ArchiKEK draws styled site plans and flat-ground city models from OpenStreetMap; Mantle Place delivers the real ground, imagery, and elevation of a site.
ArchiKEK and Mantle Place both turn open map data into files architects use. ArchiKEK is a web generator for site plans, figure-ground maps, and 3D city models from OpenStreetMap: 34 themes, site-analysis tools, and presentation boards, exported as PNG for free, SVG and DXF for $47.94 a year, or 3DM, DAE, GLB, STL, and PDF on its $113.94-a-year Pro plan, the one that allows commercial use. Its 3D models sit on a flat ground plane, with terrain shown as 2D contours. Mantle Place delivers the site in three dimensions: aerial imagery, the finest native elevation as a GeoTIFF DEM, and a vector basemap, with building massing where mapped, terrain meshes, and more, free at 2 km² and under. Choose ArchiKEK for styled diagrams on a budget; choose Mantle Place when the ground is not flat.
Competitor details checked against archikek.com and its pricing.
ArchiKEK draws 2D contours and sets 3D models on a flat ground plane. CADMapper exports topography as a mesh or contours, and Mantle Place builds terrain meshes from the finest native elevation for the area, 1 m wherever USGS lidar covers the site, textured with aerial imagery; DXF contours, a LandXML surface, and the GeoTIFF DEM ship from the same bundle.
Mantle Place is free for any area of 2 km² or less, for commercial work too, with the same data as a paid order. ArchiKEK’s free plan exports PNG for personal and educational use; commercial use needs its Pro plan.
Mantle Place models carry the real ground as a mesh and a DEM. ArchiKEK places its 3D city models on a flat plane and shows terrain as 2D contours.
Every bundle carries aerial imagery for the area, NAIP at 1 m or finer across the US and 10 m Sentinel-2 elsewhere, as an underlay or draped on the terrain.
Every layer shares one real-world extent and coordinate reference, so the site meets survey, civil, and GIS data without being moved by hand.
| Dimension | Mantle Place | ArchiKEK | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you download | A georeferenced site bundle: imagery, DEM, vectors, and more | Styled site plans, figure-ground maps, and city models | For a figure-ground diagram or a styled site plan, ArchiKEK is fast and cheap; for a model you will grade, render, or coordinate, the bundle carries the real site. |
| Terrain | Finest native elevation as a DEM and meshes | 2D contours; 3D models on a flat ground plane | On a flat urban block the difference is small; on a sloping site it decides whether the model can be trusted. |
| Data sources | NAIP and Sentinel-2 imagery, USGS 3DEP and Mapterhorn elevation, Protomaps and Overture vectors | OpenStreetMap | Both build on open data; Mantle Place adds imagery and elevation and states what it delivered for your area. |
| Presentation styling | Plain plan sheets, PDF and SVG | 34 themes, site analysis, and presentation boards | This is where ArchiKEK leads: themes, analysis diagrams, and boards ready for a review; Mantle Place draws plain plan sheets in one house style. |
| Pricing | Free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km², once | Free PNG, $47.94 or $113.94 a year | ArchiKEK’s annual plans are inexpensive for frequent diagrams; Mantle Place charges per site and nothing for small ones. |
Yes, when the site needs real terrain and imagery rather than a styled diagram. Mantle Place delivers aerial imagery, the finest native elevation, vectors, and building massing where mapped, all georeferenced to one extent.
ArchiKEK is free for PNG exports for personal and educational use, $47.94 a year for SVG and DXF, and $113.94 a year for Pro with 3D formats and commercial use. Mantle Place is free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km², per site.
Yes. A styled figure-ground plan from ArchiKEK and an imaged terrain model from Mantle Place answer different questions on the same presentation board.
When the deliverable is a styled site plan, figure-ground map, or presentation board, the site is flat, or you produce diagrams often enough that an annual plan is cheaper than paying per site.
Draw an area and see it in a free Site Brief before you pay. Download a bundle for Unreal, Revit, Civil 3D, QGIS, and more. Every format is built with your order, at no extra cost. $5 plus $2 per km², and 2 km² and under is free. Paid bundles are yours for good. Free bundles keep 30 days, or keep one permanently at its normal price.
Native plugins: Mantle Place for Unreal and Mantle Place for Revit.
