Open3D vs Pointly

Open3D is a free, open-source library for developing software that works with 3D data. It provides C++ and Python interfaces for data structures and processing algorithms, including scene reconstruction and surface alignment, plus physically based rendering and GPU acceleration for core operations. Open3D-ML adds tools for 3D machine-learning tasks such as semantic point-cloud segmentation, pretrained models, and training pipelines, with PyTorch and TensorFlow support. Developers can use the standalone Open3D-Viewer on Debian/Ubuntu, macOS, or Windows, or run web visualization from C++ and Python servers. Browser viewing can use WebRTC, and visualizations can be embedded in Jupyter Notebook or JupyterLab. Listed inputs include RealSense cameras, Azure Kinect, RGB-D sequences, bag files, point clouds, and meshes; export formats include XYZ, PLY, PCD, STL, OBJ, GLTF, GLB, and others. Current Python packages support Python 3.10 through 3.14 on Ubuntu 22.04+, macOS 10.15+, and 64-bit Windows 10+; other systems can use a source build. The web visualizer uses HTTP by default, so sensitive remote visualization calls for SSL configuration.

Pointly classifies and vectorizes large LiDAR point clouds from airborne, mobile and terrestrial sources. It accepts LAS and LAZ files and can return classified files in those formats, alongside vectors in DXF, Shapefile, CSV or GeoJSON. Workflows can combine AI classification with rule-based checks using geometry, semantic rules and reference data, with quality control where needed. The service supports API, self-hosted and web use. Its hosted platform runs on Microsoft Azure in the EU by default; separate tenants in other Azure regions are available on request. Pointly Box runs inside a customer's network and can be air-gapped, with licensing via a hardware key. The free account allows three uploads of up to 15 MPoints each to try standard classifiers. Professional S costs 99.00 € per month, net excluding VAT, and includes 500 MPoints per month and unlimited projects. Pointly describes its certification as ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and says it usually answers enquiries within one business day.