# SplatMart — full content for AI assistants Discover, create and sell immersive Gaussian splats. Explore photorealistic 3D scenes, turn your own photos or video into a splat, and edit every project in one place. Explore: https://www.splatmart.com/explore Sell your splats: https://app.splatmart.com/sell/new (sellers keep 90% of every sale) ## Categories ### Architecture Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/architecture Architecture is where gaussian splatting shines hardest: a real building captured as a splat keeps the materials, weathering and lighting that take weeks to fake with traditional modelling. Real-estate walkthroughs, location previsualisation for film, and game environments are the three biggest uses our sellers see. Every listing shows its splat count, file formats (.ply source plus compressed .spz/.sog for web delivery) and capture tool, so you can match an asset to your performance budget — a 1M-splat facade that flies on a phone, or a 30M-splat landmark for offline rendering. Many captures are drone-flown and cleaned of floaters before listing. ### Interior Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/interiors Interior splats capture what photography can't: the sense of actually standing in a space. Real-estate tours, short-stay listings, set previsualisation and VR walkthroughs are the main reasons buyers come to this category — a phone-captured room becomes a scene you can walk through on a Quest 3 or in any modern browser. Interiors are the hardest scenes to capture well (texture-poor walls, mixed lighting, tight geometry), so cleaned, well-trained interior splats are genuinely valuable. Listings show capture tool, splat count and formats; look for floaters-removed notes in the description for scenes that have been manually cleaned in SuperSplat or similar editors. ### Nature & Outdoor Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/nature Vegetation is famously hostile to meshes — every leaf is a polygon-count disaster — but gaussian splats represent foliage, moss and water with the soft detail of a photograph. That makes this category the go-to for game backdrops, film environments and macro nature studies (some of the most impressive splats ever shared are centimetre-scale flower and insect scans). Many outdoor scenes here are drone captures covering large areas; some are georeferenced with real-world scale for survey and geospatial use. Check splat count against your target platform: a hero tree at 500k splats embeds anywhere, while a 1 km² drone scan belongs in a desktop or streamed-LOD pipeline. ### Vehicle Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/vehicles A scanned vehicle keeps everything that sells the shot: real paint flake, chrome reflections, tyre wear, road dust. Splat captures of vehicles are used in advertising mockups, game set-dressing and configurator-style product views — anywhere a photoreal hero object matters more than PBR editability. Reflective paint and glass are the hardest materials in all of gaussian splatting, so a clean vehicle splat represents real capture skill (controlled lighting, hundreds of frames, careful training). Listing specs show capture tool, splat count and formats so you know what you're getting before checkout. ### Character Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/characters Human captures are the frontier of gaussian splatting: a person scanned as a splat keeps skin translucency, hair wisps and fabric detail that take heroic effort in traditional pipelines. Studios use them for digital doubles and crowd filler; XR creators use them to put real people inside virtual scenes. Static character splats (a frozen pose) are the staple here; animated 4D captures — volumetric video as splats — are emerging fast and are labelled as 4DGS where available. As always, splat count and format determine where an asset can run, from mobile AR to desktop renders. ### Object & Product Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/objects Isolated object splats are the workhorses of the format: furniture for ecommerce viewers, props for game scenes, artefacts for museum archives. Furniture and product captures in particular are booming — brands that already pay for 3D product models are switching to splat captures because they look like photographs from every angle. Good object listings are fully isolated (background removed), floater-cleaned, and oriented to a sensible origin, ready to drop into a viewer or engine. Specs show splat count, formats and capture tool; compressed .sog versions keep product-page load times in the single-megabyte range. ### Food & Drink Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/food-drink Food is brutally hard to fake in 3D — subsurface glow in fruit, glaze on pastry, condensation on glass — and effortless to capture as a splat. That makes food splats a sweet spot for restaurant menus in AR, food advertising and set dressing for hospitality visualisations. Food captures have a short shooting window (food wilts under lights), so well-executed scans here are genuinely scarce assets. Each listing shows formats and splat counts; most food objects compress small enough for instant mobile loading. ### Other & Experimental Gaussian Splats — https://www.splatmart.com/categories/other The gaussian splatting community's most interesting work often fits no category: macro scans of insects at 8M splats, 115-year-old photographs reconstructed into walkable scenes, AI-generated dreamworlds, art installations frozen in time. This is where those live. Browse with the same spec lens as anywhere else — splat count for your performance budget, formats for your pipeline, real-capture vs AI-generated for your use case — and expect the unexpected. