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CAD · head to head

MicroSurvey CAD vs RealityScan

MicroSurvey CAD logo

MicroSurvey CAD

CAD

Survey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription

From
$2945/one-time
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: MicroSurvey CAD dWG compatibility is file-level, not feature-level, so Civil 3D corridors, pipe networks and other object-enabled entities do not arrive intact and collaboration with engineering consultants remains awkward; 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: MicroSurvey CAD covers Coordinate geometry, RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MicroSurvey CAD and RealityScan actually diverge.

Attributes where MicroSurvey CAD and RealityScan differ
AttributeMicroSurvey CADRealityScan
Starting price$2945/one-timeFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchaseFree below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Windows), user rating (Not yet rated), category (CAD).

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 MicroSurvey CAD

  • Coordinate geometry
  • Traverse adjustment
  • Field data reduction
  • IntelliCAD drafting
  • Legal descriptions
  • Surface and contours
  • Point cloud viewing

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.

MicroSurvey CAD

  • A boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one packagenot RealityScan
  • A firm that refuses to pay an AutoCAD subscription but must deliver DWG files clients can opennot RealityScan
  • A survey office standardised on Leica total stations that wants instrument data flowing in without a translation stepnot RealityScan
  • A two-person practice with irregular workload that wants to own its software outright rather than lose access if it stops payingnot RealityScan

RealityScan

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

Where each one falls short

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

MicroSurvey CAD

  • DWG compatibility is file-level, not feature-level, so Civil 3D corridors, pipe networks and other object-enabled entities do not arrive intact and collaboration with engineering consultants remains awkward
  • Only one price is listed publicly, for the floating network licence, and the differences between the Standard, Premium and Ultimate editions are resolved through a reseller conversation rather than a published comparison
  • It is Windows only and the installed base is concentrated in North America, so support, training material and experienced staff are much harder to find elsewhere
  • IntelliCAD lags AutoCAD on newer drawing format features and on third party plug-in availability, so a firm depending on a specific AutoCAD add-in will not find an equivalent
  • MicroSurvey now sits inside Hexagon alongside Leica Geosystems, which means the product competes for investment with a much larger portfolio, and buyers of a perpetual licence should ask about the release cadence commitment before assuming years of updates

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

MicroSurvey CAD

$2945/one-time
  • MicroSurvey CAD, floating network licence$2945/one-time
    • Perpetual licence, shared use with no USB dongle
    • Includes one year of maintenance and support
    • Standard, Premium and Ultimate editions differ in included modules
  • Edition upgrades and add-ons$undefined/one-time
    • Premium and Ultimate edition pricing quoted by MicroSurvey or a reseller
    • Point cloud and scanning modules priced separately
    • Reseller pricing varies by region

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 MicroSurvey CAD if

  • You need coordinate geometry.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want traverse adjustment.
MicroSurvey CAD 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 MicroSurvey CAD or RealityScan better?
Neither clearly leads. MicroSurvey CAD starts at $2945/one-time and RealityScan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MicroSurvey CAD or RealityScan?
RealityScan has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2945/one-time for MicroSurvey CAD and Free for RealityScan.
Does MicroSurvey CAD 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. MicroSurvey CAD starts at $2945/one-time.
What is MicroSurvey CAD best used for?
MicroSurvey CAD is most often used for a boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one package, a firm that refuses to pay an autocad subscription but must deliver dwg files clients can open, a survey office standardised on leica total stations that wants instrument data flowing in without a translation step, a two-person practice with irregular workload that wants to own its software outright rather than lose access if it stops paying. Of those, a boundary surveying practice that wants to reduce field data, adjust the traverse and write the legal description in one package and a firm that refuses to pay an autocad subscription but must deliver dwg files clients can open are not what RealityScan is typically brought in for.
What can MicroSurvey CAD do that RealityScan cannot?
MicroSurvey CAD covers Coordinate geometry, Traverse adjustment, Field data reduction, IntelliCAD drafting. RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction, Laser scan fusion, Ground control points, Texturing and unwrapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MicroSurvey CAD: Do I need AutoCAD to run it?

No. It is built on the IntelliCAD engine and reads and writes DWG natively without an Autodesk licence.

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.

MicroSurvey CAD: Is it a perpetual licence or a subscription?

Perpetual. The listed 2,945 US dollar licence includes one year of maintenance and support, after which maintenance is optional.

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.

MicroSurvey CAD: Who owns MicroSurvey?

Hexagon, the same group that owns Leica Geosystems.

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.

MicroSurvey CAD: Will Civil 3D drawings open correctly?

The geometry will. Civil 3D object data such as corridors and pipe networks will not come through as editable objects.

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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