What a photogrammetric package delivers in 2026
- Orthomosaic (ortofotomapa) - a seamless RGB map of the terrain at 1.5-3 cm per pixel. GeoTIFF format in your chosen CRS (in Poland, PL-2000 for cadastre, PL-1992 for the nationwide layer). Ready for import into QGIS, ArcGIS or AutoCAD Map.
- DTM (Digital Terrain Model) - a model of bare earth, with buildings, trees and vehicles removed. Grid at 5-25 cm, GeoTIFF or ASCII Grid format. The base for road design and runoff calculations.
- DSM (Digital Surface Model) - a model of everything visible from above: relief plus buildings, trees, installations. Used for sunlight analysis, line-of-sight and collision checks.
- Point cloud - a set of XYZ + RGB points, typically 200-800 points per sq m. LAS/LAZ 1.4 format, opens in CloudCompare, ReCap, Bentley Pointools.
- 3D mesh - a textured mesh in OBJ, FBX or glTF format. For investor visualisations, presentations, integration into Twinmotion or Unreal.
- Contour lines - isolines every 0.25 / 0.5 / 1 m, DWG/DXF format. Ready for the site-development design and surveyor report.
Prices per hectare by area size
| Area size | Price PLN/ha net | Delivery time | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 ha (small developer plot) | 1,200-2,500 | 3-5 days | RTK 2-5 cm, without GCP 10-20 cm |
| 5-20 ha (housing estate, small road investment) | 700-1,400 | 5-8 days | RTK + 6-10 GCPs 1.5-3 cm |
| 20-50 ha (aggregate quarry, farm) | 500-900 | 8-12 days | RTK + 12-20 GCPs 1-2 cm |
| 50-200 ha (motorway, large farm) | 350-700 | 10-18 days | PPK + 25+ GCPs 1-1.5 cm |
| Above 200 ha | negotiation, typically 280-500 | 3-6 weeks | PPK + LiDAR where needed |
| Supplementary LiDAR (forested terrain) | +800-1,600 / ha | +3-5 days | Tree penetration, DTM under canopy |
The minimum order is 1,800 PLN even for 0.5 ha, because team mobilisation (travel, mission planning, PAŻP coordination in controlled zones) eats most of the cost on small jobs. From 8 ha onwards, the drone approach becomes cheaper than traditional surveying at equivalent accuracy. From 30 ha onwards - 2-3 times cheaper and 4-5 times faster.
RTK vs PPK vs GCP: choosing for accuracy
- RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) - correction from a base station in real time. The Polish ASG-EUPOS network covers 100 percent of the country; commercial correction fees run 1,200-2,400 PLN per year. Accuracy 2-5 cm vertical, 1-3 cm horizontal. The standard for developer investments.
- PPK (Post-Processed Kinematic) - raw data recorded in flight, correction applied in the office. 30-40 percent cheaper and more robust under weak 4G coverage (forest, open-pit, areas without signal). Same 1-3 cm accuracy. The standard for linear infrastructure and large areas.
- GCP (Ground Control Points) - physical markers on the ground that a surveyor measures with precision GPS before the flight. 1 GCP per 2-5 ha. Delivers absolute accuracy of 1-2 cm and will pass any GUGiK survey audit.
- Without GCP and without RTK - drone GPS only. Accuracy 3-10 m horizontal, worse vertical. Acceptable only for visual inspections and general planning, NOT for measurements or volume calculations.
Drone vs licensed surveyor with total station: what and when
| Parameter | Drone with RTK + GCPs | Surveyor with total station |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ha of wooded land (5 m point grid) | 1 day + 2 days office | 12-18 working days |
| Net price for 10 ha | 8,000-12,000 PLN | 22,000-38,000 PLN |
| Measurement density | 200-800 points / sq m | 1 point every 2-5 m |
| Cut or stockpile volume calculation | ±1-2 percent | ±2-4 percent |
| Measurement under dense forest | Requires LiDAR (add-on cost) | Standard, but slow |
| Licensed surveyor stamp | Requires a separate licensed surveyor as co-contractor | Yes, by default |
| Orthomosaic + DTM + 3D model in the package | Yes, by default | No, points only |
A drone does not replace a licensed surveyor at 100 percent - documentation with the official seal of a surveyor licensed by GUGiK (category 1, 2 authorisations) requires the signature of a person with that licence. The standard 2026 setup: the drone flies, processes the data and delivers the orthomosaic, DTM and point cloud; the licensed surveyor verifies, sets the GCPs and signs the measurement report. This is cheaper and faster than pure traditional surveying, and legally clean.
