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Facts: desk research, not tested · Reviews: members' opinions

CivilGrid vs sizeless

Two utility-data tools at opposite ends of a project. Not like-for-like (our reading): CivilGrid gathers existing utility and site records from asset owners onto one basemap before design starts, with an AI feature set added to an established records platform; sizeless creates new as-built records once the trench is open, turning a smartphone video into a point cloud, CAD plan and GIS-ready export. Neither publishes prices. Desk research from vendor pages read Oct 29, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 29, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: CivilGrid (Utility & site records data platform; no public prices (quote / sales)) vs sizeless (Smartphone-video as-built documentation of trenches and house connections; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 29, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

CivilGrid vs sizeless: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowCivilGridsizeless
CategoryUtility & site records data platformSmartphone-video as-built documentation of trenches and house connections
AI role (our label)AI features added to established productAI-first
What it doesCivil design data platform that maps verified utility and site records on one basemap for planning, design and construction. Records are sourced from 100,000+ asset owners (gas, water, sewer, electric, fiber, land rights, plus permits, zoning, wetlands, flood zones and as-builts), verified and mapped on one basemap for planning, design and construction. Features include record requests, chain of custody, collaborative design and field capture; SOC 2 security. Vendor cites 4,200+ projects, 2.8M+ miles of utilities mapped and 200K+ hours of records research saved (vendor claims). The CSV records a $26M Series A (Aug 27, 2026) led by Spark Capital. The homepage (read Oct 17, 2026) describes a four-step flow: draw a project boundary or alignment; CivilGrid finds and contacts the asset owners, handling NDAs, fees and follow-ups; utility and site data appear as map layers with potential conflicts flagged; and the basemap exports in your format with a chain-of-custody log tracing every record to its source. It contrasts this with record requests that take 1 to 8 weeks each and returned PDFs redrawn by hand in CAD (vendor framing). The homepage does not mention ASCE 38 utility quality levels. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (100,000+ asset owners, the four-step boundary-to-basemap flow, SOC 2); it now also cites 1,500+ data sets digitized and a PG&E case study ($60M+ in avoidable costs identified, vendor claim). Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (records from 100,000+ asset owners; draw a boundary, get the records with NDAs, fees and follow-ups handled, review layers with potential conflicts flagged, export a basemap with a chain-of-custody log; pages for utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering; SOC 2). Project, data-set, mileage and hours-saved counters and the PG&E case-study figure are vendor claims and not used. Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: homepage reworded under the headline Know what's underground before you build, with the same substance (records sourced from 100,000+ asset owners and verified on one basemap; the four-step boundary, records, layers and export flow with chain-of-custody log; utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering pages; SOC 2). Counters, the PG&E case-study figure and customer quotes are vendor material and not used. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (Know what's underground before you build; utility and site data sourced from more than 100,000 asset owners, verified and mapped on one platform; pages for utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering, plus role pages for SUE, surveyors, civil engineers, project managers and capital planners). Research-time and wait-time figures, case-study results and customer quotes are vendor material and not used. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (Know what's underground before you build; utility and site data from more than 100,000 asset owners on one platform; utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering pages and role pages). Counters, research-time figures, case-study results and customer quotes are vendor material and not used. Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: homepage unchanged in substance (Know what's underground before you build; utility and site data sourced from more than 100,000 asset owners, verified and mapped on one platform; the four-step draw boundary, get records, review layers with potential conflicts flagged and export-with-chain-of-custody flow; utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering pages and SUE, surveyor, civil engineer, project manager and capital planner role pages). Counters, research-time figures, case-study results and customer quotes are vendor material and not used.Turns a short smartphone video of an open trench or house connection into a 3D point cloud, a 2D CAD as-built plan (DWG, DXF, PDF) and BIM/GIS-ready exports (IFC, RVT), so crews can backfill without waiting for a separate survey. The site and FAQ (read Oct 18, 2026) say capture uses an iPhone Pro or iPad Pro with its SiteScan app (Android is on the roadmap) and list AI-based use cases including automatic detection of pipes and utilities, material detection and condition assessment. Data is processed and stored in Germany and Switzerland, customer data is not used to train AI models, and SOC 2 and ISO 27001 work is described as in progress (vendor statements). Accuracy (sub-centimeter in practice per the FAQ) and turnaround figures are vendor claims, not verified. Y Combinator batch: Summer 2023 (YC company profile). Re-read Oct 19, 2026: the homepage adds that documentation is available in about 72 hours, capture works without GPS in basement areas, the point-cloud algorithms were developed at ETH Zurich, and the company was founded by engineers from ETH Zurich and UC Berkeley; it lists ISO 27001 certification as in progress and data stored in the EU (vendor statements). Re-checked Oct 20, 2026: homepage and FAQ unchanged in substance (iPhone Pro capture with SiteScan, 3D point cloud, DWG/DXF as-built, GIS-ready exports, data processed and stored in Germany and Switzerland, no training on customer data). The FAQ adds that the same workflow covers district heating, water, gas and fiber house connections and lists building-side uses such as an automated heat load calculation for heat pump installs. Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: homepage and FAQ unchanged in substance (iPhone Pro scanning, 3D point cloud, DWG/DXF/PDF and IFC/RVT deliverables, EU data hosting, GDPR, no training on customer data, ISO 27001 in progress). The FAQ now says customers get high-touch human support with dedicated customer success managers; its precision target is a vendor statement and is not used. Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: homepage and FAQ unchanged in substance (iPhone Pro capture with the SiteScan app, 3D point cloud, DWG/DXF as-built plans, BIM/GIS exports, documentation in about 72 hours, data stored in the EU, ISO 27001 certification in progress; the FAQ still describes dedicated customer success managers). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: homepage and FAQ unchanged in substance (house connections and open trenches captured on iPhone Pro with the SiteScan app; 3D point cloud, DWG/DXF as-built plans and BIM/GIS exports; documentation in about 72 hours; data stored in the EU, ISO 27001 certification in progress; the FAQ still describes dedicated customer success managers and says customer data is not used to train AI models). Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: homepage and FAQ unchanged in substance (iPhone Pro capture with the SiteScan app; 3D point cloud, DWG/DXF as-built plans and BIM/GIS exports; documentation in about 72 hours; data stored in the EU, ISO 27001 certification in progress; customer data not used to train AI models).
