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Maps · head to head

Correlator3D vs RealityScan

Correlator3D logo

Correlator3D

Maps

SimActive photogrammetry with a published price list and a perpetual licence still on sale

From
$295/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RealityScan logo

RealityScan

CAD

The photogrammetry engine formerly called RealityCapture, free below a one million dollar revenue line

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only RealityScan has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Correlator3D the standard licence caps at 61 megapixel sensors, so an operator moving to a medium or large format camera has to buy a different and separately quoted licence rather than paying an upgrade fee.; RealityScan the free tier is bounded by company revenue rather than by usage, so a business crossing one million US dollars of turnover acquires a per-seat cost overnight for software its workflow now depends on
  • They diverge on capability: Correlator3D covers Aerial triangulation, RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Correlator3D and RealityScan actually diverge.

Attributes where Correlator3D and RealityScan differ
AttributeCorrelator3DRealityScan
Starting price$295/monthFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchaseFree below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year
Free tierNoYes
CategoryMapsCAD

Identical on both: platforms (Windows), 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 Correlator3D

  • Aerial triangulation
  • DSM and DTM generation
  • Orthomosaic production
  • Point cloud and 3D mesh output
  • Feature extraction
  • GPU acceleration
  • Satellite imagery support
  • Batch and unattended processing

Only in RealityScan

  • Photogrammetric reconstruction
  • Laser scan fusion
  • Ground control points
  • Texturing and unwrapping
  • Command line interface
  • Unreal Engine path
  • Component alignment control

What people use each for

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

Correlator3D

  • An aerial survey company processing large photographic blocks where per-project cloud credits would be more expensive than owning a licencenot RealityScan
  • A national or regional mapping agency that needs software it can run offline on classified or restricted imagerynot RealityScan
  • A drone service provider producing bare-earth terrain models for volumetrics and corridor mapping at high throughputnot RealityScan
  • An organisation that wants a perpetual licence because a multi-year subscription cannot be justified against its capital budgeting rulesnot RealityScan

RealityScan

  • A two-person heritage survey practice under the revenue threshold that can now run professional photogrammetry at no licence costnot Correlator3D
  • A film or games asset team scanning props and environments at very high image counts where processing speed decides the schedulenot Correlator3D
  • A survey firm combining terrestrial laser scans with drone photography and needing both aligned in a single reconstructionnot Correlator3D
  • A construction reality-capture operator producing meshes for Unreal-based client visualisation from the same source imagerynot Correlator3D

Where each one falls short

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

Correlator3D

  • The standard licence caps at 61 megapixel sensors, so an operator moving to a medium or large format camera has to buy a different and separately quoted licence rather than paying an upgrade fee.
  • It is Windows desktop only with no cloud processing option, so throughput is bounded by the workstation and GPU you buy, and there is no way to burst capacity for one large job.
  • There is no collaboration layer, client portal or field application, so deliverable sharing, review and version control all have to be handled by other software.
  • The interface and workflow are built for photogrammetry specialists; an occasional drone operator will find the learning curve steeper than a consumer-oriented mapping package.
  • The perpetual licence includes only one year of support and updates, and staying current afterwards means paying maintenance, so the headline $5,900 is not the whole long-term cost.

RealityScan

  • The free tier is bounded by company revenue rather than by usage, so a business crossing one million US dollars of turnover acquires a per-seat cost overnight for software its workflow now depends on
  • New perpetual licences are no longer sold, so an organisation that deliberately avoided subscription software has no route in; existing perpetual holders keep their version but stop receiving updates unless they accept the current terms
  • It is Windows only and needs an NVIDIA CUDA capable GPU, which excludes macOS studios and makes the real cost of adoption a workstation purchase rather than a licence
  • The rename from RealityCapture to RealityScan in 2025 means tutorials, forum answers and third party pipeline documentation are split across two names and several licensing regimes, and much of it is now wrong about price
  • The interface assumes photogrammetry knowledge; alignment failures, control point placement and reconstruction region setup are not guided, so a team without an experienced operator produces poor models quickly rather than good ones slowly

Pricing, plan by plan

Correlator3D

$295/month
  • Monthly subscription$295/month
    • Unlimited images
    • Sensors up to 61 megapixels
    • All modules and tools
  • Yearly subscription$2950/year
    • Unlimited images
    • Sensors up to 61 megapixels
    • All modules and tools
  • Permanent licence$5900/one-time
    • Perpetual licence
    • Unlimited images up to 61 megapixels
    • All modules and tools
  • Permanent floating licence$6400/one-time
    • Perpetual floating licence shared across machines
    • Unlimited images up to 61 megapixels
    • One year of support and updates included

RealityScan

Free
  • Free tierFree
    • For individuals and companies with annual revenue under 1,000,000 USD
    • Full application, no metered input charges
    • Epic account required
  • RealityScan seat$1250/year
    • Required once annual revenue exceeds 1,000,000 USD
    • Per seat, per year
    • Commercial use without output restrictions
  • Unreal Engine subscription$1850/year
    • Per seat per year
    • Includes RealityScan and Twinmotion
    • For teams that also need Unreal Engine for non-game commercial use

Which should you pick?

Choose Correlator3D if

  • You need aerial triangulation.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want dsm and dtm generation.
Correlator3D review

Choose RealityScan if

  • You need photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want laser scan fusion.
RealityScan review

Questions people ask

Is Correlator3D or RealityScan better?
Neither clearly leads. Correlator3D starts at $295/month and RealityScan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Correlator3D or RealityScan?
RealityScan has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $295/month for Correlator3D and Free for RealityScan.
Does Correlator3D or RealityScan run on more platforms?
Both run on Windows, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use RealityScan for free?
Yes. RealityScan has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Correlator3D starts at $295/month.
What is Correlator3D best used for?
Correlator3D is most often used for an aerial survey company processing large photographic blocks where per-project cloud credits would be more expensive than owning a licence, a national or regional mapping agency that needs software it can run offline on classified or restricted imagery, a drone service provider producing bare-earth terrain models for volumetrics and corridor mapping at high throughput, an organisation that wants a perpetual licence because a multi-year subscription cannot be justified against its capital budgeting rules. Of those, an aerial survey company processing large photographic blocks where per-project cloud credits would be more expensive than owning a licence and a national or regional mapping agency that needs software it can run offline on classified or restricted imagery are not what RealityScan is typically brought in for.
What can Correlator3D do that RealityScan cannot?
Correlator3D covers Aerial triangulation, DSM and DTM generation, Orthomosaic production, Point cloud and 3D mesh output. RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction, Laser scan fusion, Ground control points, Texturing and unwrapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Correlator3D: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Yes. $5,900 for a permanent licence and $6,400 for a permanent floating licence, each including a year of support and updates.

RealityScan: Is RealityCapture still called that?

No. Epic rebranded it to RealityScan with version 2.0 in 2025. It is the same engine and the same team.

Correlator3D: What limits the standard licence?

Sensor resolution, up to 61 megapixels. Medium format, large format and satellite imagery need separately priced licences.

RealityScan: Who gets it free?

Individuals and companies with annual revenue under one million US dollars. Above that, a seat is 1,250 US dollars per year.

Correlator3D: Is there a cloud version?

No. Processing runs on your own Windows workstation. SimActive offers a data processing service as an alternative to buying the software.

RealityScan: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Not for new purchases. Existing perpetual licences remain valid for the version owned, with updates only under the current terms.

Correlator3D: Does it handle satellite imagery?

Yes, under a separate satellite licence class quoted on request.

RealityScan: Does the free version restrict output?

No output metering or watermarking; the restriction is on who qualifies, based on company revenue, not on what you export.

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