The Best Site Analysis Tools for Architects in 2026

The best site analysis tool depends on the job. Autodesk Forma Site Design has the deepest environmental analysis with a Revit handoff; Aino answers plain-language questions over zoning, parcel and market data, strongest in the US; Archistar leads on Australian planning rules; TestFit is built for development feasibility; QGIS and Ladybug Tools are the strongest free options for those willing to learn them; UrbanEyes covers maps, figures, climate and feasibility for any address at a per-site price.

We make UrbanEyes, so we have tried to be fair: every competitor fact below comes from the vendor's own pages, read on 21 October 2026, and we say where each tool is better than ours. Prices change; check before you buy.

Last checked: October 2026.

How did we compare the tools?

We compared each tool on what its vendor publishes: what it analyses, where its data covers, which formats it exports, what it costs and who it is built for. We did not run benchmark tests on competitors' products, so we make no claims about speed or accuracy we did not measure.

Which site analysis tool is best for which job?

Tool	Best for	Price (as published)	Free option
Autodesk Forma Site Design	Environmental analysis on massing, Revit workflows	US$85/month or US$700/year	30-day trial
Aino	AI questions over zoning, parcels and market data, US-strong	Pro $60/month; Teams $360/month	No free plan listed; students $24/month
Archistar	Australian planning rules and due diligence	From A$95/month (A$79.17 billed yearly)	Free plan
TestFit	Development feasibility and yield	Site Solver from US$15,000/year	No
Giraffe	Developer site screening with many map layers	Core US$45/month	Free start
UrbanEyes Site Analysis	Full site analysis for any address, per site	From €7.99 per site	Free site preview
QGIS	Any GIS task, free	Free, open source	Yes
ArcGIS Pro / Online	Enterprise GIS and Living Atlas data	By quote	Personal Use licence, non-commercial
Ladybug Tools	Validated climate and daylight simulation in Grasshopper	Free, open source	Yes
Shadowmap	Instant sun and shadow on real 3D buildings	Paid plans from 30/year	Yes
Google Earth Pro	Historical imagery	Free	Yes, download ends 25 June 2027
Cityweft	High-fidelity 3D context for analysis	From €99/month	Preview only

The tools in detail

Autodesk Forma Site Design

Forma Site Design is what Autodesk's Forma site planning product is now called. It replaced Spacemaker, which Autodesk retired after launching Forma in May 2023.

Analyses: sun hours, daylight potential, wind (a rapid machine-learning estimate or a detailed simulation, including pedestrian comfort), microclimate, noise, solar energy, total carbon (US only), plus shadow and view studies as extensions.
Works with: imports and exports IFC and OBJ; sends geolocated models to Revit and connects to Dynamo and Rhino.
Price: US$85 a month, US$700 a year or US$2,100 for three years; also in the AEC Collection.
Better than UrbanEyes at: analysis on your own massing, noise and the Revit handoff.
Limits: context data "varies from country to country"; carbon is US only; the price suits practices rather than students.

Aino

A browser platform that calls itself an AI site analysis and zoning feasibility tool. You drop an address, ask questions in plain language, and it answers from connected data as maps or structured reports, with sources tracked. It also offers saved workspaces, client "pitch maps" and live dashboards.

Data: open data (OpenStreetMap, Overture, Microsoft building footprints, Kontur population, climate files) on Pro; premium zoning, parcels and market data (Regrid, Rentcast, Google Maps) on Teams. Several of those sources are US-specific. Aino says it covers 400+ cities.
Exports: maps in SVG, PDF, PNG, JPG, JSON, CSV and DXF; reports in PDF.
Works with: Claude and ChatGPT through MCP, and a REST API.
Price: Pro $60 a month (1 seat, 100 AI credits, about one or two deep site analyses); Teams $360 a month (unlimited seats, 500 credits, premium data); students $24 a month; Enterprise by quote. No free plan or trial is listed.
Better than UrbanEyes at: open-ended questions over US parcel, zoning and market data, and team deal tracking.
Limits: credits run out after a few deep analyses on Pro; the premium zoning data is mostly American; no 3D exports such as 3DM, SKP or GLB are listed.

Archistar

An Australian property platform: zoning and planning rules, environmental risk, contours, market data, a generative 3D designer and due-diligence reports.

Price: a free plan; Basic A$95 a month (one state, sites under 2,000 m²), Professional A$345, National A$595, cheaper billed yearly, no contract.
Better than UrbanEyes at: depth of Australian planning rules and due diligence.
Limits: self-serve plans cover Australia; elsewhere is by contact.

