CloudCompare
5.8/10Free, open-source desktop software for processing, comparing, and classifying 3D point clouds and meshes, such as laser scans, for surveyors, engineers, and researchers.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
CloudCompare is a desktop application for 3D point clouds and triangular meshes. It began in 2004 at EDF R&D as a tool for comparing dense terrestrial laser scans using an octree structure. It was released publicly around 2009 under the GPL licence and has grown into a general point cloud processor. Its core tools cover cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-mesh distance computation, registration, resampling, segmentation, statistics, and handling of scalar fields, normals, and colours. A large set of plugins adds more: CANUPO and 3DMASC for classification, CSF for ground filtering, M3C2 for robust change detection, RANSAC shape detection, Poisson surface reconstruction, geology tools such as Compass and Facets, forestry tools such as TreeIso and 3DFin, and VoxFall for rockfall monitoring. It suits survey, geotechnical, civil engineering, and research teams who need to inspect or compare LiDAR and photogrammetry data without paying for a licence. There are no paid plans, subscriptions, or seats. The software is a free download for Windows, macOS, and Linux, including a Flathub package. Integration with other systems mostly happens through file exchange, including LAS/LAZ and PLY, and through the Point Cloud Library wrapper plugin. There is no cloud service, connector, or enterprise API. The main limitation is that it is a community-maintained research-grade tool. There is no vendor support contract, documentation can be sparse or outdated, and it has none of the asset-management, collaboration, or reporting features that commercial reality-capture platforms offer.
Our Rating
Who CloudCompare is best for
Good fit
It is free and open source, and widely used in academic geoscience and surveying work.
Cloud and mesh distance comparison, registration, and shape detection support as-built versus design checks.
There are no licence costs, which suits small survey firms on tight budgets.
Less suited
It is useful for scan comparison and volume or deviation checks, though it lacks project workflow features.
It can process and classify point clouds from aerial LiDAR or photogrammetry, but it does not plan flights or build deliverable portals.
There is no vendor support, single sign-on, or centralized administration.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- It is completely free under the GPL with no seat or feature limits, so small firms and universities can roll it out without a budget.
- Cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-mesh, and M3C2 distance tools make it strong for change detection and as-built deviation analysis.
- Plugins add specialist classification, including CANUPO, 3DMASC, and the CSF ground filter, without extra cost.
- It was built from the start to handle very large terrestrial laser scans on standard hardware.
- The open source code and plugin architecture let developers add their own algorithms.
Cons
- There is no commercial support, so help comes from the community forum.
- Third-party commentary says the documentation can be sparse or outdated for newcomers.
- It is a desktop-only tool with no cloud collaboration, sharing portal, or multi-user workflow.
- It has no asset registry, work orders, or inspection reporting, so it covers data processing only, not infrastructure management.
- Results depend heavily on input data quality, and one user report could not run a usable analysis on a noisy LAS dataset.
Key Features
Not included
- Work Orders
- Offline Field App
CloudCompare Pricing
Open source (GPL)
- All standard plugins
- Full desktop application
- GPL v3 source code on GitHub
- Windows, macOS and Linux builds
Frequently Asked Questions
Nothing. It is open source under the GPL licence and free to download and use, including commercially.
Yes, through plugins. CANUPO and 3DMASC do multi-scale classification, CSF separates ground from non-ground points, and Cloud Layers supports manual classification.
No. The research found no commercial edition or support contract. Help comes from the official forum, the wiki, and GitHub.
It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Linux users can install it from Flathub or distribution repositories.
Yes. Cloud-to-mesh distance computation was one of its original core functions, and the SRA plugin compares clouds against surfaces of revolution.
It was started in 2004 at EDF R&D by Daniel Girardeau-Montaut and is now maintained as a community open source project on GitHub.
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