MeshLab vs Rhino 3D
MeshLab
meshlab.netRhino 3D
rhino3d.comSide by side
| Figure | MeshLab | Rhino 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $95/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 14 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 8.9 (#14) | 9.5 (#1) |
| Founded | 2005 | 1980 |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Headquarters | Pisa, Italy | The company lists its Seattle, Washington office at 146 N Canal Street, Suite 320. |
| Maker | The site says MeshLab has been developed by the Visual Computing Lab of ISTI-CNR since 2005. | Robert McNeel & Associates, also identified as TLM, Inc., is privately held and employee-owned and was founded in 1980. |
| Notable news | The Visual Computing Lab announced a new PhD course on geometric computing for design and optimization on 20 March 2026. | McNeel's March 2024 Rhino 8 announcement highlighted ShrinkWrap, SubD Creases, faster Apple Silicon and Metal performance, new Grasshopper components and a new script editor. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 3.7 out of 5 from 45 ratings | 4.6 out of 5 from 80 ratings for iRhino 3D. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.4 out of 5 from 24 reviews | 4.4 out of 5 from 192 reviews. |
| Support | Official support points users to YouTube tutorials, Stack Overflow for usage questions and GitHub for reproducible bugs. | Support resources include forums, telephone, email, live chat, tutorials, training classes and community sites, with support included in purchase price. |
| What it does | MeshLab processes and edits large, unstructured triangular meshes from 3D scanning and related workflows. | Rhino is a 3D CAD application for creating, editing, analyzing, documenting, rendering, animating and translating NURBS, SubD, point-cloud and mesh geometry. |
Plans
Rhino 3D
- Commercial — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$995 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 10 concurrent users$9,950 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 50 concurrent users$49,750 a month
- Commercial upgrade — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$595 a month
- Student or faculty — Rhino 8 single user$195 a month
- Student or faculty upgrade — Rhino 8 single user$95 a month
- School — Rhino 8, 30-user lab$975 a month
- EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 Educational Single User$195, paid once
In their own words
MeshLab
MeshLab is a free desktop system for processing and editing 3D triangular meshes, including unstructured models produced by 3D scanning. Its tools cover editing, cleaning, repair, inspection, rendering, texturing, and conversion. The site describes using it to process raw data from 3D digitization and prepare models for 3D printing. MeshLab supports PTX point-cloud and range-map files, and listed export formats include PLY, STL, OBJ, OFF, WRL, and DXF. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux and is distributed under the GPL 3.0 license. PyMeshLab provides a Python interface for loading and saving meshes and applying MeshLab filters; the VCG code can be used in a standalone, large-scale automated processing pipeline. The listed MeshLab 2025.07 release is dated September 9, 2025, and includes ARM64 support on Linux and macOS plus 3MF support. The site points usage questions to Stack Overflow and bug reports to GitHub, with video learning resources for basics, features, scanning workflows, and mesh cleaning.
Rhino 3D
Rhino 3D is desktop software for Windows and macOS with listed capabilities for parametric modeling, animation, rendering, and 3D print export. The commercial Rhino 8 single concurrent-user license is listed at $995 a month, billed as a permanent license that does not expire. Licenses for 10 and 50 concurrent users are listed at $9,950 a month and $49,750 a month, respectively, also as permanent licenses. Student or faculty and school options are listed, with educational-status or school-licensing requirements. Commercial and student or faculty upgrade options are available, though evaluation versions cannot be upgraded. A free evaluation license costs nothing and lasts 90 days; saving and plugins stop working after that period. The listing describes Rhino 3D as paid while also indicating a free plan and free trial. Its maker is listed as founded in 1980 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA.