CAD Atlas draws clean site linework, shadows, and massing for CAD from open map data; Mantle Place delivers the georeferenced site under it, with aerial imagery and the finest native elevation.
CAD Atlas and Mantle Place both turn open map data into files for design tools. CAD Atlas is built for architects drawing site plans: draw a rectangle and download building footprints, streets at their real widths, tree blocks, contours, and editable shadows for a chosen time of day, plus 3D buildings with real heights, in one package of files for AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhino, 3ds Max, and more, all in meters. It combines OpenStreetMap, Overture Maps, government cadastral records, and satellite elevation. The first download is free with no signup, and students get free credits every semester. Mantle Place delivers the site itself: aerial imagery (one meter or finer across the US), the finest native elevation for the area as a GeoTIFF DEM with its resolution stated, a vector basemap, building massing where mapped, and more, all georeferenced. Choose CAD Atlas for ready-to-draw plan linework; choose Mantle Place for real imagery and real ground.
Competitor details checked against cad-atlas.com and its OSM page.
Neither CAD Atlas nor CADMapper lists aerial imagery among its outputs. Mantle Place does: every bundle carries aerial imagery clipped to your area, NAIP at one meter or finer across the US and 10 m Sentinel-2 elsewhere, on the same georeferenced extent as the elevation and vectors.
Draw the area on Mantle Place. The bundle holds aerial imagery, the finest native elevation as a GeoTIFF DEM, and a georeferenced Linework.dxf with buildings, roads, water, and contours on named layers, plus a 3D DXF surface. It is free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km².
The bundle carries aerial imagery clipped to your area, ready as a site-plan underlay or draped on the terrain. CAD Atlas lists footprints, streets, trees, topography, and shadows among its layers, but not imagery.
Each bundle reports the elevation resolution it delivered for your exact area, 1 m wherever USGS lidar covers the site. CAD Atlas draws its topography from satellite elevation and does not publish a resolution.
Imagery, elevation, contours, and vectors share one real-world extent and coordinate reference, so the site meets survey, GIS, and civil data in place without being moved by hand.
Free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km², rounded up to the whole dollar and shown before you pay. CAD Atlas gives the first download free and sells credits whose prices it shows inside its app.
| Dimension | Mantle Place | CAD Atlas | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you download | A georeferenced site bundle: imagery, DEM, vectors, and more | 2D plan linework and 3D massing in one package | For a site plan drawn straight from linework, CAD Atlas hands you the drawing base. For a site you will render, grade, or coordinate against survey, the bundle carries the data underneath. |
| Aerial imagery | Included: NAIP in the US, Sentinel-2 elsewhere | Not listed among its layers | Imagery is the underlay that lets a plan show the real site, and it is the layer teams most often go looking for separately. |
| Elevation | Finest native for the area, resolution stated | Contours and a terrain surface from satellite elevation | For a figure-ground or a massing study, satellite elevation is plenty; for grading, drainage, or sightlines, the delivered resolution matters. |
| Plan drawing detail | Georeferenced CAD linework and a plan sheet | Real street widths, tree blocks, and editable shadows | This is where CAD Atlas leads: street edges, tree symbols, and shadows for a chosen time of day arrive ready to draw on. |
| Native design-tool files | CAD linework, DXF, OBJ, and more | DXF, SVG, SketchUp, Rhino 3DM, 3DS, OBJ, and more | CAD Atlas writes SketchUp and Rhino files directly; Mantle Place relies on exchange formats those tools read, plus an Unreal importer and a Civil 3D surface. |
| Pricing | Free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km² | First download free; credits priced in the app | Both let you try before paying. Mantle Place publishes its paid price, so a budget can be set before anyone opens the tool. |
Yes, when the site needs more than plan linework. Mantle Place delivers aerial imagery, the finest native elevation for the area, vectors, and building massing where mapped, georeferenced for CAD, BIM, GIS, and real-time tools.
CAD Atlas lists building footprints, streets, trees, topography, and shadows in its packages, and imagery is not among them. A Mantle Place bundle includes aerial imagery clipped to the same extent as its elevation.
CAD Atlas gives every visitor a first download free with no signup, then sells credits priced inside its app, and gives students free credits each semester. Mantle Place is free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km², rounded up to the whole dollar.
When the deliverable is a site plan or figure-ground drawn from clean linework: real street widths, tree blocks, and editable shadows for a chosen time of day, in native SketchUp and Rhino files. For architecture students its free semester credits are hard to beat.
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.
