KIRI Engine Basic vs Pro: What's the Difference?

Quick Answer

KIRI Engine's Basic plan is free, no watermarks, no export paywalls, no trial period. It covers Photo Scan(photogrammetry) and LiDAR Scan, with support for all major export formats including OBJ, STL, FBX, GLTF, and USDZ. It is enough for 3D printing, room scanning, and most hobbyist workflows on iPhone, Android, and Web.

Pro unlocks advanced scanning and production workflows, including Featureless Object Scan (for reflective, transparent, and shiny objects), 3D Gaussian Splatting, PBR Material Generation, Quad-Mesh Retopology, Auto-Rig Generation, AI-Enhanced LiDAR, higher photo upload limits, and priority processing.

Basic vs Pro Comparison Table

What the Basic Plan Actually Includes

Photo Scan on the Basic (free) plan: scanning a physical Moai figurine and previewing the 3D result in-app.

The Basic plan is free and not a demo. Since v4.0, Basic users get:

• Unlimited 3D scans. No cap on how many scans you can create.

• Unlimited exports. Download in OBJ, STL, GLTF, FBX, USDZ, and more, as many times as you want, with no watermarks.

• Photo Scan (Photogrammetry). Full access, including in-app cropping. Works on iPhone and Android.

• Advanced Camera Control. Manual control over shutter speed, ISO, and focus for better scan quality in challenging lighting.

• LiDAR Scan. Room Scan, Scene Scan, and Object Capture. Requires a LiDAR-equipped device: iPhone 12 Pro or newer Pro models, or iPad Pro from 2020 onwards. Note: AI-Enhanced LiDAR processing is a Pro-only feature.

• Web version. Upload photos from your computer for photogrammetry (DSLR, drone, or any camera).

• High-poly export and dynamic decimation.

• In-app texturing tool.

If you want to scan everyday objects, spaces, or scenes and export the results to Blender, Unity, a 3D printer, or any other tool, the Basic plan handles all of that.

What Pro Adds

Sample 3D models scanned with KIRI Engine: matte textured objects (Moai, apple) via Photo Scan on Basic, and low-texture surfaces (chess knight) via Featureless Object Scan on Pro.

Pro unlocks advanced scanning and production capabilities beyond the Basic plan, plus faster processing and higher photo limits:

3D Gaussian Splatting

3D Gaussian Splatting is a Pro-only scanning mode that captures environments and objects with photorealistic visual fidelity using radiance field rendering, which produces a fundamentally different output from a photogrammetry mesh. Use 3DGS when photorealistic scene capture matters more than starting with a clean mesh. Use Mesh-Inclusive output when your workflow also needs an exportable polygon mesh — it generates both a splat file and a polygon mesh simultaneously. That mesh can then be used with the same downstream Pro tools available for photogrammetry scans, including Quad-Mesh Retopology, PBR Material Generation, and Auto-Rig. Not sure whether to use 3DGS, Photo Scan, or LiDAR? See the 3DGS vs Photogrammetry vs LiDAR guide. Pro only.

Featureless Object Scan

Scan objects that standard photogrammetry often struggles with: shiny surfaces, transparent glass, low-texture plastics, metals, ceramics. This mode uses Neural Surface Reconstruction (NSR), a different underlying technology that doesn't rely on visual feature matching. If you've ever tried to scan a ceramic mug, a chrome part, a glass bottle, or a toy figurine and got a broken or incomplete result, Featureless Object Scan is built for those object types. For a deeper explanation, see the Featureless Object Scan guide. Pro only.

PBR Materials

Best for game artists, 3D artists, and rendering workflows. Automatically generates a full set of production-ready texture maps from your scan: albedo, normal, roughness, metallic, and displacement. These are the maps Blender, Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, and other DCC tools expect. Without this, you get a single baked texture on the mesh. Pro only.

Quad-Mesh Retopology

Converts the raw high-poly scan output (a dense triangle mesh) into a clean quad mesh with proper UV unwrapping. Quad meshes are what animators and technical artists need to work efficiently in Blender, Maya, or ZBrush. Raw high-poly triangle meshes from photogrammetry are often difficult to edit, animate, or optimize directly in professional asset pipelines. Pro only.

Auto-Rig Generation

Automatically generates a skeleton rig on a scanned model, designed for humanoid or animal subjects. Useful for motion capture workflows and game-ready character assets. Pro only.

AI-Enhanced LiDAR

Applies AI-based cloud processing to refine raw LiDAR data — reducing noise, improving depth accuracy, and producing cleaner geometry for measurement, reconstruction, and further 3D workflows. Basic users have access to standard LiDAR scanning; AI-Enhanced processing is Pro only.

Faster Processing and Higher Photo Limits

Pro users are queued ahead of Basic users during processing. Photo upload limits are also higher across all modes: Photo Scan goes from 150 (Basic) to 500 photos per upload, while 3D Gaussian Splatting and Featureless Object Scan support up to 300 photos per upload. If you're scanning large objects or environments, this matters.

Who Should Use the Basic Plan

A 3D printed head model created from a KIRI Engine scan. The full scan-to-print workflow is available on the Basic (free) plan.

The Basic plan (free) works well for:

• 3D printing. You need an STL or OBJ, not a quad mesh or PBR maps. Basic handles the full scan-to-print workflow without any export limits.

• Students and beginners. No time limit, no scan cap. Scan as much as you want while learning photogrammetry, Blender, or 3D printing workflows.

• Reference models. Archiving objects, creating scale references, or documenting physical items for your own records.

• Architecture and room scanning. LiDAR Scan for floor plans and space documentation is fully available on Basic.

