of drone platforms report that owners and clients cannot use the tools without a paid account, and DroneDeploy's own documentation confirms the rule below Enterprise.
• A progress claim is still certified by a person. On the AIA G702 payment application, the contractor applies and the architect certifies. Drone data is evidence for that decision, not a replacement for it.
• Capture reliability matters as much as features. Half of the 12 most recent App Store reviews of OpenSpace's 360 capture app describe recordings or uploads failing.

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What does tracking progress over time actually require?

Tracking progress over time needs three things: captures that are consistent enough to compare, a way to compare them that fits the question, and a way to get the result to the person who acts on it. Most failures happen at the first or the last step, not in the software's feature list.

A single drone map shows the site on one day. Progress is the difference between two days, so everything depends on whether two captures can be laid over each other honestly. That means the same flight plan, the same ground control and the same kind of output each time. In addition, someone has to turn the difference into a statement: how much was built, moved or installed.

That statement usually ends up in a progress claim, a client update or a program review. On US projects the claim is often the AIA G702 application for payment, with its G703 continuation sheet breaking the contract sum down by schedule of values. So the software's last job is to produce evidence that the person certifying the claim can read.

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Six questions to ask before you choose

These six questions come from what users of the main progress platforms actually complain about, and from how progress claims work. Ask each one of every platform on your shortlist, and ask it with your own site, reporting cycle and audience in mind. The answers matter more than a feature checklist.

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1. Will your captures line up from month to month?

Captures line up when each flight uses the same plan, the same ground control and the same outputs. Without shared ground control, two surveys can disagree by several centimeters even where nothing changed. So ask how the platform stores ground control against the site, reuses it on each new map, and keeps every capture of a location together in date order.

This is also where capture tools fail in practice. Among the 12 most recent App Store reviews of the OpenSpace capture app, 6 describe recordings that will not end, uploads that fail, or capture errors that misalign sheets and video. For drone data, the independent evidence is clear. According to a 2018 study in Remote Sensing, accuracy improves as ground control points increase and are spread evenly.

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2. Do you need to see change, or measure it?

Seeing change and measuring it are different tools. A side-by-side view or a timeline shows what changed, which suits a client update. A difference grid or a volume comparison measures it in centimeters or cubic meters, which suits an earthworks claim. Decide which your reports need, then check the platform does that one well.

The trap is a comparison that looks convincing but measures nothing. A before-and-after slider makes progress obvious to the eye, yet it cannot say how much fill was placed. Conversely, a measured difference between two surveys includes survey noise. Birdi's published table, for example, treats up to 10 to 15 cm between two RTK-only surveys as normal. So a small measured change may not be real movement.

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3. Who needs to see the result, and do they need a seat?

Most of the people who need progress data never fly or process it: owners, project managers, consultants and finance. Ask what each of them can do without a paid seat: view, measure, download or comment. It is a recurring complaint in public reviews of drone platforms, and it decides whether the data actually gets used.

On DroneDeploy, for instance, 2 of the 9 Capterra reviews say clients cannot use the tools unless they subscribe. DroneDeploy's own help center confirms the rule: every paid plan can share a view-only link to one map date, but inviting unpaid people into a project needs an Enterprise organization. Other platforms handle it differently, so compare the access rules in writing.

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4. Where does the report go?

Progress data ends up in a progress claim, a client update or a program review, and each needs a different output. A claim needs measured quantities that match the schedule of values. A client update needs a clear visual and a short narrative. So ask what the platform exports: a branded PDF, a table of measurements, a link, or all three.

The report is where good capture pays off, and users notice it. G2's summary of OpenSpace reviews, for example, praises how sequenced captures make progress reports easier to prepare. Keep in mind who signs the claim: on the AIA G702, the architect certifies the contractor's application. Evidence that the certifier can open and understand is worth more than a richer model they cannot.

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5. Do you need 360 walkthroughs as well as drone maps?

You need both once work moves indoors. Drone maps cover earthworks, structure, roofs and the whole site from above. 360 walkthroughs cover interiors, services and fit-out, where a drone cannot see. So a civil or early-stage project can run on drone data alone, while a building project usually needs both by the time it is enclosed.