TestFit

Generative site planning and feasibility for multifamily, industrial, retail, single-family, data centres and hotels.

Price: Parking Solver US$195 a month; Site Solver from US$15,000 a year; add-ons for site intelligence, pro forma and an MCP connection.
Better than UrbanEyes at: fast yield and parking layouts, and pro formas.
Limits: a feasibility tool more than an environmental one; no free tier.

Giraffe

A browser platform for site selection, feasibility and generative design, with a large library of spatial layers and an SDK.

Price: free start with no card; Core US$45 a month; Teams US$1,500 per user a year.
Better than UrbanEyes at: bringing your own spatial data and Esri layers into one place.
Limits: built around developers; export formats are not documented publicly.

UrbanEyes Site Analysis

Our tool. It takes an address to a site analysis in about fifteen minutes: 10-plus context maps in 2D and 3D, 50-plus figures on density, land use, green, access and amenities, a year of climate, sun path, shadows, wind and thermal comfort, and a feasibility report (zoning, FAR, buildable area, indicative cost) for India, the UK, the EU, the UAE, Singapore, Japan and Thailand. Every figure carries its source.

Price: from €7.99 per site, no subscription; a free preview of any address with no account.
Exports: maps in 14 formats including DWG, 3DM, SKP and GLB through UrbanEyes Maps.
Limits: not a BIM tool; noise and carbon are not included; feasibility rules cover the countries above, elsewhere the maps and environmental analysis still work.

QGIS

Free, open-source desktop GIS for Windows, macOS and Linux. Plugins such as QuickOSM (OpenStreetMap downloads), Qgis2threejs (3D and glTF) and QuickMapServices (basemaps) cover most site analysis needs.

Better than UrbanEyes at: handling any dataset you bring, with full control.
Limits: a steep learning curve; not built for architects, so every map is styled by hand.

ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online

The industry-standard GIS, with Living Atlas data. Commercial prices are by quote. The Personal Use licence (ArcGIS Pro Basic, 200 credits and several extensions) is for personal, non-commercial use only, so it cannot be used for client work.

Ladybug Tools

Free, open-source plugins for Grasshopper and Rhino: Ladybug for climate, Honeybee for energy and daylight, Dragonfly for urban scale and Butterfly for CFD, running validated engines (Radiance, EnergyPlus, OpenFOAM).

Better than UrbanEyes at: detailed, validated simulation on your own design.
Limits: needs Rhino, Grasshopper and scripting skill.

Shadowmap

Real-time sun and shadow on 3D buildings, terrain and trees worldwide, free without sign-up. Paid plans add any date (from 30 a year), better buildings and satellite maps, and solar analytics and model upload on Studio.

Google Earth Pro

Free desktop globe with historical imagery, useful for seeing how a site changed. Google says it will no longer be available for download from 25 June 2027.

Cityweft

Georeferenced 3D context (buildings, terrain, trees) with Rhino and SketchUp plugins and a Forma integration. Strong for analysis-grade context in countries with LiDAR data; from €99 a month. Covered in detail in the best site map tools.

Which should you choose?

A Revit practice testing massing against sun, wind and noise: Forma Site Design.
US sites where zoning and market questions come first: Aino.
Australian development sites: Archistar.
A developer testing yield on many sites: TestFit or Giraffe.
A full site analysis for any address, paid per site: UrbanEyes.
Free, and you have the time to learn: QGIS for maps and data, Ladybug Tools for climate and sun. See the free site analysis tools that export real data.

Whichever you use, the tool only gathers evidence. The site analysis checklist helps you check you have covered everything, and the complete guide shows how to turn it into design moves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best software for site analysis in architecture?

It depends on the job: Forma Site Design for environmental analysis with Revit, Aino for AI questions over US zoning and market data, Archistar for Australian planning rules, TestFit for feasibility, QGIS and Ladybug Tools for free GIS and simulation, and UrbanEyes for a full per-site analysis of any address.

Is there free site analysis software?

Yes. QGIS, Ladybug Tools and BlenderGIS are free and open source, Shadowmap and Google Earth Pro are free to use, and Archistar, Giraffe and UrbanEyes offer free plans or previews.

What replaced Spacemaker?

Autodesk Forma, launched in May 2023. Autodesk retired Spacemaker and moved its subscribers to what is now called Forma Site Design.

Is Google Earth Pro being discontinued?

Google says Google Earth Pro on desktop will no longer be available for download from 25 June 2027.

Can I use ArcGIS Personal Use for client work?

No. The Personal Use licence is for personal, non-commercial use only. Client work needs a commercial ArcGIS licence.