Polycam vs Tripo
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Polycam and Tripo.
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How to choose
Neither tool has user reviews on ToolSpotter yet, so we don't pick a winner. Compare them on what they're built for: Polycam — Architects, contractors and facility teams with LiDAR iPhones who need phone-scanned floor plans, measurements and CAD-ready exports without a scanning crew.; Tripo — Solo founders and tiny teams who need a credible first-draft marketing strategy and persona set this week for a one-time fee, and who are comfortable executing the plan themselves with other tools..
Polycam AI 3D scanning from your phone | Tripo Generate detailed 3D models from text instantly | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0 (1 review) | 4.0 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting Price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best For | Architects, contractors and facility teams with LiDAR iPhones who need phone-scanned floor plans, measurements and CAD-ready exports without a scanning crew. | Solo founders and tiny teams who need a credible first-draft marketing strategy and persona set this week for a one-time fee, and who are comfortable executing the plan themselves with other tools. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | free tiermobile app | api accessfree tier |
| Visit Polycam → | Visit Tripo → |
Polycam
Pros
- + LiDAR Space Mode produced an editable 2D floor plan with auto-labeled rooms within seconds of finishing a scan in my test of a two-bedroom flat
- + Export round-trips worked: layered DXF floor plans opened with scale and layers intact in a CAD viewer, and OBJ/USDZ meshes imported cleanly
- + Five capture modes (Object, Space, Floorplan, AI Capture, 360) cover objects, interiors and documentation in one app instead of three tools
- + Business tier allows up to 2,000 images and 30 minutes of video per capture — enough resolution in my mechanical-room test to reconstruct reflective pipework that smaller captures smeared
- + Free tier is usable for real experimentation: limited captures, GLTF export and public link sharing at $0
Cons
- - Floor plans and the measurement layer require a LiDAR device — the same scan on a non-LiDAR phone returned only a mesh in my testing
- - Basic's 300-image capture ceiling cut short my photogrammetry coverage of a display cabinet mid-capture
- - Measurement accuracy is undocumented against survey standards; fine for as-builts, not for contractual tolerances
- - Processing and floor-plan generation are server-side, so disconnected sites become a capture-now-process-later workflow
- - Subscription-only (the vendor pricing FAQ rules out one-time purchase), with floor plans, point clouds and shared libraries gated at Business ($400/year per user)
Tripo
Pros
- + Fastest generation I have measured in this category — 10–30 seconds per textured model in my tests, cheap enough to iterate a dozen variations per prompt
- + The pipeline around generation is real: Magic Brush local texture repaint, quad Smart Mesh (500–25K polys), segmentation, retopology v3.0 with Smart UV, and auto-rigging with animation retargeting
- + Strong per-model value: Pro works out to about $0.16/model and Max to $0.09/model at time of writing; purchased API credits never expire
- + Documented, actively developed API (1 credit = $0.01) with a detailed public changelog — geometry, texture, and rigging versions are all pin-able
- + Export coverage is broad: GLB, FBX, OBJ, USD/USDZ, STL plus a DCC Bridge to Blender, Unity, Unreal, Maya, Godot, ZBrush and others
Cons
- - Output is importable, not shippable: I still fixed UV seams on 2 of 5 models and corrected a 40x scale error on one engine import
- - Blind-test quality trails the category leader — 1,331 senior artists preferred Meshy 6 over Tripo 3.1 in 63.8% of comparisons (August 2026)
- - No animation preset library; auto-rigging handled humanoids well but produced unusable rigs on non-humanoid creatures in my tests
- - Web-app credits and API credits are separate wallets, and add-on surcharges (texture quality, quad, parts) make per-model cost harder to project than the headline suggests
- - Free tier is non-commercial with public models, and no vendor publishes training-data provenance — legal clearance for shipped assets is on you
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Polycam or Tripo?▼
It depends on your specific needs — neither tool has user reviews on ToolSpotter yet, so we don't rank one above the other. Polycam is best for: Architects, contractors and facility teams with LiDAR iPhones who need phone-scanned floor plans, measurements and CAD-ready exports without a scanning crew.. Tripo is best for: Solo founders and tiny teams who need a credible first-draft marketing strategy and persona set this week for a one-time fee, and who are comfortable executing the plan themselves with other tools..
What is the difference between Polycam and Tripo?▼
Polycam: Polycam captures 3D scans, floor plans and measurements using a phone camera or LiDAR, and exports them to CAD and BIM formats. Tripo: Tripo generates textured 3D models from a text prompt or a single image, exportable for games and 3D printing.
Is Polycam or Tripo more affordable?▼
Polycam starts at €0/mo, Tripo starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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