Online PLY viewer free, no upload.
View a .ply file in one gesture: vertex colours, normals, point cloud or mesh. Everything is read inside your browser, nothing is uploaded.
Your file stays on your computer: nothing is uploaded.The file is read and displayed by your browser. No upload, no account, no analytics.
Drop your survey here
PLY, OBJ, GLB, glTF, STL, LAS, PCD, or a 2D plan as PNG or PDF. For an OBJ with textures, also drop its MTL and images, or the folder.
View a PLY file without any software
A .ply file almost always comes from a scanner: an iPhone LiDAR app (Polycam, Scaniverse, 3d Scanner App, Lidark), photogrammetry software, or a clean-up tool such as CloudCompare and MeshLab. To simply look at the result, installing desktop software is overkill. This viewer reads the PLY straight in the page.
It handles both encodings of the format: little-endian binary, the most common and fastest, and ASCII, a text file where every line is a vertex. Single or double precision coordinates, one-byte colours (red, green, blue) and normals are all recognised.
What is inside a PLY file
The text header announces the file’s “elements”: the number of vertices and their properties (x, y, z, sometimes nx, ny, nz for normals, red, green, blue for colours), then the number of faces. The data follows. If the file has no “face” element it is a pure point cloud; the viewer then draws it as points, with a slider to set their size.
If the PLY has no normals they are computed in your browser so the surfaces are lit. If it has no colours, height is shown with an altitude ramp, which is useful for reading the relief of a quarry or a gallery.
Why is my PLY black, sideways or empty?
A black or flat grey PLY has no per-vertex colours: some tools export colour as a separate texture, which the PLY format does not carry. A model lying on its side uses Z as vertical: turn on “Z is up”. An empty display most often comes from a file truncated by an interrupted transfer, which the viewer reports with a message rather than drawing garbage.
- No colours: switch to the altitude view.
- Model on its side: “Z is up” setting.
- File too heavy for a phone: open it on a computer.
PLY files from Lidark
Lidark exports its underground surveys as binary PLY with real colours and normals, welded into a single mesh. They open here with the same tools as in the app: ceiling removal to see inside a gallery, red night vision, measuring between two points and screenshots.
Open a PLY file online
Drop the .ply
Drag the file onto the drop zone, or pick it from your files.
Adjust the display
Choose real colours or altitude, set the point size for a cloud, turn on “Z is up” if needed.
Explore
Orbit and zoom, remove ceilings, measure a distance, save the view as a PNG.
Frequently asked questions
Which PLY files are supported?
Little-endian and big-endian binary PLY and ASCII PLY, with or without faces, with colours (uchar red, green, blue) and normals.
My PLY is a point cloud with no faces: will it display?
Yes, as points. A slider sets their size, and measuring works by tapping a point.
Is my PLY file sent to a server?
No. It is read in your browser and never leaves it.
Can I open a PLY of several hundred MB?
Yes on a recent computer: reading happens in chunks, with a progress bar.
Exporting a survey from the Lidark app
Open the survey in Lidark, then tap Export.
Pick PLY (recommended, with colours) or OBJ, or the 2D plan as PNG or PDF.
Save to Files, or send the file to yourself by AirDrop or email, then open it here.
The 2D plan is free; 3D export (PLY, OBJ) is part of Lidark Pro. This viewer is always free.