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CAD · head to head

Plasticity vs RealityScan

Plasticity logo

Plasticity

CAD

CAD for artists

From
On request
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: Plasticity limited plugin ecosystem compared to Rhino; fewer third-party extensions available; 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: Plasticity covers Smooth surface modeling, RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plasticity and RealityScan actually diverge.

Attributes where Plasticity and RealityScan differ
AttributePlasticityRealityScan
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelUnknownFree below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, UbuntuWindows
Founded2023Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Plasticity

  • Smooth surface modeling
  • Fillet operations
  • Boolean operations
  • Mesh export
  • Fast workflow
  • Artist-friendly
  • Blender
  • Game engines

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.

Plasticity

  • Concept designnot RealityScan
  • Hard surface modelingnot RealityScan

RealityScan

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

Where each one falls short

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

Plasticity

  • Limited plugin ecosystem compared to Rhino; fewer third-party extensions available
  • Young product with shorter track record; fewer industry case studies and community resources
  • No parametric history tree; may require different workflow for some users accustomed to feature-based modeling
  • Premium pricing for Indie users despite being positioned as affordable alternative

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

Plasticity

On request
  • Indie$149/one-time

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 Plasticity if

  • You need smooth surface modeling.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu.
  • You also want fillet operations.
Plasticity 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 Plasticity or RealityScan better?
Neither clearly leads. Plasticity starts at On request and RealityScan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plasticity or RealityScan?
RealityScan has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Plasticity and Free for RealityScan.
Does Plasticity or RealityScan run on more platforms?
Plasticity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu. RealityScan runs on Windows.
Can I use RealityScan for free?
Yes. RealityScan has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plasticity starts at On request.
What is Plasticity best used for?
Plasticity is most often used for concept design, hard surface modeling. Of those, concept design and hard surface modeling are not what RealityScan is typically brought in for.
What can Plasticity do that RealityScan cannot?
Plasticity covers Smooth surface modeling, Fillet operations, Boolean operations, Mesh export. RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction, Laser scan fusion, Ground control points, Texturing and unwrapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plasticity: What is Plasticity designed for?

Plasticity is a NURBS-based 3D modeler designed for concept and product design, prioritizing an artist-friendly workflow over parametric history-based modeling.

Source
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.

Plasticity: What platforms does Plasticity support?

Plasticity runs on Windows, macOS (Intel and M-Series), Linux, and Ubuntu using Parasolid's geometric modeling kernel.

Source
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.

Plasticity: What is the pricing model for Plasticity?

Plasticity is a one-time purchase: Indie tier costs $149 and Studio tier is available at a higher price point. A 30-day free trial is available.

Source
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.

Plasticity: Does Plasticity integrate with Blender?

Yes. Plasticity includes a Blender Bridge add-on that enables live-linking between Plasticity and Blender, allowing you to preview Plasticity models inside Blender with proper materials and lighting.

Source
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.

Plasticity: What key features distinguish Plasticity from other CAD tools?

Plasticity features streamlined UI with context-sensitive widgets, chordal fillets, key bindings familiar to Blender users, radial menus, Dimension and Measure commands for absolute constraints, and handles complex Boolean operations on dense geometry.

Source
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