Pointly vs vHive: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Pointly and vHive to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Pointly
7/10
Pointly is AI software from Berlin that classifies large LiDAR point clouds and extracts vector objects for utilities, railways, mapping agencies and surveyors.
vHive
5.6/10
vHive is a drone-based digital twin platform that captures, analyzes, and reports on telecom towers, wind turbines, solar farms, and data centers for infrastructure operators.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7/10 | 5.6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 3/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | €99/mo Professional S | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Power Line Inspection | Not listed | |
| Digital Twin | ||
| Drone Inspection | ||
| LiDAR Processing | Not listed | |
| Inspection Automation | Not listed | |
| Asset Registry | Not listed | |
Pointly vs vHive cost by team size
| Team size | Pointly | vHive |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Pointly
- Has a free plan (vHive does not)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for utilities (9/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose vHive
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Pointly
Pros
- Monthly prices are published, from 99 euros for 500 million points, and there is a free tier for testing
- Pointly Box allows on-premise and air-gapped processing for data-sensitive operators
- It holds ISO 27001 certification, and cloud processing defaults to EU data centers on Azure
- Custom classifiers can be trained on a customer's own class catalog
- There are extensions for Esri ArcGIS and Bentley MicroStation, and it exports in many formats
Cons
- It only covers classification, with no asset management, work orders or maintenance tools
- Vectorization and custom classifier training are quoted per project, not list-price items
- There are few independent user reviews on G2, Capterra or Reddit
- The pricing page has a yearly billing toggle but shows no annual prices
vHive
Pros
- It automates the full chain from drone flight planning to a labeled 3D twin, so field crews need little training.
- It works with off-the-shelf drones instead of requiring proprietary hardware.
- AI tags individual tower components and defects such as rust and missing bolts.
- Large telecom customers including Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, and SBA have adopted it.
- Customers use it through a browser with no software to install.
Cons
- Pricing is not public and requires a sales demo.
- No integration list or API documentation is published.
- Independent user reviews are scarce, and the vendor's own language is highly promotional.
- It focuses on capture and analysis and does not provide maintenance work management.
Not sold on either?
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)Our product
Plans DJI drone inspection missions for power line towers from LiDAR scans: it finds the towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and splits the route into battery flights.
Made by the team behind b stack radar. Shown here because it fits this topic. It is not part of our rankings. How we rank tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Pointly scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 7/10 against 5.6/10 for vHive. The largest gap is in Cost: 7/10 for Pointly and 3/10 for vHive.
Pointly has a free plan; vHive does not list one.
Pointly is the better fit for utilities: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 5/10 for vHive.
