GPS for mini excavators used to mean a factory option on a new machine, or a dealer quote you had to chase. It does not have to. Here is what excavator guidance costs in Canada, what actually goes on a compact machine, and one we fitted in Vaughan. Prices were checked on October 31, 2026.
What it costs
A 2026 Canadian price guide puts grade control at about $15,000 to $35,000 CAD as an option on a new excavator. Most aftermarket brands do not publish a price at all.
The XFIX EX30 is $14,499 CAD for the hardware, with installation quoted to your machine. That is the whole system: the instrument on the stick, the attitude unit on the bucket, its own base station and the cab display.
What goes on the machine
- On the stick: the EX30 instrument, GNSS and an inertial module in one housing, on a magnetic base that stays clamped while the instrument comes off for charging.
- On the bucket: a sealed attitude unit that reports the bucket angle over Bluetooth. No wiring and no drilling.
- On the ground: the EX30B base, sending corrections over its own radio out to about 5 km, so the machine keeps working where there is no cell signal.
- In the cab: a 10.1-inch display showing the bucket tip against the design, to better than 3 cm.
What one operator can do with it
The screen shows the bucket tip against the grade, so the operator digs to the design without a grade checker in the trench. The modes on the display cover trenching, slopes, levelling and site levelling.
An install on a Kubota KX057-5
In Vaughan we fitted an XFIX system to a Kubota KX057-5 compact excavator, set up for trenching, site levelling and grading. See the install, with photos.
Tell us the machine, make and model, and the work, and we will quote the install. Get a quote or call 416-909-5983.
Sources, checked October 31, 2026: Supply Post, Excavator Price Guide for Canada (2026); XFIX EX30, EX30B, BS05 and AT80 datasheets. The EX30 price is ours.