Comparison
A simpler Swyvl alternative
If you are looking at Swyvl for sharing point clouds with clients, here is an honest look at how ViewerFX compares and where each one fits.
Swyvl and ViewerFX are after the same job. You have a finished scan as a LAS or LAZ file and someone who needs to see it, and that someone should not have to install desktop software or learn a point cloud package to look at their own site. Both products turn the file into an interactive 3D view in the browser that travels as a link.
We built ViewerFX, so read this as our point of view. We have tried to keep the Swyvl facts fair, and where their plans or limits matter to your decision you should check swyvl.io for current details, because specifics change and we would rather you verify than trust a comparison page.
What Swyvl does
Swyvl is a polished platform for publishing geospatial data to the web. It handles point clouds and pairs them with other site context like 360 photos and maps, and it is a good fit for teams that want to assemble richer site presentations rather than send a single deliverable. It is sold in tiers, with limits that scale by plan. For an interactive walkthrough of a whole project site, it is a genuinely capable tool.
What ViewerFX does differently
ViewerFX is deliberately narrower and cheaper. It does one thing: your LAS or LAZ becomes a streaming link your client can open. Because the scope is narrow, the pricing can be flat and self-serve, and every feature ships on every tier.
- Free gets you started for real. 2GB and two stored files, with measurement, annotations and password links included. Free shares carry a small ViewerFX badge.
- Starter is $29 a month for 50GB and 10 stored files.
- Pro is $79 a month for 250GB and 40 files.
- Business is $199 a month for 1TB, 200 files and full white-label.
The people you share with never pay, never sign up, and are never counted. Links do not expire while your account is active. There is no per-project metering to think about, only storage.
Side by side
| Dimension | ViewerFX | Swyvl |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Point cloud sharing, nothing else | Broader site presentation: point clouds, 360 photos, maps |
| Entry price | Free tier, paid from $29 a month | Tiered plans, check current pricing |
| Client viewers | Unlimited, free, no sign up | Supported, check how plans meter projects and viewers |
| Feature gating | Every feature on every plan, tiers differ by storage only | Features and limits scale by tier, check current plans |
| Link expiry | Never, while your account is active | Check their current policy |
| File formats | LAS and LAZ, every version | Point clouds plus imagery formats, check current list |
Where we could not confirm a detail with confidence, the row says so. If a cell matters to your decision, open both pricing pages the day you decide.
Who each one is for
Swyvl makes sense when the deliverable is a presentation of a whole site, with imagery and context assembled around the data, and when the audience is going to explore rather than measure. Marketing a completed project or briefing a large stakeholder group fits that shape.
ViewerFX makes sense when the deliverable is the point cloud itself. A surveyor sending a topo scan to an engineer, a scanning crew handing off to a client who wants to check clearances, a firm that wants a branded link that still opens in two years. If that is the job, you do not need a presentation platform, you need a viewer that travels well and pricing that stays out of the way.
How to decide
Run the same file through both. ViewerFX has a free viewer that opens a LAS or LAZ from your desk right now with no account, and a free plan that lets you publish a real share link today. Send that link to a colleague and watch what the receiving end looks like. The tool that makes the person on the other side of the link successful is the right one.
Share your next point cloud as a link
Upload a LAS or LAZ and send your client an interactive viewer. No installs on their end, no per-seat fees, links that never expire.