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Clad vs CivilGrid

Two different steps in finding out what is underground before a dig. CivilGrid gathers utility and site records from asset owners and maps them on one basemap during planning and design. Clad is project management and billing software for fiber and power infrastructure contractors, and its Clad Locates product uses AI to write and track 811 locate tickets before excavation. Desk research from vendor pages and Clad's YC profile read Oct 19, 2026; not tested, no winner.

DESK RESEARCH, NOT TESTED. Compiled from vendors' public websites (accessed Oct 19, 2026). Vendor claims are not verified by Means & Methods Lab. No scores or rankings.

In short: Clad (Infrastructure project management and 811 locates; vendor publishes prices) vs CivilGrid (Utility & site records data platform; no public prices (quote / sales)). Facts last checked Oct 19, 2026. No winner declared; not tested.

Side by side

Clad vs CivilGrid: vendor-published facts side by side
Sheet rowCladCivilGrid
CategoryInfrastructure project management and 811 locatesUtility & site records data platform
AI role (our label)AI features added to established productAI features added to established product
What it doesProject management and billing software for contractors building internet and power infrastructure. The homepage (read Oct 18, 2026) lists production tracking with blueprint markups linked to quantities, reporting and forecasting, milestone schedules across a portfolio, invoices built from production data with retainage tracking and ERP sync, vendor invoice review and approval, and vendor and materials management. Clad Locates is an AI-powered 811 ticket management system for excavators: draw on a map and AI writes a correctly formatted locate narrative, with automated response tracking, bulk submit, scheduled tickets and one dashboard across states. Its YC profile says Clad unifies project operations and finance to automate project tracking, payments and permitting. Vendor claim, not verified: Locates makes calling in a locate request 10x faster. Y Combinator batch: Winter 2023 (YC company profile). Re-checked Oct 19, 2026: homepage, Locates overview and pricing unchanged in substance; the Locates page says it connects with any 811 system for one dashboard across states (supported states are highlighted on a map), and the YC launch post said Locates first went live in Alabama.Civil 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).
Who it's forInfrastructure contractors (fiber and power), excavators who call in 811 tickets, and the operators and utilities they build for.Utilities, DOTs and municipalities, civil engineering firms, and survey and SUE teams.
Pricing (as publicly stated)Clad Locates publishes prices (withclad.com/locates/pricing, read Oct 18, 2026): Free $0 a month (20 tickets, one state, AI ticket creation, status tracking, map view); Standard $250 a month (50 tickets, extra tickets $5 each, unlimited states, renewals, expiring-ticket notifications, bulk address upload); Pro $450 a month (50 tickets, extra tickets $9 each, KMZ-to-ticket tool, API access, SSO as an add-on, custom integrations and reports). Unchanged Oct 19, 2026; Standard also lists photo and file attachments, all ticket types and submitting no-response notices. The core project management and billing product has no public prices; the homepage offers a demo to explore custom plans and pricing.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.
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Vendor links
Sources

Facts last checked: Oct 19, 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before relying on them.

Where the vendor descriptions differ

  • Where in the project: CivilGrid works at planning and design. You draw a project boundary or alignment; CivilGrid finds and contacts the asset owners (handling NDAs, fees and follow-ups), shows utility and site data as map layers with potential conflicts flagged, and exports a basemap with a chain-of-custody log tracing every record to its source. Clad Locates works at construction: before excavating, a contractor must call in a utility locate request (an 811 ticket). Clad says you draw on a map and AI writes a correctly formatted locate narrative, then utility responses are tracked automatically, with bulk submit, scheduled tickets and one dashboard across states.
  • Data: CivilGrid says its records come from 100,000+ asset owners and cover gas, water, sewer, electric, fiber and land rights, plus permits, zoning, wetlands, flood zones and as-builts. Clad Locates does not supply utility records itself; it manages the ticket and the responses through the state 811 systems it connects with.
  • Beyond utilities: Clad's core product covers production tracking with blueprint markups linked to quantities, milestone schedules across a portfolio, invoices built from production data with retainage tracking and ERP sync, vendor invoice approval, vendor compliance and materials tracking. CivilGrid lists portfolio planning, project scoping, collaborative design, field capture and SOC 2 security.
  • Who it's for: CivilGrid names utilities, DOTs and municipalities, civil engineering firms and survey and SUE teams. Clad names contractors building internet and power infrastructure and excavators who call in 811 tickets; it is a Y Combinator Winter 2023 company. Vendor claims, not verified: CivilGrid's 4,200+ projects and 2.8M+ miles of utilities mapped, and Clad's 10x faster locate requests.
  • Pricing (checked Oct 19, 2026): Clad Locates publishes plans: Free $0 a month (20 tickets, one state), Standard $250 a month (50 tickets, $5 per extra ticket, unlimited states) and Pro $450 a month (50 tickets, $9 per extra ticket, KMZ-to-ticket tool, API access); Clad's project management and billing product is priced after a demo. CivilGrid publishes no prices, and civilgrid.com/pricing returns not-found. 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

  • Whether CivilGrid's records or basemap can feed the locate requests and field markings your crews rely on
  • Which states Clad Locates supports for your work today
  • What CivilGrid costs per project or per year, and what Clad's core product costs
  • 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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