Reality Capture: Scan Processing & Photogrammetry

Photogrammetry and LiDAR-fusion software converting photos and laser scans into textured meshes, point clouds, and orthophotos; rebranded from RealityCapture to RealityScan in 2025 under Epic Games.

Free for individuals and companies under $1M trailing revenue, $1,250/seat/yr above that, with a real CLI (.rscmd/execrscmd) and a new v2.1 REST/gRPC remote-control API plus a headless Linux build -- the best combination of price and automation surface for photogrammetry-to-mesh work in this batch.

Free, open-source (GPL) desktop application for processing, comparing, registering, and analyzing 3D point clouds and meshes, with mature CLI/headless batch mode and two independent Python scripting layers.

Free, GPL-licensed, and the most agent-friendly tool in this batch by a wide margin -- mature CLI/headless batch mode plus two independent Python APIs (CloudComPy, pycc) and a real C++ plugin SDK -- though it processes and compares point clouds rather than authoring BIM, and it does not touch Autodesk's RCP/RCS format at all.

Registers and cleans laser-scan and photogrammetry data into RCP/RCS point clouds for use inside Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Navisworks.

The default registration step ahead of Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Navisworks at an affordable ~$370/yr with a genuine cloud photogrammetry REST API (Autodesk Platform Services Reality Capture API) behind OAuth2 -- the strongest agent story among the registration-only tools in this batch, and it keeps working as a free indefinite viewer after the 30-day trial.

Photogrammetric processing software converting digital images into point clouds, meshes, orthomosaics, and DEMs, with a documented headless-capable Python scripting API.

Transparent perpetual pricing from $179 (Standard) to $3,499 (Pro) and a documented, headless-capable Python scripting API with a public community-scripts repo -- genuinely cross-platform (Windows/Mac/Linux) unlike most of this batch, though its AEC-specific integrations are thinner than Pix4D's.

Photogrammetry suite converting drone and terrestrial imagery into orthomosaics, point clouds, and CAD-ready geospatial data; Pix4Dmatic is the current high-volume large-project engine.

Subscription tiers from $2,290-4,990/yr for Pix4Dmatic with a dedicated developer-docs site covering both a Python SDK (PIX4Dengine) and a REST Cloud API -- the most professionally documented automation surface in this batch, and an official Autodesk AECO technology partner for Revit/IFC interop.

Browser-based digital-twin platform that hosts, visualizes, and publishes reality-capture point clouds and 360-degree panoramas from SLAM/mobile-mapping and laser scans; formerly NavVis IndoorViewer.

A genuinely agent-accessible reality-capture platform -- a documented, JWT-authenticated REST API with live Swagger docs -- but enterprise SaaS pricing starts around $30k/yr per a public AWS Marketplace listing, and the vendor's own site won't quote a number.

Registers, cleans, and publishes laser-scan point clouds from Leica and third-party scanners into RCP/E57/LAS deliverables for downstream CAD and BIM.

Enterprise-grade scan registration with real subscription pricing (roughly $2,450-5,100/yr via resellers) and a free TruView viewer, but automation is desktop-scripting-only through the separate Cyclone 3DR product -- there is no networked API -- and it only matters if you already own Leica/FARO/Z+F scanner hardware.

Registers and processes point clouds from FARO (and third-party) laser scanners -- target-based and cloud-to-cloud registration, filtering, meshing, and export to CAD/BIM formats -- with WebShare cloud publishing.

Solid FARO-hardware-tied registration and WebShare publishing, but pricing is quote-only (lease deals run roughly $450/mo) and the C++ SCENE SDK requires FARO's approval before you get a key -- capable, but not self-serve for a script-driven pipeline.

Registers, analyzes, and models laser-scan point clouds from any scanner source into CAD/BIM deliverables, including targetless auto-registration; sold only through Trimble distributors.

Distributor-only pricing and zero public API, CLI, or scripting surface make this the most closed tool in the batch -- the direct Send-to-Revit push and broad E57/LAS/LAZ export keep it relevant for registration work, but an agent cannot drive it end-to-end.