Survey-grade LiDAR,priced in seconds.
Classified point cloud, bare earth terrain and contours over your site, anywhere in Australia. Draw the area, see the price, and skip the procurement cycle entirely.
Delivered to your platform
No lock-in, ever
Everyone asks what LiDAR costs. Almost nobody answers.
Search for the price of a drone LiDAR survey in Australia and you will find a lot of contact forms. The reason is not mystery. It is that most providers price the job after they understand how badly you need it.
We have flown enough of these to know what they cost us, so we publish a starting price and let you see the number for your actual site before you speak to anyone. If the honest answer for your job is higher, you will see that too, before you commit to anything.
| Site | Typical use | From |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 5 hectares | Single structure, small development site, quarry face, stockpile. | $1,600 |
| 5 to 25 hectares | Subdivision, industrial site, solar farm section, corridor segment. | $2,900 |
| 25 to 100 hectares | Large development, mine site area, extended corridor. | $5,400 |
| Linear corridor | Powerline, rail, road, pipeline. Priced per kilometre. | Quoted |
| Portfolio program | Recurring capture across many sites. CSV upload prices the lot in one pass. | Quoted |
Prices are capture and standard processing. Remote sites may carry travel, shown separately rather than hidden in the rate. Ground control, specific accuracy certification and engineering sign-off are priced as additions because not every job needs them.
You may not actually need LiDAR.
This is the single most expensive mistake we see. LiDAR and photogrammetry both produce 3D data, they cost very different amounts, and they are good at different things. Ordering the wrong one wastes money in one direction or produces useless data in the other.
You need to see through something, or you need real accuracy.
Vegetation. LiDAR pulses find gaps in canopy and reach the ground. Photogrammetry only ever sees the top of the trees.
Bare earth terrain. If you need a genuine ground surface under scrub or grass, this is the only sensible option.
Thin structures. Powerlines, cables, railings and lattice towers barely register in photogrammetry and resolve cleanly in LiDAR.
Low light or poor texture. LiDAR carries its own light source, so it does not care about shadow, overcast or a featureless surface.
The surface is open and you mostly need to look at it.
Open ground. Bare sites, roofs, car parks, stockpiles with clear sightlines.
Visual context. When people need to recognise what they are looking at, colour imagery wins every time.
Volumes on clean surfaces. Stockpile measurement on an open pad is well within photogrammetric accuracy.
Budget matters more than millimetres. An orthomosaic starts at $450. If it answers your question, order that instead and we will tell you so.
Not sure which one your job needs? Order a free quote for both and compare, or ask us. We would rather sell you the $450 product that works than the $1,600 product that impresses.
What actually lands in your hands.
- Classified point cloud in LAS or LAZ, separated into ground, vegetation, structure and noise.
- Digital terrain model (DTM), the bare earth surface with vegetation and structures removed.
- Digital surface model (DSM), everything as it stands including canopy and built form.
- Contours at your nominated interval, delivered as DXF or SHP.
- Georeferenced to your datum, GDA2020 or MGA zone as required.
- A capture report covering flight parameters, conditions, point density and any limitation worth knowing about.
Need something specific for your workflow, like a mesh, a cross-section set or a particular classification schema? Say so at the point of ordering rather than after delivery.
It goes wherever your team already works.
We are not trying to own your workflow. If you already pay for geospatial software and your team already knows it, the last thing you need is another platform to log into.
Bentley
DroneDeploy
Pix4D
Autodesk
QGIS
Your own storage
Aerologix portal
Or keep everything in the Aerologix customer portal: raw data plus processed outputs, linked and ready to share with your consultants. No subscription either way.
Where LiDAR earns its price.
Development and civil
Existing surface for design, earthworks volumes, cut and fill, and progress comparison against the model.
Powerline and corridor
Conductor position, vegetation encroachment and clearance analysis along transmission and distribution runs.
Mining and quarry
Pit and stockpile volumes, face mapping, and month-on-month movement without putting a surveyor on the wall.
Forestry and environment
Canopy height, biomass estimation and true ground surface under dense vegetation.
Flood and drainage
Accurate terrain for hydrology and catchment modelling where a metre of error changes the answer.
Heritage and complex structures
Detailed capture of structures where geometry matters and scaffolding is not an option.
What we will tell you before you order.
We would rather lose a job than deliver data that does not do what someone assumed it would. A few things worth knowing up front.
LiDAR coverage is thinner than visual
We have pilots almost everywhere. We have LiDAR-equipped pilots in fewer places. For remote sites the nearest rig may be a long way away, and that travel is real cost. You will see it before you commit, not after.
Drone LiDAR is not always the right tool
Very large areas are often better and cheaper from a crewed aircraft. Tight indoor or GPS-denied spaces usually want a SLAM or terrestrial scanner instead. We will point you to the right method even when it is not this one.
Accuracy depends on the setup
Published accuracy figures assume good conditions and appropriate control. If your job needs certified survey accuracy, say so up front so we specify ground control properly rather than retrofitting confidence later.
Weather still wins
Wind and rain ground aircraft. We build sensible buffers into scheduling for remote and single-visit sites, and we would rather move a day than fly a compromised capture.
The things people actually ask.
How much does a drone LiDAR survey cost in Australia?
Capture starts from $1,600 for sites up to five hectares, around $2,900 from five to twenty five hectares, and around $5,400 from twenty five to one hundred hectares. Linear corridors are priced per kilometre. Draw your actual site in Order Studio and you will get a price for it in seconds, free and with no obligation.
What accuracy can I expect?
For a typical drone LiDAR capture with RTK positioning, expect vertical accuracy in the low centimetres under good conditions. Where the job requires certified survey accuracy we specify ground control points and state the achieved accuracy in the capture report. Tell us the standard you need to meet before we fly, not after.
LiDAR or photogrammetry for my job?
If you need ground under vegetation, thin structures like powerlines, or genuine terrain accuracy, choose LiDAR. If the surface is open and you mainly need to see and measure it, photogrammetry at $450 will very likely do the job. Ask us and we will tell you honestly, including when the cheaper option is the right one.
How long until I get the data?
Capture is usually scheduled within days, subject to weather and pilot availability in your area. Processed deliverables typically follow within several business days of capture. Larger corridors and portfolio programs are scheduled with agreed milestones.
Do you fly in controlled airspace?
Yes. Airspace assessment and any required authorisation are part of the job rather than a surprise line item. Some locations near airports or restricted areas take longer to approve, and we will tell you the realistic timeline before you commit.
Can you handle a national portfolio rather than one site?
That is what the network is for. Upload a CSV of sites and the whole portfolio is priced in one pass, with local pilots allocated to each location so you are not paying for someone to drive across a state. There is no minimum and no lock-in contract.
Draw your site. See the price. We fly.
Unlimited free quotes. LiDAR capture from $1,600, anywhere in Australia.