Who it's forUtilities, DOTs and municipalities, civil engineering firms, and survey and SUE teams.Network operators, civil engineering and pipeline contractors and utilities that document trenches and house connections (district heating, water, gas, fiber), plus energy planners on the building side.
Pricing (as publicly stated)No public prices found (checked Oct 16, 2026; unchanged Oct 19, 2026): the vendor site has no pricing or plans link in its navigation or footer, and /pricing and /plans return a not-found page. Its "Plan" link is a product workflow page, not a pricing page. The site's calls to action include "Talk to our team" and "Contact us". Confirm current pricing with the vendor. Earlier note (Oct 15, 2026): site offers a trial and sales contact. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: unchanged (/pricing returns not found; Talk to our team, Try CivilGrid). Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: still no prices (/pricing returns not found); calls to action are now Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Book a live walkthrough. Re-checked Oct 25, 2026: still no prices (/pricing returns not found); Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Try CivilGrid. Re-checked Oct 27, 2026: still no prices (/pricing returns not found); Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Try CivilGrid. Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: still no prices (/pricing returns not found); Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Try CivilGrid.No public prices (checked Oct 18, 2026): the FAQ says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and deliverables, with an individual offer on request, and sizeless.co/en/pricing returns a not-found page. Confirm with sizeless. Re-checked Oct 19 and Oct 20, 2026: unchanged (individual offer on request; /en/pricing not found). Re-checked Oct 22, 2026: unchanged (the FAQ still says pricing is by individual offer; sizeless.co/en/pricing still returns not found). Re-checked Oct 24, 2026: unchanged (the FAQ still says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and deliverables, with an individualized offer; sizeless.co/en/pricing still returns not found). Re-checked Oct 26, 2026: unchanged (the FAQ still says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and deliverables, with an individualized offer; sizeless.co/en/pricing still returns not found). Re-checked Oct 28, 2026: unchanged (the FAQ still says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and deliverables with an individualized offer; /en/pricing returns a not-found page). Re-checked Oct 29, 2026: unchanged (the FAQ still says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and deliverables with an individualized offer; /en/pricing returns a not-found page).
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Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 29, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • When each is used: CivilGrid works at planning, scoping and design, to show what records say is underground before you build. sizeless works while a trench or house connection is open, documenting the pipe route and house entries so the trench can be backfilled without waiting for a separate survey (vendor statements).
  • Where the data comes from: CivilGrid says its utility and site data is sourced directly from more than 100,000 asset owners (gas, water, sewer, electric, fiber, land rights, plus permits, zoning, wetlands, flood zones and as-builts). Its four-step flow: draw a project boundary, CivilGrid finds and contacts the owners with NDAs, fees and follow-ups handled, records appear as map layers with potential conflicts flagged, and the basemap exports with a chain-of-custody log. sizeless data is captured by the crew on site with a guided iPhone Pro video in its SiteScan app; it says no specialists or extra hardware are needed.
  • What it produces: CivilGrid produces a project basemap of existing records in your format, with record requests, collaborative design and field capture features and SOC 2 security. sizeless produces a 3D point cloud, a 2D CAD as-built plan (DWG, DXF, PDF) and BIM/GIS-ready exports (IFC, RVT), with documentation in about 72 hours per its homepage; its FAQ lists AI-based detection of pipes and utilities, material detection and condition assessment.
  • Who it is for: CivilGrid names utilities, transportation agencies and civil engineering firms, with role pages for SUE teams, surveyors, civil engineers, project managers and capital planners. sizeless names network operators, civil engineering and pipeline contractors and utilities documenting district heating, water, gas and fiber house connections.
  • How they could meet: records CivilGrid assembles are only as complete as what owners hold; sizeless creates the as-built record of new or exposed lines. Neither vendor page we read describes an integration between the two.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 29, 2026): neither publishes prices. CivilGrid's /pricing returns not found; its calls to action are Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Try CivilGrid. The sizeless FAQ says pricing depends on project scope, data volume and required deliverables, with an individual offer. See each tool page for detail.
  • Not used here: CivilGrid's project, data-set, mileage and hours-saved counters, case-study results and customer quotes, and sizeless accuracy figures (vendor material). Neither tool has been tested by Means & Methods Lab.

Paraphrased from the sources listed above. Vendor claims are reported as claims.

What users say

The facts above come from vendor websites. Whether either tool is any good for your work is something only people who use them can say. These are member reviews, all ratings shown, never edited or removed for being negative.

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Questions to ask in your review

  • Whether CivilGrid basemaps can take in as-built exports like sizeless's on later projects
  • How either is priced for a single corridor or a few hundred house connections
  • What did you use it for, on what kind of work and project size?
  • How long did setup and training take, and who on your team did it?
  • What does it cost you in practice, compared with what the sales call said?
  • Where does it fall short, and what would make you switch?

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