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CivilGrid vs SubVysion

Two ways to learn what is underground before design or digging. CivilGrid gathers existing utility and site records from asset owners onto one basemap; SubVysion scans sites with ground-penetrating radar and delivers 3D maps viewed in augmented reality. Neither publishes prices. Vendor pages read Oct 23, 2026; desk research, not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 23, 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 SubVysion (3D underground utility maps from GPR with a mobile AR viewer; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 23, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

CivilGrid vs SubVysion: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowCivilGridSubVysion
CategoryUtility & site records data platform3D underground utility maps from GPR with a mobile AR viewer
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.Maps underground utilities in 3D so contractors can see what is below before they dig. The site (read Oct 18, 2026) describes multi-sensor ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and 3D surface mapping, alignment of GPR data with 3D surface data, quality control and validation, and delivery as georeferenced maps that crews view on site through a mobile augmented-reality app; it calls itself a software company building AI-powered augmented-reality maps of underground infrastructure. Its YC profile describes autonomous rovers and centimeter-accurate 3D maps of underground utilities (vendor claim, not verified). Y Combinator batch: Summer 2026 (YC company profile). Re-read Oct 19, 2026: unchanged in substance (multi-sensor GPR, GPR aligned to 3D surface data, mobile AR viewer, same customer list). Re-read Oct 21, 2026 (homepage rendered in a headless browser): unchanged in substance (multi-sensor GPR and 3D surface mapping, quality control and validation, georeferenced maps in a mobile AR app or a 3D site walk, the same customer types); the YC profile still describes autonomous rovers and says its first market is utility contractors, with job sites in Philadelphia and Texas (company statement). Re-read Oct 23, 2026 for a compare: homepage unchanged in substance (multi-sensor GPR and 3D surface mapping; GPR aligned with 3D surface data, quality control and validation; georeferenced maps viewed in a mobile AR app or as a 3D site walk; the same customer types); the YC profile still describes autonomous rovers carrying GPR and other sensors and says the first market is utility contractors on job sites in Philadelphia and Texas (company statements). Its cost-of-strikes figures are not used.
Who it's forUtilities, DOTs and municipalities, civil engineering firms, and survey and SUE teams.Utility contractors, general and site contractors, utility locators, civil engineers, design firms, utility companies and insurers (the site's list).
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.No public prices found (checked Oct 18, 2026): subvysion.com/pricing returns a not-found page and the call to action is "Book a demo". Confirm with SubVysion. Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: /pricing still returns a not-found page; Book a demo. Re-checked Oct 21, 2026: /pricing still returns a not-found page; Book a demo and a contact form. Re-checked Oct 23, 2026: unchanged (/pricing returns a not-found page; Book a demo and a contact form).
User reviewsNo reviews yet. Read or writeNo reviews yet. Read or write
Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 23, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Where the data comes from: CivilGrid says it sources records from more than 100,000 asset owners (gas, water, sewer, electric, fiber, land rights, permits, zoning, wetlands, flood zones and as-builts) and handles the NDAs, fees and follow-ups of record requests. SubVysion says it collects new data on site with multi-sensor GPR and 3D surface mapping, and its YC profile describes autonomous rovers carrying the sensors.
  • What you get: CivilGrid shows utility and site data as map layers with potential conflicts flagged and exports a basemap in your format with a chain-of-custody log tracing each record to its source. SubVysion aligns GPR with 3D surface data, runs quality control and validation, and delivers georeferenced maps that crews view through a mobile AR app or as a 3D site walk.
  • Project stage: CivilGrid frames itself around planning, scoping and design, with collaborative design and field capture also listed. SubVysion frames itself around the dig, aimed at crews before excavation.
  • Who each names: CivilGrid names utilities, DOTs and municipalities, civil engineering firms, and survey and SUE teams. SubVysion names utility contractors, general and site contractors, utility locators, civil engineers, design firms, utility companies and insurers, and its YC profile says its first market is utility contractors on job sites in Philadelphia and Texas.
  • Security and maturity (vendor statements): CivilGrid lists SOC 2 security and a $26M Series A (Aug 2026). SubVysion is a Summer 2026 Y Combinator company.
  • Accuracy terms: neither homepage read today states ASCE 38 utility quality levels; ask each vendor how its output maps to them.
  • AI tags: CivilGrid is tagged AI features added to an established product; SubVysion is tagged AI-first.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 23, 2026): neither publishes prices. CivilGrid's /pricing returns not found and its calls to action are Talk to our team, Take the product tour and Book a live walkthrough; SubVysion's /pricing returns not found and it offers Book a demo and a contact form.
  • Not used here: CivilGrid's project, mileage and hours-saved counters, PG&E case-study figure and customer quotes, and SubVysion's cost-of-strikes and spending 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.

Used either of these? Share your take

Good or bad, an honest review from an estimator, PM or super helps the next team more than another vendor demo. You post under a handle; your email is never shown.

Questions to ask in your review

  • What each costs per project, per mile or per site
  • How CivilGrid records and SubVysion GPR maps compare on the same alignment
  • What utility quality level each output supports and how depth is reported
  • 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?

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