SPLAT File Viewer Online
Open .splat Gaussian Splatting files directly in your browser — orbit, zoom, and explore your scenes.
Last updated Mar 2026
Convert SPLAT Gaussian Splatting
What You Should Know
What Is the SPLAT Format?
SPLAT is a compact binary format for 3D Gaussian Splatting scenes, popularized by Kevin Kwok (antimatter15) and his web-based 3DGS viewer. Unlike the raw PLY format, SPLAT strips the spherical harmonics (SH) data and stores only base position, covariance, and color per Gaussian. This makes SPLAT files roughly 50% smaller than equivalent PLY files. The format has no formal specification — it is defined by convention: 32 bytes per Gaussian in a fixed layout (x, y, z as float32; scale x/y/z as float32; RGBA as uint8; covariance as float32). Its simplicity has made it the de-facto web transfer format for 3DGS content.
Who Uses SPLAT Files?
SPLAT files are commonly used by web developers embedding Gaussian Splatting scenes in websites, game developers using Three.js or Babylon.js with 3DGS plugins, and content creators sharing Gaussian Splatting captures through the antimatter15 viewer. If you have a scene already in SPLAT format and want to verify how it looks, this viewer will render it with full orbit controls without needing to set up any local development environment. For production use, converting SPLAT to SPZ is worth considering — SPZ is the emerging Khronos/Niantic standard with better compression.
View-Dependent Color and SPLAT Limitations
Because SPLAT format does not include spherical harmonics data, view-dependent color effects are absent. Surfaces will appear with flat, baked colors regardless of viewing angle. This is a deliberate trade-off for file size. For scenes where visual fidelity is important — architectural walkthroughs, product visualization, or scientific captures — consider preserving the original PLY (with full SH) or converting to SPZ, which retains SH while achieving better compression than SPLAT.
SPLAT in the Broader 3DGS Format Ecosystem
SPLAT is the most widely supported format across existing web viewers and tools today. If you are distributing a scene to users who have their own viewers, SPLAT gives the broadest compatibility. Its limitation — no spherical harmonics — means renders look slightly flatter than PLY or SPZ equivalents when viewed from multiple angles. For scenes captured in controlled lighting or where view-dependent effects are subtle, this trade-off is often acceptable. If you need to convert between SPLAT and other formats, use our converters: SPLAT to SPZ (smaller, Khronos standard), SPLAT to PLY (full editing access), or SPLAT to KSPLAT (Three.js streaming).