3DF Zephyr
3DF Zephyr is photogrammetry and reality capture software that creates 3D models, point clouds, orthophotos, DEMs, and survey outputs from photos, videos, laser scans, and drone imagery.
Turning site photos into usable 3D data is where 3DF Zephyr fits into AEC workflows. Surveyors, architects, heritage teams, and construction crews can process image sets into meshes, point clouds, orthophotos, and terrain products without leaving a desktop photogrammetry environment.
The full edition reaches beyond visual mesh creation into mapping and BIM-adjacent production. It supports laser scan import, georeferencing, CAD drawing, volume calculation, DEM tools, and a GEOBIM Revit plugin for synchronizing dense point clouds with Autodesk Revit.
3Dflow's documentation says the Free edition can process up to 50 pictures, while paid versions remove that image-count limit (3Dflow documentation, 2025). For project teams, that means the same software family can cover learning, small mesh jobs, and professional survey deliverables, with Windows hardware and GPU capacity becoming more important as datasets grow.
Specifications
Pricing
Platforms
Used for
Used by
Tasks
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free personal edition is useful for learning and small 50-photo datasets.
- Paid editions include perpetual license choices as well as a monthly full-edition subscription.
- Strong CAD, GIS, point cloud, and mesh export coverage for AEC handoff.
- Full edition includes survey, laser scan, batch, Python, DEM, and GEOBIM tools.
Cons
- Native support is Windows-only according to the official requirements.
- Free and Lite editions do not include every professional survey or BIM feature.
- The GEOBIM Revit plugin is described by 3Dflow as experimental.
- Large reconstructions can require a strong NVIDIA GPU and substantial RAM.
Key features
Photo-to-3D reconstruction: Build sparse clouds, dense clouds, meshes, and textured models from regular or drone photography.
Survey and mapping outputs: Generate orthophotos, orthomosaics, DEMs, DTMs, DSMs, contour lines, sections, and volume measurements.
Laser scan support: Import native scanner data through plugins for formats such as FARO .fls and .fws, RIEGL .rdbx, Z+F .zfs, and DotProduct .dp.
BIM connection: Use the GEOBIM Revit plugin in the full edition to synchronize point clouds and CAD drawing data between Zephyr and Revit.
Broad export coverage: Export meshes, point clouds, camera data, orthophotos, and reports in formats used by CAD, GIS, visualization, and survey tools.
Pricing
3DF Zephyr Free
Free
Free for personal use; limited to 50 pictures per project and reduced feature access. Confirm current limits on 3Dflow's site.
3DF Zephyr Lite
€199.00
Perpetual Lite license listed at €199 plus VAT with 12 months of updates included. Confirm current pricing on 3Dflow's site.
3DF Zephyr Monthly
per month
€250.00
Monthly full-edition subscription listed at €250 plus VAT per month. Confirm current pricing on 3Dflow's site.
3DF Zephyr
€4,200.00
Full perpetual license listed at €4,200 plus VAT with 12 months of updates included. Confirm current pricing on 3Dflow's site.
Frequently asked questions
How much does 3DF Zephyr cost?
3Dflow lists 3DF Zephyr Free at no cost for personal use, 3DF Zephyr Lite at €199 plus VAT as a perpetual license, 3DF Zephyr Monthly at €250 plus VAT per month, and the full perpetual 3DF Zephyr license at €4,200 plus VAT. Perpetual licenses include 12 months of updates, and 3Dflow says another 12 months can be renewed at 20% of the license price.
Does 3DF Zephyr work on Mac or Linux?
The official system requirements list Windows 10 or Windows 11. 3Dflow's tutorial page mentions a resource about running 3DF Zephyr on Linux using Wine, but the product requirements describe 3DF Zephyr as a Windows desktop application.
What formats can 3DF Zephyr export for CAD, BIM, or survey workflows?
3Dflow lists mesh exports including OBJ, STL, FBX, PLY, PDF 3D, U3D, DAE, DXF, 3MF, KMZ, OSGB, and IVE. Point cloud and survey exports include E57, LAS, LAZ, PLY, XYZ, PTS, PTX, RCP, DXF, GeoTIFF, KML, PNG, JPG, BMP, and PDF reports.
Can 3DF Zephyr connect photogrammetry data to Revit?
Yes, but only in the fuller professional workflow. 3Dflow documents a GEOBIM Revit plugin that synchronizes dense point clouds and CAD drawings between 3DF Zephyr and Autodesk Revit, and notes that this function is not available in 3DF Zephyr Lite or 3DF Zephyr Free.
3DF Zephyr Free vs Lite vs full 3DF Zephyr: which version fits AEC work?
3DF Zephyr Free is best for learning, viewing, and personal projects because it is limited to 50 pictures. Lite fits small commercial mesh jobs, while the full edition is the better fit for survey and AEC work because it includes laser scans, GIS and CAD tools, orthophotos, DEM features, batch processing, Python scripting, and the GEOBIM Revit plugin.
Who uses 3DF Zephyr in construction or architecture?
3Dflow names architecture, topography, urban monitoring, UAV work, mining, archaeology, and related fields among 3DF Zephyr's target applications. In AEC, it is most useful for surveyors, drone mapping teams, BIM specialists, and documentation teams that need reality capture deliverables from site imagery or scans.