TOPOLUMA vs TopoExport: an honest comparison
Both tools take a place on the map and give you files for CAD, BIM and 3D software. They differ in where their data is strongest, how far the free version goes and what else you can do with a site. Here is the comparison, with TopoExport's side taken from its own website.
Checked on . TopoExport is a trademark of its owner; TOPOLUMA is not affiliated with or endorsed by TopoExport.
What TOPOLUMA does
TOPOLUMA is a browser studio for architects and landscape designers. You choose an area anywhere in the world and it builds the site: contours from open elevation models, buildings, roads, water and trees from OpenStreetMap, then sections, sun and wind studies, analysis diagrams and a site plan. Everything exports at a true scale to DXF, PDF, SVG, STL, OBJ and IFC and GeoJSON. See the full feature list.
Side by side
| TOPOLUMA | TopoExport | |
|---|---|---|
| Price today | Free during the beta, every feature included. Planned after the beta: Free, Pro at $9.99/month early access ($19.99 later), Studio at $49.99/month. Nothing is charged without your agreement. | BASIC free; PRO $39/month; PRO+ $99/month (yearly billing advertised as 50% cheaper). Prices as shown in US dollars on its plans page. |
| Largest area per export | 150 km² for everyone during the beta. | 1 km² on BASIC, 10 km² on PRO, 50 km² on PRO+. |
| Export allowance | No daily or monthly export count during the beta, and exporting works without an account (an account saves projects and files). Map-data requests are rate-limited per network to protect the free data services. | BASIC: 2 exports per day. PRO: unlimited BASIC exports plus 5 PRO exports per month. PRO+: unlimited BASIC plus 20 PRO+ exports per month. |
| Terrain data | Copernicus GLO-30 (about 30 m) on all land, and national elevation models down to about 1 m where they are open, through Mapterhorn. | DTM at 10 m on BASIC; 5 m worldwide and 0.5 m in its listed countries on PRO and PRO+. |
| Contour lines | Interval from 0.25 m to 100 m with index lines, labels and smoothing; real accuracy follows the elevation source. | Listed as 5 m on BASIC and 0.1 m on PRO and PRO+ (in its listed countries). |
| Map layers | Buildings with heights, roads by class, paths, railways, water, vegetation and trees from OpenStreetMap, plus trees generated from ESA WorldCover. Parcels are drawn or imported by you. | Buildings, cadastral parcels (in listed countries), roads, railways, waterways, building shadows, trees and green spaces, AI-detected trees on PRO and PRO+, LoD2 roofs in Germany and Switzerland. |
| File formats | DXF 2D, DXF 3D, SVG, PDF, STL, OBJ, IFC 4 and GeoJSON; sections as DXF, PDF, SVG and CSV; analysis and plan sheets as PDF, SVG, PNG and JPEG. | DXF, PDF, SVG, OBJ and STL on every plan; IFC and Revit (RVT) on PRO+. |
| Coordinates | Local metres from the south-west corner or the centre, or UTM; IFC carries a map conversion to UTM; GeoJSON in WGS 84. | Georeferenced model on PRO and PRO+. |
| Sections | Up to 12 per project inside the chosen area, with buildings cut on the line and elevations behind. | 2 per day up to 1 km on BASIC; unlimited up to 5 km on PRO and PRO+. |
| Site analysis | Sun path, shadows and insolation sheets, wind roses, slope, aspect, figure-ground, heights, uses, walking distance, modelled noise, parcel rules and a site plan editor. | A building shadows layer; other analysis tools are not listed on its plans page. |
| Your own files | Import DXF, GeoJSON, KML, KMZ and shapefiles with their coordinate system; they are kept with the project. | Not listed on its plans page. |
| API | No public API. | Yes: 10,000 API credits on PRO+, and separate usage-based API pricing. |
TopoExport figures as published on its plans page; its prices may be shown in another currency in your region. TOPOLUMA's plans after the beta are planned and not on sale yet.
Choose TopoExport when you need
- Finer terrain in its listed countries: 0.5 m DTM and contours listed at 0.1 m on the paid plans.
- Cadastral parcels in its listed countries, and LoD2 buildings with roof shapes in Germany and Switzerland.
- Native Revit (RVT) files on PRO+, and an API for automated exports.
- An established product: TopoExport states that more than 100,000 people use it every month.
Choose TOPOLUMA when you need
- Large sites at no cost during the beta: up to 150 km² per export, with IFC, OBJ, STL and 3D DXF included.
- Site analysis in the same tool: sun and shadow studies, insolation, wind roses, slope and aspect and the diagrams of an analysis board.
- A site plan editor with CAD-style precision and presentation sheets from A4 to A0.
- Your own survey or CAD files imported into the project with their coordinate system.
TOPOLUMA's limits, honestly
- Elevation is about 30 m in most of the world. National models make it much finer in many countries, but where none is open, small features such as terraces and retaining walls do not show. It is not a survey: see data sources and accuracy.
- Map layers come from OpenStreetMap, so their completeness varies by place, and building heights are mapped for a minority of buildings.
- There are no cadastral parcels, roof shapes or Revit files, and no public API.
- TOPOLUMA is in beta. After it, the free plan is planned to cover up to 3 saved projects with DXF and PDF exports; IFC, OBJ and STL are planned for Pro.
Try the same site in both
The fairest test is your own project: export the same area from each and open the files in the software you use. In TOPOLUMA, search the place or paste coordinates, set the area, generate the preview and download from the Export tab; no account is needed. The contour export guide walks through it step by step, and this guide covers bringing the terrain into Revit and ArchiCAD.