Best Gaussian Splatting Apps & Software in 2026: Complete Comparison
Updated Mar 2026
The Gaussian Splatting ecosystem has exploded since the original paper in 2023. In 2026, there are dozens of apps and tools covering every step of the pipeline — from phone-based capture to web deployment. But choosing the right tool is confusing: some are free, some are $300/year, some run in your browser, some need an NVIDIA GPU. This guide compares every major 3DGS app across four categories (capture, training, editing, viewing/hosting) with honest assessments of what each tool does well and where it falls short. Every recommendation is based on hands-on experience, not marketing copy.
Tools used in this guide
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1
Capture Apps — Getting Your Scene into 3DGS
Scaniverse (Niantic, free): The best free option. Captures 3DGS directly on your phone (iPhone/Android), processes on-device, exports as SPZ. Quality is surprisingly good for indoor scenes. Limitations: outdoor scenes in bright sunlight can have artifacts, and maximum scene size is limited by phone memory. Polycam ($12-27/month): More control than Scaniverse — adjustable capture settings, cloud processing, supports both phone and DSLR photos. Exports to PLY and other formats. The paid tier adds higher resolution and batch processing. Best for professionals who need consistent quality. KIRI Engine ($18/month): Unique feature — 3DGS to mesh conversion built in. Good for users who need both a Gaussian Splatting scan and a traditional mesh from the same capture. Luma AI ($30-300/month): Cloud-based, supports video input. The free tier is very limited. Best for teams that need API access and programmatic capture. For most users: start with Scaniverse (free), upgrade to Polycam if you need more control.
- 2
Training Software — From Photos to Gaussians
If you captured with Scaniverse or Polycam, training is handled automatically. But if you have photos from a DSLR or drone, you need a training pipeline. gsplat (nerfstudio, free, Apache 2.0): The dominant open-source training library. 4x less memory than the original 3DGS code, 15% faster, multi-GPU support. Requires NVIDIA GPU and Python/CUDA setup. Published in JMLR 2025. Postshot (Jawset, free tier + EUR 17/mo): Desktop app for Windows with a GUI. No command-line needed. Supports COLMAP and RealityCapture camera imports. Best for non-programmers who want a visual training workflow. The free tier adds a watermark. Original 3DGS (INRIA, free, non-commercial): The reference implementation from the paper. Still widely used in research but gsplat has surpassed it for production use. Non-commercial license limits business applications. GLOMAP: A faster alternative to COLMAP for the structure-from-motion step (10-50x faster). Not a full training pipeline — pair it with gsplat for the best results.
- 3
Editing Tools — Cleaning Up and Modifying Scenes
SuperSplat (PlayCanvas, free, MIT): The best browser-based 3DGS editor. Selection tools (picker, brush, sphere), attribute editing (opacity, scale, color), export to PLY/SPLAT/SOG. Handles up to 2-3M Gaussians. Limitation: no automated cleanup — all selection is manual. Blender + KIRI Addon (free): Full 3D editing environment with 3DGS support via the KIRI Engine 3DGS Render addon (v4.1). Import PLY, edit in Blender's familiar interface, composite with mesh objects, render. Best for users already comfortable with Blender. See our Blender workflow guide. polyvia3d Floater Removal (free, browser): Automatic Statistical Outlier Removal — the only web tool that auto-detects and removes floating artifacts without manual selection. Best for quick cleanup before further editing. Splatshop (desktop, beta): Designed for large scenes (100M+ Gaussians). Not yet widely available but promising for professional workflows.
- 4
Viewing & Hosting — Sharing Your Scenes
Spark.js (free, MIT): Three.js integration, supports PLY/SPZ/SPLAT/KSplat/SOG, built-in LOD tree, WASM-accelerated sorting. This is what polyvia3d uses. Best for custom web integration. GaussianSplats3D (free, MIT): Another Three.js library, supports progressive loading. Widely used and well-documented. PlayCanvas Engine (free, MIT): Full game engine with native SOG support. Best if you need a complete 3D application framework, not just a viewer. Splatter.app: Cloud hosting + CDN for 3DGS scenes. LOD streaming for large scenes. Enterprise focus. 3DGS Viewers (3dgsviewers.com): Simple viewer + converter + hosting. For self-hosting: compress your scene to SPZ or SOG (use our compressor), host on Cloudflare R2 (free tier: 10 GB), embed with an iframe or Spark.js.
- 5
Format Converters & Utilities
polyvia3d (free, browser): The most comprehensive web-based format converter — supports PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, KSplat, and SOG. Also includes file inspector, compression quality compare, and LOD generator. All processing runs in your browser. splat-transform (PlayCanvas, free, MIT): CLI tool for format conversion. Supports PLY → SOG (best compression). Available as an npm package for programmatic use. 3dgsconverter (free, Python): Python CLI for N-to-N conversion between PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, KSplat, SOG, and compressed PLY. Best for batch processing in scripts.
- 6
Pricing Comparison
Free tools that cover the full pipeline: Scaniverse (capture) + gsplat (training, needs GPU) + SuperSplat (editing) + Spark.js (viewing) + polyvia3d (conversion/compression). Total cost: $0 if you have an NVIDIA GPU. Paid alternatives for those who need more: Polycam ($12-27/mo) for better capture, Postshot (EUR 17/mo) for GUI-based training, Volinga (EUR 120+/yr) for VFX production. Enterprise: Luma AI ($300/mo), Volinga Studio (custom pricing), Splatter.app (custom pricing). For most individual users and small teams, the free stack is sufficient. Paid tools add convenience and specific features (GUI training, cloud processing, enterprise support) but are not required.