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MapAI vs Felt

Felt is a strong place to build and share maps. MapAI is where you assemble and verify the evidence before the map.

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The short answer

Felt is a well-designed, collaborative, browser-based GIS for teams. Felt AI runs analysis from a prompt and its hosted MCP server lets other AI tools drive Felt. If your job is to build, style and share maps, dashboards and map-based tools across a team, Felt is a serious option. MapAI starts from the decision rather than the map: it finds and combines Australian government, partner and organisational data, runs the analysis, shows every source, assumption and step, and routes common questions to methods validated by GIS experts. Felt is priced per seat; MapAI is priced on capacity with unlimited users.

Who each is built for

MapAI Explore

Built for
domain professionals making place-based decisions, and GIS experts as validators.
The job
assemble a trusted evidence base for a place, project or decision.
The moment you reach for it
“I need to understand what is true here before I recommend anything.”

Felt

Built for
teams who make and share maps, from GIS analysts to operations and product teams, and developers embedding maps.
The job
build, analyse, style and share web maps, dashboards and map tools.
The moment you reach for it
“We need a live map the whole team can open and edit.”

Where each sits in the stack

  1. 1 Capture

  2. 2 Data and infrastructure

  3. 3 GIS systems of record

    Felt (collaborative web GIS)

  4. 4 Spatial Evidence Layer

    MapAIFelt AI, Felt MCP

  5. 5 Decisions and workflows

Felt is a modern GIS system of record for teams who want their maps in the browser, and Felt AI and the MCP server reach up into analysis from there. MapAI is built as the evidence layer: its output is a defensible answer with its data and method attached, which can land in Felt, ArcGIS or QGIS as a layer.

Side by side

Built for

MapAI

Domain professionals and the GIS experts who validate for them

Core strength

Felt

Teams building and sharing maps; GIS pros, operations, developers

Core strength

How you work with it

MapAI

Plain-English questions; @mention data; refine as you go

Core strength

Felt

Browser GIS with Felt AI prompts on paid plans; other AI tools can drive Felt through its MCP server on Business and Enterprise

Core strength

Finding and assembling data

MapAI

Searches connected Australian open, partner and organisational data and suggests relevant datasets

Core strength

Felt

Upload files, connect Esri feature services and data warehouses; a data library with global layers; Australian government data is largely bring-your-own

Available

Spatial analysis

MapAI

Joins, buffers, intersections, proximity and demographic cross-tabs on a PostGIS engine

Core strength

Felt

Buffers, joins, filters, spatial SQL on connected warehouses, H3 and heatmaps

Core strength

The evidence trail

MapAI

Datasets, currency, assumptions and steps visible for every answer; underlying query viewable by experts; new methods flagged until reviewed

Core strength

Felt

Felt AI shows each step so you can check its work

Available

Validated, repeatable methods

MapAI

Common questions routed to methods validated by GIS specialists; same question, same scope, same answer

Core strength

Felt

Workflows and dashboards on live data; no expert-validated method library

Available

Works with your GIS

MapAI

Import .shp, .gdb, .gpkg, GeoJSON, KML, CSV; connect public ArcGIS REST services; export CSV, GeoJSON, PNG

Core strength

Felt

Imports most formats including GeoTIFF; QGIS upload plugin; Esri feature service connections; exports

Core strength

Data residency and security

MapAI

Australian-hosted infrastructure with residency options for government; enterprise controls; bring-your-own model account

Core strength

Felt

Published on Felt's security pages; check hosting region and AI data handling for your requirements

Available

Pricing model

MapAI

Capacity, not seats: unlimited users, an allowance of free credits each month, additional capacity in batches when you need more, enterprise capacity on request

Core strength

Felt

Per seat: Team US$199, Business US$599, Enterprise from US$1,250 a month billed yearly; 3 to 10 seats included, extra seats US$49 a month; Felt AI credits per plan; viewers free

Available

Availability in Australia

MapAI

Available now; Australian company and data focus

Available

Felt

Available globally now; mature product

Core strength

Where Felt is the better choice

  • Building and sharing polished web maps, dashboards and custom map tools across a team, with real-time collaboration and free viewers.
  • Teams whose data already lives in Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Postgres or Redshift and want to query it in place.
  • Letting your own AI tools drive a GIS through a hosted MCP server, on Business and Enterprise plans.
  • Embedding maps in your own product with the Platform add-on.
  • A mature product with published plans you can buy today.

