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CAD · head to head

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler vs Zoo

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler logo

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

CAD

Photogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoo logo

Zoo

CAD

Cloud CAD with a scripting language and a geometry engine exposed as an API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler the rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.; Zoo the geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • They diverge on capability: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Zoo covers KCL scripting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Zoo actually diverge.

Attributes where Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Zoo differ
AttributeBentley iTwin Capture ModelerZoo
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, CloudWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, API

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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • Aerial triangulation
  • Dense mesh reconstruction
  • Point cloud fusion
  • Orthophoto and DSM output
  • 3D Tiles and 3MX export
  • Distributed processing
  • Retouching and editing
  • Georeferencing and control

Only in Zoo

  • KCL scripting
  • Design Studio
  • Design API
  • Zookeeper agent
  • Format conversion
  • Open source client

What people use each for

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • A highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in OpenRoadsnot Zoo
  • A survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisationnot Zoo
  • An engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessmentnot Zoo
  • A team publishing streamable 3D Tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browsernot Zoo

Zoo

  • A hardware startup that wants part models reviewed in pull requests alongside firmwarenot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • A software team generating thousands of parametric part variants programmatically rather than by handnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • A SaaS product that needs to render and convert customer CAD files without licensing a geometry kernelnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
  • An engineer who models occasional brackets and enclosures and does not want a four figure annual seatnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

Where each one falls short

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

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

  • The rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.
  • Consumption-based entitlements make the cost of a large reconstruction hard to predict in advance, which is awkward when you are quoting a fixed-price deliverable to a client.
  • The desktop engine is Windows only and reconstruction is compute-hungry, so meaningful throughput needs either serious workstation hardware or paid cloud processing.
  • Bentley does not publish a plain rate card and pricing varies by region, reseller and existing agreement, so two firms buying the same thing can pay very different amounts.
  • Value compounds inside the Bentley ecosystem, and a firm whose design work happens in Autodesk or Esri tools pays for a positioning it will not use while getting the same mesh a cheaper standalone photogrammetry package would produce.

Zoo

  • The geometry engine runs entirely in Zoo's cloud and there is no offline mode, so an aircraft, a customer site with no guest wifi or an outage stops modelling work completely.
  • STEP and SLDPRT import are still labelled experimental, which means the most common way of receiving a supplier or customer model is the least reliable path into the tool.
  • Drawing production, GD&T and tolerance annotation are far behind SolidWorks, Creo and NX, so most users still need a second package to release a manufacturing drawing.
  • Zookeeper is billed in reasoning minutes rather than per seat, so a team cannot forecast next month's bill from headcount the way it can with conventional CAD subscriptions.
  • The open source label applies only to the Design Studio client; the kernel that does the modelling is closed and hosted, so forking the repository does not give you a product you can run yourself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler

On request
  • iTwin Capture Modeler$undefined/year
    • Subscription entitlement through Bentley licensing
    • Consumption charged against Bentley Keys on some agreements
    • Reality Modeling WorkSuite bundles Modeler with reality data management

Zoo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Design Studio access
    • About 20 minutes of Zookeeper reasoning per month
    • Around $10 of API calls included
  • Plus$20/month
    • Roughly 400 Zookeeper minutes per month
    • Pay as you go beyond the allowance
    • Design Studio and API access
  • Pro$99/month
    • Unlimited Zookeeper reasoning
    • Higher API allowance
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler if

  • You need aerial triangulation.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want dense mesh reconstruction.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler review

Choose Zoo if

  • You need kcl scripting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
  • You also want design studio.
Zoo review

Questions people ask

Is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Zoo better?
Neither clearly leads. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and Zoo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Zoo?
Zoo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and Free for Zoo.
Does Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or Zoo run on more platforms?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler runs on Windows, Cloud. Zoo runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, API.
Can I use Zoo for free?
Yes. Zoo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request.
What is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler best used for?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler is most often used for a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads, a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation, an engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessment, a team publishing streamable 3d tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browser. Of those, a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads and a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation are not what Zoo is typically brought in for.
What can Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler do that Zoo cannot?
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Dense mesh reconstruction, Point cloud fusion, Orthophoto and DSM output. Zoo covers KCL scripting, Design Studio, Design API, Zookeeper agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Is ContextCapture discontinued?

The name is. The product continues as iTwin Capture Modeler within Bentley's iTwin family.

Zoo: Is Zoo the same company as KittyCAD?

Yes. KittyCAD renamed itself Zoo; the GitHub organisation is still KittyCAD and the scripting language KCL keeps the old initials.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Does it still support a perpetual licence?

New buyers should expect subscription or consumption-based entitlements. Confirm the exact conversion path if you hold an older perpetual licence.

Zoo: Can I use Zoo without an internet connection?

No. The geometry engine is a cloud service, so Design Studio needs a live connection to model anything.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Can it process laser scan data as well as photographs?

Yes. It fuses point clouds with imagery in a single reconstruction.

Zoo: Is Design Studio free?

There is a genuine free tier with a small monthly allowance of AI reasoning and API calls. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Do I need other Bentley software to use it?

No, output formats are usable elsewhere, but the commercial and workflow case is strongest if you already run MicroStation or OpenRoads.

Zoo: Can I replace SolidWorks with Zoo?

Not for drawing release, large assemblies or GD&T. Teams typically use Zoo for programmatic part generation and keep an established package for production documentation.

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