Design and quote tile, surface, and landforming jobs before you spend a minute on survey.
Geo-Surface Pro is the full drainage design suite — surface, tile, and 3D landforming — and it runs right in your browser. Nothing to install. Draw the boundary, pull in built-in LiDAR, and lay out the job on the actual terrain. You get pipe sizes, cut/fill volumes, and a client-ready report that backs up the number on the quote. One flat membership, unlimited fields, no per-acre design fees — ever.
The planning gap
Before you can quote a drainage or landforming job, you need a design — but a design usually needs a survey first.
Drainage and 3D landforming jobs are hard to price from a map alone. A first-pass design needs elevation, flow paths, grades, pipe or cut/fill quantities, and a clear way to compare options. You get that first pass in an afternoon — enough to know the job's worth doing and put a real number on the quote, without paying to survey the whole field first.
You don't win every quote — so stop paying to survey every field.
Fetch the LiDAR instead of driving out, lay the job out on the real terrain, and hand over a priced plan — all before a wheel turns. When it's a go, your machine-control RTK surveys each run as you build it. The quotes that don't land cost you an afternoon, not a survey day.
Planning starts too rough or too heavy
- A rough number's fast, but it doesn't show the design behind it.
- A full CAD or GIS workflow is accurate, but it's heavy for early screening.
- Per-acre design services tack on a cost every time you want to try another option.
- Chasing elevation, flow, and quantities across separate tools is slow when you just need a first read.
- Survey-grade work is still needed to build — but it shouldn't be the only way to start planning.
Start with a clear, repeatable first pass
- Draw the boundary and pull in built-in LiDAR — right in your browser, nothing to install.
- Lay out surface drainage, tile, or full 3D landforming on the actual terrain.
- Auto pipe sizing, stepped mains, profile charts, cut/fill volumes, and reports to compare options before survey.
- Burn the drains or culverts into the terrain and re-run the water analysis — see the fix work before it's built.
- Flat pricing: unlimited fields and acres, no per-acre meter, ever.
The simple promise: the LiDAR-based plan isn't a throwaway sketch. It's the reference that gets the job to a committed decision. Once it's approved, take that same plan to the field, validate the runs with RTK, and use it for screen guidance, staking, or the install workflow you already run.
Stop paying survey costs on quotes that don't land — start the first pass with built-in LiDAR today. Get Pro — US$499/yr Try the live demo — no signup
How it works
From a boundary to quote confidence to a field-validated install
Geo-Surface Pro handles the design and quoting layer — surface, tile, and 3D landforming, all in one browser tab. Most of the time the deliverable is the plan, the quantities, and a PDF report. When the job is committed, you take that plan to the field, validate the runs with RTK, and install against the same reference. Landforming can also leave as machine-ready design files — including Ditch Assist AGD with benchmarks — that you tie into on site.
Load elevation
Draw a boundary and pull in built-in US 3DEP or Canada HRDEM LiDAR — pick your resolution. No LiDAR where you're working? Upload a GeoTIFF or your own RTK/XYZ survey points instead.
TerrainDesign options
Lay out surface drainage or tile with automatic pipe sizing and stepped mains. For landforming, pick your outlets, set a max cut, and hit Solve — every acre sheds to your outlets with no ponding left, borrowing fill from nearby high ground so most of the field stays untouched.
DesignQuote from the plan
Turn the layout into pipe sizing, grades, profiles, and a bill of materials — or, for landforming, audited cut/fill volumes and haul distances. Enough to quote the job with confidence before you spend a dime on survey.
Quote supportValidate runs with RTK
Once the job is approved, take the same plan to the field. Pre-survey the planned runs with RTK before install, or survey each run immediately before it is installed.
Field surveyInstall against the plan
Use the Geo-Surface plan as the on-screen or staked reference. For landforming, export machine-ready design files — including Ditch Assist AGD with on-map calibration benchmarks, plus AGS, CSV, and dual-surface DXF — and tie into the benchmarks on site before you grade. RTK checks the planned runs before install; it does not force you to rebuild the design in another package.
InstallLiDAR is good enough to design and quote from; RTK is what you install from. Geo-Surface Pro doesn't turn public LiDAR into install data — it keeps you from paying RTK survey time before you know the job's worth doing, then hands you a plan to validate in the field. Want maximum assurance? Import full-field RTK survey points or a GeoTIFF DEM and remake the plan from that surveyed surface.
See it on your own field — draw a boundary, pull LiDAR, and run the five steps yourself. Try the live demo — no signup See pricing — US$499/yr
What contractors get
Everything to design and quote the job — in one browser tab.
