Tool profile
UP42: cost, fit and limits
UP42 is an Earth observation data marketplace and processing platform made by UP42 GmbH in Berlin that sells archive and newly tasked satellite and aerial imagery through a credit system. It is aimed at GIS teams and developers who need imagery by area, resolution and provider via API or streaming.
What to know first
UP42 charges in credits, 100 to the euro, and the price of an order depends on the area in square kilometers, the resolution, the provider, the collection and, for tasking, the acquisition mode and priority. Professional is pay-as-you-go with prepaid credits, and Enterprise is invoiced monthly under annual agreements. The pages read describe processing but name no AI features, so UP42 is a data source feeding other tools.
UP42 at a glance
| Maker | UP42 GmbH, Germany |
|---|---|
| Free plan | No |
| Entry price | 10,000 credits (EUR 100) minimum |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI GIS Software in 2026, rank 8 of 11 |
| Website | up42.com |
Who UP42 is best for
Teams buying imagery occasionally
Professional is prepaid pay-as-you-go from 10,000 credits (EUR 100), so a team that needs one scene for a project does not sign an annual contract.
Developers automating imagery orders
Professional includes API and SDK access, so scripts can order and download imagery instead of using a web form for each request.
GIS analysts who stream data into desktop tools
Enterprise adds WMTS streaming directly to GIS platforms, which avoids downloading large rasters before looking at them. Large rasters stay remote until needed.
Multi-team organizations
Enterprise adds governance, budget controls and dedicated support, which helps when several regions or departments draw on one credit pool.
UP42 plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | Prepaid credits, minimum 10,000 credits (EUR 100) | Pay-as-you-go for a single team or project, with API access and workflow automation. Credits cost 100 per euro. |
| Enterprise | Monthly invoicing under an annual agreement | Consumption-based billing for multi-team or multi-region organizations, with governance, budget controls, dedicated support and WMTS streaming into GIS platforms. |
| Volume bonus | 5 percent bonus credits at 1,000,000 credits | A bonus for buying 1,000,000 credits or more at once. Larger commitments may receive further discounts. |
Checked November 2026.
What UP42 does
- Archive catalog and tasking
- Buyers can order existing imagery from a provider ecosystem or task satellite and aerial systems to capture new data. Tasking price depends on acquisition mode, priority and cloud-cover requirements.
- Credit pricing rules
- Credits expire 24 months after purchase and the earliest-allocated credits are used first. Price drivers are area of interest per km2, spatial resolution, provider, collection and tasking options.
- Processing service
- The Processing service is described as a way to enhance and analyze geospatial data. The page does not detail algorithms or any AI models, so ask what each processing block does.
- API, SDK and docs hub
- Professional gives API and SDK access, and a documentation hub is available. Enterprise customers can stream imagery to GIS tools over WMTS. Check the documentation for current endpoints.
How UP42 handles your data
UP42's privacy policy names UP42 GmbH, Ohlauer Strasse 43, 10999 Berlin, Germany, as controller under the GDPR. Contract data is kept up to three years after the relationship ends, and accounting data six to ten years under German law. Google Analytics 4 visit logs are deleted after two months. The policy says hosting and cloud providers may receive data without naming them, and some HubSpot and Google Analytics data goes to US servers. It does not mention AI training, so the vendor's policy was not checked for that.
Where UP42 falls short in practice
- Prepaid credits expire. Credits expire 24 months after purchase. A team that buys 1,000,000 credits for the 5 percent bonus must spend them within two years or lose the balance.
- Cost is hard to estimate upfront. Price varies with area, resolution, provider, collection, cloud cover and tasking priority. A buyer cannot read a single number from the pricing page and must price each order in the platform.
- Data supplier, not a GIS. UP42 sells imagery access and processing. Mapping, dashboards and spatial analysis still happen in a separate tool, and the pages read name no AI features.
Works with
Alternatives to UP42
UP42: common questions
How much is a UP42 credit worth?
UP42 states that 100 credits equal one euro, and the minimum purchase is 10,000 credits, or EUR 100. Buyers of 1,000,000 or more credits at once get 5 percent bonus credits. The credits used per order depend on area, resolution, provider and tasking choices.
Do UP42 credits expire?
Yes. Credits expire 24 months after purchase, and the earliest-allocated credits are used first. That rule matters for large prepayments made to earn the 5 percent bonus, since a team must plan imagery orders across the two years. Plan imagery orders accordingly.
What is the difference between archive and tasking on UP42?
Archive imagery already exists in a provider's catalog, while tasking asks a satellite or aerial system to capture new data. Tasking price depends on acquisition mode, priority and cloud-cover requirements. Both are priced per square kilometer and by resolution, provider and collection.
Can UP42 stream imagery into my GIS?
The pricing page lists WMTS streaming directly to GIS platforms on the Enterprise plan. Professional includes API and SDK access and workflow automation. Which GIS clients have been tested was not stated on the pages read. Ask the vendor for a supported-client list.
Is UP42 a European company?
The privacy policy names UP42 GmbH at Ohlauer Strasse 43, 10999 Berlin, Germany, as GDPR controller. It also says some marketing and analytics data goes to HubSpot and Google servers in the US, and it does not name its cloud hosting provider.