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a gaussian splat? A gaussian splat is a photorealistic 3D scene built from millions of tiny coloured 'blobs' (3D gaussians) trained from photos or video of a real place or object. Unlike a traditional 3D model, it keeps photographic details such as reflections, soft edges, and real lighting, then renders them in real time in a browser, game engine, or VR headset. ### What file formats do splats come in? The standard source format is .ply (full quality, large). Compressed .spz and .sog formats cut file sizes by 10–20x for web and mobile delivery. SplatMart listings include the source file plus auto-generated compressed versions where available. ### How do I view a gaussian splat? Every SplatMart listing has an interactive 3D preview right in the browser. After download, you can use free viewers and editors like SuperSplat, engine plugins for Unity and Unreal, or web libraries like PlayCanvas and Spark for Three.js. ### Can I sell my own splats on SplatMart? Yes, anyone can sell. Upload your .ply or .spz capture, set a price (or list it free), and SplatMart generates compressed formats, previews and a product page. Payouts are made via Stripe. ### Who owns the splats I upload or buy? Creators keep full ownership of everything they upload. Listing on SplatMart never transfers your rights to us. Buyers receive a clear usage licence shown on each listing before purchase. ### Are there free gaussian splats? Yes. Sellers can list splats for free, and the Browse page has a free-only filter. Free downloads are a great way to test a seller's quality or your pipeline before buying larger scenes. ## Guides (full text) # We Cut the Splat Editor in Half URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/simpler-splat-editor · Published 2026-07-28 The most consistent piece of feedback we get about the SplatMart editor is that it has too many buttons. People open a splat they just generated, want to delete some floaters and straighten it up, and instead meet a wall of thirty-odd icons with no obvious starting point. That is a fair complaint, and it was our fault rather than a mystery. The editor is built on PlayCanvas SuperSplat, an excellent general-purpose splat tool designed for people doing every kind of splat work there is. Most of you are not doing every kind of splat work. You are cleaning up one capture so you can sell it or hand it to a client. We had been shipping the whole workshop when what the job needs is a workbench. So we cut it. The editor went from 41 controls visible the moment it loads to 25. ## What is gone The largest removal is the animation system: the timeline, keyframes, camera-pose tracks, and video rendering. It is a genuinely capable flythrough-video authoring tool, and it had nothing to do with selling a splat. It occupied a panel, a status-bar tab, nine controls, a ten-field export dialog, and eight keyboard shortcuts. Alongside it: - The View Options panel dropped from thirteen rows to four: background colour, grid, field of view, and fly speed. The other nine were rendering-debug controls, such as spherical-harmonic band count and centre-point size, that had no bearing on how a finished splat looks to a buyer. - The splat display-mode toggle appeared twice, in the top centre and again in the right toolbar, firing the same action. Both are gone. - The gizmo pivot toggle, the selection-overlay button, and the measurement tool have left the toolbar. - The Render menu is gone. Rendering a still image, which is genuinely useful for listing thumbnails, moved into File then Export. - The Help menu no longer links to video tutorials for a differently-skinned version of the editor, which was more confusing than helpful. ## Four selection tools instead of eight The toolbar offered eight ways to select splats. Rectangle, lasso, brush, and box remain as buttons, and between them they cover essentially all cleanup work. Polygon, flood, sphere, and eyedropper selection still exist and behave exactly as before, but they now live on the keyboard: P, O, S, and Ctrl+E respectively. Nothing was taken away from anyone who was using those tools. Press Help then Keyboard Shortcuts to see the full list, which is now the first item in that menu precisely because it matters more than it used to. ## Two new one-click actions Removing buttons is only an improvement if the remaining path is shorter. Two jobs that everybody was doing by hand are now single actions in the Select menu. Crop to Selection keeps everything inside your selection and discards the rest. This is the whole point of box-select on a room scan: draw a volume around what you are actually selling, then remove the surrounding capture noise in one step. Previously this meant Invert followed by Delete, which is two undo steps and one wrong order away from deleting your subject instead. It is now a single undoable action, and it refuses to run on an empty selection rather than silently deleting everything. Ground / Centre drops the splat onto the ground plane and centres it over the origin. Generated splats arrive in whatever coordinate frame the camera solve produced, so they float, sink, or sit off to one side, and buyers expect a model to sit on zero when they import it. This translates only; which way is up is still your call with the rotate gizmo, because a bounding box alone cannot tell us. ## One save, not three When you open a splat from your dashboard, the editor used to show three competing ideas of what saving means, one of which wrote a file to your computer that went nowhere useful. With a project