3D Viewer Online vs F3D

3D Viewer Online is a browser service for sharing, inspecting and reviewing 3D models. Its 3D Player and APIs can embed models in websites, catalogues and other applications. The viewer provides rotation, panning, zooming, preset views and measurement tools for checking geometry and dimensions. Users can share browser links, while teams add comments, markups and attached datasheets or supporting documents. Access depends on each model’s sharing settings. Listed formats include STEP, IGES, GLTF, 3MF, STL, OBJ, DWG and DXF; DWG and DXF do not support 3D solids. Embedding is available through external links or iframes. The REST API accepts uploads and returns a viewer URL and model ID, with token access and rate limits discussed with the company. The WebGL viewer is described for recent browsers on PCs, tablets and smartphones. The free Regular plan allows ten models and 50 MB files. Premium is $10/month and Business $25/month, both billed monthly.

F3D is free software for viewing 3D data, browsing models, and generating renderings. It supports lighting and materials for realistic rendering, animations with GPU-accelerated skinning for character rigs, and visualization tasks such as CAD, Gaussian splatting, volume rendering, and scientific work. Its supported formats include VTK, STL, DICOM, STEP, OBJ, glTF, FBX, USD, IFC, and Gaussian splat files, among many others. Packages are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, and a browser viewer can open or accept dropped files and provides rendering and display controls. Developers can use a Python package, a beta JavaScript/WebAssembly package, or the libf3d C++ library with Python and Java bindings. F3D is distributed under the BSD 3-Clause License. Some capabilities have specific limits: FBX PBR materials and Alembic materials are unsupported, while Gaussian splatting requires OpenGL 4.3, which macOS does not support. Documentation also says volume rendering and HDRI need a decent GPU. Plugins can vary by package.