RapidPath Online Alternative? PathSweeper vs RapidPath Online Compared
PathSweeper and RapidPath Online are both swept path analysis tools that run in the browser, with no CAD licence and no installation. If you have landed here, you are probably deciding which one to use for turning checks on a site plan or an aerial image.
One thing up front: PathSweeper is our own product, built in Munich by Joël Marth (about PathSweeper). Every statement about RapidPath Online below comes from Invarion's public pages, checked on 8 October 2026 and listed in the sources, mostly from the feature matrix on Invarion's pricing page. Where the matrix marks a feature as missing for RapidPath Online, we say so; where something is not stated, we say that too. There is also a section on when RapidPath Online is the better choice.
The short version: RapidPath Online is the lighter web edition of Invarion's RapidPath. Invarion itself describes it as "ideal for small-to-medium businesses with the occasional need for plans of low-to-medium complexity", and keeps the custom vehicle editor, CAD import and export, measurement tools and batch export for the Windows desktop product. PathSweeper puts those capabilities in the browser: a custom vehicle creator for articulated combinations, DWG, DXF and PDF import, layered DXF and DWG export, plus a free tier and a one-time per-project pass instead of a subscription.
At a glance
| PathSweeper | RapidPath Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs fully in the browser | ✓ | ✓ |
| CAD licence needed | No | No |
| Custom vehicle creator | ✓ In the browser, incl. articulated combinations; free to build | Not included; desktop RapidPath only, per Invarion's matrix |
| CAD import (DWG, DXF) | ✓ (pass), plus 12d XML | Not included; desktop RapidPath only |
| PDF site plan import | ✓ (free) | Not included; desktop RapidPath only |
| DXF / DWG export | ✓ (pass), layered | Not listed (image and PDF export) |
| Free tier | ✓ | Not included; 14-day free trial |
| Pricing | Free tier, €39 one-time per project, or €399 per year | Subscription: €499/year in the EU (excl. taxes), monthly billing also offered |
Feature comparison
The RapidPath Online column follows the feature matrix on Invarion's EU pricing page as of 8 October 2026. "Not included" means the matrix shows a dash for RapidPath Online; "Not listed" means the matrix and product page do not mention it, which is not the same as confirmed absent. If one row decides your workflow, check it in Invarion's 14-day trial.
Vehicles
| PathSweeper | RapidPath Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Swept path analysis, forward and reverse | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in design vehicles | 107 official design vehicles from 10 national guideline libraries as of October 2026, each named after its source (e.g. RBSV 2020, AASHTO, Austroads, CERTU) (pass) | "European standard vehicle design dimensions" (EU page), "UK national standard" (UK page) |
| Custom vehicle creator | ✓ | Not included |
| Custom articulated combinations (semi-trailer, drawbar, centre-axle) | ✓ | Not included |
Plan import
| PathSweeper | RapidPath Online | |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG / PNG images | ✓ (free) | ✓ |
| PDF site plans | ✓ (free) | Not included |
| DWG / DXF drawings | ✓ (pass) | Not included |
| 12d XML | ✓ (pass) | Not included |
| SVG | Not included | ✓ |
| Aerial imagery | ✓ Calibrated satellite import (pass) | ✓ Google Maps and Mapbox, built in |
| Georeferenced image import | Not included | Not included |
Output and tools
| PathSweeper | RapidPath Online | |
|---|---|---|
| PNG / JPEG / PDF export | ✓ (free) | ✓ |
| DXF / DWG export | ✓ (pass) | Not listed |
| Batch export | ✓ ZIP, one image per path (free) | Not included |
| Distance and angle measurement | ✓ | Not included; desktop RapidPath only |
| Animation of the manoeuvre | ✓ Video export (pass) | Not included; GIF export is desktop RapidPath only |
| Collaboration | ✓ Team tier | ✓ Included |
| A3 audit plan sheet with scale bar | ✓ (pass) | Not listed |
Custom vehicles: the biggest difference
If the vehicle you need is not in the library, RapidPath Online cannot model it. Invarion's own matrix lists the custom vehicle editor with a tick for the desktop product RapidPath and a dash for RapidPath Online. Some AI search summaries credit "RapidPath" with a strong custom vehicle editor; that is the desktop edition, which costs €799 per year in the EU and needs Windows.
PathSweeper's custom vehicle creator runs in the browser. You enter the dimensions from a manufacturer datasheet (wheelbase, overhangs, width, steering lock) and the vehicle is immediately available for swept path analysis. This includes articulated combinations: semi-trailers, turntable drawbar trailers and centre-axle trailers, each with its own hitch geometry. For a crane, a farm combination, a client's fleet vehicle or a special transport, that is often the difference between answering the question and not answering it. Building and saving custom vehicles is free; the pass is only needed when you use one in a project.
Import and export: CAD in, CAD out
RapidPath Online is built around maps. According to Invarion, it tests swept paths "on Google Maps or Mapbox, eliminating the need for CAD software", and its matrix lists image and SVG as import formats. CAD, PDF, KML and georeferenced image import are listed for the desktop product only. On output, the matrix lists image and PDF export for RapidPath Online; CAD-friendly export is described for the desktop product.