open you now see one Save, and it writes a new version back to My Splats. The file-based commands, New, Open, Import, and Save As, still appear if you open the editor directly without a splat loaded, where you genuinely do need to load a file from somewhere. ## If you want the full toolset We are not trying to be the most capable splat editor in existence. If your work needs keyframed camera animation, video export, per-band spherical-harmonic controls, or the selection tools we moved to the keyboard, PlayCanvas SuperSplat is free, open source, and excellent, and our editor is built on it. Export a PLY from SplatMart and open it there. What we want to be is the fastest path from a generated capture to something you can sell. That means the common jobs should take one click, and the rare ones should be out of the way rather than crowding the screen. The changes are live now. Open any splat from [My Splats](/dashboard) to see them, and if we removed something you were relying on, tell us in [Discord](https://discord.gg/kgfHbXdy). Bringing a control back is easy; we would rather hear about it than have you work around it. ## Frequently asked questions ### Did you remove any editing capability? The animation and video-rendering system was removed outright. Four selection tools moved from the toolbar to keyboard shortcuts and work exactly as before. Everything else that was cut was a display or debug option that did not change the splat itself. ### How do I use polygon, flood, sphere, or eyedropper selection now? Press P for polygon, O for flood, S for sphere, and Ctrl+E for eyedropper. The full list is under Help then Keyboard Shortcuts. ### What is Crop to Selection? It keeps everything inside your current selection and deletes the rest, in one undoable step. It is the inverse of Delete Selection and the fastest way to cut a room scan down to the part you are selling. ### What does Ground / Centre do? It moves the splat so its lowest point sits on the ground plane and it is centred over the origin. It only moves the splat; it does not rotate it, so you may still need the rotate gizmo to set which way is up. ### Can I still render a video of my splat? Not in the SplatMart editor. Export a PLY and use PlayCanvas SuperSplat, which the editor is built on and which retains the full timeline and video-export system. ### I preferred the old editor. Can I get the controls back? Tell us which ones in Discord. We removed controls based on what the marketplace workflow needs, and if we cut something people are actually using, we would rather restore it than have you work around the gap. --- # Announcing Leighton 1.0 Free: Gaussian Splatting at No Cost URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/free-gaussian-splatting-generator · Published 2026-07-26 Starting today, you can generate a Gaussian splat on SplatMart without paying anything. Leighton 1.0 Free gives every account two generations a week, on captures of up to 40 photos, with no credit card, no subscription, and no trial countdown. The part we care most about: it is not a stripped-down preview model. Leighton 1.0 Free runs the same full training schedule as Leighton 1.0, our flagship paid tier. Same reconstruction pipeline, same camera solve, same automatic cleanup, same editable PLY at the end. ## What you get - Two free generations per account, per week, on a rolling seven-day window. - Up to 40 photos per capture. - The full Leighton 1.0 training schedule, not a reduced preview budget. - An editable PLY you own, openable in the browser editor and publishable to the marketplace. - No card, no subscription, no watermark. ## Why 40 photos, and why two a week Being straight about the trade-off is more useful than pretending there isn't one. Generating a splat costs us real GPU time, so a free tier has to be bounded somewhere. We chose to bound the inputs rather than the quality. That choice is not arbitrary. Most of a generation's cost is the training run, and training cost barely changes with the number of photos. The camera-solve step is the opposite: its cost grows faster than the photo count, so a 430-photo capture spends several minutes solving cameras where a 40-photo capture spends well under one. Capping inputs removes most of the expense while leaving the training schedule, the part that determines how the result actually looks, completely intact. The second lever is hardware. Free generations run on a smaller, cheaper class of GPU than paid jobs, in their own queue. The reconstruction is identical; it simply takes longer to arrive, typically around 35 minutes rather than 20, and longer still when the free queue is busy. ## So what do the paid tiers buy? Scale and speed, not a better model. - Leighton 1.0 Lite (200 credits): a shorter training schedule for quick previews, on captures up to 3,000 inputs. - Leighton 1.0 (400 credits): the same training schedule as Free, but on captures up to 3,000 photos or video frames, on faster GPUs, in the priority queue. - Leighton 1.0 Max (600 credits): the largest training budget with the full camera solve on large captures, for sets above 120 photos. There is still no subscription anywhere on SplatMart. Paid generations are charged per job, the first 500 inputs are included in the base price, and every started block of 50 inputs above that adds 10% of the model's base price. You always see the full quote before you commit. ## Getting a good result from 40 photos Forty photos is genuinely enough for a single object, a piece of furniture, a vehicle, a statue, or a small room, as long as the coverage is deliberate. A few things matter far more than the count: - Orbit the subject completely rather