Pix4D Cloud Processing Costs Doubled?

PIX4Dcloud
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I’m having a hard time convincing myself to stay with the Pix4D ecosystem right now.

Not only do I feel that the cost to process maps using Cloud has shot through the roof due to the new “credits” system, and the platform then failing to process a map correctly (did not uploading all images) and getting still getting billed, I am now in a situation where I have uploaded all my images and the “Start Processing” button is doing absolutely nothing.

Now, if there is an error with my data set, or the GCP data, or anything else - please software, just tell me. Please do not do “nothing” assuming I have the time to fault find.

If there are any of you lovely Pix4DCloud experts out there who may be ale to help… I’d very much appreciate it.

Kind Regards

K

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Ok, so I “think” I have found the root cause. The latest dataset was in a different co-ord system / projection than the previous data sets. I have created a new project (Site) and it has completed the upload and processing.

Apologies for the slight rant yesterday. I was on a deadline, and this failure was causing a little stress.

My observation about the tool not really functioning well from a UX perspective still stands. Please can we have some form of warning from the tool rather than silence?

Also, can I please have some feedback from Pix4D about the incredible cost increase? The old system allowed for 2500 images per month for 299 Euro which would allow me to process 5 datasets of 500 images. Now, under the new system, it will cost me 299 Euro for the subscription and 1 dataset of 500 images, and then another 299 Euro for another 5 datasets of 500 Images. This means that the price has doubled!

In addition, if this pricing model is to stay, can we please have a system similar to Pix4D Inspect whereby the user has a time period to alter the dataset and other processing settings? Getting billed for credits and the processing not working is another hard pill to swallow.

Regards

1 Like
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Hi,

Your point about the UX is well taken. Our team is still working on improving the UX and they are aware of the issue.

Regarding the pricing structure, it has changed, but it should actually represent a cost savings for most customers.

The key point is that credits don’t have a time limit. Under the old subscription plans if you have a 2500 image allowance per month and you don’t use it all, you don’t carry over to the following month. Unused credits stay with your account until they are used or your subscription expires.

Let me repost a couple of scenarios from a thread I replied to here.

[If you] buy Cloud Basic for 1 year plus a 2500 credit package, you would pay 1589 USD annually. Less than 1/2 the price of the DD Individual subscription. This would be enough credits for 30 x 600 image projects with a Mavic M3E (2500 credit + 500 base → 3k credits). So if you do 2-3 projects per month this would serve you well. Need a few more projects, buy a few additional credits, as needed.

With Cloud Advanced, an annual subscription + a 10000 credit pack would cost 6489USD annually and allow 104 x 600 image projects over the course of a year (10000 + 2500 base → 12500 credits). Unlimited users, AutoGCP, timeline, volume tools. 9-10 projects per month. Need less projects or smaller projects, buy less credits and save money.

If you need GCP or volume tools you need to buy the DD Advanced which would 7200 / annually for one user.

As I mentioned before, the new PIX4Dcloud pricing is intended as a utility model. If you use less, you can pay less. Credits don’t expire unless your subscription lapses.

  • For smaller customers we believe this level of fine-grained cost control is what is needed.
  • For medium size customers, the pricing provides good value, relative to the competition.
  • For larger customers we also have enterprise pricing schemes which can potentially reduce the cost further.

We also provide desktop software (PIX4Dmatic or PIX4Dmapper). Here you can do unlimited processing on your desktop with fine-grained control of all processing options. A yearly subscription of PIX4Dmatic is almost 1000USD cheaper than the lowest DD Individual account.

I hope that clear things up a bit and explains why we think this change will save most our customers money overall. On top of that I hope it shows how our offering compares to some of our competition.

Best regards,
Jeff
Director of Enterprise Cloud Platform

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Thanks for taking the time to respond Jeff, very much appreciated.

Those examples you gave involve some big numbers that probably reflect your larger customers? The bullets at the end mention potential cost savings for your larger customers, but focus on flexibility for the smaller ones?

I get the impression that you have done your 80/20 and feel that your are side-lining your smaller customers. For me, a smaller start-up, the old system was just fine. I could process for my clients and also have some spare image allocation to undertake training and refine my craft. I don’t care about credits not expiring, I got what I needed with the old system, and if I didn’t use the image allocation, well that was just fine.

This is no longer the case. You have priced me out of Pix4D. We had a roadmap to start with Cloud and then move to desktops when we had the demand and cashflow. Reseller and Training provider also featured. I cannot start with this ecosystem because the entry level application is now out of reach.

I’m not sure about other users of Pix4D, but I need to share my outputs with clients, and they need to compare, measure, annotate etc. The cloud platform was perfect for that and for me that is where the real value lies - not processing.

I will spend some time seeking alternatives and preparing myself for some difficult conversations with my clients.

I may be back when cashflow allows.

Regards

5

Hi,

For smaller customers the additional flexibility should enable cost savings in most cases. Unless you are a very heavy cloud user and/or use very large cameras, you should see a reduction in overall costs.

I took a look at your current usage, your yearly cost for the new system would be 299 euro / month. I can explain more via a private email if you want additional details.

In both CHF and USD, this plan is cheaper than the Cloud Advanced monthly plan was historically. What has really changed here is that we had to adjust Euro prices upwards because the Euro has become very weak relative to USD and CHF and is expected to stay this way for the foreseeable future.

If you want to reduce your overall cost, and get more processing credits in your plan, you could switch to the Cloud Advanced yearly. If you do this you will:

  1. get more than twice as many processing credits (2500 yearly credits vs 1000 year credits).
  2. have 2500 credits that are granted at the beginning of the yearly subscription so you can use them at any point throughout the year.
  3. pay less than the previous plan (249 euro for Cloud Advance yearly now vs 260 euro before).

Finally if you decide to add one of our desktop tools to your toolbox, keep in mind that you pay nothing for processing if you choose to do it on your own machine. PIX4Dmatic is a very nice tool in this regard with generally faster processing, better quality outputs, much better coordinate system support than PIX4Dmapper and a very nice Share-to-Cloud feature for projects you process on your desktop.

Best,
Jeff

1 Like
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We are also priced out of Pix4D. I get the message smaller customers not wanted.
We will look for other platforms, to bad we liked Pix4d.

Erik