Comparison · AI and cloud point cloud services
Neurones 3D vs Flai
Looking for a Flai alternative? Neurones 3D is free, offline point cloud and Gaussian splatting software for Windows: the free viewer runs every process, from AI classification to dimensioned floor plans, and a one-time paid edition saves the results.
Flai is an AI point cloud classification platform with nine pre-trained models, from aerial mapping and powerlines to forestry, rail and indoor, run in its web app, locally with Flai Cortex, or embedded with Flai Lib.
By Dr. Florent Poux, maker of Neurones 3D · Flai's facts from Flai's own documentation, checked
The short answer
Choose Neurones 3D when you want classification, terrain, contours, change detection and floor plans on your own PC, with no upload and no account, on a licence bought once. Choose Flai when your data needs a model Neurones 3D does not ship, such as bathymetry, forestry or rail, when you want a model retrained on your own data, or when a cloud workflow billed by download fits the way you deliver.
At a glance
| Neurones 3D | Flai | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) | Web app; Flai Cortex CLI and Flai Lib for local use |
| Where it runs | desktop | cloud |
| Licence | free viewer + one-time paid editions | monthly or annual subscription with processing units; on-premise and embedded on annual licence |
| Price | Free viewer; paid editions bought once, no subscription | Starter EUR 40 a month (EUR 480 a year); Growth EUR 150 a month (EUR 1,800 a year); Professional EUR 500 a month (EUR 6,000 a year); on-premise and Flai Lib price on request source |
| Free use | The free viewer opens, views and runs every process; writing results out needs a paid edition | Free trial, no credit card; processing is free and you pay on download (EUR 50 minimum fee) |
Feature by feature
"Not stated" means we could not find it in Flai's documentation, not that it is missing. Each of Flai's cells links to where we read it.
| Capability | Neurones 3D | Flai |
|---|---|---|
| Runs fully offline | YesNo account, no internet connection, no telemetry | PartlyThe web app is cloud; Flai Cortex CLI runs on a local GPU and is air-gap capable, Flai Lib runs offline, price on request source |
| One-time licence available | YesBought once; no subscription | NoMonthly or annual plans; on-premise and embedded on annual licence source |
| Opens LAS/LAZ and E57 | YesLAS, LAZ, COPC, E57, PLY, PCD and more; a 127.8 M point E57 opens in about 22 s | Not stated |
| Scan registration | PartlyCloud-to-cloud alignment (ICP and graph matching, no initial placement needed), RMS shown with the inlier share | Not stated |
| AI point cloud classification | YesFour trained models ship in every build: indoor, aerial LiDAR, powerline, streetscape; a confidence per point | In the cloudNine pre-trained models and 60+ object categories; retraining service; local with Flai Cortex source |
| Segmentation | YesUnsupervised segmentation, primitive decomposition, components, rooms | Not stated |
| Automatic floor plans | YesAutomatic, dimensioned, with sections and elevations | Not stated |
| DXF / CAD drawings | YesDXF R2000, SVG and PDF; no DWG | In the cloudVectors such as building footprints and powerline towers as DXF, SHP or GeoJSON source |
| DTM / DSM | YesDTM, DSM, CHM, slope, aspect, hillshade on one grid | In the cloudDEM, DSM, CHM, hillshade, slope, aspect and class masks source |
| Contour lines | YesContours that cannot cross | Not stated |
| Change detection | YesM3C2 with a 95 % level of detection; cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-BIM deviation | Not stated |
| Meshing | YesPoisson and clean meshing; the clean mesh is closed, not edge-manifold | Not stated |
| Gaussian splats | YesOpens PLY and SPZ splats, converts them to points, meshes them; does not train splats | Not stated |
| Reports | YesSelf-contained HTML reports with provenance | Not stated |
| Scripting / SDK | YesEngine & SDK edition: Python package and headless command line | Add-onFlai Cortex CLI and Flai Lib, separate products, price on request source |
Where Neurones 3D is stronger
- Neurones 3D runs fully offline with no account in every edition; Flai’s local options (Cortex, Lib, on-premise) are priced on request.
- Bought once, with no subscription and no charge per download.
- Contours that cannot cross, from the same DTM grid; Flai’s raster page does not list contours.
- M3C2 change detection with a 95 % level of detection, automatic floor plans and meshing in the same program, none of which Flai lists.
Where Flai is stronger
- Nine pre-trained models covering bathymetry, forestry, rail, defence and more, against four in Neurones 3D, plus a retraining service tuned to your data.
- A visual workflow builder with 180+ processing nodes.
- Processing and viewing are free in the web app; you pay only when you download results.
Who should choose which
Choose Neurones 3D to take a point cloud or a splat capture to a finished deliverable on your own machine: classified LAS, a dimensioned floor plan with sections and elevations in DXF, a DTM with contours, a change map or a report, without an account, an upload or a subscription. Every figure it publishes is measured; see the benchmarks.
Choose Flai: Aerial and mobile LiDAR producers who want many pre-trained classification models and raster and vector outputs, billed by what they download.
Questions
Is Flai free?
Flai: Starter EUR 40 a month (EUR 480 a year); Growth EUR 150 a month (EUR 1,800 a year); Professional EUR 500 a month (EUR 6,000 a year); on-premise and Flai Lib price on request. Free use: Free trial, no credit card; processing is free and you pay on download (EUR 50 minimum fee). Neurones 3D’s free viewer opens, views and runs every process; writing results out needs a paid edition bought once.
Does Flai work offline?
Flai: partly. The web app is cloud; Flai Cortex CLI runs on a local GPU and is air-gap capable, Flai Lib runs offline, price on request. Neurones 3D: yes. No account, no internet connection, no telemetry.
Can Flai classify point clouds with AI?
Flai: in the cloud. Nine pre-trained models and 60+ object categories; retraining service; local with Flai Cortex. Neurones 3D: yes. Four trained models ship in every build: indoor, aerial LiDAR, powerline, streetscape; a confidence per point.
What is the best alternative to Flai?
Choose Neurones 3D when you want classification, terrain, contours, change detection and floor plans on your own PC, with no upload and no account, on a licence bought once. Choose Flai when your data needs a model Neurones 3D does not ship, such as bathymetry, forestry or rail, when you want a model retrained on your own data, or when a cloud workflow billed by download fits the way you deliver.
How this comparison was made
Written by the maker of Neurones 3D, so read it as such. Flai's column comes only from Flai's published documentation and listings, read on 2026-09-24; where we found nothing, the cell says "not stated". Neurones 3D's column comes from its own guides, which give the limits too. If something here is wrong or out of date, write to howto@learngeodata.eu and it will be corrected.
Sources: