Planet vs Umbra: Earth observation compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Umbra ranks 63 on the Space 100 with a score of 70; Planet ranks 92 with 65. Planet is ahead on production, commercials, progress, firepower and leverage. Umbra is ahead on deployment, technology and positioning. Planet is based in San Francisco, United States, Umbra in Santa Barbara, United States. Planet: public. Planet is named in 28 signals and Umbra in 23.

Planet →

San Francisco, California, United States · Space · Satellites & spacecraft / Earth observation · public · www.planet.com

Planet sells customer-facing satellite-data analytics through Planet AI Application, which lets users query imagery and generate time-series insights.

Space 100 · rank 92 · score 65AI Core · watchlist · score 60

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment1
Production9
Commercials8
Progress10
Technology4
Positioning7
Firepower9
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Latest signals

  • Planet secured sovereign-space wins in 2026.Via Satellite
  • Planet is opening a new factory in Germany.Via Satellite
  • Planet is investing in onboard AI for space systems.Via Satellite

28 signals name Planet.

Facts, with sources

  • USD 5739121070finance.yahoo.com
  • USD 210202000sec.gov
  • USD 116052000sec.gov

12 facts on file.

Umbra →

Santa Barbara, California, United States · Space · Satellites & spacecraft / Earth observation · umbra.space

Umbra builds and operates radar-imaging satellites and sells high-resolution commercial SAR imagery for Earth observation customers.

Space 100 · rank 63 · score 70

Scores, Space (of 10)

Deployment6
Production6
Commercials6
Progress9
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower6
Leverage6

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Umbra is a US SAR operator with 12+ satellites launched (Umbra-12 in January 2026) at 16cm resolution, the highest commercially available, built at low single-digit-millions cost (the cheapest per performance in the field), plus a satellite-sales line building SAR sats for customers. It holds an NRO triple-anchor: an operational Radar Commercial Augmentation contract (August 2026, one of only three survivors of the five-company CRC evaluation), SCE Stage III, and an RF-products award. Revenue is estimated at 10-100m from NRO and commercial streams.

Latest signals

  • Umbra appoints Ashley Durmer as Chief Operating OfficerVia Satellite
  • NOAA awarded a commercial satellite data contract to 14 companies.SpaceNews
  • NRO is expanding commercial synthetic-aperture radar partnerships for space-based intelligence collection.Umbra

23 signals name Umbra.

Facts, with sources

  • NOAA awarded a commercial satellite data contract to 14 companiesSpaceNews
  • NRO is expanding commercial synthetic-aperture radar partnerships for space-based intelligence collectionUmbra
  • NRO expands commercial SAR partnerships for operational intelligence collectionUmbra

28 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

Planet or Umbra: which is ahead in space?

Umbra ranks 63 on the Space 100 with a score of 70; Planet ranks 92 with 65. Planet is ahead on production, commercials, progress, firepower and leverage. Umbra is ahead on deployment, technology and positioning. Planet is based in San Francisco, United States, Umbra in Santa Barbara, United States. Planet: public. Planet is named in 28 signals and Umbra in 23.

How do Planet and Umbra compare?

Umbra ranks 63 on the Space 100 with a score of 70; Planet ranks 92 with 65. Planet is ahead on production, commercials, progress, firepower and leverage. Umbra is ahead on deployment, technology and positioning. Planet is based in San Francisco, United States, Umbra in Santa Barbara, United States. Planet: public. Planet is named in 28 signals and Umbra in 23. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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