Geo-Surface Pro is the full drainage design suite: surface drainage, tile, and 3D landforming, all in your browser. Same tools whether you're pricing a quick lateral or laying out a full-field grade plan. No extras, no per-acre add-ons, nothing to install — you get all of it under one flat membership.
Surface drainage design
Draw mains and laterals on satellite or LiDAR imagery with automatic naming (S1, S1-L1…). Auto Best Fit grade solver plus Guided and Freeform modes, a live profile chart showing cut/fill along the run, min/max grade and depth constraints, and depth-violation flags so nothing runs too shallow.
Tile drainage design
Mains and laterals with a real T1 / T1-L1 hierarchy and automatic pipe sizing (Manning's) from contributing area, drainage coefficient, and grade. Stepped main sizing steps diameter up at each junction — with segment-by-segment review and manual override. Pipe ladder 3–48 inch, single- or dual-wall.
3D landforming designer
Drainage-first land grading, built to be easy: pick the boundary edges where water may leave, set your max cut, and hit Solve. Geo-Surface fills the low spots and grades the field so every acre sheds to the edges you allowed, with no ponding left — borrowing fill from nearby high ground (numbered borrow areas) so most of the field stays untouched. Try three design models — whole-field blade pass, least-disturbance, or balanced — plus shallow planing and topsoil strip & return, with honest volumes audited in yd³ and m³.
See the water, then build the fix
Ponding, wetness (TWI), and flow paths show where water sits today. Burn your designed drains or culverts into the terrain and re-run the analysis — see how the field behaves after the fix is built, and design against the corrected surface instead of guessing.
Elevation in, machine files out
Built-in US 3DEP and Canada HRDEM LiDAR from a drawn boundary, or bring your own GeoTIFF, RTK/XYZ/CSV survey points, or shapefiles. Landforming leaves as machine-ready design files — including Ditch Assist AGD (existing + proposed surfaces, boundary, and on-map calibration benchmarks), AGS for OptiSurface/AGPS, CSV grid, TXT, and dual-surface DXF.
Client-ready reports & project folders
Professional PDF reports with a cover map, per-line details, a bill of materials, earthwork, and profile charts — under your own company branding. Save each project as a folder on your own computer (Chrome or Edge), with 20-deep undo/redo and a one-file ZIP backup.
24/7 AI help, right where the job is
Ask how to use a tool, what a warning means, or where to go next without leaving the design. With your permission, the assistant can use privacy-filtered workflow context, recent actions, warnings, and errors to give a relevant answer — then take you to the right control or manual section.
Genuinely advanced haul optimization: on landforming jobs you also get haul-distance analysis in banded distances with volume per band, plus borrow and supply-zone planning that says where the dirt comes from and where it goes.
It's not a specialist grading optimizer like OptiSurface, and doesn't pretend to be. But for roughly 8 in 10 of the fields we see graded with Ditch Assist, this gets the result — flat fee, unlimited acres. For a really challenging field, a service like OptiSurface is still the right answer.
Exports and handoff
- Often the deliverable is just the plan, the quantities, and a PDF report — drainage work stays equipment-neutral.
- Machine-ready landforming files when you need them: Ditch Assist AGD (existing + proposed surfaces, boundary, and on-map calibration benchmarks, always metric), AGS, CSV grid, and TXT.
- Dual-surface DXF both ways — design grade + existing ground as 3D polylines for AGPS DirtPro, PipeFM, or any CAD package.
- ESRI shapefile, KML/KMZ, OptiSurface AGS, GeoTIFF, plus high-res PNG map and PDF export.
- The plan stays your field reference — validate the runs with RTK before install, or import full-field survey points to remake it from surveyed ground.
Get surface, tile, and landforming design — all of it — under one flat membership. Get Pro — US$499/yr Try the live demo — no signup
What's included
What you actually get with Geo-Surface Pro
One flat membership — every tool below, unlimited fields and acres, nothing to install. Here's the concrete list, and what it costs.
Geo-Surface Pro
One membership, every drainage tool
Surface · tile · 3D landforming, all in the browser
Everything a drainage or landforming contractor needs to go from a boundary to a quotable, defensible plan.
