Photogrammetry software for Mac that needs no Windows PC and no NVIDIA GPU
Keep your MacBook. Drag the flight photos into Safari or Chrome, and the orthomosaic, elevation models, point cloud and 3D model are processed in the cloud. You measure and share on the Mac, and nobody buys a Windows workstation for the mapping line.
net volume
net volume
Why photogrammetry on a Mac has been hard
Desktop photogrammetry is some of the heaviest work a computer does. Dense matching and meshing run for hours, and much of the professional desktop software in this category is built for Windows with an NVIDIA graphics card, because it leans on CUDA for speed.
Macs with Apple silicon have no NVIDIA GPU and no Boot Camp. That leaves Mac-based teams with poor choices.
- Buy and maintain a separate Windows workstation just for processing
- Run Windows in a virtual machine, where GPU acceleration for this kind of work is limited
- Use Mac-native tools that suit small objects better than large aerial datasets
- Send the photos to someone else and wait
Cloud processing, Mac in front
Dronemapping moves the heavy part off your machine. The Mac only uploads, views and measures, which any current MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac mini handles easily.
- Works in Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge on macOS, with nothing to install
- Drag photos from Finder or straight from the SD card reader
- Uploads resume if the Wi-Fi drops, and the laptop can sleep once the upload is done
- Processing runs in parallel on cloud capacity, two jobs at once on Team and four on Business
Your fan stays quiet, your battery lasts, and the Mac is free for the report while the model builds.
What you get, and what opens it on macOS
| Output | Format | Opens on a Mac in |
|---|---|---|
| Orthomosaic | GeoTIFF, JPG, PNG | QGIS for macOS, Preview for JPG and PNG |
| Surface and terrain models | GeoTIFF | QGIS for macOS |
| Measurements | CSV, KML | Numbers, Excel, Google Earth |
| Point cloud | LAS, LAZ | CloudCompare and other point cloud viewers for macOS |
| 3D textured model | OBJ | Blender and most 3D tools for macOS |
| Contours | DXF, SHP | CAD for Mac, QGIS |
Point cloud, 3D model and contours are on Team and above. Everything also opens right in the Dronemapping viewer, so you often need no desktop tool at all. The processing chain behind these outputs is described on photogrammetry software.
Mac workflow tips for drone photos
- Copy photos straight from the SD card into a folder, then drag the folder into the browser.
- If photos went through the Photos app, export them as unmodified originals so the GPS tags and camera metadata stay intact.
- Keep one folder per flight, so each dataset matches one upload.
- On an iPad, open the same project in Safari to walk the site with the map.
The demo on this page reads the metadata of your photos in the browser and tells you whether GPS positions are present, which is a quick way to check an export. More about working across devices on drone mapping app.
Try it in Safari right now
Measure a stockpile on a real elevation surface, or drop a few of your own flight photos to see camera, altitude, GSD and estimated overlap. Your photos stay on your Mac.
The plan that fits a Mac-based team
Starter at $99 per month or $990 per year covers orthomosaics, DSM and DTM, measurements and view links with three seats. For 3D models, point clouds and contours, Team at $249 per month is the fit, and it replaces the Windows workstation you no longer need. See drone mapping pricing.
Photogrammetry software for Mac FAQ
Yes. Dronemapping runs in the browser, so M-series and Intel Macs both work. Processing happens in the cloud, not on the Mac.
No. Use Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Edge. Nothing is installed and updates reach you automatically.
No. Upload, processing, measurement, reports and sharing all work from the Mac.
Yes. The textured 3D model and point cloud are built in the cloud on Team and above, then viewed in the browser or exported as OBJ and LAS.
Yes, as long as you copy them from the SD card or export unmodified originals. The demo shows whether GPS tags are present before you upload.
Process your next flight from your Mac
Maps from our orthomosaic software, models from our drone 3D mapping software and every measurement, without a Windows workstation.