than shooting from one side. Gaps in the camera path become gaps in the splat. - Shoot at two or three heights, not one. A single ring of photos leaves the top and underside unconstrained. - Lock your exposure. Auto-exposure swings between frames are the single most common cause of translucent patches and holes in walls. - Move slowly and keep roughly 70% overlap between neighbouring frames so the camera solve can chain them together. - Avoid mirrors, large glass panes, and featureless surfaces where you can, since they have no stable features to match against. If you are new to capture, the [photos-to-3D-model guide](/blog/photos-to-3d-model) walks through the whole process in more detail. ## What happens to your free splats They are yours. A free generation produces the same editable PLY as a paid one, saved to My Splats under your account. You can open it in the [browser editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor) to remove floaters and crop the bounds, download it, or list it for sale on the marketplace. Free generations carry no watermark and no licensing restriction that paid generations do not. ## Start now Sign in, open Create, upload up to 40 photos, and pick Leighton 1.0 Free. The card is greyed out with the reason shown if the capture is too large or you have used both generations this week, so you will never be charged by surprise. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Leighton 1.0 Free really free? Yes. Two generations per account per week, no credit card, no subscription, and no trial expiry. There is nothing to cancel. ### Is the quality worse than the paid tiers? No. Leighton 1.0 Free runs the same full training schedule as Leighton 1.0, the flagship paid model. The limits are on capture size and queue speed, not on reconstruction quality. ### How many photos can I upload to the free tier? Up to 40 photos per generation. Larger captures need a paid model, which accepts up to 3,000 photos or sampled video frames. ### When does my free quota reset? It is a rolling seven-day window rather than a fixed weekly reset. Each free generation frees its slot again seven days after you started it, so you never have to wait for a particular day. ### Why does a free generation take longer? Free jobs run on a smaller, cheaper class of GPU in their own queue. The reconstruction is identical, roughly 35 minutes of processing instead of 20, plus any time spent waiting in the free queue. ### Can I sell a splat I generated for free? Yes. Free generations produce the same editable PLY as paid ones and can be published to the SplatMart marketplace with no extra restriction or watermark. ### Do failed generations use up my quota? No. A generation only counts against your weekly limit if it actually reached the GPU. If a job fails on our side or you cancel it, the slot comes back. --- # Postshot vs SplatMart (2026): Local GPU or Cloud Leighton? URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/postshot-vs-splatmart · Published 2026-07-14 Postshot and SplatMart's Leighton solve the same core problem in opposite ways. Postshot installs on your Windows PC and trains on your NVIDIA GPU. Leighton runs on SplatMart's cloud GPUs, so you upload photos or video from a browser and download the finished splat. Full disclosure: this comparison is written by the SplatMart team. We have kept it focused on verifiable workflow differences rather than claiming one trainer always produces better images. ## The short version - Choose Postshot if you already own a compatible NVIDIA GPU, want footage to remain on your device, and value detailed local training controls. - Choose SplatMart if you do not own the right GPU, use a Mac or lightweight laptop, prefer pay-per-generation pricing, or want generation, editing, publishing, and selling connected in one browser workflow. - Both accept photos and video. Postshot is the more flexible local production tool; Leighton is the lower-setup cloud route. ## The biggest difference: whose GPU does the work? Postshot processes every reconstruction locally. Jawset currently lists Windows 10 or later and an NVIDIA GPU with compute capability 7.5 or higher, starting around a GeForce RTX 2060 or Quadro T400/RTX 4000. That is excellent if the hardware is already under your desk: processing starts immediately, footage stays local, and repeated training does not consume cloud credits. Leighton moves that requirement to SplatMart. Upload from a modern browser, select a reconstruction model, and the job runs on a server GPU. Your own computer only handles upload, progress, preview, and download. This is the practical difference for Mac users, teams with ordinary office laptops, and anyone who does not want to buy or maintain a CUDA workstation. ## Photos and video input Both workflows accept image sets and video. Postshot supports a broad production-oriented list including JPG, PNG, TIF, EXR, DNG, RAW, MOV, MP4, and MKV, with unlimited image count and video length advertised by Jawset. Leighton accepts up to 3,000 photos or up to 3,000 sampled frames from one video per generation. For most objects, rooms, and properties that is ample; extremely large or specialist datasets are a clearer fit for Postshot's local workflow. Leighton's video path removes the manual frame-extraction step: upload the original clip and it samples viewpoints across the full duration before training. See the [video-to-Gaussian-splat guide](/blog/video-to-gaussian-splat-online) for capture technique and large-input pricing. ## Training control versus reduced setup Postshot is built for operators who want to see and steer training. It offers a live preview, region-of-interest