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Maps · head to head

Global Mapper vs Trimble Unity Maintain

Global Mapper logo

Global Mapper

Maps

A GIS and lidar desktop that still sells a genuine perpetual licence with published prices

From
$700/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trimble Unity Maintain logo

Trimble Unity Maintain

Government

GIS-centric public asset and work management, the product formerly sold as Cityworks

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Global Mapper it is Windows only with no macOS or Linux build, so mixed-platform teams end up running a virtual machine and lose graphics performance on large point clouds; Trimble Unity Maintain esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.
  • They diverge on capability: Global Mapper covers Format breadth, Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Global Mapper and Trimble Unity Maintain actually diverge.

Attributes where Global Mapper and Trimble Unity Maintain differ
AttributeGlobal MapperTrimble Unity Maintain
Starting price$700/one-timeOn request
Pricing modelOne-time purchasequote
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android, Windows
CategoryMapsGovernment

Identical on both: 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 Global Mapper

  • Format breadth
  • Lidar processing
  • Pixels to Points
  • Coordinate transformation
  • Terrain analysis
  • Scripting
  • Mobile companion

Only in Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Built on ArcGIS
  • Service requests
  • Work order management
  • Permits and licensing
  • Mobile field access
  • Storeroom and inventory
  • Operational Insights
  • AgileAssets convergence

What people use each for

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

Global Mapper

  • A survey office that receives lidar in a different format from every client and needs reliable conversion without writing scriptsnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • A consultancy that wants to classify ground points and extract building footprints from a drone survey without an Esri enterprise agreementnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • An organisation with an irregular workload that wants to buy the licence outright and skip maintenance in quiet yearsnot Trimble Unity Maintain
  • A geologist producing volumes, contours and cross sections from terrain data on a standalone office workstationnot Trimble Unity Maintain

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • A water utility wanting valve exercising and hydrant flushing recorded against the same GIS features the engineering team maintainsnot Global Mapper
  • A city consolidating a citizen service request line, work orders and inspections into one location-based systemnot Global Mapper
  • A state transportation department managing pavement and bridge assets with linear referencing rather than point assetsnot Global Mapper
  • A public works department that has already licensed ArcGIS Enterprise and wants to avoid rekeying its asset inventorynot Global Mapper

Where each one falls short

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

Global Mapper

  • It is Windows only with no macOS or Linux build, so mixed-platform teams end up running a virtual machine and lose graphics performance on large point clouds
  • The interface has grown by accretion over two decades and features are scattered across menus, so new users are slow to find capabilities that are already installed
  • Node-locked perpetual licences are tied to the machine identifier, so a hardware refresh or a failed workstation means a support request rather than a login on a new device
  • Multi-user and web publishing are weak relative to Esri or QGIS with a server stack, so it is a desktop analysis tool and not a platform for sharing data across an organisation
  • Published prices apply to North America and differ elsewhere, so buyers outside that market must go through a reseller and cannot rely on the listed figures for budgeting

Trimble Unity Maintain

  • Esri ArcGIS is a hard prerequisite, so an organisation without it faces a second substantial licence and a GIS programme before the maintenance system can be used at all.
  • The product is mid-rename from Cityworks to Trimble Unity Maintain with transition timelines Trimble has not committed to publicly, leaving contracts, documentation and integrator experience split between two names.
  • CVE-2025-0994, a deserialisation flaw in Cityworks, was exploited in the wild and listed by CISA in February 2025, which makes on-premise deployments a patching obligation rather than a set-and-forget install.
  • Because assets live in the GIS, changing the asset model is a GIS division change, so maintenance teams cannot restructure their own hierarchy without another department in the loop.
  • It is built for North American public sector practice, and the permitting, funding source and reporting models do not map cleanly onto other countries or onto private industrial estates.

