Category
AI photogrammetry software: what they are and who makes them
desktop packages for surveyors, free and open source pipelines, phone-first capture apps, cloud drone mapping services: RealityScan, 3DF Zephyr, Pix4D through Qlone.
Types of AI photogrammetry software
Desktop packages for surveyors
3DF Zephyr, Pix4D, 3Dsurvey and PhotoModeler run on your own machine and sell perpetual or subscription licenses. They suit teams that need control points, measurements and files that stay on their own machines, and they cost the most per seat among the groups here.
Free and open source pipelines
Meshroom, COLMAP and OpenDroneMap cost nothing to license and keep data local. They ask for more setup, offer no vendor support, and fit researchers, hobbyists and drone operators who are comfortable with a command line or a node graph and can fix problems on their own.
Phone-first capture apps
Polycam, Kiri Engine and Qlone turn a phone camera or LiDAR sensor into a model within minutes. They fit designers, game artists and small makers, and usually trade survey-grade control for speed and sharing options, and several lean on cloud processing.
Cloud drone mapping services
DroneDeploy sells flight planning, mapping and site reports as an annual cloud service. It suits construction and agriculture crews that want one login and one invoice, and it leaves processing and storage with the vendor, so data location and billing terms deserve a closer read.
Facts at a glance
| Tool | Publisher | Based in | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| RealityScan | Not stated on the vendor pages (links point to Epic Games domains) | Not stated on the vendor pages | Free tier |
| 3DF Zephyr | 3Dflow SRL | Italy | Free tier |
| Pix4D | Pix4D SA | Not stated on the vendor pages | Trial |
| Polycam | Polycam Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| Meshroom | AliceVision Association (non-profit, per the AliceVision site) | Not stated on the vendor pages | Free tier |
| COLMAP | Not stated as a company; core maintainers are named on the project page | Not stated on the vendor pages | Free tier + API |
| OpenDroneMap | OpenDroneMap community (OpenDroneMap™), per the project page | Not stated on the vendor pages | Free tier |
| 3Dsurvey | 3Dsurvey d.o.o. | Not stated on the vendor pages | Trial |
| Kiri Engine | KIRI Innovation (named in its privacy policy) | Not stated on the vendor pages | Free tier |
| DroneDeploy | DroneDeploy, Inc. | United States | Trial |
| PhotoModeler | Not stated on the vendor pages (privacy policy names Eos Systems Inc.) | Not stated on the vendor pages | Paid |
| Qlone | EyeCue Vision Technologies LTD (copyright line) | Not stated on the vendor pages | Paid |
