What a Tree Cadastre Really Costs
Initial capture of a tree register in Switzerland costs from CHF 25 per tree — a municipality with 3,000 trees therefore pays around CHF 75,000 before any software is even licensed. The actual software cost (typically CHF 550–2,550 per year for an unlimited number of trees) is often the smaller cost block, not the bigger one.
- Capture cost per tree
- from CHF 25
- Example: 3,000 trees
- ~ CHF 75,000 for capture alone
- B2G software price (up to 500 trees)
- CHF 800–1,500/year
- B2G software price (500–2,000 trees)
- CHF 1,500–4,000/year
- B2G software price (2,000–10,000 trees)
- CHF 4,000–15,000/year
Where the real costs lie
The common assumption that a tree register is primarily a software purchase underestimates the bigger cost block: the physical initial capture of every single tree on site (survey, species identification, condition assessment). At CHF 25 per tree as a lower benchmark, a medium-sized municipality with several thousand trees quickly spends more on capture than on several years of software.
Software costs compared
For municipalities (B2G), software price bands are tiered by tree count, ranging from around CHF 800 (up to 500 trees) to CHF 15,000 (2,000–10,000 trees, including additional features such as SSO or ESG reporting). The established competitor ArborX, by contrast, prices in four tiers up to CHF 2,550 per year regardless of tree count.
For your business
A capture approach that uses existing field work (inspection rounds, tree inspections that are due anyway) directly for data capture can noticeably reduce the largest cost block — initial capture — rather than treating it as a separate assignment.
For the commissioning authority
When budgeting, it is worth separating capture costs (one-off, usually the larger item) from ongoing software costs (annual, usually the smaller item).
What this does not mean
- The capture costs cited (from CHF 25/tree) are a market-observation benchmark, not a binding quote — actual costs depend on accessibility, capture scope, and the chosen provider.
- The B2G price tiering is an assessment based on publicly observable market prices, not a commitment from any particular provider.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the initial capture of a tree register cost?
- From CHF 25 per tree as a lower benchmark — for several thousand trees, this is often the single largest item in the entire project.
- Which is more expensive: the software or the capture?
- For a medium-to-large tree population, the one-off initial capture is often more expensive than several years of a software licence.