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CloudCompare vs Three.js

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
Three.js logo

Three.js

AR VR

JavaScript 3D library for WebGL and WebXR

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Three.js forward rendering pipeline only, no deferred rendering support
  • They diverge on capability: CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Three.js covers WebGL rendering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudCompare and Three.js actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudCompare and Three.js differ
AttributeCloudCompareThree.js
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefree
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
CategoryCADAR VR
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 CloudCompare

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

Only in Three.js

  • WebGL rendering
  • Scene graph
  • Materials system
  • Animation system
  • WebXR
  • Post-processing
  • Physics
  • Loaders

What people use each for

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

CloudCompare

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

Three.js

  • VR Gamingnot CloudCompare
  • AR Marketingnot CloudCompare
  • Virtual Trainingnot CloudCompare
  • 3D Visualizationnot CloudCompare
  • Immersive Experiencesnot CloudCompare

Where each one falls short

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

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

Three.js

  • Forward rendering pipeline only, no deferred rendering support
  • No built-in collision detection or spatial indexing, requiring external physics libraries
  • WebGL dependency means no support for non-WebGL environments

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudCompare

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

Three.js

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Full library
    • WebXR module
    • Examples

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Three.js if

  • You need webgl rendering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want scene graph.
Three.js review

Questions people ask

Is CloudCompare or Three.js better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudCompare starts at Free and Three.js at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudCompare or Three.js?
CloudCompare starts at Free and Three.js at Free.
Does CloudCompare or Three.js run on more platforms?
CloudCompare runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Three.js runs on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android.
Can I use CloudCompare for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CloudCompare best used for?
CloudCompare is most often used for a monitoring engineer comparing quarterly laser scans of a retaining wall to quantify movement without buying a proprietary deformation package, a heritage team registering dozens of terrestrial scans of a building into a single cloud before meshing, a geomorphologist measuring erosion between two drone-derived surfaces of a river bank, a survey technician cleaning and subsampling a scan before delivering it to a client whose software cannot handle the full density. Of those, a monitoring engineer comparing quarterly laser scans of a retaining wall to quantify movement without buying a proprietary deformation package and a heritage team registering dozens of terrestrial scans of a building into a single cloud before meshing are not what Three.js is typically brought in for.
What can CloudCompare do that Three.js cannot?
CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Cloud to mesh distance, Registration, Segmentation and cleaning. Three.js covers WebGL rendering, Scene graph, Materials system, Animation system.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Three.js: Is Three.js free to use?

Yes. Three.js is released under the MIT license, an open-source license that permits unlimited commercial and personal use with no licensing fees.

Source
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.

Three.js: Does Three.js include physics simulation?

No. Three.js is a rendering library only. Physics, collision detection, and spatial indexing must be implemented with external libraries like Rapier, Ammo, or JoltPhysics.

Source
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.

Three.js: Can I use Three.js for offline development?

Yes. Local development requires a local web server for CORS compliance. You can use npm with a build tool like Vite, or run a local Python server for development.

Source
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.

Three.js: Does Three.js support WebXR for VR/AR?

Yes. Three.js documentation includes WebXR APIs for building VR and AR experiences in web browsers.

Source
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