Add Location brings imagery, terrain, and buildings into the SketchUp model you have open; Mantle Place delivers the site as georeferenced files that open in SketchUp and everything else.
SketchUp Add Location and Mantle Place both put a real site under your design. Add Location is built into SketchUp: geolocate the model, frame an area, and import satellite imagery or a street map from Bing or DigitalGlobe, a flat or elevated terrain mesh with adjustable density, and the existing 3D buildings, straight into the open model. Geolocation is open to every SketchUp for Web account; site context needs at least a SketchUp Go subscription, from $10.75 a month billed annually. Mantle Place delivers the site as files you keep: aerial imagery (one meter or finer across the US), the finest native elevation as a GeoTIFF DEM with its resolution stated, a vector basemap, building massing where mapped, and more, georeferenced for SketchUp, Revit, Civil 3D, and more. Choose Add Location when the project lives in SketchUp; choose Mantle Place when the site has to travel.
Competitor details checked against SketchUp Add Location help and SketchUp plans and pricing.
Mantle Place ships the finest native elevation for the area as a GeoTIFF DEM, 1 m wherever USGS lidar covers the site, with the delivered resolution stated. DXF contours and a 3D DXF surface come with it at no extra cost, and SketchUp imports DXF, 3D faces included.
Draw the area on Mantle Place and you get aerial imagery and a GeoTIFF DEM on one georeferenced extent, with terrain meshes, a Civil 3D surface, an IFC site model, and files the free importer turns into an Unreal Landscape. It is free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km².
Add Location places its context inside the open SketchUp model. A Mantle Place bundle is files on your disk, so the same site opens in SketchUp, Revit, Civil 3D, and more without being rebuilt.
Every bundle reports the elevation resolution it delivered for your exact area. Add Location lets you set the mesh density, but does not publish the source or resolution of the terrain beneath it.
An order is paid once by area and kept in a permanent vault, with no subscription. Site context in Add Location comes with a SketchUp Go plan or higher, renewed every year.
| Dimension | Mantle Place | SketchUp Add Location | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Order on the web, open the files in any tool | Inside SketchUp, into the open model | Add Location is the shortest path while you are already modelling; a bundle is the better fit when several tools or consultants share the site. |
| Aerial imagery | NAIP in the US, Sentinel-2 elsewhere, as a GeoTIFF | Bing or DigitalGlobe imagery, or a street map | Both include imagery. Add Location applies it as a texture in the model; Mantle Place delivers it as a georeferenced file other tools can read. |
| Elevation | Finest native for the area, resolution stated | Terrain mesh with adjustable density, source unpublished | For massing and sun studies the Add Location mesh is usually enough; for grading or drainage, knowing the delivered resolution matters. |
| Buildings | Building massing where mapped | 3D buildings from the selected area | Both bring in existing buildings as context; Add Location can also add a foundation and seat each building on the terrain. |
| Other tools | DXF, IFC, LandXML, glTF, OBJ, an Unreal importer, and more | Inside SketchUp | If the site continues into Revit, Civil 3D, GIS, or a real-time engine, the bundle carries it there; Add Location context stays in the SketchUp model. |
| Pricing | Free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km² | SketchUp Go from $10.75 a month, billed annually | If you already subscribe, Add Location costs nothing more; for a few small sites without a plan, paying per site costs less. |
Yes, when the site has to work beyond one SketchUp model. Mantle Place delivers aerial imagery, the finest native elevation, vectors, and building massing as georeferenced files for SketchUp, Revit, Civil 3D, and more.
Yes. SketchUp imports DXF files, 3D faces included, so the bundle’s DXF contours and 3D DXF surface come straight in, at no extra cost.
Site context in Add Location needs at least SketchUp Go, from $10.75 a month billed annually. Mantle Place is free at 2 km² and under, then $5 plus $2 per km², paid once and kept in a permanent vault.
When the whole project lives in SketchUp and you already subscribe: a few clicks bring imagery, a terrain mesh, and 3D buildings into the open model, with no files to manage.
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.