The platforms each lean one way. OpenSpace is built around 360 walkthroughs and added drone processing with OpenSpace Air. DroneDeploy covers both, and its comparison page argues OpenSpace's aerial workflow lacks ground control. According to Contractor ToolStack's May 2026 review, OpenSpace Air "narrowed the gap" but still trails for exterior-first work. Ask each vendor to show both on your own project.

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6. Does it need to sit inside your construction management system?

If your project runs in Procore or Autodesk, an integration can save a step each month. Ask exactly what it syncs: issues, punch items, photos or links. Some platforms offer two-way sync, and some offer none. If there is no integration, the data can still reach the project through links and PDF reports, with a little more manual work.

Integration gaps show up in reviews. A G2 snippet for OpenSpace called its earlier lack of Autodesk Construction Cloud support "a real gap," and Contractor ToolStack's May 2026 review says two-way sync has since arrived. OpenSpace and DroneDeploy both now connect to Procore and Autodesk. Birdi, by contrast, has no Procore or Autodesk integration.

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What goes wrong with progress tracking software?

Three problems recur in public reviews of the main platforms: capture or upload failures, stakeholders who cannot use the data without a paid seat, and cost. Each maps back to one of the six questions, which is why those questions come first. None of these is a reason to avoid a platform, but each is worth testing before you commit.

Capture and upload failures. Among the 12 most recent App Store reviews of the OpenSpace capture app, 6 describe recordings or uploads failing, as early as 2022 and as recently as August 2026. Contractor ToolStack's May 2026 review documents the same recording problem on long walks. OpenSpace's platform reviews are more positive than its app's, at 4.5 from 14 on G2.

Access for stakeholders. Two of DroneDeploy's nine Capterra reviews say clients cannot use the tools without a subscription. One 2022 reviewer wrote that clients "can not use the simple tools unless they are subscribers." DroneDeploy's help center describes the same Enterprise rule today.

Cost. DroneDeploy's Capterra reviews raise cost in 3 of 9, and G2's summary lists "high cost" as its most frequent complaint. OpenSpace and Propeller publish no prices, so the cost question is one to ask early.

What users like is consistent too. Propeller holds 4.8 from 20 Capterra reviews, with 11 praising its ease of use, and DroneDeploy's reviewers praise flight planning. We could not read Reddit or G2's full review pages, and the review pools are small.

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How does a monthly progress update work in practice?

Here is a worked example of a monthly progress update in Birdi, a geospatial workspace for drone, 360 and design data. The steps are the six questions in practice: consistent capture, the right comparison, the right audience and the right output. The same routine works on most platforms that store ground control against a site.

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Set up the site once

1. Create a site for the project. Every map captured within its boundary groups into it automatically, in date order.
2. Upload the site's ground control as a reference set (on Growth and Ultimate). Each new survey then starts with the same control, which is what makes month-to-month comparison honest.

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Each month

3. Fly the same plan, upload, and request processing to an orthomosaic and elevation model, using the site's ground control.
4. Step through the history. Timeline filters the map to a date range, and split screen puts this month's orthomosaic beside last month's with a slider.
5. Measure what changed. A difference grid (on Growth and Ultimate) subtracts last month's surface from this month's and colors the change. Alternatively, ask Scout, Birdi's AI agent (in beta), "what changed between my June and August surveys?" For earthworks, a volume comparison against last month's surface gives cut and fill in cubic meters.
6. Annotate and report. Mark the areas completed, then export an annotation report as a branded PDF for the claim or the client update.
7. Share with the owner. Send a view-only link to the map, or add the owner's team as Guests, who view and download without using a paid seat.

The user makes the comparison in Birdi. It does not detect change or write progress reports automatically, so a person still decides what each change means. For more detail, see our guide to drone progress reports.

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How should you choose?

Shortlist two or three platforms and test each against the six questions with a real month of your own data. Birdi suits teams where most people who need progress data never fly or process it. A builder that runs every project in Procore or Autodesk may prefer two-way sync, as OpenSpace and DroneDeploy offer.

In practice:

• Mostly exterior, civil or early-stage work: a drone-first platform, with ground control stored against the site.
• Mostly interior fit-out and services: a 360-first platform, with drone data added as the project allows.
• Verified percent complete against the schedule: a platform that sells progress tracking as a service, such as OpenSpace Track.
• Evidence for a monthly claim shared with many people: a platform where owners and consultants can open everything without a seat.

For the wider buying decision, see our guide to choosing geospatial software for construction.