- Automatic pipe sizing (Manning's) from contributing area and grade
- Stepped main sizing that steps up at each lateral junction
- Live profile charts with cut/fill along every run
- Surface, tile, and 3D landforming design in one place
- Culvert & crossing sizing (Q2–Q100) with adequacy screening
- Before/after burn — see the field after the fix is built
- PDF reports with bill of materials + your own branding
- DXF in and out, plus shapefile, KML, OptiSurface, Ditch Assist AGD
- Project folders on your own computer, 20-deep undo/redo
- Unlimited fields, unlimited acres, no per-acre fees
Geo-Surface Pro
One flat price
$499/yr $799/yr for new signups from Sept 1, 2026
The $499/yr launch price runs until September 1, 2026; after that it's $799/yr for new signups.
- One annual membership — everything included, no add-ons
- Lock in $499/yr before September 1, 2026 — your renewal price stays $499/yr for as long as you stay a member
- Every future feature included, no add-ons, ever
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Just want a look first? The free Geo-Surface Viewer opens any plan you share with a client — no login. See everything on the pricing page.
Flat membership vs per-acre billing
Explore more fields without turning every option into a per-acre bill.
Per-acre design pricing can make sense for a committed custom design. It is less helpful when you are still comparing options, planning simple work, or looking at multiple fields. Geo-Surface Pro is a flat membership: unlimited fields, unlimited acres, no per-acre fees.
At roughly $9.90 per acre, a single 160-acre landforming design bill is about $1,584. A full year of Geo-Surface Pro is $499 — that one design bill is more than three years of Pro, and the flat membership covers every field you touch all year, not just the one.
Bars are illustrative and use the published per-acre figure shown above. Actual costs vary by provider, field, and scope.
Plan repeatedly
Use the same membership to test fields, compare layouts, and revise designs without adding a new per-acre charge each time.
3D landforming, included
Design the grade yourself, price landforming flat, and hand the crew a machine-ready file — Ditch Assist AGD with benchmarks, AGS, CSV, TXT, plus dual-surface DXF. Audited volumes and honest quotes, part of your Geo-Surface Pro membership — not a separate per-acre service.
Predictable overhead
One annual line item. No acre counter, no quote form, and no surprise cost when you want to run another option.
Lock in the flat rate now — unlimited fields, unlimited acres, no per-acre meter. Get Pro — US$499/yr Try the live demo — no signup
Not a contractor?
You might be on the wrong page — here's the right one
Geo-Surface Pro fits a few different roles. If you're advising clients or planning your own ground, start where the tool speaks your language — or just run the free calculators.
Advising clients?
Use elevation data you already collect to deliver surface and tile plans clients can act on.
For ag consultantsPlanning your own ground?
Plan surface drainage and targeted tile yourself, compare options, and understand the scope before hiring work out.
For farmers & landownersJust running the numbers?
Free, no login: tile spacing, drainage ROI, flow capacity, and grade calculators to size up a job before you design it.
Try the free calculatorsSticking around? See what's included with Geo-Surface Pro and the pricing.
Flat pricing. No per-acre meter.
One membership — surface, tile, and 3D landforming, unlimited fields and acres, nothing to install. Geo-Surface Pro works across the US and Canada; check current coverage before you quote. Want a look before you commit? The free Viewer is right there.
Geo-Surface Viewer
Look, don't design
Free terrain viewer & calculators
Free forever · nothing to install
- View high-resolution LiDAR terrain for any field
- Open interactive plans clients or crews share with you
- Free tile spacing, ROI, flow, and grade calculators
- A no-risk way to see the terrain before you quote
Geo-Surface Pro
The full design suite, in your browser
Surface, tile, 3D landforming & quoting
One annual membership — everything included
- Surface, tile, and 3D landforming design in one place
- Auto & stepped pipe sizing with live profile charts
- Culvert sizing and before/after burn analysis
- Client-ready PDF reports — bill of materials + your branding
- Machine-ready landforming files (Ditch Assist AGD with benchmarks, AGS, CSV, TXT) + CAD/GIS exports (dual-surface DXF, shapefile, KML) — and drainage plans hand over as PDF + quantities that ride along as on-screen guidance while you build
- Built-in US 3DEP + Canada HRDEM LiDAR, or your own survey
- Project folders, 20-deep undo, unlimited fields and acres
$499/yr launch price until September 1, 2026 — then $799/yr for new signups. Sign up before September 1, 2026 and your renewal stays $499/yr for as long as your membership stays active, every new feature included.
Plan and quote from LiDAR. Survey and grade with RTK when the job goes ahead. Geo-Surface Pro is for design, comparison, quoting, and reporting. The plan stays your field reference; RTK validates the runs before install, and you can remake the plan from survey points or a GeoTIFF when you want the extra assurance. For landforming, machine-ready files (including Ditch Assist AGD) carry on-map benchmarks you tie into on site.
