Shap-E by OpenAI vs Polycam
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Shap-E by OpenAI and Polycam.
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Verdict: Polycam wins
Polycam scores 4.0/5, edging out Shap-E by OpenAI at 2.8/5. Architects, contractors and facility teams with LiDAR iPhones who need phone-scanned floor plans, measurements and CAD-ready exports without a scanning crew.
Shap-E by OpenAI OpenAI text-to-3D model generator | Polycam AI 3D scanning from your phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 2.8 (1 review) | 4.0 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | free | freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free tier available |
| Best For | Developers and researchers who want a free, open reference implementation of fast text/image-to-3D generation to learn from, prototype with, or fine-tune. | Architects, contractors and facility teams with LiDAR iPhones who need phone-scanned floor plans, measurements and CAD-ready exports without a scanning crew. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | open sourcefree tier | free tiermobile app |
| Visit Shap-E by OpenAI → | Visit Polycam → |
Shap-E by OpenAI
Pros
- + Completely free under MIT — weights, code, and commercial use rights included
- + Generates 3D objects in seconds per sample on a single GPU; iteration is cheap in my testing
- + Dual representation output (textured mesh and NeRF-compatible implicit function) is technically elegant
- + The repository is genuinely approachable: self-contained notebooks, sensible defaults, quick setup
- + Well-documented, unusually honest model card that states its failure modes up front
Cons
- - Output is research-grade: rough edges, holes, blurry textures — OpenAI's model card admits samples are below professional asset quality
- - Multi-object prompts, attribute binding, and requested object counts fail often; composition is a structural weakness
- - No UI, hosted option, support, retopology, texturing tools or roadmap — everything past generation is your problem
- - The repository has been static since 2023 with no releases; the field has moved well past it
- - Image conditioning only works reliably on synthetic renderings, not real photographs
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)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Shap-E by OpenAI or Polycam?▼
Polycam scores higher at 4.0/5 vs 2.8/5 for Shap-E by OpenAI, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Shap-E by OpenAI and Polycam?▼
Shap-E by OpenAI: OpenAI's open-source model for generating 3D objects from text descriptions or images with neural implicit representations. Polycam: Polycam captures 3D scans, floor plans and measurements using a phone camera or LiDAR, and exports them to CAD and BIM formats.
Is Shap-E by OpenAI or Polycam more affordable?▼
Shap-E by OpenAI starts at €0/mo, Polycam starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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