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CAD · head to head

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler vs Reconstruct

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler logo

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

CAD

Photogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Reconstruct logo

Reconstruct

Construction

Reality capture and progress tracking that aligns site imagery to the model and the schedule

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler the rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.; Reconstruct pricing is quoted with nothing published, so a buyer cannot sanity-check a proposal against a list rate and has no way to know whether the price scales with projects, square footage or users until deep in the sales process.
  • They diverge on capability: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Reconstruct covers Device-agnostic capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Reconstruct actually diverge.

Attributes where Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Reconstruct differ
AttributeBentley iTwin Capture ModelerReconstruct
PlatformsWindows, CloudWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCADConstruction

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • Aerial triangulation
  • Dense mesh reconstruction
  • Point cloud fusion
  • Orthophoto and DSM output
  • 3D Tiles and 3MX export
  • Distributed processing
  • Retouching and editing
  • Georeferencing and control

Only in Reconstruct

  • Device-agnostic capture
  • Photogrammetry and mesh generation
  • 4D schedule alignment
  • Design overlay
  • Time slider
  • Measurement tools
  • Issue tracking
  • Remote walkthrough

What people use each for

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • A highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in OpenRoadsnot Reconstruct
  • A survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisationnot Reconstruct
  • An engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessmentnot Reconstruct
  • A team publishing streamable 3D Tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browsernot Reconstruct

Reconstruct

  • A general contractor whose monthly progress claim is regularly challenged by the owner, needing dated visual evidence tied to schedule activities rather than a folder of photosnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • An owner running projects in several countries who wants to cut executive site visits without accepting the contractor’s self-reported percentage completenot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • A healthcare or data centre fit-out where above-ceiling services must be recorded before they are closed up, so later maintenance does not require demolitionnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • A delay or defect dispute where the decisive question is what was physically in place on a specific date and the only other evidence is contested emailnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

Where each one falls short

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • The rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.
  • Consumption-based entitlements make the cost of a large reconstruction hard to predict in advance, which is awkward when you are quoting a fixed-price deliverable to a client.
  • The desktop engine is Windows only and reconstruction is compute-hungry, so meaningful throughput needs either serious workstation hardware or paid cloud processing.
  • Bentley does not publish a plain rate card and pricing varies by region, reseller and existing agreement, so two firms buying the same thing can pay very different amounts.
  • Value compounds inside the Bentley ecosystem, and a firm whose design work happens in Autodesk or Esri tools pays for a positioning it will not use while getting the same mesh a cheaper standalone photogrammetry package would produce.

Reconstruct

  • Pricing is quoted with nothing published, so a buyer cannot sanity-check a proposal against a list rate and has no way to know whether the price scales with projects, square footage or users until deep in the sales process.
  • The whole value depends on disciplined recurring capture, and site teams treat walking the building with a camera as a low-priority chore, so datasets go stale exactly when a dispute makes them valuable.
  • Photogrammetry from handheld footage is less accurate than laser scanning, so it is fine for progress and coordination but should not be relied on for tight as-built tolerances or prefabrication dimensions.
  • Schedule alignment requires a well-structured schedule with activities that map to physical locations; on projects where the programme is a coarse rolled-up bar chart the progress calculation is close to meaningless.
  • It is another platform alongside Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud rather than a replacement, so buyers add a subscription and a workflow rather than consolidating one, and the business case has to survive that.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

On request
  • iTwin Capture Modeler$undefined/year
    • Subscription entitlement through Bentley licensing
    • Consumption charged against Bentley Keys on some agreements
    • Reality Modeling WorkSuite bundles Modeler with reality data management

Reconstruct

On request
  • Reconstruct$undefined/year
    • Quoted per project or per portfolio
    • Unlimited capture devices
    • 4D schedule alignment

Which should you pick?

Choose Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler if

  • You need aerial triangulation.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want dense mesh reconstruction.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler review

Choose Reconstruct if

  • You need device-agnostic capture.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want photogrammetry and mesh generation.
Reconstruct review

Questions people ask

Is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Reconstruct better?
Neither clearly leads. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and Reconstruct at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Reconstruct?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and Reconstruct at On request.
Does Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Reconstruct run on more platforms?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler runs on Windows, Cloud. Reconstruct runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler best used for?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler is most often used for a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads, a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation, an engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessment, a team publishing streamable 3d tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browser. Of those, a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads and a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation are not what Reconstruct is typically brought in for.
What can Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler do that Reconstruct cannot?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Dense mesh reconstruction, Point cloud fusion, Orthophoto and DSM output. Reconstruct covers Device-agnostic capture, Photogrammetry and mesh generation, 4D schedule alignment, Design overlay.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Is ContextCapture discontinued?

The name is. The product continues as iTwin Capture Modeler within Bentley's iTwin family.

Reconstruct: How much does Reconstruct cost?

Not published. It is quoted per project or portfolio. Ask specifically whether the price scales by project count, square footage or capture volume, because those give very different totals.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Does it still support a perpetual licence?

New buyers should expect subscription or consumption-based entitlements. Confirm the exact conversion path if you hold an older perpetual licence.

Reconstruct: Do we need a drone or a laser scanner?

No. It works from 360 cameras and even smartphone video. Drones and scanners improve exterior and accuracy-critical coverage.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Can it process laser scan data as well as photographs?

Yes. It fuses point clouds with imagery in a single reconstruction.

Reconstruct: How accurate is it?

Accurate enough for progress, coordination and dispute evidence. It is not a substitute for survey-grade laser scanning where tolerances matter.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Do I need other Bentley software to use it?

No, output formats are usable elsewhere, but the commercial and workflow case is strongest if you already run MicroStation or OpenRoads.

Reconstruct: Who owns the captured data at closeout?

The customer. Confirm the export format and retention terms in the contract before handover, because a reality archive is only useful if you can still open it in five years.

Reconstruct: Does it replace Procore?

No. It integrates with Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud and adds the visual as-built layer.

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