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Maps · head to head

Potree vs What3words

Potree logo

Potree

Maps

Open source WebGL viewer for publishing very large point clouds in a browser

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
What3words logo

What3words

Maps

What3words has divided the world into 3m squares and given each one

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Potree has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Potree there is no vendor, no support contract and no service level, so anything you build on Potree is your organisation’s responsibility to maintain when a browser update breaks rendering.; What3words the free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second
  • They diverge on capability: Potree covers Octree streaming, What3words covers Core Functionality.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Potree and What3words actually diverge.

Attributes where Potree and What3words differ
AttributePotreeWhat3words
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, LinuxWeb

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

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 Potree

  • Octree streaming
  • Large dataset rendering
  • Measurement tools
  • Clipping and profiles
  • Annotations
  • Attribute colouring
  • PotreeDesktop
  • Self-hosting

Only in What3words

  • Core Functionality
  • User Interface

What people use each for

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

Potree

  • A drone survey firm delivering a point cloud to a client who has no desktop software, by publishing a browser viewer link instead of a 40 GB LAZ filenot What3words
  • A heritage or archaeology project publishing a scanned site for public access without paying per-gigabyte hosting to a commercial platformnot What3words
  • An engineering consultancy embedding a point cloud viewer inside its own client portal without licensing a commercial web viewernot What3words
  • A university or research group that needs measurement and profiling in a shareable viewer for a dataset too large to emailnot What3words

What3words

  • Referring to a 3 metre square location with three wordsnot Potree
  • Adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch appnot Potree
  • Converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via APInot Potree

Where each one falls short

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

Potree

  • There is no vendor, no support contract and no service level, so anything you build on Potree is your organisation’s responsibility to maintain when a browser update breaks rendering.
  • Conversion is a separate manual step with PotreeConverter, and building an automated publishing pipeline around it is engineering work the project does not provide.
  • Rendering quality and performance depend on the client machine and WebGL support, so a client on a locked-down corporate laptop with poor graphics may see a viewer that stutters or fails outright.
  • A WebGPU rewrite, Potree-Next, is in progress and is not a drop-in upgrade, so current integrations face an eventual migration with no vendor to manage it.
  • There is no access control, user management or audit layer; anyone with the URL sees the data unless you build authentication around the static files yourself, which is a real problem for confidential sites.

What3words

  • The free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second
  • Converting to and from what3words addresses starts on the Basic plan at $9.99 per month for 1,000 conversions
  • Priority and developer support require the Standard plan at $45 per month
  • 24/7 phone support requires the Plus plan at $125 per month
  • Custom invoicing and annual payment require the Premium plan at $300 per month
  • Overage pricing is not published; the page states only that a fair usage policy applies
  • The three word address scheme is proprietary and licensed rather than open data

Pricing, plan by plan

Potree

Free
  • PotreeFree
    • BSD-style open source licence
    • Unlimited datasets and viewers
    • Self-hosted on any static web server

What3words

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the What3words review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Potree if

  • You need octree streaming.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want large dataset rendering.
Potree review

Choose What3words if

  • You need core functionality.
  • You also want user interface.
What3words review

Questions people ask

Is Potree or What3words better?
Neither clearly leads. Potree starts at Free and What3words at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Potree or What3words?
Potree has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Potree and On request for What3words.
Does Potree or What3words run on more platforms?
Potree runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux. What3words runs on Web.
Can I use Potree for free?
Yes. Potree has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. What3words starts at On request.
What is Potree best used for?
Potree is most often used for a drone survey firm delivering a point cloud to a client who has no desktop software, by publishing a browser viewer link instead of a 40 gb laz file, a heritage or archaeology project publishing a scanned site for public access without paying per-gigabyte hosting to a commercial platform, an engineering consultancy embedding a point cloud viewer inside its own client portal without licensing a commercial web viewer, a university or research group that needs measurement and profiling in a shareable viewer for a dataset too large to email. Of those, a drone survey firm delivering a point cloud to a client who has no desktop software, by publishing a browser viewer link instead of a 40 gb laz file and a heritage or archaeology project publishing a scanned site for public access without paying per-gigabyte hosting to a commercial platform are not what What3words is typically brought in for.
What can Potree do that What3words cannot?
Potree covers Octree streaming, Large dataset rendering, Measurement tools, Clipping and profiles. What3words covers Core Functionality, User Interface.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Potree: Does Potree cost anything?

No. It is open source and free. You supply the hosting, which for a static viewer is inexpensive.

Potree: Is there commercial support?

No. There is no vendor and no support contract. Support is GitHub issues and the community.

Potree: Who maintains it?

It originated at TU Wien and is maintained principally by Markus Schütz, with community contributions.

Potree: Can it handle very large clouds?

Yes, hundreds of millions of points, because PotreeConverter builds a multi-resolution octree that streams only what is visible.

Potree: Is my data private?

Only if you make it so. Potree serves static files with no built-in authentication, so access control is entirely your responsibility.

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