Softwr

Weather · head to head

Planet Labs vs RainViewer

Planet Labs logo

Planet Labs

Weather

Daily satellite imagery for environmental monitoring

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RainViewer logo

RainViewer

Weather

Global rain radar with accurate precipitation forecasts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only RainViewer has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Planet Labs planet publishes no price for its monitoring subscriptions: no rate per square kilometre, no minimum area and no commitment length appears on the product page; RainViewer limited to precipitation forecasting without comprehensive weather data like temperature or wind
  • They diverge on capability: Planet Labs covers Daily satellite imagery, RainViewer covers Global rain radar.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Planet Labs and RainViewer actually diverge.

Attributes where Planet Labs and RainViewer differ
AttributePlanet LabsRainViewer
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20102015

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

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 Planet Labs

  • Daily satellite imagery
  • Change detection
  • Agriculture monitoring
  • Forest tracking
  • Climate data
  • GIS platforms
  • Cloud services
  • Api support

Only in RainViewer

  • Global rain radar
  • Smooth animations
  • 2-hour forecasts
  • Lightning data
  • Satellite imagery
  • Widgets
  • Notifications
  • Ios support

Both cover

  • API access
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Planet Labs

  • Daily satellite imagery monitoring of a defined area of interestnot RainViewer
  • Detecting change in land use, agriculture and infrastructure over timenot RainViewer
  • Feeding satellite imagery into analytics and machine learning pipelinesnot RainViewer

RainViewer

  • Professional Worknot Planet Labs
  • Content Creationnot Planet Labs

Where each one falls short

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

Planet Labs

  • Planet publishes no price for its monitoring subscriptions: no rate per square kilometre, no minimum area and no commitment length appears on the product page
  • Access is sold only through a subscription scaled by sales to the customer's stated needs, so there is no self service purchase
  • Every pricing route on the page is a contact sales button

RainViewer

  • Limited to precipitation forecasting without comprehensive weather data like temperature or wind
  • Forecast window limited to 2 hours, not suitable for extended weather planning
  • Smaller global weather station network compared to national meteorological services
  • Limited historical weather data compared to competing weather platforms

Pricing, plan by plan

Planet Labs

On request
  • ExplorerFree
    • Limited imagery
    • Basic tools
    • Entry tier
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full archive
    • API access
    • Custom analytics

RainViewer

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Global radar
    • Animations
    • Forecasts
  • Premium$2.99/month
    • No ads
    • API access
    • Extended history

Which should you pick?

Choose Planet Labs if

  • You need daily satellite imagery.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want change detection.
Planet Labs review

Choose RainViewer if

  • You need global rain radar.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want smooth animations.
RainViewer review

Questions people ask

Is Planet Labs or RainViewer better?
Neither clearly leads. Planet Labs starts at On request and RainViewer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Planet Labs or RainViewer?
RainViewer has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Planet Labs and Free for RainViewer.
Does Planet Labs or RainViewer run on more platforms?
Planet Labs runs on Web, Api. RainViewer runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use RainViewer for free?
Yes. RainViewer has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Planet Labs starts at On request.
What is Planet Labs best used for?
Planet Labs is most often used for daily satellite imagery monitoring of a defined area of interest, detecting change in land use, agriculture and infrastructure over time, feeding satellite imagery into analytics and machine learning pipelines. Of those, daily satellite imagery monitoring of a defined area of interest and detecting change in land use, agriculture and infrastructure over time are not what RainViewer is typically brought in for.
What can Planet Labs do that RainViewer cannot?
Planet Labs covers Daily satellite imagery, Change detection, Agriculture monitoring, Forest tracking. RainViewer covers Global rain radar, Smooth animations, 2-hour forecasts, Lightning data. Both handle API access, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Planet Labs: How can I access Planet Labs satellite imagery pricing?

Planet Labs offers flexible and transparent pricing but does not publish rates on their public website. Visit planet.com/pricing/, contact their sales team via the Contact Sales link, or log into the Planet Insights Platform to view pricing.

Source
RainViewer: What weather data does RainViewer use?

RainViewer processes radar data from over 1,000 radar stations worldwide to provide precipitation forecasts with sub-kilometer accuracy updated every 5 minutes.

Source
RainViewer: How far ahead can RainViewer forecast rain?

RainViewer provides 2-hour precipitation forecasts updated frequently throughout the day with hyperlocal predictions.

Source
RainViewer: Is RainViewer available on all platforms?

RainViewer offers both a mobile app and web platform for accessing precipitation forecasts and radar data.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Planet Labs

More on RainViewer

Keep looking

Other head to heads