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CAD · head to head

CloudCompare vs Tiled

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
Tiled logo

Tiled

Game Development

Flexible level editor for 2D games

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; Tiled no official iOS or Android builds; desktop-only distribution
  • They diverge on capability: CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Tiled covers Tile layers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudCompare and Tiled actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudCompare and Tiled differ
AttributeCloudCompareTiled
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeopen-source
CategoryCADGame Development
FoundedUnknown2008

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

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

Only in Tiled

  • Tile layers
  • Object layers
  • Terrain tool
  • Auto-mapping
  • Wang tiles
  • Custom properties
  • Scripting (JavaScript)
  • Multiple export formats

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 Tiled
  • A heritage team registering dozens of terrestrial scans of a building into a single cloud before meshingnot Tiled
  • A geomorphologist measuring erosion between two drone-derived surfaces of a river banknot Tiled
  • A survey technician cleaning and subsampling a scan before delivering it to a client whose software cannot handle the full densitynot Tiled

Tiled

  • Tile-based maps for RPGs, platformers, and Breakout-style gamesnot CloudCompare
  • Orthogonal, isometric, and hexagonal map layoutsnot CloudCompare
  • Object layers (rectangles, ellipses, polygons, points) for collision boxes, spawn points, and triggersnot CloudCompare
  • Large 'infinite' maps and multi-map world projectsnot CloudCompare
  • Export to game engines via built-in/scripted exporters using the open TMX formatnot 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

Tiled

  • No official iOS or Android builds; desktop-only distribution
  • No official browser-based version of the editor itself, despite exporting to many engine formats
  • Building from source requires a Qt 6.2+ / C++ / Qbs toolchain
  • Multi-license codebase (GPL 2.0 application plus Apache 2.0 and BSD components), so redistributors must track which license applies per file

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudCompare

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

Tiled

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Free and open source level editor
    • GNU license free software
    • Download from itch.io or GitHub

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 Tiled if

  • You need tile layers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want object layers.
Tiled review

Questions people ask

Is CloudCompare or Tiled better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudCompare starts at Free and Tiled at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudCompare or Tiled?
CloudCompare starts at Free and Tiled at Free.
Does CloudCompare or Tiled 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?
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 Tiled is typically brought in for.
What can CloudCompare do that Tiled cannot?
CloudCompare covers Cloud to cloud distance, Cloud to mesh distance, Registration, Segmentation and cleaning. Tiled covers Tile layers, Object layers, Terrain tool, Auto-mapping.

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.

Tiled: How much does Tiled cost?

Tiled is completely free. It is a free and open source level editor licensed under GNU free software principles.

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.

Tiled: Where can I download Tiled?

Tiled can be downloaded at no cost from itch.io or from the project's GitHub repository. There is no cost barrier to downloading, installing, or using Tiled.

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.

Tiled: How is Tiled funded?

Tiled is funded through sponsorships from over 200 sponsors who donate approximately 3,600 USD per month. This currently funds the lead developer for 2 days per week of work.

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.

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