Where MapAI is the better choice

  • The question comes before the map: you need to know what is true about a place and show how you know.
  • Australian government and open data discovery and assembly out of the box, rather than bring-your-own.
  • An evidence trail written for the reader of the answer, not just a log for the person who prompted it.
  • Methods validated once by GIS experts and reused by everyone, so answers are consistent across the organisation.
  • Unlimited users: the whole planning team, not three to ten seats.
  • Australian data residency and enterprise controls as the default for government work.

If you already use Felt

Keep Felt for the maps your team shares. Use MapAI to establish the evidence, then publish the result.

  • Assemble the evidence base in MapAI and open the trail to check the data and method.
  • Export the result as GeoJSON or CSV and upload it to Felt as a layer for styling and sharing.
  • Keep MapAI's answer, with its sources and assumptions, as the record behind the Felt map.
  • Felt's QGIS upload plugin and MapAI's QGIS companion (2027) both treat QGIS as the expert's tool; neither replaces it.

Pricing model

MapAI

Pay for capacity and value, not seats.

  • Unlimited users
  • An allowance of free credits every month
  • Additional capacity in batches when you need more
  • Enterprise committed capacity on request

Felt

Per seat, with Felt AI credits by plan.

  • Free: 3 seats, no Felt AI
  • Team US$199 a month billed yearly (US$249 monthly): 3 seats, 250 Felt AI credits a month
  • Business US$599 a month billed yearly (US$749 monthly): 5 seats, 1,000 credits, MCP included
  • Enterprise from US$1,250 a month billed yearly: 10 seats, 2,500 credits, MCP; extra seats US$49 a month billed yearly; viewers free on every plan

Pricing checked on 15 October 2026. Prices in their published currency. See each vendor's pricing page for current details: MapAI pricing · Felt pricing.

Data residency, security and trust

MapAI

Australian-hosted infrastructure, with data residency options for government work. Your organisation's data is not used to train public models. Single sign-on and advanced security controls on Enterprise. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 programmes underway. Bring-your-own model account supported for Enterprise.

Felt

Felt publishes its security practices on its own site. Check where your data and Felt AI processing are hosted, and how AI features handle your data, against your organisation's residency and information security requirements.

Common questions

Is MapAI a Felt alternative?

For building and sharing maps, Felt is the stronger tool. For assembling spatial evidence a decision can rest on, with Australian data connected, the method visible and validated, and unlimited users, MapAI is built for that job. Many teams would use both.

Felt AI shows its steps too. What is different about MapAI's evidence trail?

Both show their working. MapAI's trail is written for the reader of the answer: which datasets, how current, what was assumed, which steps, and whether the method has been validated by a GIS specialist or is flagged as new. It is the product, not a feature.

Does MapAI have an MCP server?

Not currently. MapAI is a standalone platform; results export as CSV, GeoJSON and PNG. Integration plans will be published as they are confirmed.

Why unlimited users?

Because the people who need spatial evidence are usually the whole planning, infrastructure or policy team, not a few licensed analysts. MapAI charges for the analysis run and the data used, so adding a colleague costs nothing.

Is MapAI available now?

MapAI Explore is available in Australia and free to start. Sign up to get started, or request a structured trial built around a real workflow for your team.

Evidence first. Then the map.

Sign up and start free, or talk to us about a structured trial for your team.

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Comparison checked 15 October 2026 from Felt's public pages: felt.com/platform/felt-ai, felt.com/pricing, felt.com/blog/introducing-felt-mcp-server and help.felt.com. Felt is a trademark of Felt Inc. MapAI is not affiliated with or endorsed by Felt. Send corrections to info@mapai.net.

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