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Maps · head to head

Cesium ion vs ArcGIS Survey123

Cesium ion logo

Cesium ion

Maps

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ArcGIS Survey123 logo

ArcGIS Survey123

Maps

Form-centric field data collection that writes straight into an ArcGIS organisation

From
On request
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: 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.; ArcGIS Survey123 the app is free and the licensing is not: every person completing a secure survey needs a paid ArcGIS user type, so a hundred-person field programme costs tens of thousands a year before anyone counts credits.
  • They diverge on capability: Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling, ArcGIS Survey123 covers XLSForm authoring.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cesium ion and ArcGIS Survey123 actually diverge.

Attributes where Cesium ion and ArcGIS Survey123 differ
AttributeCesium ionArcGIS Survey123
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by storage, streaming and gigapixelsPer user per year by ArcGIS user type
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, iOS, Android, Windows

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 Cesium ion

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

Only in ArcGIS Survey123

  • XLSForm authoring
  • Web designer
  • Offline collection
  • Direct ArcGIS write
  • Repeats and nested records
  • Media and signature capture
  • Webhooks and integration
  • Reports

What people use each for

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

Cesium ion

  • A survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 GB downloadnot ArcGIS Survey123
  • A simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an Unreal Engine environmentnot ArcGIS Survey123
  • An urban planning department publishing a city model that planners can inspect without desktop GIS softwarenot ArcGIS Survey123
  • A software product embedding 3D geospatial views and needing hosted tiling rather than building a tilernot ArcGIS Survey123

ArcGIS Survey123

  • A water utility recording hydrant inspections that must appear on the corporate asset map the moment they are submitted, not after a nightly importnot Cesium ion
  • A local authority running a public consultation where anyone can submit without a licence, while staff review responses in an ArcGIS dashboardnot Cesium ion
  • An environmental monitoring programme with complex conditional forms authored in XLSForm and completed offline in areas with no signalnot Cesium ion
  • A field crew already licensed for ArcGIS Field Maps that needs structured forms alongside map-based editing without adding another vendornot Cesium ion

Where each one falls short

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

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.

ArcGIS Survey123

  • The app is free and the licensing is not: every person completing a secure survey needs a paid ArcGIS user type, so a hundred-person field programme costs tens of thousands a year before anyone counts credits.
  • Esri does not publish user type prices on its main pricing pages, so buyers reconstruct the cost from marketplace listings or a sales conversation, which makes budgeting an ArcGIS rollout unnecessarily opaque.
  • Credits are consumed by geocoding, storage and some analysis, and a data collection programme that generates heavy attachment volumes can burn through the bundled allowance and trigger a mid-year top-up.
  • It is useless without ArcGIS. There is no standalone deployment, so the decision to use Survey123 is really a decision to buy or keep an ArcGIS estate.
  • Form authoring splits between a web designer that is easy but limited and XLSForm plus Survey123 Connect that is capable but requires learning a spreadsheet syntax, and teams routinely start in the wrong one and rebuild.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

ArcGIS Survey123

On request
  • Survey123 appFree
    • No separate charge for the app itself
    • Requires an ArcGIS Online or Enterprise organisation
    • Public surveys can be completed without a licence
  • Creator user type$undefined/year
    • Required to author and publish surveys
    • Foundational user type, can administer the organisation
    • Includes an annual credit allowance
  • Mobile Worker user type$undefined/year
    • Required for each person completing a secure survey
    • Dependent user type, must be added to an organisation with a foundational licence
    • Public marketplace listings have shown around $400 per year

Which should you pick?

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

Choose ArcGIS Survey123 if

  • You need xlsform authoring.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want web designer.
ArcGIS Survey123 review

Questions people ask

Is Cesium ion or ArcGIS Survey123 better?
Neither clearly leads. Cesium ion starts at Free and ArcGIS Survey123 at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cesium ion or ArcGIS Survey123?
Cesium ion has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cesium ion and On request for ArcGIS Survey123.
Does Cesium ion or ArcGIS Survey123 run on more platforms?
Cesium ion runs on Web, Cloud. ArcGIS Survey123 runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
Can I use Cesium ion for free?
Yes. Cesium ion has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ArcGIS Survey123 starts at On request.
What is Cesium ion best used for?
Cesium ion is most often used for a survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 gb download, a simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an unreal engine environment, an urban planning department publishing a city model that planners can inspect without desktop gis software, a software product embedding 3d geospatial views and needing hosted tiling rather than building a tiler. Of those, a survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 gb download and a simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an unreal engine environment are not what ArcGIS Survey123 is typically brought in for.
What can Cesium ion do that ArcGIS Survey123 cannot?
Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling, Global terrain and imagery, Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles, Cloud reality modelling. ArcGIS Survey123 covers XLSForm authoring, Web designer, Offline collection, Direct ArcGIS write.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

ArcGIS Survey123: Is Survey123 free?

The app is. Using it is not, unless your surveys are public. Authoring needs a Creator licence and each person completing a secure survey needs a Mobile Worker, Editor, Creator or GIS Professional user type.

Cesium ion: Is the free tier usable commercially?

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

ArcGIS Survey123: How much are the user types?

Esri does not list them on its main pricing pages. Public marketplace listings have shown roughly $700 a year for Creator and $400 for Mobile Worker; confirm with Esri or a distributor for your region.

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

Only under a custom enterprise agreement negotiated with Cesium.

ArcGIS Survey123: Can respondents fill in a survey without a licence?

Yes, if the survey is shared publicly. Secure surveys require a licensed user type.

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.

ArcGIS Survey123: Does it work offline?

Yes, in the mobile app, with sync when connectivity returns.

ArcGIS Survey123: Is it the same as ArcGIS Field Maps?

No. Field Maps is map-centric editing; Survey123 is form-centric. Many organisations license both, which doubles nothing because user types cover the whole app suite.

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