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Maps · head to head

Agisoft Metashape vs Cesium ion

Agisoft Metashape logo

Agisoft Metashape

Maps

Desktop photogrammetry that turns photographs into point clouds, meshes, orthomosaics and DEMs

From
$179/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cesium ion logo

Cesium ion

Maps

Hosted 3D geospatial tiling and streaming, metered by storage, streaming and gigapixels

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cesium ion has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Agisoft Metashape processing is entirely local, so throughput is a function of your workstation, and a large project on modest hardware can take days where a cloud service would return results overnight.; Cesium ion streaming is metered in gigabytes a month, so a public-facing application's cost is driven by visitor traffic you do not control, and a successful launch can blow through a tier immediately.
  • They diverge on capability: Agisoft Metashape covers Structure-from-motion alignment, Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Agisoft Metashape and Cesium ion actually diverge.

Attributes where Agisoft Metashape and Cesium ion differ
AttributeAgisoft MetashapeCesium ion
Starting price$179/one-timeFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchasePer month by storage, streaming and gigapixels
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, Cloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

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 Agisoft Metashape

  • Structure-from-motion alignment
  • Dense point cloud generation
  • Mesh and texture
  • Orthomosaic and DEM
  • Ground control points
  • Point cloud classification
  • Multispectral processing
  • Python and Java scripting

Only in Cesium ion

  • 3D Tiles tiling
  • Global terrain and imagery
  • Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles
  • Cloud reality modelling
  • Streaming delivery
  • Access tokens
  • Geocoding
  • Self-hosted option

What people use each for

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

Agisoft Metashape

  • A survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud creditsnot Cesium ion
  • A quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitivenot Cesium ion
  • An archaeology or heritage team documenting sites on a capital grant with no recurring software budget to renew a subscriptionnot Cesium ion
  • A VFX or games studio scanning props and environments, where Standard at $179 covers the whole requirement because georeferencing is irrelevantnot Cesium ion

Cesium ion

  • A survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 GB downloadnot Agisoft Metashape
  • A simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an Unreal Engine environmentnot Agisoft Metashape
  • An urban planning department publishing a city model that planners can inspect without desktop GIS softwarenot Agisoft Metashape
  • A software product embedding 3D geospatial views and needing hosted tiling rather than building a tilernot Agisoft Metashape

Where each one falls short

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

Agisoft Metashape

  • Processing is entirely local, so throughput is a function of your workstation, and a large project on modest hardware can take days where a cloud service would return results overnight.
  • The vendor is a Russian company, and since 2022 payment is restricted to wire transfer, ACH and SEPA direct debit with no card payment, which some corporate and government procurement departments simply cannot process.
  • There is no collaboration layer: no shared projects, no web viewer, no permissions. Sharing results means sending files, which is a real limitation on multi-office teams.
  • Support is thin compared with commercial drone platforms, and the software assumes photogrammetric competence; users who do not understand overlap, ground control and residuals produce confidently wrong models.
  • A node-locked licence is tied to a machine, and moving it or covering a second workstation means either a reseller-quoted floating licence or buying twice, which erodes the cost advantage for teams rather than individuals.

Cesium ion

  • Streaming is metered in gigabytes a month, so a public-facing application's cost is driven by visitor traffic you do not control, and a successful launch can blow through a tier immediately.
  • Reality modelling is billed in gigapixels a month, an unfamiliar unit that makes it hard to estimate in advance how many drone flights a plan will actually cover.
  • The free Community tier is restricted to non-commercial or open use, so a consultancy sharing a model with a paying client does not qualify regardless of how small the dataset is.
  • Team accounts cost substantially more than individual ones at the same quota, $524 against $149 on Commercial, so adding a second colleague is a large step rather than an incremental seat charge.
  • Self-hosting is available only under a custom enterprise agreement, which leaves organisations with data residency or air-gap requirements out of the published tiers entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

Agisoft Metashape

$179/one-time
  • Standard$179/one-time
    • Photogrammetric alignment, dense cloud, mesh and texture
    • No georeferencing or coordinate systems
    • No ground control points
  • Professional$3499/one-time
    • Everything in Standard
    • Georeferencing, coordinate systems and ground control points
    • Orthomosaic, DEM and point cloud classification
  • Floating licence$undefined/one-time
    • Shared across machines rather than node-locked
    • Sold through authorised resellers only
    • Quoted rather than listed

Cesium ion

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 5 GB storage
    • 15 GB per month streaming
    • 20 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Commercial$149/month
    • 50 GB storage
    • 150 GB per month streaming
    • 40 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Premium$499/month
    • 250 GB storage
    • 500 GB per month streaming
    • 100 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Custom$undefined/year
    • Negotiated quotas
    • Self-hosted deployment in your own environment
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Agisoft Metashape if

  • You need structure-from-motion alignment.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want dense point cloud generation.
Agisoft Metashape review

Choose Cesium ion if

  • You need 3d tiles tiling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want global terrain and imagery.
Cesium ion review

Questions people ask

Is Agisoft Metashape or Cesium ion better?
Neither clearly leads. Agisoft Metashape starts at $179/one-time and Cesium ion at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Agisoft Metashape or Cesium ion?
Cesium ion has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $179/one-time for Agisoft Metashape and Free for Cesium ion.
Does Agisoft Metashape or Cesium ion run on more platforms?
Agisoft Metashape runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Cesium ion runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use Cesium ion for free?
Yes. Cesium ion has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Agisoft Metashape starts at $179/one-time.
What is Agisoft Metashape best used for?
Agisoft Metashape is most often used for a survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud credits, a quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitive, an archaeology or heritage team documenting sites on a capital grant with no recurring software budget to renew a subscription, a vfx or games studio scanning props and environments, where standard at $179 covers the whole requirement because georeferencing is irrelevant. Of those, a survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud credits and a quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitive are not what Cesium ion is typically brought in for.
What can Agisoft Metashape do that Cesium ion cannot?
Agisoft Metashape covers Structure-from-motion alignment, Dense point cloud generation, Mesh and texture, Orthomosaic and DEM. Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling, Global terrain and imagery, Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles, Cloud reality modelling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Agisoft Metashape: How much does Metashape cost?

Professional is $3,499 and Standard is $179, both node-locked. Floating licences are quoted through resellers.

Cesium ion: How is Cesium ion priced?

By several meters at once: storage in gigabytes, streaming in gigabytes per month, and reality modelling in gigapixels per month. Commercial starts at $149 a month for an individual.

Agisoft Metashape: Is it a subscription?

No. These are perpetual node-locked licences. Major version upgrades are charged separately.

Cesium ion: Is the free tier usable commercially?

No. Community is for non-commercial or open use. Commercial work needs a paid plan.

Agisoft Metashape: What is the difference between Standard and Professional?

Standard has no georeferencing, coordinate systems, ground control points, orthomosaic export or scripting. Anything survey or mapping related requires Professional.

Cesium ion: Can I run ion on my own infrastructure?

Only under a custom enterprise agreement negotiated with Cesium.

Agisoft Metashape: Does it process in the cloud?

No. All processing is local on your own hardware, which is the main reason it is cheap at volume and slow on weak machines.

Cesium ion: Do I need Cesium ion to use CesiumJS?

No. CesiumJS is open source and free. ion provides hosted tiling, base layers and streaming that you would otherwise have to build.

Agisoft Metashape: Are there educational licences?

Yes, Agisoft offers reduced academic pricing on a separate page.

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