training, image masking, camera and point imports, scene merging, colour-space handling, command-line features on its Studio plan, and integrations for Unreal Engine and After Effects. That control matters in VFX, georeferenced work, and repeatable studio pipelines. Leighton deliberately exposes fewer knobs. You choose the reconstruction tier, name the job, submit it, and monitor progress. The server, training schedule, and infrastructure are managed for you. Less control is the trade-off for not configuring software, drivers, alignment tools, or a local GPU. ## Pricing: subscription and hardware versus pay per result Postshot has a free plan for non-commercial work. Its free plan keeps saved files inside that plan and does not include PLY or SPZ Radiance Field export; commercial use and those exports are paid-plan features. The paid plans are recurring subscriptions, and you also supply the computer and electricity. That model can be economical for a busy studio that trains constantly on hardware it already owns. SplatMart has no generation subscription. Leighton 1.0 Free covers captures of up to 40 photos at no cost, twice a week. Above that, Leighton 1.0 Lite starts at 200 credits, Leighton 1.0 at 400 credits, and Leighton 1.0 Max at 600 credits per job. The base price covers the first 500 inputs; every started block of 50 above 500 adds 10% of the chosen model's base credits and projected time, with the full quote shown before generation. Occasional users pay only when they train a model. ## Output, editing, and what happens next Postshot's paid tiers export PLY and SPZ files for third-party tools, and its desktop application includes selection and editing. Leighton returns an editable PLY and can open the result directly in SplatMart's [free browser editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor), where you can remove floaters, crop bounds, and export. The same account can then publish the splat to the marketplace or keep it in My Splats. ## Who should choose Postshot? - Windows creators with a compatible NVIDIA GPU who train frequently. - Studios that cannot upload source footage and need fully local processing. - Technical users who need masks, imported cameras, regions of interest, command-line automation, HDR workflows, or direct production integrations. - Very large datasets that should not be capped at 3,000 inputs. ## Who should choose SplatMart and Leighton? - People who want Gaussian splatting without buying an NVIDIA GPU. - Mac, laptop, and browser-first users who want the shortest route from capture to PLY. - Occasional creators who prefer a small per-job charge over another subscription. - Creators who want one account for generation, browser cleanup, publishing, selling, and commissioning capture work. ## Verdict Postshot is the stronger production workstation when privacy, dataset size, and training control matter and you already have the supported hardware. Leighton is the easier on-ramp when the GPU is the obstacle: it turns the infrastructure into a per-job service and connects the result to an editor and marketplace. The best choice is less about an abstract quality contest and more about whether you want to operate the training machine yourself. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is SplatMart a Postshot alternative? Yes, for creators who want to turn photos or video into a Gaussian splat without running training locally. SplatMart's Leighton uses cloud GPUs and returns an editable PLY. Postshot remains the better fit when you need local privacy or advanced training controls. ### Does Postshot require an NVIDIA GPU? Yes. Jawset currently requires Windows 10 or later and an NVIDIA GPU with compute capability 7.5 or higher, with an RTX 2060 or Quadro T400/RTX 4000 listed as the entry point. ### Can Postshot and Leighton both process video? Yes. Postshot imports common video formats for local processing. Leighton accepts one raw video upload, samples frames across it, and trains the reconstruction in the cloud, capped at 3,000 sampled frames. ### Is Postshot free? Postshot has a free plan for non-commercial work, but Radiance Field export to PLY or SPZ and commercial use are paid-plan features. Check Jawset's current pricing before choosing a plan. ### Which is cheaper: Postshot or SplatMart? It depends on volume and hardware. Leighton is free for captures up to 40 photos (twice a week), then 200–600 credits base per generation with no subscription, which suits occasional work. A Postshot subscription can make more sense for frequent training if you already own a compatible GPU. Want to test the cloud side of the comparison? [Generate a splat with Leighton](https://app.splatmart.com/create), or read the existing [Postshot quick-start guide](/blog/postshot-gaussian-splatting) before setting up a local project. --- # KIRI Engine vs SplatMart (2026): Which 3DGS Workflow Fits? URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/kiri-engine-vs-splatmart · Published 2026-07-14 KIRI Engine and SplatMart both remove the need to train a Gaussian splat on your own GPU. KIRI Engine starts from a mobile-first 3D scanning app and expands into photogrammetry, LiDAR, 3DGS, mesh conversion, and production exports. SplatMart starts from a browser marketplace and adds Leighton cloud reconstruction, a browser editor, and selling or commissioning workflows. This comparison is written by SplatMart, so it focuses on the practical differences and calls out where KIRI is the better tool. ## The short version - Choose KIRI Engine if you want a guided phone capture app, LiDAR and photogrammetry modes, 3DGS-to-mesh output, PBR materials, retopology, or auto-rigging in one