Plex-Earth - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Plex-Earth is a geospatial data platform for CAD, built to bring satellite and aerial imagery, historical archives, and 3D terrain directly into the drawing environment. It runs inside AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Map 3D, and BricsCAD.

1. Imagery and data sources

Import imagery from basemap providers, Google Maps, Azure Maps, OpenStreetMap, and Google Elevation for basemap terrain, or connect to any WMS or WMTS server, including private and public services. For higher resolution and specialized coverage, work with premium providers: Nearmap, Vexcel, Hexagon, Airbus, and Vantor. Every mosaic tile is individually georeferenced, so imagery stays accurate across large areas, a capability unique to Plex-Earth. Beyond current imagery, Plex-Earth also brings in historical archives. Our feature timeviews track how a site has changed over years, or pull in imagery just days old for the latest ground conditions.

2. Terrain and analysis

Import terrain as surfaces and contours, inserted as CAD objects in your drawing. Work directly with GeoTIFFs, TIN meshes, Civil 3D surfaces, and survey data. Basemap terrain is included, and premium DTM and DSM data can be ordered directly through Plex-Earth on demand. Calculate cut and fill between existing and proposed grades, and run elevation, slope, and direction analysis with detailed analysis tables.

3. Google Earth integration

Import KML files with geospatial data, or export finished designs to Google Earth so clients and stakeholders can see the result in its real-life environment. Copy layers from Google Earth into the drawing without file conversion, and export both 2D and 3D drawings, with full control over which layers are included.

4. CAD compatibility

Plex-Earth is compatible with AutoCAD 2020–2027, Civil 3D, Map 3D, and BricsCAD V25 and V26.

To get started, just paste coordinates from a Google Earth placemark, and the drawing georeferences instantly, with UTM assigned by default. Drawings that already use coordinate systems through CAD's geolocation command are recognized automatically, and over 4,000 coordinate systems are available for teams that need to set one manually.

5. About Plex-Earth

Founded in 2009 by Lambros Kaliakatsos, a civil engineer and software developer who, after years in the industry, identified a recurring problem: the cost of rework and design mistakes that come from working without real ground data in the early stages of a project. Plex-Earth was the first cloud-based SaaS tool in the CAD market and has been an Authorized Autodesk Developer since 2010. Today, thousands of engineers across civil engineering, solar, wind, telecom, oil and gas, utilities, and infrastructure, trust and use it every day. Start a free trial at plexearth.com.