# PLY Viewer

> Open PLY files from 3D scanners, photogrammetry apps and MeshLab, as colored meshes or point clouds, without installing anything.

Page: https://printpal.io/tools/ply-viewer
Updated: 2026-11-12
Use it: open https://printpal.io/tools/ply-viewer in a browser and drop a file. Free, no account, files are processed locally and never uploaded.

PLY, the Stanford Polygon File Format, stores vertices with whatever properties the writer wants: positions, normals, colors, confidence. Scanners and photogrammetry tools use it because it handles colored meshes and point clouds alike, in ASCII or binary.

Files with faces open as a mesh; files without faces open as a point cloud. Gaussian splat .ply files from Polycam, Luma or Postshot are clouds of splats with extra properties, so they appear as points (usually without their colors, which splats store differently), not as a surface you could print.

## How to use the PLY viewer

1. **Open the file.** Drop .ply meshes or point clouds, ASCII or binary.
2. **Check size and orientation.** The model stands on the plate in millimetres. Switch to inches, or change the file units or up axis if it looks wrong.
3. **Run the checks.** Read the mesh check, pick your printer to see whether it fits, and use Measure (M) or Section (X) for a closer look.
4. **Save or convert.** Take a PNG screenshot, or save the model as STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB, PLY or USDZ.

## What you can check

- Colored meshes and point clouds, ASCII or binary
- Size in mm or inches, with a fix for scans saved in metres
- Watertight check: scans usually need hole filling before printing
- Section view and measuring
- Save as STL, OBJ (keeps vertex colors), GLB or PLY

## PLY at a glance (Polygon File Format (Stanford Triangle Format))

Greg Turk designed PLY at Stanford in the 1990s for 3D scan data, and it is still what scanners, photogrammetry tools and MeshLab write. It can hold a colored mesh or a bare point cloud, and Gaussian splat captures reuse it for splats.

- **Stores:** Vertices with any properties, optional faces; ASCII or binary
- **Color:** Per-vertex colors
- **Units:** None; scanners usually write metres
- **Up axis:** Varies with the scanner or app
- **File size:** Binary is compact; ASCII is several times larger
- **Opens in:** MeshLab, CloudCompare, Blender, scanning and photogrammetry software

## Tips

- **Point cloud?** Points have no surface to print. Mesh them with Poisson reconstruction in MeshLab or CloudCompare, then convert the mesh.
- **Scan in metres** Phone and handheld scanners usually write metres. If the scan reads a few millimetres across, switch the file units to metres.
- **Lying down?** PLY has no fixed up axis. Switch between Y up and Z up until it stands.

## FAQ

### What is a PLY file?

The Polygon File Format from Stanford: a mesh or point cloud with per-vertex properties such as color. It is the usual output of 3D scanners and photogrammetry.

### Can I 3D print a PLY file?

If it is a mesh, yes: convert it with [PLY to STL](https://printpal.io/convert/ply-to-stl), and check it is watertight first. Point clouds must be meshed before they can be printed.

### Does it show vertex colors?

Yes. Colored meshes and point clouds are shown in their colors, and [PLY to OBJ](https://printpal.io/convert/ply-to-obj) keeps them.

### Is the viewer free? Are there limits?

Free, with no sign-up, watermark or file limit. The practical limit is your device's memory: files of a few hundred MB open on most laptops.

### Are my files uploaded anywhere?

No. Files are read by JavaScript and WebAssembly in your browser and never sent to PrintPal. Only the code is downloaded, and the STEP and IGES reader once, from a public CDN.

## Related

- [PLY to STL Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/ply-to-stl)
- [PLY to OBJ Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/ply-to-obj)
- [STL to PLY Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/stl-to-ply)
- [STL to OBJ Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/stl-to-obj)
- [OBJ to STL Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/obj-to-stl)
- [STEP to STL Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/step-to-stl)
- [STL to 3MF Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/stl-to-3mf)
- [GLB to STL Converter](https://printpal.io/convert/glb-to-stl)
- [3D model viewer](https://printpal.io/tools/3d-model-viewer)
- [3D model converter](https://printpal.io/tools/3d-model-converter)
- [Mesh Repair](https://printpal.io/tools/mesh-repair)
- PrintPal for LLMs: https://printpal.io/llms.txt