Lychee Slicer vs Polar Cloud
Lychee Slicer
lychee.co
Polar Cloud
polar3d.comSide by side
| Figure | Lychee Slicer | Polar Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $6.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 15 |
| Spec score · 3D Printing Software | 7.7 (#24) | 8.9 (#1) |
| Headquarters | Mérignac, France | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Purpose | Lychee Slicer prepares 3D models for resin and filament printing, including hollowing, supports, print settings previews and printer configuration. | Polar Cloud provides a cloud platform to create, queue, slice, and manage 3D printing workflows. |
| Support | Lychee lists tutorials, guides, a ticketing system and live chat, and Plus includes priority technical support. | The listed individual plans range from AI chat only on Free to live human chat on Monthly and Annual. |
Plans
Lychee Slicer
- LiteFree
- PlusPrice not published
- Plus & LibraryPrice not published
Polar Cloud
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Monthly$9 a month
- Monthly$9 a month
- Annual$79 a year
- Annual$79 a year
- Print Farm$79 a year
- Classroom$199 a year
- Classroom$199 a year
- School$499 a year
In their own words
Lychee Slicer
Lychee Slicer prepares 3D models for resin and filament printing, with tools for supports, hollowing, print-setting previews and printer configuration. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and Lychee says it supports more than 750 printers. Resin features include custom support structures, exposure settings, grid supports, AR preview and one-click hollowing. Filament tools include printer profiles, support management, seam optimization and real-time preview. Compatible filament printers can communicate through Klipper or OctoPrint; Wi-Fi sending depends on the printer model. Lychee Library is integrated into the slicer and offers pre-supported models from creators. The product describes cloud synchronization of settings across machines and automatic local backups. Lite is free, with limited Multi-Plate and ads on export. Plus is billed at €99.90 + local taxes yearly (€8.33 / month). Plus & Library is billed at €199.90 + local taxes yearly (€16.66 / month), and includes unlimited model downloads. Library models cannot be used commercially without creator approval.
Polar Cloud
Polar Cloud is a cloud platform for preparing and managing 3D printing workflows. Users can slice STL files in a browser, including from Chromebooks, iPads, and laptops, then queue jobs and monitor prints remotely. The service also lets users pause or cancel prints. Its Image to 3D tool turns uploaded photos into printable models, and paid plans include AI credits. Design workflows connect with Tinkercad, Onshape, and Google Drive; printer connections include Bambu Lab and Prusa, as well as OctoPrint and Klipper plugins. Free iOS and Android apps support job monitoring, queue management, and notifications. The Free plan costs nothing and allows one printer and five print jobs per month, with seven-day history, 300 MB storage, mesh files only, and a 30 MB file limit. Individual plans are for personal use; larger fleets require Education or Enterprise plans. Polar Cloud is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. The company says it is FERPA and COPPA compliant and GDPR ready, and has not completed an independent SOC 2 audit.