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Maps · head to head

Agisoft Metashape vs CloudCompare

Agisoft Metashape logo

Agisoft Metashape

Maps

Desktop photogrammetry that turns photographs into point clouds, meshes, orthomosaics and DEMs

From
$179/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CloudCompare logo

CloudCompare

CAD

Open source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudCompare has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Agisoft Metashape processing is entirely local, so throughput is a function of your workstation, and a large project on modest hardware can take days where a cloud service would return results overnight.; CloudCompare the project is administered by its creator in his spare time while he holds a full-time job elsewhere, so an organisation building a monitoring programme on it depends on one person with no obligation to continue
  • They diverge on capability: Agisoft Metashape covers Structure-from-motion alignment, CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Agisoft Metashape and CloudCompare actually diverge.

Attributes where Agisoft Metashape and CloudCompare differ
AttributeAgisoft MetashapeCloudCompare
Starting price$179/one-timeFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchaseOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
CategoryMapsCAD

Identical on both: platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Agisoft Metashape

  • Structure-from-motion alignment
  • Dense point cloud generation
  • Mesh and texture
  • Orthomosaic and DEM
  • Ground control points
  • Point cloud classification
  • Multispectral processing
  • Python and Java scripting

Only in CloudCompare

  • Cloud to cloud distance
  • Cloud to mesh distance
  • Registration
  • Segmentation and cleaning
  • Plugin architecture
  • Format support
  • Command line mode

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Agisoft Metashape

  • A survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud creditsnot CloudCompare
  • A quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitivenot CloudCompare
  • An archaeology or heritage team documenting sites on a capital grant with no recurring software budget to renew a subscriptionnot CloudCompare
  • A VFX or games studio scanning props and environments, where Standard at $179 covers the whole requirement because georeferencing is irrelevantnot CloudCompare

CloudCompare

  • A monitoring engineer comparing quarterly laser scans of a retaining wall to quantify movement without buying a proprietary deformation packagenot Agisoft Metashape
  • A heritage team registering dozens of terrestrial scans of a building into a single cloud before meshingnot Agisoft Metashape
  • A geomorphologist measuring erosion between two drone-derived surfaces of a river banknot Agisoft Metashape
  • A survey technician cleaning and subsampling a scan before delivering it to a client whose software cannot handle the full densitynot Agisoft Metashape

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Agisoft Metashape

  • Processing is entirely local, so throughput is a function of your workstation, and a large project on modest hardware can take days where a cloud service would return results overnight.
  • The vendor is a Russian company, and since 2022 payment is restricted to wire transfer, ACH and SEPA direct debit with no card payment, which some corporate and government procurement departments simply cannot process.
  • There is no collaboration layer: no shared projects, no web viewer, no permissions. Sharing results means sending files, which is a real limitation on multi-office teams.
  • Support is thin compared with commercial drone platforms, and the software assumes photogrammetric competence; users who do not understand overlap, ground control and residuals produce confidently wrong models.
  • A node-locked licence is tied to a machine, and moving it or covering a second workstation means either a reseller-quoted floating licence or buying twice, which erodes the cost advantage for teams rather than individuals.

CloudCompare

  • The project is administered by its creator in his spare time while he holds a full-time job elsewhere, so an organisation building a monitoring programme on it depends on one person with no obligation to continue
  • There is no commercial support contract from anyone, so a defect that blocks a deliverable is resolved by a GitHub issue and community goodwill rather than by an agreement
  • Processing is single machine and memory bound, so very large aerial lidar collections must be tiled manually and large jobs are limited by the workstation rather than scaled out
  • The interface is unforgiving and organised around the underlying data structures rather than around tasks, so competent surveyors routinely take weeks to become productive
  • Plugins vary widely in maintenance, and several useful ones originated in research projects that have since ended, so a workflow built around a specific plugin can break at the next release

Pricing, plan by plan

Agisoft Metashape

$179/one-time
  • Standard$179/one-time
    • Photogrammetric alignment, dense cloud, mesh and texture
    • No georeferencing or coordinate systems
    • No ground control points
  • Professional$3499/one-time
    • Everything in Standard
    • Georeferencing, coordinate systems and ground control points
    • Orthomosaic, DEM and point cloud classification
  • Floating licence$undefined/one-time
    • Shared across machines rather than node-locked
    • Sold through authorised resellers only
    • Quoted rather than listed

CloudCompare

Free
  • CloudCompareFree
    • GNU General Public Licence
    • No licence fee and no usage limits
    • No commercial support contract exists

Which should you pick?

Choose Agisoft Metashape if

  • You need structure-from-motion alignment.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want dense point cloud generation.
Agisoft Metashape review

Choose CloudCompare if

  • You need cloud to cloud distance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want cloud to mesh distance.
CloudCompare review

Questions people ask

Is Agisoft Metashape or CloudCompare better?
Neither clearly leads. Agisoft Metashape starts at $179/one-time and CloudCompare at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Agisoft Metashape or CloudCompare?
CloudCompare has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $179/one-time for Agisoft Metashape and Free for CloudCompare.
Does Agisoft Metashape or CloudCompare run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, macOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use CloudCompare for free?
Yes. CloudCompare has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Agisoft Metashape starts at $179/one-time.
What is Agisoft Metashape best used for?
Agisoft Metashape is most often used for a survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud credits, a quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitive, an archaeology or heritage team documenting sites on a capital grant with no recurring software budget to renew a subscription, a vfx or games studio scanning props and environments, where standard at $179 covers the whole requirement because georeferencing is irrelevant. Of those, a survey or engineering firm processing high volumes of drone imagery that wants unlimited local processing instead of per-hectare cloud credits and a quarry or mine measuring stockpile volumes monthly, where the same flight is reprocessed repeatedly and cloud pricing by area is punitive are not what CloudCompare is typically brought in for.
What can Agisoft Metashape do that CloudCompare cannot?
Agisoft Metashape covers Structure-from-motion alignment, Dense point cloud generation, Mesh and texture, Orthomosaic and DEM. CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Cloud to mesh distance, Registration, Segmentation and cleaning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Agisoft Metashape: How much does Metashape cost?

Professional is $3,499 and Standard is $179, both node-locked. Floating licences are quoted through resellers.

CloudCompare: Who maintains CloudCompare?

Daniel Girardeau-Montaut, its creator, administers it in his own time alongside a full-time engineering job, with contributions from a community of users and research groups.

Agisoft Metashape: Is it a subscription?

No. These are perpetual node-locked licences. Major version upgrades are charged separately.

CloudCompare: Can I buy support?

No. There is no vendor and no commercial support offering. Some geospatial consultancies know it well and can be hired, but they are not contracted to support the software itself.

Agisoft Metashape: What is the difference between Standard and Professional?

Standard has no georeferencing, coordinate systems, ground control points, orthomosaic export or scripting. Anything survey or mapping related requires Professional.

CloudCompare: Is it suitable for commercial deliverables?

It is widely used for them. The licence permits it and the algorithms are well regarded. The risk is operational, not legal: no support and no roadmap commitment.

Agisoft Metashape: Does it process in the cloud?

No. All processing is local on your own hardware, which is the main reason it is cheap at volume and slow on weak machines.

CloudCompare: Can it handle a full aerial lidar survey?

Not in one piece. It is memory bound on a single machine, so large collections need tiling or a dedicated lidar pipeline such as PDAL.

Agisoft Metashape: Are there educational licences?

Yes, Agisoft offers reduced academic pricing on a separate page.

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