Nimbus Maps alternative

Nimbus Maps quotes after a demo. We publish ours: £39 a month.

Nimbus Maps: No public price: Plus, Advanced and Enterprise are each “Contact us for pricing details”, after a demo. Its published terms set the first term in your order form and renew it for the same period unless you give 30 days’ written notice. Ending early still means paying for the rest of the term.
SiteLens: £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually. Self-serve, no contract, cancel online.

Checked 21 October 2026.

Nimbus Maps helps developers, agents and surveyors source sites. SiteLens finds the work planning creates: every new application across 380+ UK councils, sorted by the trades it needs and in your inbox each morning.

Start for free Try Pro free for 7 days, no card

Which should you choose?

Choose SiteLens if you win work from planning applications: a subcontractor, supplier, installer or consultant who wants the new applications in your area sorted by your trade, mapped and emailed each morning, with Companies House checks on the firms you want to chase. Start free, then £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with no contract.

Choose Nimbus Maps if you source and appraise sites as a developer, agent or surveyor and want preset site-finding strategies, comparables, constraint mapping and letters to vendors, on a package quoted after a demo.

What SiteLens does better

Sorted by your trade

22 works tags, from groundworks to renewables, mark the trades each application needs, so a roofer’s alert holds roofing jobs. Nimbus Maps filters planning searches by unit numbers and keywords.

Who is behind it, checked

Companies House numbers are matched to applicants, agents and contractors on every plan. Pro names the firms, opens the directors and filing health, and adds the agent’s published email and phone, plus 15 contact lookups a month.

From approval to start on site

Decision alerts on every plan, an “About to start on site” alert, building-control starts and public tenders near each site tell you when a scheme turns into a job. The Nimbus Maps website does not mention tenders.

SiteLens vs Nimbus Maps, feature by feature

Each Nimbus Maps entry comes from its own website unless the cell says otherwise. Checked 21 October 2026.

Feature	SiteLens	Nimbus Maps
Price	£39/mo, or £29/mo billed annually	Plus, Advanced and Enterprise, all priced on request
Try before you pay	Free plan with no time limit, plus 7 days of Pro, no card	A free demo; trials arranged through sales
Contract	Monthly or annual, no minimum term, cancel any time	Term set in your order form; renews unless you give 30 days’ written notice; ending early means paying the rest of the term
Sign-up	Self-serve, under 2 minutes	Book a demo
Site sourcing and appraisal	No. SiteLens finds the work planning creates	Unlimited title lookups and site sourcing filters with 4 preset strategies on Plus; 12, plus strategic land information, on Advanced
Planning applications	Every new application across 380+ UK councils, collected every night	Planning applications and histories, updated daily, linked to the council portal
Alerts on new applications	Daily or weekly email by trade, area and keyword; hourly on Team	By local authority on every package; by applicant or around your estate on Advanced
Decision alerts	On every plan, including free	Alerts when existing applications progress, on every package
Trade tags	22 works tags, from groundworks to renewables	Not mentioned on its website; filters by unit numbers and keywords
AI assistants	Plain-English search, and AI-written briefs	Aura AI assistants for planning, QS, valuation and reports, a paid add-on per seat
AI connectors (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot)	No	AI Connectors Pack, a paid add-on
Project values	Estimated value bands, each naming its basis	No value per application on its website; an AI QS assistant for early cost plans is a paid add-on
Comparables and valuations	No valuations; Land Registry sale prices by postcode (Pro)	Over 30 million comparables and one-click valuations; commercial comparables on Enterprise
Maps and site data	Map search; 24 planning constraint flags, six drawn on the map; EPC and a street-level imagery link; history at the address on Pro	Constraints such as flood zones, listed buildings and green belt; energy, footfall and traffic layers on Enterprise
Contact details	Agent’s published email and phone, the named project team and 15 lookups a month (Pro)	Applicant and agent details in planning exports (Advanced); local developers, architects and planners
Company data	One page per firm: its applications, decision record and who it works with (Pro)	Search one applicant’s applications across the country (Advanced)
Companies House match	Yes, on every plan (directors, accounts and charges on Pro)	Not mentioned on its website
Tenders and contract awards	Near each site and in alerts, plus public contracts ending in the next 12 months	Not mentioned on its website
Letter sending	No. SiteLens does not print or post letters	Letters direct to vendors at scale, on every package
Pipeline and exports	Built-in leads pipeline; CSV with HubSpot and Salesforce columns (Pro)	My Sites workflow board; CSV exports of planning searches (Advanced)
API	API plan from £149/mo, billed annually	Property Data API for approved customers, on agreed terms
Getting started	Six guided starting points by trade or role, built into the app	Live chat, tutorials and webinars; an account manager on Advanced and Enterprise

See your own patch before you decide.

Search 380+ UK councils free, with no card. When you want the names behind the schemes, try Pro free for 7 days. After that, Pro is £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with no contract.

Start free Try Pro free for 7 days, no card

See every plan and price or all features.

When you should still pick Nimbus Maps

Nimbus Maps is built for finding, appraising and buying property. Every package has site-sourcing filters with preset strategies, residential comparables, constraint mapping, planning search and alerts, the My Sites board and letters direct to vendors. Advanced adds 12 site-finding strategies, strategic land information, applicant search, residential listings and detailed site reports, and Enterprise adds footfall, traffic and energy layers and commercial comparables. Its Aura add-ons bring AI assistants and connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot. For developers, agents and surveyors sourcing sites, that is the job, and SiteLens does not do it.

If you win work from what gets built, as a subcontractor, supplier, installer or consultant, you need the new applications in your patch sorted by your trade and in your inbox each morning, with Companies House checks on the firms you chase. That is SiteLens Pro at £39 a month, or £29 a month billed annually, with a price you can see before you sign up.

A small developer who sources sites elsewhere can still use SiteLens to compare council approval rates and, on Pro, track what other developers file.

Can you use both?

A developer or deal sourcer could. Nimbus Maps finds and appraises the site. SiteLens then watches the planning register around it, so you and the trades you work with see the new applications in your patch each morning.

Frequently asked

How much does Nimbus Maps cost?

Nimbus Maps publishes no prices. Its packages page says all pricing is available on request, and Plus, Advanced and Enterprise each lead to a demo. Its Agentic AI add-on is priced per seat per month. Its published terms renew a subscription for the same period unless you give 30 days’ written notice before it ends.

Does Nimbus Maps have a free trial?

Nimbus Maps advertises no free plan. Its “Request a trial” page leads to booking a demo, so any trial is arranged through its sales team. SiteLens has a free plan with no time limit, and a 7-day Pro trial with no card that you start yourself after signing up.

Can Nimbus Maps alert me to new planning applications?

Yes. Every package includes planning search by local authority, with alerts on new and progressing applications, and Advanced adds alerts by applicant or around your estate. SiteLens alerts filter by trade, area and keyword on every plan, including free, and Companies House numbers are matched to applicants, agents and contractors on every plan.

Is SiteLens a replacement for Nimbus Maps?

Not for finding and buying sites: SiteLens does not source or appraise property. It finds the work planning creates, sorting every new application across 380+ UK councils by trade for a morning alert. Its value bands are estimated and name their basis. A developer can use both: one to buy, SiteLens to follow what gets submitted.

See it before you pay a penny.

Stay on the free plan for as long as you like, or try Pro free for 7 days, no card. Sign up, then start it on the upgrade page.

Try Pro free for 7 days, no card Start on the free plan