Global Mapper vs LidarView
Global Mapper
bluemarblegeo.com
LidarView
lidarview.kitware.comSide by side
| Figure | Global Mapper | LidarView |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $49.92/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Point Cloud Software | 8.3 (#1) | 7.9 (#3) |
| Founded | 1993 | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Hallowell, Maine, United States | Clifton Park, New York, USA |
| Intended users | The maker identifies GIS professionals, surveyors, engineers, government agencies, utilities, environmental consultants, and public safety organizations as users. | Kitware describes LidarView as customizable for sensor workflows and says it has worked with LiDAR manufacturers including Velodyne and Ouster. |
| Purpose | Global Mapper is a desktop GIS application for geospatial data processing, spatial analysis, geodetic workflows, and deployment-ready mapping. | LidarView receives, records, visualizes, and processes 3D LiDAR data in real time. |
| Support | Technical support is included with Global Mapper purchase and covers the current software version; the policy lists security patches, bug fixes, feature enhancements, and standard support. | Users can seek help through the ParaView and LidarView Discourse forum or file an issue in the LidarView Git repository. |
Plans
Global Mapper
- Essentials$599 a year
- Advanced$1,199 a year
- Professional$2,199 a year
In their own words
Global Mapper
Global Mapper is a desktop GIS application for geospatial data processing, spatial analysis, geodetic workflows, and preparing maps for deployment. It supports more than 300 vector, raster, elevation, and point cloud formats without add-ons or additional licenses. The Essentials plan covers data viewing and conversion, coordinate transformation and reprojection, and streamed online data sources. Advanced adds terrain and vector analysis, scripting, geodetic analysis, and cartographic production. Professional adds lidar and point cloud processing, drone photogrammetry, complex imagery and raster analysis, automated breakline extraction, and AI/ML image classification. Lidar tools include feature classification, noise removal, point cloud thinning, and vector feature extraction. GeoCalc provides more than 12,000 geodetic definitions and supports modernized NSRS and CSRS. AI-assisted extraction can identify roads, buildings, vegetation, power lines, and other features. It exchanges data with ArcGIS formats, exports to Avenza Maps for offline field use, and supports a workflow with MAPublisher and Adobe Illustrator. Plans start at $599/user/yr; a 14-day trial is listed.
LidarView
LidarView is a 3D LiDAR application for receiving, recording, visualizing, and processing sensor data in real time. It works with live streams and recorded PCAP files, displaying time-stamped returns as point clouds. Users can filter laser subsets, view multiple frames, apply 3D transforms, register point clouds, and classify points. Its SLAM tools reconstruct nearby environments and locate the sensor. The product page describes HPC support for AI-based scene classification, object tracking, and 3D reconstruction. Listed sensor interpreters cover Hesai, Leishen, Livox, Ouster, Robosense, and Velodyne; plugins can add interpreters when an open driver or packet specification is available. ROS2IO and PCL plugins are included. Built on ParaView, LidarView supports Python scripting and web visualization through trame. It supports E57 and LAS/LAZ data and is available for Linux and Windows. The software is open source under Apache 2.0 and costs nothing. Its documented sensor coverage does not span the whole market.