LightWave 3D vs MeshInspector
LightWave 3D
lightwave3d.com
MeshInspector
meshinspector.comSide by side
| Figure | LightWave 3D | MeshInspector |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £450/mo | $25/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 10 | 4 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 8.6 (#29) | 9.0 (#12) |
| Documentation | Documentation includes online 2025 and 2020 manuals plus a downloadable 3,600-plus-page 2020 manual PDF. | The knowledge base contains workspace, import/export, object, editing, repair, scan preparation, inspection, CT/MRI, scripting, settings and troubleshooting sections. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | England, UK | Bothell, Washington, USA |
| Integrations | The Unreal Engine Bridge transfers objects, instances, textures, animations, camera moves, and lights in real time. | The MeshInspector Web Suite page says it can integrate a viewer and tools into a customer platform and work with AWS and Azure servers. |
| Intended users | The maker describes LightWave as intended for professionals in television production, film visual effects, video game development, print graphics, and visualization. | The site describes workflows for engineers, service bureaus, dental labs and scanning professionals, and identifies additive manufacturing, reverse engineering and digital dentistry as use cases. |
| Purpose | LightWave 3D is software for creating 3D models, animations, and visual effects. | MeshInspector processes 3D data for mesh repair, scan transformation and quality inspection, including workflows for printing, simulation and manufacturing. |
| Rating on Capterra | 3.8 out of 5 from 4 reviews | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Rating on GetApp | 3.8 out of 5 from 4 reviews | 5 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Rating on Software Advice | 3.8 out of 5 from 4 reviews | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review |
| Support | The documentation directs users to support, bug-report and feature-request email addresses and community forums. | Paid pricing includes premium support with an advertised priority response of approximately 12 hours, and support is also offered by email. |
| Trial | The product page lists a LightWave 2024 30-day trial at £0.00. | The Professional plan has a 30-day free trial without requiring credit card information, after which the account automatically moves to the Community plan. |
| What it does | LightWave 3D is desktop graphics software for 3D modelling, animation and visual effects used in film, television, games, print and visualisation. | MeshInspector processes, edits, repairs and inspects meshes, point clouds, volumetric data, lines, distance maps and G-code for printing, inspection and simulation workflows. |
Plans
LightWave 3D
- New LightWave 2025 Licence£795 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2024 users£450 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550 a month
- 30-day trialFree
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2024 users£450, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2025£450, paid once
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2024 or earlier£550, paid once
- LightWave 2025 licence£795, paid once
- New LightWave 2026 licence£795, paid once
MeshInspector
- CommunityFree
- Makers$300 a year
- Professional$790 a year
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
LightWave 3D
LightWave 3D has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
MeshInspector
MeshInspector processes 3D data for mesh repair, scan transformation, and quality inspection in printing, simulation, and manufacturing workflows. It handles meshes, point clouds, volumetric data, lines, distance maps, and G-code, and supports model import and export. Tools include STL editing and repair, mesh conversion, inspection measurements, distance comparisons, segmentation, and CT/MRI scan inspection.
The free Community plan includes viewing, basic mesh and point-cloud editing, basic repair, and measurements. Makers costs $300 a year per user and adds one-click repair, advanced editing, basic inspection, and alignment tools. Professional costs $790 a year per user and adds batch repair, lattice generation, point-cloud and CT/MRI-to-mesh workflows, QC reports, advanced measurements, and Python automation. Its 30-day Professional trial does not require a credit card; afterward, the account moves to Community. Web files are processed and stored in browser local memory, while desktop files are handled and stored locally. The product describes workflows for engineers, service bureaus, dental labs, and scanning professionals.