• Hobbyist and personal use. Most casual scanning needs stop well before the Pro feature set.

• Matte, textured objects. For standard Photo Scan projects, Basic and Pro use the same photogrammetry reconstruction quality. If you're scanning rocks, wood, fabric, painted surfaces, or any object with good surface texture, the output is identical.

Who Should Upgrade to Pro

Consider Pro if any of these apply:

• You need to scan reflective, shiny, or transparent objects. Ceramics, glass, metals, chrome parts, toys, figurines, shoes, or packaging. Standard photogrammetry often struggles with these. Featureless Object Scan is designed specifically for them.

• You want to use 3D Gaussian Splatting. The entire 3DGS mode is Pro-only, including Mesh-Inclusive output which gives you both a splat file and an exportable polygon mesh.

• You're delivering assets to a game engine or DCC tool. PBR maps and quad-mesh retopology are expected in professional pipelines. Without them, you'll spend significant time in post-processing cleanup.

• You need to rig or animate a scanned subject. Auto-Rig Generation handles this directly in-app.

• You need higher-quality LiDAR results. AI-Enhanced LiDAR uses cloud processing to reduce noise and improve depth accuracy beyond what standard LiDAR produces.

• You're doing high-volume scanning. The Basic plan caps Photo Scan at 150 photos per upload. Pro raises this to 500 for Photo Scan and 300 for 3DGS and Featureless Object Scan, plus adds priority processing.

• You scan product samples, e-commerce assets, or client deliverables. If scans are part of a paid workflow, the time saved by Pro features (especially quad-mesh and PBR) typically pays for the subscription quickly.

Pricing

There's no annual commitment required if you start monthly. You can switch to a yearly plan later through the platform where you subscribed.

Prices listed are in USD. Actual pricing may vary by region, platform (App Store, Google Play, Web), and applicable taxes. For the latest price in your region, check the Pricing page or the subscription screen inside the KIRI Engine app.

A Note on Why the Basic Plan Is Genuinely Free

KIRI Engine's Basic plan is designed to be fully usable for standard 3D scanning workflows, not just a limited trial. Basic users get the same photogrammetry quality, the same export formats, and the same unlimited usage as Pro users. Pro is designed for professional workflows that need advanced reconstruction, production-ready outputs, and faster processing.

If you're not sure whether you need Pro, the practical approach is to start on Basic, hit a specific limitation (a reflective object you can't scan, a pipeline that needs quad-mesh, a project that requires PBR maps), and upgrade then.

KIRI Engine offers four scanning modes. Photo Scan and LiDAR Scan are available on the Basic (free) plan. Featureless Object Scan and 3DGS Scan require Pro.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answer: should I start with Basic or Pro? Start with Basic (free) if you're new to 3D scanning or mainly scan matte, textured objects. Upgrade to Pro when you hit a specific need: a reflective object that standard photogrammetry struggles with, a pipeline that requires PBR materials or quad mesh, a project needing 3D Gaussian Splatting, or a high-volume workflow that benefits from faster processing.

Is KIRI Engine really free with no catch? Yes. The Basic plan has no watermarks, no export paywalls, and no time limits. Since v4.0, exports are unlimited. The only limitations are that Pro features (Featureless Object Scan, 3DGS, AI-Enhanced LiDAR, quad-mesh, PBR, auto-rig) are locked. If your workflow doesn't need them, the Basic plan remains fully usable.

Does Pro improve photogrammetry quality? The core Photo Scan photogrammetry algorithm is the same for Basic and Pro users. With the same input photos, Basic and Pro produce the same reconstruction quality. However, because Pro raises the Photo Scan upload limit from 150 to 500 photos, Pro users can capture more coverage and overlap, which can improve reconstruction completeness and detail for complex or large objects. For most everyday objects, a few dozen to around 100 photos is usually sufficient, so the Basic plan's 150-photo limit is enough for the majority of use cases. The higher limit matters mainly for very large objects, architecture, or projects requiring exceptionally fine detail.

Which plan is best for 3D printing? Basic is enough for most 3D printing workflows. You can scan, crop, export to STL or OBJ, and use dynamic decimation without any export limits or watermarks. Pro is only needed if your object is reflective, transparent, or otherwise difficult for standard photogrammetry. See the how to create 3D models for printing guide for a complete workflow.

Can I use KIRI Engine Basic for commercial projects? Yes. You can use exported models from the Basic plan for personal or commercial projects.

Is 3D Gaussian Splatting available on the Basic plan? No. 3D Gaussian Splatting is a Pro-only feature. Basic users can use Photo Scan, LiDAR Scan on supported devices, and Web photogrammetry uploads, but 3DGS requires Pro.

Can I switch between monthly and yearly billing? Yes. You can start monthly and switch to a yearly plan later. Billing changes are managed through the platform where you subscribed (App Store, Google Play, or Web).

Does the Basic plan work on Android? Yes. Photo Scan (photogrammetry) is fully available on Android. LiDAR Scan requires a LiDAR-equipped device: iPhone 12 Pro or newer Pro models, or iPad Pro from 2020 onwards. 3D Gaussian Splatting and Featureless Object Scan are Pro features available on both iOS and Android.

What happens to my scans if I cancel Pro? Your existing scans remain accessible. You lose access to Pro-only features going forward, but nothing is deleted.

Is the Web version available on the Basic plan? Yes, for photogrammetry uploads. Basic users can access the Web version to upload photos from a DSLR, drone, or any camera. Pro unlocks Web access to Pro scanning modes, higher processing limits, and priority processing.