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A map shows you where things are. It doesn't run the work.

Diamond Maps is a good map, and it is cheap. If all you want is to see your valves and mains on a screen, it does that well. We will say so on this whole page.

But a map is a picture. It does not run the leak repair, hold the backflow test, or remember why the line went in back in 1972. At some point most small water and wastewater systems need more than a map. Here is where that line is, what it costs you to cross it without knowing, and what to do about it.

Is Ziptility just another version of Diamond Maps?

No. Diamond Maps is a map first, with some light maintenance notes added on. Ziptility is built the other way around. The work orders, the inspections, the asset history, and the operating record are the spine. The map is one part of it.

That is the whole difference, and it is a difference of direction, not quality. In Diamond Maps the work order rides on the map. In Ziptility the map rides on the work. When your operator exercises a valve, he logs the turns to close and the condition on the valve itself. That rolls up to the asset on the map. The history writes itself as a byproduct of the work he was already doing. There is no second system to update.

If your entire job is a map, Diamond Maps is plenty. If the map is the easy part and the work is what keeps slipping, that is us.

Where does Diamond Maps fit, and where do you outgrow it?

Diamond Maps fits a system whose whole need is seeing the lines on a screen. Give it its due. It is an independent tool built for exactly your size of utility. It is genuinely easy. At about $20 a user a month it is close to the cheapest real GIS a small utility can buy (its published terms as of 2026-06-16, diamondmaps.com). It even carries a few extras: timestamped notes, basic recurring tasks, and an offline app. So it is not only a map.

You outgrow it the day the work around the map becomes the job. You can pull up your mains on Diamond Maps. Good. Now answer the rest. Who checked that hydrant last and when is the next flow test due. Where is the record of the three valve repairs on Third Street. What does the next operator inherit besides the dots. Right now that part lives on a clipboard in the truck, in a text thread, or in one veteran's head.

That is the line. A map answers one question, where is it. Running a system is a stack of questions a map cannot hold. What did we do to this asset. When is the next inspection. What breaks the most. What do we hand the next person so ten years of memory does not retire with him.

Ziptility vs Diamond Maps for a small utility

Here is the honest side-by-side.

Diamond Maps
Ziptility
Built forZiptilitySmall water and wastewater systems where the whole crew wears every hatDiamond MapsSmall cities, towns, and rural utilities
Who keeps it current?ZiptilityYour own crew, on the phones they already carry.Diamond MapsYour crew too. It is built to be easy, same as us.
Getting startedZiptilityWorks out of the box, customize from there. Start with the map you have.Diamond MapsQuick to start. Plot points and draw lines on aerial imagery.
Work orders in the fieldZiptilityBuilt in. Map and work orders in one app, operations-first.Diamond MapsBasic tasks exist. Map-first, so the work order rides on the map, not the other way around.
On a phone, in the fieldZiptilityYes. Field-first. Works with no signal.Diamond MapsBrowser-based. A free offline app covers points, edits, and photos.
PricingZiptilityOne yearly price per connection. Unlimited users.Diamond Maps$20 a user a month, or a population-based price for unlimited users. Hard to beat on a pure map.
The cost behind the costZiptilityThe yearly price. That is it.Diamond MapsThe price is honest and low. The cost shows up later, in the work the map does not hold.
Keep your current mapZiptilityDiamond Maps
Who actually uses itZiptilityThe whole crewDiamond MapsUsually whoever keeps the map

Diamond Maps figures are its published terms as of 2026-06-16, re-verified 2026-07-15 (diamondmaps.com). Trademarks belong to their owners.

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Diamond Maps is cheaper. Why would I pay more?

On a pure map, Diamond Maps is cheaper, and that is fair, because it is doing less. We will not pretend otherwise. If the map is all you want, it is the right pick and you should keep it.

You pay more for Ziptility because you get more than a map. That means the work orders, the inspections, the full asset history, and the operating record that survives a retirement, all in one app. One yearly fee covers your whole crew, priced by service connections, not by seat.