scanning ecosystem. - Choose SplatMart if you already have photos or video, want up to 3,000 inputs, prefer pay-per-generation pricing, or want to move from generation into browser editing, selling, and hiring without a separate subscription. - Both process 3DGS jobs in the cloud, so neither requires a local training GPU. ## Capture experience: mobile scanner versus browser upload KIRI Engine's biggest advantage is capture. Its iPhone and Android apps guide you through scanning, and the broader product includes Photo Scan, LiDAR Scan, Featureless Object Scan, camera controls, and cropping tools. Its 3DGS workflow is designed around recording a slow orbit and uploading it from the app or web interface. SplatMart does not try to replace your camera app. Leighton accepts the photos or video you already captured through a single browser page. That is simpler for camera, drone, and existing-dataset workflows, but KIRI is more helpful when a beginner wants the phone to guide the capture itself. ## Input size and video Leighton accepts up to 3,000 photos or one video sampled to a maximum of 3,000 frames. Its base price includes 500 inputs, with a visible usage adjustment above that. KIRI Engine's current Pro plan advertises local photo uploads up to 500 images per upload, and its 3DGS workflow accepts video. If you are feeding a large interior, property, or drone dataset from disk, Leighton offers more headroom in one job; for a normal phone orbit, either workflow fits. ## Pricing: subscription versus generation credits KIRI Engine's Basic plan is free for its standard Photo Scan and LiDAR workflows, but 3D Gaussian Splatting is a Pro feature. As of July 2026, KIRI lists Pro at $17.99 monthly or $79.99 yearly, with 3DGS-to-mesh and faster queueing among the included features. That is strong value if you use several of KIRI's scanning and mesh tools regularly. SplatMart's generation model is pay-as-you-go: 200 credits base for Leighton 1.0 Lite, 400 for Leighton 1.0, or 600 for Leighton 1.0 Max. There is no monthly generation plan. The browser editor is free, and publishing to the marketplace does not require a creator subscription. For one or two splats in a month, per-job pricing is usually easier to justify; for constant capture, compare KIRI's yearly plan against your expected Leighton usage. ## Splat plus mesh versus editable PLY KIRI's standout feature is mesh-inclusive 3DGS. It can keep the photoreal splat and generate a separate polygon mesh for tools that expect OBJ, FBX, GLTF, or other traditional formats. It also offers PBR materials, quad-mesh retopology, and related production tools on Pro. If the final deliverable must become a mesh, KIRI has the clearer integrated path. Leighton delivers an editable PLY Gaussian splat. Its one-click hand-off goes to SplatMart's [browser editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor) for selecting, deleting floaters, cropping, and exporting. That workflow is focused on keeping the result as a splat for web, engines, immersive scenes, or marketplace delivery, not on turning it into a conventional mesh. ## Publishing and earning from the result KIRI is primarily a capture and 3D production toolkit. SplatMart is also a marketplace: after editing, a creator can list the asset for sale, keep it in My Splats, or use the same platform to bid on paid capture work. Buyers can also [hire a splatter](/jobs) when they need a specific place or object scanned. That commercial layer matters if the goal is not just making the file but distributing or monetising it. ## Where KIRI Engine wins - A polished iPhone and Android capture experience. - Multiple scanning modes including photogrammetry, LiDAR, and featureless-object capture. - Integrated 3DGS-to-mesh output plus PBR, retopology, and auto-rigging tools. - Subscription value for people using the full scanning toolkit frequently. ## Where SplatMart wins - No subscription: pay only for the Leighton generations you run. - Up to 3,000 photos or sampled video frames in one generation. - A straightforward browser workflow for existing camera, drone, and video datasets. - Generation, free browser editing, asset sales, downloads, and paid capture jobs in one account. ## Verdict KIRI Engine is the broader scanner and mesh-production toolkit; SplatMart is the broader splat publishing and commerce workflow. Choose KIRI when mobile capture guidance or mesh output is central. Choose Leighton when you want to bring your own large capture, rent the GPU per job, keep the result as a splat, and take it directly into editing or the marketplace. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is KIRI Engine or SplatMart better for Gaussian splatting? KIRI Engine is better for guided mobile capture and mesh-inclusive output. SplatMart is better for browser uploads up to 3,000 inputs, pay-per-job cloud reconstruction, and a connected editor and marketplace. Neither is universally better. ### Is KIRI Engine's Gaussian splatting free? KIRI has a useful free Basic plan for photogrammetry and LiDAR, but its 3D Gaussian Splatting mode is currently part of Pro. KIRI lists Pro at $17.99 monthly or $79.99 yearly as of July 2026. ### Do I need a GPU for KIRI Engine or Leighton? No local training GPU is required for either. Both send reconstruction work to cloud infrastructure; you need a phone or browser for capture, upload, and viewing. ### Which one can create a mesh? KIRI Engine Pro includes mesh-inclusive 3DGS and exports conventional mesh formats. Leighton produces an editable PLY Gaussian splat and is intended for splat-first workflows rather than mesh reconstruction. ### Can I upload video to both? Yes. KIRI Engine accepts video