Want to compare plans first? See the full pricing page.
Straight answers
Contractor questions, answered without overselling it.
Geo-Surface Pro is drainage design software for the jobs you quote — the design, comparison, and quoting layer. It is not a promise that public elevation replaces survey-grade install data.
How do contractors design tile drainage in Geo-Surface Pro?
Draw the field boundary, pull in built-in LiDAR, and lay out mains and laterals right on the terrain. The tile drainage design software names everything in a real hierarchy (T1, T1-L1…) and sizes pipe automatically with Manning's equation from contributing area, drainage coefficient, and grade.
Stepped main sizing steps the diameter up at each lateral junction, with segment-by-segment review and manual override. You get live profile charts with cut/fill along the run, a bill of materials, and a client-ready PDF report — enough to quote the job before you spend a minute on survey.
Can I do landforming design without per-acre fees?
Yes. The 3D landforming software is included in the flat Geo-Surface Pro membership — $499/yr, unlimited fields, unlimited acres, no per-acre meter. You choose which boundary edges water can leave from; Geo-Surface fills the low spots and grades the field so every acre sheds to the edges you allowed, with no ponding left. It borrows fill from nearby high ground, and volumes are audited in yd³ and m³. On top of that you get genuinely advanced haul optimization — banded haul distances and borrow/supply-zone planning.
Set the right expectation: this is drainage-first land leveling software with three design models to try (whole-field blade pass, least-disturbance, and balanced), plus shallow planing and topsoil strip & return. It's a practical OptiSurface alternative for drain-to-edge grading on a flat membership — not a full-featured grading optimizer, and it isn't trying to be.
Here's the honest part: for roughly 8 in 10 of the fields we see graded with Ditch Assist, this gets the result — so you can price landforming flat and hand the crew a file instead of paying a per-acre design fee on every job. For a really challenging field, a specialist service like OptiSurface is still the right call.
What are Ditch Assist design files, and can Geo-Surface Pro export them?
Yes — a landforming design can leave as machine-ready design files, and Ditch Assist AGD is one of several formats. The AGD carries the existing and proposed surfaces, the field boundary, and the on-map calibration benchmarks you place yourself (always metric), so the machine ties into real ground before it grades.
Alongside AGD you can export:
- AGS survey points (OptiSurface / AGPS)
- CSV grid and generic TXT
- Dual-surface DXF — design grade + existing ground as 3D polylines — for AGPS DirtPro, PipeFM, or any CAD package
GIS4AG builds both Geo-Surface Pro and Ditch Assist, so the two are designed to work together. That said, no machine file is required: for most drainage work the deliverable is the plan, the quantities, and the PDF report, and that stays equipment-neutral.
Do I still need RTK?
Yes, when it is time to build. Public elevation is great for understanding the terrain, comparing options, building the design, and supporting the quote. It is not a replacement for field validation before install.
Can I install straight from the LiDAR design?
No. A LiDAR-based design is for planning, comparison, quoting, and reporting. Installation still needs RTK field validation. That does not mean the plan gets rebuilt somewhere else — the Geo-Surface plan stays the reference for screen guidance, staking, and run locations. For landforming, the exported machine file carries on-map benchmarks you tie into before grading.
How does the cost compare to per-acre design services?
A published per-acre landforming design rate around $9.90/ac puts a 160-acre design at about $1,584. Geo-Surface Pro is $499/year — that single per-acre bill is more than three years of Pro, and the flat membership covers unlimited fields and acres, not just the one you priced.
It does not mean every field is the same scope, or that Geo-Surface Pro replaces custom engineering. It means design, comparison, and quoting do not have to start with a per-acre meter.
What does it run on — do I have to install anything?
Nothing to install. Geo-Surface Pro runs in Chrome or Edge on any computer, so you can work from the shop, the truck, or a client's kitchen table. Coverage spans the US (3DEP) and Canada (HRDEM) — check current coverage for your area before you quote.
Do I need CAD or GIS experience?
No. Draw a boundary, load elevation, design on the terrain, and export reports or files. When a CAD handoff is needed, dual-surface DXF exports the design grade and existing ground as 3D polylines — and DXF imports too, so you can bring linework in.
How does billing work, and what if it doesn't fit my workflow?
Geo-Surface Pro is $499/yr — one annual membership, everything included. The $499/yr launch price runs until September 1, 2026, when new signups move to $799/yr; sign up before then and your renewal stays locked at $499/yr for as long as you keep your membership active.
Every paid membership has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Put it on real planning work and decide from there.