Here is the part nobody puts on the sticker. The cost of the cheap map is not the $20. It is the work the map does not hold, and for a lot of systems it shows up even earlier, right at the starting line.

What does the cheap map really cost? The blank-page stall.

The cost most often shows up before you ever use the tool. The free trial gives you an empty map and nothing to import, so people poke around, never put their own system in, and never start. We have watched it happen plenty of times. An operator signs up, opens the app, and stares at a blank screen with no way to get their valves and mains in. There is nothing to do, so the tab gets closed and the paper maps stay on the wall. The tool that looked like the cheapest one on the list turns out to be the one that never got used. A cheap tool that stalls at the blank page is not actually cheap. It is unused.

The fix is not a feature. It is a guided trial. Before you touch the app, we sit down to understand your system and what you are trying to get done. Then we import your own data into a free sandbox. You open the app and see your own valves, mains, and meters on the map, not a blank page. You start from your system, not from scratch. That is the difference between a tool you trial and a tool you actually adopt. It is the cost of the cheap map that never makes the quote.

What happens to our records when an operator retires?

With a map alone, the map carries over. The work history and the know-how usually walk out the door with the person who had them. The next operator inherits dots on a screen and not much else.

This is the deepest reason small systems call us, ahead of price or features. Every system has one person whose head holds it all. Which valve is really the shutoff for that block. What is buried where the as-built is wrong. Why the line on Third Street has been repaired three times. A map cannot hold any of that. Ziptility keeps the operating record in one place. The next person inherits every repair, photo, and inspection, filed on the asset where the work happened. The record outlives the operator. That is the thing a map, by itself, was never built to do.

We already use Diamond Maps. Can we keep it?

Yes. Plenty of utilities keep a map they like and add Ziptility for the work orders, the inspections, and the asset history. The map stays. The record gets a real home. You do not have to rip anything out.

If your map is current and your crew actually reads it, keep it. Your data is yours. Export it whenever, and bring it into Ziptility when you are ready for the rest. We are not in the business of holding your data hostage, and you should not pick any tool that is.

Honest about scope: we are not the cheapest map, and we make no claim about being faster on a phone. Diamond Maps is genuinely easy, and its offline app is a real thing. What we do is run the work around the map. That is the field work orders, the inspections, the asset history, and the record that holds up when someone retires or a regulator asks questions. If you only need to see the lines, that is not us. We will say so.

A small water or wastewater system with a handful of staff, everyone wearing every hat, running it themselves on the phones they already carry. The kind of system run off paper maps and one operator's memory.

Self-select both ways, honestly. If you just need a map, Diamond Maps will treat you right and cost you less. If you have the map and the work is the part that keeps slipping, that is the day you outgrow a map. That is what Ziptility is built for. One water district in California looked at both and chose Ziptility for exactly that reason: they needed the work, not just the picture.

Questions operators ask

Is Ziptility just another version of Diamond Maps?

No. Diamond Maps is a map first. Ziptility is built operations-first, with the work orders, inspections, and asset history as the backbone and the map as one part of it. If all you need is a map, Diamond Maps is a good, cheap one.

Diamond Maps is cheaper. Why would I pay more?

On a pure map, it is cheaper, and that is fair. You pay more for Ziptility because you get more than a map. That means the work orders, the inspections, the full asset history, and the operating record that survives a retirement. The whole crew is on it, priced by connections, not seats. If you only want the map, we would tell you to stick with Diamond Maps.

We already use Diamond Maps. Can we keep it?

Yes. A lot of utilities keep a map they like and add Ziptility for the field work orders and asset history. Your data stays yours, and you can bring it into Ziptility when you are ready.

Does Diamond Maps do work orders?

It has basic tasks and timestamped notes, so it is not only a map. The difference is depth and direction. In Diamond Maps the work rides on the map. In Ziptility the work, the inspections, and the history are the point, filed by asset automatically and built for reports and rate studies.

What happens to our records when an operator retires?

With a map alone, the map carries over. The work history and the know-how often walk out the door with the person. Ziptility keeps the operating record in one place, so the next person inherits every repair, photo, and inspection, not just the dots on a screen.

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