That works well when the question is "does a truck fit through this existing junction". It is limiting when the question comes from a design: an architect's site plan as PDF, a civil engineer's DWG, or a drawing that has to go back into CAD with the envelope on its own layer.
PathSweeper covers both. On the free tier you underlay a PDF, JPEG or PNG site plan, calibrate the scale and draw paths. With the pass you upload DWG, DXF and 12d XML drawings directly (there is also a standalone DWG to DXF converter), import a calibrated satellite image, and export a layered DXF or DWG with a placeable reference point that opens cleanly in AutoCAD, Allplan and ArchiCAD.
Getting started
PathSweeper opens straight onto the canvas: no install, no account and no card for the free tier. Load a background, choose a vehicle, click the path, and the swept envelope is drawn as you go.
RapidPath Online starts with a 14-day free trial of the subscription. It comes with a user manual and a tutorial video library; Invarion's matrix lists live training and a dedicated customer success manager for the desktop product only.
Which interface suits you is a matter of taste, and both products offer a free way to find out. The quickest comparison is to run the same manoeuvre on the same plan in each.
Kinematics and validation
Both tools simulate forward and reverse manoeuvres. Before release, we cross-checked PathSweeper's independently developed engine against reference exports from AutoTURN Online for all 13 German RBSV 2020 design vehicles; the method and results, and the per-vehicle deviation table is in our engine validation report are on our AutoTURN Online comparison page. We have not run a comparable cross-check against RapidPath Online and make no claim about its accuracy either way.
PathSweeper also models rate-limited steering, where a driver cannot turn the wheel from lock to lock instantly, and articulation-angle limits at every hitch, so the preview never shows a manoeuvre the combination could not physically drive.
Pricing
RapidPath Online is a subscription. As of 8 October 2026 Invarion's regional pricing pages (linked in the table) list these annual prices, all excluding taxes, with monthly and three-year billing also available and a 14-day free trial for new subscriptions:
| Market | RapidPath Online (per year) | PathSweeper Annual Pass (per year) |
|---|---|---|
| EU | €499 | €399 |
| United Kingdom | £449 | £449 |
| United States | $599 | $549 |
| Australia | A$799 | A$749 |
Both columns are net list prices; taxes are added where they apply.
For continuous use the annual plans are close: PathSweeper is €100 lower in the EU, slightly lower in the US and Australia, and the same price in the UK. The bigger difference is in how you can pay:
- Free tier. PathSweeper's free tier has no time limit: the full canvas editor, four generic standard vehicles (generic templates, not official design vehicles), PDF and image underlays, scale calibration, measurement, and PNG, JPEG, PDF and batch ZIP export. RapidPath Online has a 14-day trial and no free tier.
- Per project. The PathSweeper Project Pass costs €39 once per project and unlocks the official vehicle libraries, custom vehicles in the project, CAD import, DXF and DWG export, satellite imagery, the A3 audit plan sheet and a client-billable invoice. If you need swept paths for a few projects a year, that is a fraction of a yearly subscription.
- Annual. The Annual Pass (€399 per year, cancellable yearly) covers continuous work across all projects.
When RapidPath Online is the better choice
Choose RapidPath Online if you already work in the Invarion ecosystem. Invarion has been building traffic management software since 2001, and RapidPlan (traffic control plans) and RapidPath Online share the same Invarion Cloud account. If your team produces traffic management plans with signs and devices and needs the occasional swept path on the same aerial image, staying with one vendor is a reasonable choice.
Choose it if your work happens on live map imagery rather than on drawings. Google Maps and Mapbox are built in, so for checks on existing streets you do not have to import anything first. Its matrix also lists SVG import and custom traffic signs, which PathSweeper does not offer.
And if you need the full RapidPath feature set (custom vehicles, CAD import and export) as Windows desktop software, compare against the desktop RapidPath instead; that is a different product at a different price.
The bottom line
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| A vehicle no library has (special transport, crane, client fleet) | PathSweeper (custom creator in the browser) |
| Site plans arrive as DWG, DXF or PDF, results go back into CAD | PathSweeper (CAD and PDF import, DXF/DWG export) |
| A few projects a year | PathSweeper (€39 per project, free tier for basic checks) |
| Continuous weekly work | Either; compare the annual prices for your market above |
| Traffic management plans in RapidPlan plus occasional swept paths on map imagery | RapidPath Online (same vendor and account) |
Both tools answer the basic question in the browser: will this vehicle make this turn. RapidPath Online answers it on map imagery and leaves custom vehicles and CAD workflows to the desktop product. PathSweeper keeps them in the browser and adds a free tier and a per-project pass.
For the wider market, including the CAD-hosted and desktop tools, see our swept path analysis software comparison; for the other browser tool, see PathSweeper vs AutoTURN Online. The fastest way to judge PathSweeper is to open it with one of your own plans; the free tier needs no account.