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Maps · head to head

ArcGIS Field Maps vs Potree

ArcGIS Field Maps logo

ArcGIS Field Maps

Maps

Esri field data collection that cannot be bought on its own, only with an ArcGIS user type

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Potree logo

Potree

Maps

Open source WebGL viewer for publishing very large point clouds in a browser

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Potree has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ArcGIS Field Maps field Maps has no price of its own, so a project budget built from the product page misses the Creator seats, the Mobile Worker seats and the ArcGIS Online credits or Enterprise infrastructure that actually cost money; Potree there is no vendor, no support contract and no service level, so anything you build on Potree is your organisation’s responsibility to maintain when a browser update breaks rendering.
  • They diverge on capability: ArcGIS Field Maps covers Offline map areas, Potree covers Octree streaming.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ArcGIS Field Maps and Potree actually diverge.

Attributes where ArcGIS Field Maps and Potree differ
AttributeArcGIS Field MapsPotree
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelIncluded with an ArcGIS user type licenceOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux

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 ArcGIS Field Maps

  • Offline map areas
  • Smart forms
  • High-accuracy GNSS
  • Location sharing
  • Assignment dispatch
  • Indoor positioning
  • Direct editing of authoritative data

Only in Potree

  • Octree streaming
  • Large dataset rendering
  • Measurement tools
  • Clipping and profiles
  • Annotations
  • Attribute colouring
  • PotreeDesktop
  • Self-hosting

What people use each for

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

ArcGIS Field Maps

  • A water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office GIS runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keysnot Potree
  • A county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync laternot Potree
  • An environmental team needing sub-metre positions from an external GNSS receiver recorded directly against the authoritative datasetnot Potree
  • An organisation consolidating from Collector, Explorer, Tracker and Workforce onto a single app after Esri retired themnot Potree

Potree

  • A drone survey firm delivering a point cloud to a client who has no desktop software, by publishing a browser viewer link instead of a 40 GB LAZ filenot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • A heritage or archaeology project publishing a scanned site for public access without paying per-gigabyte hosting to a commercial platformnot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • An engineering consultancy embedding a point cloud viewer inside its own client portal without licensing a commercial web viewernot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • A university or research group that needs measurement and profiling in a shareable viewer for a dataset too large to emailnot ArcGIS Field Maps

Where each one falls short

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

ArcGIS Field Maps

  • Field Maps has no price of its own, so a project budget built from the product page misses the Creator seats, the Mobile Worker seats and the ArcGIS Online credits or Enterprise infrastructure that actually cost money
  • It only works against Esri feature services, so an organisation whose data is in PostGIS or a database without an ArcGIS layer must publish through Esri first, which is a platform decision rather than an app choice
  • Named user licensing means occasional or seasonal field staff still consume a full annual seat, and organisations with a large pool of infrequent collectors pay for capacity they use a few weeks a year
  • As a forms tool alone it is more rigid and more expensive than dedicated mobile forms products, so its value collapses if you are not already committed to ArcGIS
  • The consolidation of four apps into one changed established workflows, and organisations that had built processes around Collector or Workforce have had to rework them on Esri's timetable rather than their own

Potree

  • There is no vendor, no support contract and no service level, so anything you build on Potree is your organisation’s responsibility to maintain when a browser update breaks rendering.
  • Conversion is a separate manual step with PotreeConverter, and building an automated publishing pipeline around it is engineering work the project does not provide.
  • Rendering quality and performance depend on the client machine and WebGL support, so a client on a locked-down corporate laptop with poor graphics may see a viewer that stutters or fails outright.
  • A WebGPU rewrite, Potree-Next, is in progress and is not a drop-in upgrade, so current integrations face an eventual migration with no vendor to manage it.
  • There is no access control, user management or audit layer; anyone with the URL sees the data unless you build authentication around the static files yourself, which is a real problem for confidential sites.

Pricing, plan by plan

ArcGIS Field Maps

On request
  • Mobile Worker user type$undefined/year
    • Field editing in Field Maps included with no additional purchase
    • Cannot author maps; requires a Creator seat elsewhere in the organisation
    • Priced per named user per year
  • Creator user type$undefined/year
    • Required to author and publish the maps that field workers use
    • At least one Creator needed before Field Maps can be deployed
    • Includes Field Maps editing as well as authoring
  • ArcGIS Enterprise deployment$undefined/year
    • Field Maps against self-hosted ArcGIS Enterprise instead of ArcGIS Online
    • Server licensing and infrastructure priced separately
    • Quoted through Esri or a distributor

Potree

Free
  • PotreeFree
    • BSD-style open source licence
    • Unlimited datasets and viewers
    • Self-hosted on any static web server

Which should you pick?

Choose ArcGIS Field Maps if

  • You need offline map areas.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want smart forms.
ArcGIS Field Maps review

Choose Potree if

  • You need octree streaming.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want large dataset rendering.
Potree review

Questions people ask

Is ArcGIS Field Maps or Potree better?
Neither clearly leads. ArcGIS Field Maps starts at On request and Potree at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ArcGIS Field Maps or Potree?
Potree has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ArcGIS Field Maps and Free for Potree.
Does ArcGIS Field Maps or Potree run on more platforms?
ArcGIS Field Maps runs on iOS, Android, Web. Potree runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Potree for free?
Yes. Potree has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ArcGIS Field Maps starts at On request.
What is ArcGIS Field Maps best used for?
ArcGIS Field Maps is most often used for a water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office gis runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keys, a county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync later, an environmental team needing sub-metre positions from an external gnss receiver recorded directly against the authoritative dataset, an organisation consolidating from collector, explorer, tracker and workforce onto a single app after esri retired them. Of those, a water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office gis runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keys and a county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync later are not what Potree is typically brought in for.
What can ArcGIS Field Maps do that Potree cannot?
ArcGIS Field Maps covers Offline map areas, Smart forms, High-accuracy GNSS, Location sharing. Potree covers Octree streaming, Large dataset rendering, Measurement tools, Clipping and profiles.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ArcGIS Field Maps: Can I buy Field Maps on its own?

No. It is included with the Mobile Worker, Creator and GIS Professional user types, and you need at least one Creator in the organisation to author maps.

Potree: Does Potree cost anything?

No. It is open source and free. You supply the hosting, which for a static viewer is inexpensive.

ArcGIS Field Maps: What replaced Collector and Workforce?

Field Maps. Esri merged Collector, Explorer, Tracker and Workforce into it and retired the separate apps.

Potree: Is there commercial support?

No. There is no vendor and no support contract. Support is GitHub issues and the community.

ArcGIS Field Maps: Does it work offline?

Yes. Map areas are downloaded in advance and edits synchronise when connectivity returns.

Potree: Who maintains it?

It originated at TU Wien and is maintained principally by Markus Schütz, with community contributions.

ArcGIS Field Maps: Can it write to a non-Esri database?

Not directly. The data must be published as an ArcGIS feature service, which may sit over an enterprise geodatabase you already run.

Potree: Can it handle very large clouds?

Yes, hundreds of millions of points, because PotreeConverter builds a multi-resolution octree that streams only what is visible.

Potree: Is my data private?

Only if you make it so. Potree serves static files with no built-in authentication, so access control is entirely your responsibility.

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