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Comparison · Scan to plan and scan to BIM

Neurones 3D vs Pointorama

Looking for a Pointorama 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.

Pointorama is a browser-based point cloud platform from Pythagoras that detects floors, rooms, doors and windows in a scan and turns them into 2D and 3D floor plans, facade plans, sections and BIM models.

By Dr. Florent Poux, maker of Neurones 3D · Pointorama's facts from Pythagoras's own documentation, checked

The short answer

Choose Neurones 3D when scans must stay on your own machine, when you process many projects and would rather buy once than pay per project, or when the job also needs classification, terrain, contours or change detection. Choose Pointorama when floor plans and BIM models from indoor scans are the whole job, you need IFC, you want nothing to install and colleagues on any device to view the result, and an occasional project at EUR 49 suits your volume.

At a glance

Neurones 3DPointorama
Runs onWindows 10 and 11 (64-bit)Web browser (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android)
Where it runsdesktopcloud
Licencefree viewer + one-time paid editionspay per project or annual subscription with a monthly project allowance
PriceFree viewer; paid editions bought once, no subscriptionFlex EUR 49 one-time per project; Launch EUR 490 a year (2 projects a month); Grow EUR 1,490 a year (8 projects a month); Scale EUR 3,900 a year (30 projects a month) source
Free useThe free viewer opens, views and runs every process; writing results out needs a paid editionFirst project free, no credit card required

Feature by feature

"Not stated" means we could not find it in Pythagoras's documentation, not that it is missing. Each of Pointorama's cells links to where we read it.

CapabilityNeurones 3DPointorama
Runs fully offlineYesNo account, no internet connection, no telemetryNoRuns in the browser; needs an account and a 100 Mbps down / 10 Mbps up connection source
One-time licence availableYesBought once; no subscriptionPartlyFlex is EUR 49 one-time per project, not a perpetual licence source
Opens LAS/LAZ and E57YesLAS, LAZ, COPC, E57, PLY, PCD and more; a 127.8 M point E57 opens in about 22 sYesLAS, LAZ, E57, PTS and XYZ source
Scan registrationPartlyCloud-to-cloud alignment (ICP and graph matching, no initial placement needed), RMS shown with the inlier shareNot stated
AI point cloud classificationYesFour trained models ship in every build: indoor, aerial LiDAR, powerline, streetscape; a confidence per pointIn the cloudDetects floors, rooms, doors and windows; not per-point classification source
SegmentationYesUnsupervised segmentation, primitive decomposition, components, roomsIn the cloudMagic Wand with AI-driven clustering source
Automatic floor plansYesAutomatic, dimensioned, with sections and elevationsIn the cloudAI floor plan generator, 2D and 3D, with facade plans and sections source
DXF / CAD drawingsYesDXF R2000, SVG and PDF; no DWGIn the cloudDXF and IFC export source
DTM / DSMYesDTM, DSM, CHM, slope, aspect, hillshade on one gridNot stated
Contour linesYesContours that cannot crossNot stated
Change detectionYesM3C2 with a 95 % level of detection; cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-BIM deviationNot stated
MeshingYesPoisson and clean meshing; the clean mesh is closed, not edge-manifoldNot stated
Gaussian splatsYesOpens PLY and SPZ splats, converts them to points, meshes them; does not train splatsNot stated
ReportsYesSelf-contained HTML reports with provenanceNot stated
Scripting / SDKYesEngine & SDK edition: Python package and headless command lineNot stated

Where Neurones 3D is stronger

  • Neurones 3D runs fully offline with no account, so scans never leave the machine; Pointorama runs in the browser on uploaded data.
  • A licence bought once with no per-project fee, against EUR 49 a project or an annual plan.
  • Terrain (DTM, DSM, CHM) with contours, M3C2 change detection and meshing alongside the floor plans, none of which Pointorama lists.
  • Four trained per-point AI classification models, for indoor, aerial LiDAR, powerline and streetscape data.

Where Pointorama is stronger

  • IFC export and BIM models from the scan; Neurones 3D writes DXF, SVG and PDF only.
  • Nothing to install: works in a browser on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, with unlimited viewers for sharing.
  • Pay EUR 49 for a single project, with the first project free.

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 Pointorama: Architects and surveyors who produce floor plans from indoor scans a few projects at a time and are happy to work in the browser.

Questions

Is Pointorama free?

Pointorama: Flex EUR 49 one-time per project; Launch EUR 490 a year (2 projects a month); Grow EUR 1,490 a year (8 projects a month); Scale EUR 3,900 a year (30 projects a month). Free use: First project free, no credit card required. Neurones 3D’s free viewer opens, views and runs every process; writing results out needs a paid edition bought once.

Does Pointorama work offline?

Pointorama: no. Runs in the browser; needs an account and a 100 Mbps down / 10 Mbps up connection. Neurones 3D: yes. No account, no internet connection, no telemetry.

Can Pointorama classify point clouds with AI?

Pointorama: in the cloud. Detects floors, rooms, doors and windows; not per-point classification. Neurones 3D: yes. Four trained models ship in every build: indoor, aerial LiDAR, powerline, streetscape; a confidence per point.

Can Pointorama make a floor plan from a point cloud?

Pointorama: in the cloud. AI floor plan generator, 2D and 3D, with facade plans and sections. Neurones 3D: yes. Automatic, dimensioned, with sections and elevations.

What is the best alternative to Pointorama?

Choose Neurones 3D when scans must stay on your own machine, when you process many projects and would rather buy once than pay per project, or when the job also needs classification, terrain, contours or change detection. Choose Pointorama when floor plans and BIM models from indoor scans are the whole job, you need IFC, you want nothing to install and colleagues on any device to view the result, and an occasional project at EUR 49 suits your volume.

How this comparison was made

Written by the maker of Neurones 3D, so read it as such. Pointorama's column comes only from Pythagoras'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:

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About

Why Neurones 3D exists.

Standing inside a 43.5 million point indoor laser scan rendered by Neurones 3D

I have spent years working with point clouds, and for most of them the software got in the way. I wanted one tool I would actually reach for every day: fast enough to enjoy, honest about what it does, and calm to use.

Neurones 3D started in Python, the way most of my research does. It worked, but it was heavy, and heavy tools quietly discourage you from opening them. So I rebuilt everything in Rust, from the file readers to the renderer, with one rule: stay frugal. A single small file, no cloud, no telemetry, billions of points on a laptop that is ten years old. In an age where every tool reaches for a data center, I wanted the opposite.

The goal is simple to say and hard to earn. One package that carries you from capture to understanding to deliverable, without exporting to five other programs along the way. Load a scan, a splat, a building, a phone video. See it, classify it, measure it, and send out something real. Together, in one place.

This is the tool I always wanted. I hope it becomes yours too.

Dr. Florent Poux 3D Geodata Academy

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