In an era of escalating access to data and increasingly prevalent and cost-efficient AI to sift through it, site selection tools are more prominent than ever before. Even many of the (historically) tech-reluctant companies that comprise the commercial real estate industry have been persuaded to adopt one (or sometimes more) of these tools.

For those not familiar with site selection tools, let me allow one of the sources I spoke with for this letter to succinctly explain their utility.

“Pillar helps developers find land faster,” explained Dylan Goren, the company’s CEO. And, depending on the specific site selection program, the audience isn’t limited to developers, but can encompass investors, brokers, and real estate end users.

But which tool is the best, the one site selection app to rule them all?

This letter isn’t an attempt to answer that question. With such a diverse array of offerings in the market, it would be nearly impossible to accomplish that feat. What this article does endeavor to provide is a deeper dive into three prominent site selection options and uncover the advantages and limitations posed by each of them.

Because here’s the rub: that rhetorical question I asked a couple of paragraphs ago is a fallacy. There is no single site selection tool that is optimal for every user. Rather, given the variety of needs, working habits, location or asset type focuses, not to mention industry segment (retailers versus developers versus REITs) of the professionals (or aspiring professionals) that might utilize these tools, there can be no definitive “best site selection tool.” The optimal site selection tool will depend on a user’s priorities and objectives.

Over the course of this letter, we’ll look at three site selection platforms: Placer.ai, Pillar, and LandTech. Based on discussions with prominent employees at each of these companies, we’ll review:

• The advantages (and limitations) of each tool

• The primary audience for each tool

• Each company’s journey to reach their current place in the market