For a side-by-side of a drone-first and a 360-first platform, see Birdi vs OpenSpace.

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Frequently asked questions

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How often should you fly a construction site for progress?

Match the flight to the reporting cycle. If progress claims or client updates are monthly, fly monthly, a few days before the claim date, so the data is fresh when it is needed. Busy phases such as earthworks may justify weekly flights. Keep the same flight plan and ground control each time, so every capture compares with the last.

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Can drone data prove percent complete?

Not on its own. Drone data is strong evidence of what exists on site, measured and dated, but percent complete is a judgment against the schedule of values. On the AIA G702 payment application, the contractor applies and the architect certifies. Drone maps and reports support that decision; a person still makes it.

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How do I compare two drone surveys?

Use the same ground control on both, then choose the comparison that fits the question. A side-by-side view or timeline shows what changed. A difference grid measures elevation change across the whole site, and a volume comparison measures cut and fill in one area. Compare like with like, such as terrain model to terrain model.

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What should a construction progress report include?

A good progress report includes the capture date, an overview map, the areas that changed since the last report, measured quantities where the claim needs them, and photos of key items. It should also name its source data, so anyone can trace a figure to the survey. Keep it short, and link the live map.

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Do I need ground control points for progress monitoring?

For visual progress updates, not always, because RTK alone gives a good picture. For measured change, such as earthworks quantities, yes. Between two RTK-only surveys, a vertical difference of 10 to 15 cm can be normal, so shared ground control on every flight is what makes a measured comparison trustworthy.

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About the author

This guide was written by the Birdi team. Birdi (birdi.io) is a 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 each vendor's own site or help center, and counted the reviews ourselves, on September 21 and 24, 2026.

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Related reading

• Drones in progress reporting: how drones changed the monthly progress report.
• Construction progress reporting software: the platforms teams use for progress reporting.
• Managing construction site data: keeping site data usable across a project team.
• Drone and 360 platforms: platforms that show every data type in one place.

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Sources

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Research, standards and industry

1. Associated Builders and Contractors. "ABC Report: 36% of Contractor Members Utilize Drones on Jobsites." August 17, 2026. https://www.abc.org/News-Media/News-Releases/abc-report-36-of-contractor-members-utilize-drones-on-jobsites
2. 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
3. AIA Contract Documents. "How To Complete AIA G702 & G703 Payment Application Forms." https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/completing-g702-and-g703-forms/
4. Contractor ToolStack. "OpenSpace Review 2026: 360° Walks + Disperse-Verified Progress." May 2026. https://contractortoolstack.com/software/openspace/

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Reviews

5. Apple App Store. "OpenSpace.ai Construction App" ratings and most recent US reviews. Read September 24, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1390396977
6. Capterra. DroneDeploy (9 reviews) and Propeller Aero (20). Read September 21, 2026. https://www.capterra.com/p/197016/DroneDeploy/reviews/ · https://www.capterra.com/p/179319/Propeller-Platform/reviews/
7. G2. Review summaries for OpenSpace and DroneDeploy (search snippets only). Read September 21 and 24, 2026. https://www.g2.com/products/openspace/reviews · https://www.g2.com/products/dronedeploy/reviews

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Vendors

8. DroneDeploy Help Center. "Data Sharing" (May 26, 2026); DroneDeploy, "DroneDeploy vs OpenSpace," checked September 24, 2026. https://help.dronedeploy.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004862021 · https://www.dronedeploy.com/compare/dronedeploy-vs-openspace
9. OpenSpace. "OpenSpace vs DroneDeploy," "OpenSpace Air" and "Pricing." Checked September 24, 2026. https://www.openspace.ai/openspace-vs-dronedeploy/ · https://www.openspace.ai/products/air/ · https://www.openspace.ai/pricing/
10. Birdi Help Center. "How to use Sites"; "How to upload GCP and prism reference sets"; "Timeline view"; "Split Screen view"; "Difference grids"; "How to compare stockpile volumes between two surveys"; "Annotation report"; "User seats, roles and permissions"; "How accurate are my maps?" https://help.birdi.io/en/articles/16767430 · /16768238 · /12273497 · /12336059 · /16726906 · /16591511 · /15867195 · /11091551 · /13837409

Review pools are small. Reddit and G2's full review pages could not be read for this guide.