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Maps · head to head

CARTO vs CentralSquare Asset Management

CARTO logo

CARTO

Maps

Location Intelligence Platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CentralSquare Asset Management logo

CentralSquare Asset Management

Government

Public sector enterprise asset management, sold for years as Lucity

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CARTO no prices are published; the committed tiers are all quote-only; CentralSquare Asset Management the Lucity name is now only a suffix on a CentralSquare product, so long-standing customers should confirm which capabilities carry forward under the current release rather than assuming continuity from the Lucity they know.
  • They diverge on capability: CARTO covers Spatial Analysis, CentralSquare Asset Management covers Esri ArcGIS integration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CARTO and CentralSquare Asset Management actually diverge.

Attributes where CARTO and CentralSquare Asset Management differ
AttributeCARTOCentralSquare Asset Management
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premise
CategoryMapsGovernment
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CARTO

  • Spatial Analysis
  • Interactive Maps
  • Data Observatory
  • Workflows
  • APIs
  • Snowflake
  • BigQuery
  • PostgreSQL

Only in CentralSquare Asset Management

  • Esri ArcGIS integration
  • Public works asset breadth
  • Citizen request intake
  • Condition assessment
  • Inspections
  • Suite integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CARTO

  • Spatial analysis over data already in a cloud warehousenot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Building interactive maps and location dashboardsnot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Geocoding and routing through location data servicesnot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Site selection and territory planningnot CentralSquare Asset Management
  • Self-hosted geospatial analytics for regulated environmentsnot CentralSquare Asset Management

CentralSquare Asset Management

  • A city consolidating streets, water, parks and facilities maintenance into one asset register instead of four departmental spreadsheetsnot CARTO
  • A county needing auditable stormwater and backflow inspection records for a regulatory programmenot CARTO
  • A public works department wanting citizen-reported potholes and blocked drains to become work orders without manual re-keyingnot CARTO
  • A municipality already running CentralSquare finance that wants asset and work costs to land in the general ledger without an integration projectnot CARTO

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CARTO

  • No prices are published; the committed tiers are all quote-only
  • Metered on four separate axes: workflow runs, map loads, API calls and location data service operations
  • API access and tokens are limited on pay-as-you-go and unlimited only from the Strategic tier
  • Self-hosting is available on Enterprise and included only on the Custom tier
  • The 14 day trial explicitly forbids production use

CentralSquare Asset Management

  • The Lucity name is now only a suffix on a CentralSquare product, so long-standing customers should confirm which capabilities carry forward under the current release rather than assuming continuity from the Lucity they know.
  • CentralSquare is private-equity owned and grew by acquisition, so asset management competes for development attention against public safety and finance products with larger revenue, and its roadmap is not independently controlled.
  • Pricing is unpublished and quoted per municipality, and asset management is often presented alongside other suite modules, so a department must work to get a clean, unbundled number it can defend at council.
  • Esri ArcGIS is effectively a prerequisite for the spatial capability that makes the product worth buying, and that licence is a separate cost the software quote will not include.
  • It is North America focused, aligned to United States municipal practice, funding structures and regulatory programmes, which limits its fit for local authorities elsewhere.

Pricing, plan by plan

CARTO

On request
  • Pay As You Go$null/mo
    • Metered, capped location data services
    • Limited API access and tokens
    • Standard support
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Limited location data services with quota
    • Limited API access and tokens
    • Standard or Premium support
  • Strategic$null/mo
    • Unlimited API access and tokens
    • Premium or Elite support
    • Custom branding
  • Custom$null/mo
    • Up to unlimited location data services
    • Unlimited API access and tokens
    • Elite support

CentralSquare Asset Management

On request
  • CentralSquare Asset Management$undefined/year
    • Subscription or on-premise licensing, quoted per municipality
    • Priced on population, module selection and user counts
    • Esri ArcGIS licensing purchased separately

Which should you pick?

Choose CARTO if

  • You need spatial analysis.
  • You also want interactive maps.
CARTO review

Choose CentralSquare Asset Management if

  • You need esri arcgis integration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want public works asset breadth.
CentralSquare Asset Management review

Questions people ask

Is CARTO or CentralSquare Asset Management better?
Neither clearly leads. CARTO starts at On request and CentralSquare Asset Management at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CARTO or CentralSquare Asset Management?
CARTO starts at On request and CentralSquare Asset Management at On request.
Does CARTO or CentralSquare Asset Management run on more platforms?
CARTO runs on Web. CentralSquare Asset Management runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud, On-premise.
What is CARTO best used for?
CARTO is most often used for spatial analysis over data already in a cloud warehouse, building interactive maps and location dashboards, geocoding and routing through location data services, site selection and territory planning. Of those, spatial analysis over data already in a cloud warehouse and building interactive maps and location dashboards are not what CentralSquare Asset Management is typically brought in for.
What can CARTO do that CentralSquare Asset Management cannot?
CARTO covers Spatial Analysis, Interactive Maps, Data Observatory, Workflows. CentralSquare Asset Management covers Esri ArcGIS integration, Public works asset breadth, Citizen request intake, Condition assessment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CARTO: What CARTO pricing tiers are available?

CARTO offers Pay As You Go (monthly, consumption-based), Enterprise (annual commitment with limited quotas), Strategic (annual with unlimited API access), and Custom (annual with full services for large enterprises). Enterprise and higher require contacting sales.

Source
CentralSquare Asset Management: Can I still buy Lucity?

Not under that name alone. It is sold as CentralSquare Asset Management powered by Lucity, and quotes and contracts will use the CentralSquare name.

CARTO: Does CARTO have a free version?

CARTO does not advertise a free tier. The Pay As You Go plan requires monthly payments based on consumption with capped services.

Source
CentralSquare Asset Management: Do I need Esri?

In practice yes. The spatial asset handling that distinguishes the product depends on ArcGIS, licensed separately from Esri.

CARTO: What is included in the CARTO Strategic plan?

Strategic tier includes unlimited API access and tokens, premium or elite support, custom branding, audit logs, and usage metrics. It requires an annual commitment and custom pricing quote.

Source
CentralSquare Asset Management: Is it cloud only?

No. Both hosted subscription and on-premise deployment are available, which matters for municipalities with data residency or network policy constraints.

CentralSquare Asset Management: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted per municipality based on population, modules and users, usually through a public procurement process.

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