When you need LiDAR and when photogrammetry is enough
- Smooth terrain without dense vegetation - photogrammetry is cheaper and more accurate in RGB. LiDAR is unnecessary; a 800-1,600 PLN/ha overpayment.
- Dense forest (spruce, mature pine) - photogrammetry sees the canopy, not the ground. DTM is obtained only with LiDAR. Mandatory for forested areas earmarked for development.
- Active excavations and open-pit mines - RGB photogrammetry handles stockpiles, pit walls and water mirrors very well. LiDAR is unnecessary.
- Power lines, bridges, steel structures - LiDAR captures thin elements (cables, lattices) that photogrammetry loses in noise. The standard for infrastructure inspections.
- Urban investments with dense buildings - often both photogrammetry and LiDAR together: photos for facades and textures, LiDAR for geometric precision.
Polish CRS and output formats
- PL-2000 (EPSG:2176/2177/2178/2179) - the state local datum across 4 zones. Warsaw uses PL-2000/7 (EPSG:2178). The standard for surveyor documentation and design offices.
- PL-1992 (EPSG:2180) - the state single-zone datum, for nationwide maps and land registry (EGiB).
- EPSG:4326 (WGS84) - the global datum, for Google Earth and web maps. Do NOT use for construction design.
- Heights - typically PL-EVRF2007-NH (Kronstadt 86, PL-geoid-2011). The difference between the WGS84 ellipsoid and the levelling datum in Warsaw is about 33 m.
- Output formats: GeoTIFF (ortho/DTM/DSM), LAS/LAZ 1.4 (point cloud), DWG/DXF (contours, building footprints), OBJ/FBX/glTF (3D mesh), PDF (signed report).
For a 4 km road project covering 28 ha, the classic method would have taken us 14 working days with two surveyors. With an RTK drone and 18 GCPs we closed the field part in 2 days, and the desktop processing in 4 days - at the same 2 cm accuracy. The client received the orthomosaic, the DTM and the contour lines in PL-2000/7 for the design office 12 days earlier, which gave them 1.5 weeks of additional buffer on the construction design. That is a practical benefit hard to overvalue.
Frequently asked questions
- What accuracy do I realistically get with RTK and no GCPs?
- Typically 2-5 cm horizontal and 3-7 cm vertical on level terrain. That is enough for a concept design, stockpile volume measurement at ±2 percent and site-planning work. For surveyor-grade documentation you will need 4-8 GCPs to reach 1-2 cm and obtain the licensed surveyor's seal. Without GCPs the output will not pass a GUGiK audit.
- Do I need a separate licensed surveyor's signature on the report?
- It depends on what the report is for. For a private investor, a design office in the concept phase or 3D visualisations - it is not required and our technical report is enough. For land registry filings, plot subdivision or design-purpose maps - a licensed surveyor is mandatory, and we bring one in as a co-contractor for an additional 1,800-4,200 PLN depending on project size.
- How large an area can you cover in a single flight?
- On a drone with a large battery (DJI Matrice 4 RTK or Wingtra GEN II fixed-wing) - 80-200 ha per flight of 35-50 minutes, depending on the required GSD (ground sample distance) and altitude. For 1.5 cm GSD that is about 60-80 ha per flight. For 3 cm GSD it is 150-200 ha per flight. Larger areas mean several flights per day, typically 400-600 ha daily per operator.
- Do you work in winter and with snow?
- Yes, but with caveats. Snow cover effectively masks the terrain - the DTM from photogrammetry then shows the snow level, not the ground. For stockpile volume work with snow on the ground that is critical: we either wait for a thaw or use LiDAR (LiDAR penetrates 5-15 cm of snowpack). A winter RGB orthomosaic is acceptable for inventory documentation and works-progress reporting. Temperatures below -10°C shorten battery flight time by 30-45 percent.
- And what about GDPR over private plots?
- A flight altitude from 80 m makes faces, vehicle plates and documents unreadable at 2-3 cm GSD - this effectively lifts the anonymisation requirement under GDPR Art. 11 (when data does not identify a person). For lower flights (below 40 m) we anonymise faces and licence plates in post - an automated procedure, +200-400 PLN per project. For private properties adjacent to the project area our policy is: we do not publish materials without the owner's consent, we encrypt data with AES-256 and delete after 24 months.