Pricing, plan by plan

Global Mapper

$700/one-time
  • Global Mapper Standard, node-locked$700/one-time
    • Perpetual licence tied to one machine
    • First year of maintenance and support included
    • Renewal 245 USD per year, optional
  • Global Mapper Standard, floating or dongle$1050/one-time
    • Shared between users or carried on a USB dongle
    • Maintenance renewal 365 USD per year
    • Network licence 2,100 USD with a two-seat minimum
  • Global Mapper Pro, node-locked$1750/one-time
    • Adds lidar classification, feature extraction and Pixels to Points
    • Maintenance renewal 610 USD per year
    • Upgrade from Standard version 26 costs 1,050 USD
  • Global Mapper Pro, floating or dongle$2625/one-time
    • Shared or dongle licence
    • Maintenance renewal 915 USD per year
    • Network licence 5,250 USD with a two-seat minimum

Trimble Unity Maintain

On request
  • Trimble Unity Maintain$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription sized by population served, asset volume and user count
    • Esri ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Online licensing required separately
    • Hosted and on-premise deployment priced differently

Which should you pick?

Choose Global Mapper if

  • You need format breadth.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want lidar processing.
Global Mapper review

Choose Trimble Unity Maintain if

  • You need built on arcgis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want service requests.
Trimble Unity Maintain review

Questions people ask

Is Global Mapper or Trimble Unity Maintain better?
Neither clearly leads. Global Mapper starts at $700/one-time and Trimble Unity Maintain at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Global Mapper or Trimble Unity Maintain?
Global Mapper starts at $700/one-time and Trimble Unity Maintain at On request.
Does Global Mapper or Trimble Unity Maintain run on more platforms?
Global Mapper runs on Windows. Trimble Unity Maintain runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is Global Mapper best used for?
Global Mapper is most often used for a survey office that receives lidar in a different format from every client and needs reliable conversion without writing scripts, a consultancy that wants to classify ground points and extract building footprints from a drone survey without an esri enterprise agreement, an organisation with an irregular workload that wants to buy the licence outright and skip maintenance in quiet years, a geologist producing volumes, contours and cross sections from terrain data on a standalone office workstation. Of those, a survey office that receives lidar in a different format from every client and needs reliable conversion without writing scripts and a consultancy that wants to classify ground points and extract building footprints from a drone survey without an esri enterprise agreement are not what Trimble Unity Maintain is typically brought in for.
What can Global Mapper do that Trimble Unity Maintain cannot?
Global Mapper covers Format breadth, Lidar processing, Pixels to Points, Coordinate transformation. Trimble Unity Maintain covers Built on ArcGIS, Service requests, Work order management, Permits and licensing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Global Mapper: Is there still a perpetual licence?

Yes. Blue Marble sells perpetual node-locked, floating, dongle and network licences that keep working after maintenance lapses.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Is Cityworks discontinued?

Not discontinued, renamed. It is becoming Trimble Unity Maintain, converging with AgileAssets, and Trimble has not published a final transition date.

Global Mapper: What is the difference between Standard and Pro?

Pro is an add-on to a matching Standard licence and carries the lidar classification, feature extraction, Pixels to Points photogrammetry and advanced terrain tools.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Do I need Esri ArcGIS?

Yes. The product is built on ArcGIS and cannot be deployed without an Esri licence.

Global Mapper: Do I have to pay maintenance?

Only for the first year, which is included. After that it is optional; without it the software continues to run but you receive no upgrades or support.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Was there a security incident?

Yes. CVE-2025-0994 in Cityworks was exploited in the wild and added to the CISA known exploited vulnerabilities catalogue in February 2025.

Global Mapper: Can it replace ArcGIS?

For desktop format conversion, lidar and terrain analysis, often yes. For enterprise data management, web services and organisation-wide sharing, no.

Trimble Unity Maintain: Can it handle roads and pavement as well as pipes?

Yes, through the AgileAssets lineage now inside the Unity Maintain family, which adds linear referencing for transportation assets.

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