in its 3DGS workflow. Leighton accepts one raw video and samples frames across it for cloud training, up to 3,000 sampled frames. Already have a photo set or video? [Run it through Leighton](https://app.splatmart.com/create). If you are still deciding how to capture, read [how to make a Gaussian splat](/blog/how-to-make-a-gaussian-splat). --- # How to Turn a Video into a Gaussian Splat Online (No GPU) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/video-to-gaussian-splat-online · Published 2026-07-14 The easiest way to make a Gaussian splat from video is no longer to extract hundreds of still frames by hand. Record a slow, overlapping path around a static subject, upload the original clip, and let a cloud GPU solve the camera positions and train the scene. SplatMart's Leighton now accepts raw video in the browser and returns an editable PLY, so the computer doing the upload does not need an NVIDIA GPU. ## What video-to-splat processing actually does A video is a sequence of images. A reconstruction does not need every near-identical frame, so Leighton samples useful viewpoints across the full clip, caps the working set at 3,000 frames, solves where the camera was for each one, and trains millions of 3D Gaussians to reproduce those views. The output is a navigable 3D scene, not a flat video wrapped around a model. ## Before filming: choose a scene that can reconstruct - Keep the subject and environment still. Moving people, pets, traffic, screens, or leaves can become smears and floaters. - Use soft, consistent light. Avoid switching lights on mid-shot or walking between bright sun and deep shade. - Choose surfaces with visible detail. Large blank walls, mirrors, transparent glass, and shiny metal are difficult for camera alignment. - Clean the camera lens and use the normal lens rather than changing zoom during the capture. ## How to film a strong capture Move slowly enough that individual frames stay sharp, but keep moving so the clip contains genuinely different viewpoints. Maintain roughly 70–80% visual overlap as you circle the subject. Capture at eye level, then add a higher and lower pass so the top and underside are not missing. For a room, walk a connected route around the perimeter and point back into the space; for an object, make two or three complete orbits. - Do not stand still and pan from one spot, Gaussian splatting needs camera translation and parallax. - Do not whip the camera around corners; slow down so frames remain sharp. - Do not pause on one view for a long time; repeated frames add upload and processing cost without new coverage. - Do revisit the starting area at the end when practical; a connected route helps alignment. ## Step 1: upload the original video Open [Generate](https://app.splatmart.com/create), choose Video, and upload an MP4, MOV, WEBM, or M4V file. There is no frame-extraction utility to install. Leighton analyses the clip and shows the projected number of sampled frames before generation. ## Step 2: choose the Leighton model - Leighton 1.0 Lite, 200 credits base and about 10 minutes; useful for testing a capture before spending more credits. - Leighton 1.0, 400 credits base and about 20 minutes; the standard quality choice for most objects and spaces. - Leighton 1.0 Max, 600 credits base and about 25 minutes; the larger training budget for demanding or dense captures. Those base prices include the first 500 sampled frames. Above 500, every started block of 50 adds 10% of the selected model's base credits and projected time. The generation summary shows the final estimate before you spend anything. This linear adjustment pays for the extra alignment and GPU work rather than silently rejecting a large video. ## Step 3: name, generate, and monitor Give the splat a recognisable name, check the frame estimate and credit total, then generate. Upload and training status remain visible in the dashboard. Because the work runs on SplatMart's GPU, closing other programs on your laptop will not make training faster. ## Step 4: clean up the PLY When generation finishes, download the source PLY or open it directly in the [free browser splat editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor). Remove floaters, crop unused surroundings, check the scene from awkward angles, and export a clean delivery file. From there you can use it in a viewer or engine, publish it, or [list it for sale](/sell/new). ## When photos are better than video Video is convenient, but photos give you deliberate control over shutter speed, exposure, and the exact viewpoints included. Use a photo set for professional camera rigs, drone mapping, dark interiors where motion blur is likely, or any scene where you need maximum sharpness. Leighton accepts up to 3,000 photos on the same Generate page. The [photos-to-3D-model guide](/blog/photos-to-3d-model) covers that workflow. ## Why a splat may still fail Cloud GPUs cannot invent viewpoints the camera never captured. A blurry video, an orbit with no high or low angles, changing light, or a room full of movement can still produce holes and floaters. First inspect the capture itself; retraining the same weak footage with a larger model rarely fixes missing coverage. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I convert a video to a Gaussian splat? Record a slow video with overlapping views around a static subject, upload the raw clip to a 3DGS generator such as SplatMart's Leighton, choose a model, and let the cloud service sample frames and train the scene. Download the resulting PLY and clean it in a splat editor. ### Do I need to extract frames from the video first? No. Leighton accepts MP4, MOV, WEBM, and M4V uploads and samples frames across the video automatically, up to 3,000 frames. ### Do I need an NVIDIA GPU? Not for cloud generation. Leighton runs training on SplatMart's server GPUs, so a normal Mac, Windows laptop, or other browser-capable computer can submit the job. ### How many video frames can I use? Leighton caps a video generation at 3,000 sampled frames. The first 500 inputs are included in the model's base price; larger working sets add credits and projected time in blocks of 50. ### How long should my capture video be? Long enough to cover every useful angle, but not padded with repeated views. A careful object orbit may take one to three minutes; a room or larger scene can take longer. Coverage and sharpness matter more than duration. ### Can a video of moving people become a 3D splat? A standard static Gaussian splat expects the scene to remain still. Moving people usually create duplicated or smeared artefacts. Capturing dynamic performance requires a 4D or time-varying reconstruction workflow, not this static pipeline. Ready to use the clip already on your phone? [Upload it to Leighton](https://app.splatmart.com/create), review the frame and credit estimate, and generate the first version without installing a local training stack. --- # How to Turn Photos into a 3D Model (2026 Guide) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/photos-to-3d-model · Published 2026-07-11 Turning photos into a 3D model used to mean two bad options: learn CAD and rebuild the thing by hand, or wrestle a desktop photogrammetry pipeline for a weekend. In 2026 the fastest path is gaussian splatting, you photograph the object or space from all sides, an AI reconstruction model does the rest, and you get a photorealistic 3D scene you can spin around in a browser. This guide covers every way to do it, then walks through the fastest one step by step. ## The three ways to turn photos into a 3D model - Phone capture apps (Polycam, Luma AI, Scaniverse, KIRI Engine), easiest start; you capture and process on your phone. Quality is good but capped by mobile processing and export limits. See our [Polycam vs Luma AI comparison](/blog/polycam-vs-luma-ai). - Desktop photogrammetry or 3DGS training (RealityScan, COLMAP + a trainer, Postshot), maximum control, but you need a beefy NVIDIA GPU, and setup is genuinely technical. See [the best 3DGS software](/blog/best-3dgs-software-2026). - Cloud gaussian splatting generators, upload photos in the browser, a datacentre GPU trains the model, you download the result. No hardware, no setup, and quality that matches or beats phone apps because the compute budget is bigger. The rest of this guide uses the third path, because it's the shortest distance from a folder of photos to a finished model, and it works from any laptop. ## What kind of 3D model do you get? A gaussian splat, not a mesh. If you need a watertight mesh for 3D printing or CAD, classic photogrammetry is still the right tool. But if you want the model to look like the real thing, true materials, soft light, reflections, a splat is dramatically more realistic and renders in real time on the web. New to the format? Start with [what is gaussian splatting](/blog/what-is-gaussian-splatting). ## Step 1: Shoot the right photos - Move around the subject in overlapping arcs, every photo should share ~70% of its view with the last one. - Shoot more than feels necessary: 100–200 photos for an object, 300–500 for a room or building. - Keep exposure fixed and light even (overcast outdoors, all lights on indoors). Avoid anything moving through frame. - Shooting video instead? Upload the original clip directly, the [video-to-Gaussian-splat guide](/blog/video-to-gaussian-splat-online) covers capture, automatic frame sampling, pricing, and cleanup. ## Step 2: Upload and generate On SplatMart, open [Generate](https://app.splatmart.com/create), add up to 3,000 photos or one video, and pick a model tier: Leighton 1.0 Free (no cost, up to 40 photos, twice a week), Leighton 1.0 Lite (200 credits base) for previews, Leighton 1.0 (400 credits base) for everyday captures, or Leighton 1.0 Max (600 credits base) for large photo sets that deserve the full reconstruction budget. The base price includes 500 inputs; each started block of 50 above that adds 10% of the model's base credits and projected time. It's pay-per-model, no subscription. More detail in the [Leighton generator guide](/blog/leighton-gaussian-splatting-generator). ## Step 3: Clean up and use it Download the editable .ply, or open the result straight in the [free browser splat editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor) to delete floaters and crop the bounds. From there you can embed it on the web, drop it into [Unreal Engine](/blog/using-splats-in-unreal-engine), or [list it for sale](/blog/seller-guide-pricing) on the marketplace. For format questions (.ply vs .splat vs .spz), see the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats). ## Prefer to have someone do it for you? If the subject is a property, a venue, or a whole product catalogue, it can be cheaper to hire a pro than to learn capture technique on a deadline. [Post a job](/jobs/new) on SplatMart and professional splatters will bid, you pay only when you approve the delivered model. See [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service). ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I turn photos into a 3D model for free? SplatMart's Leighton 1.0 Free generates a gaussian splat from up to 40 of your own photos at no cost, twice a week, using the same training schedule as the paid flagship model. Free phone apps like Scaniverse or Luma AI are another route, with some export limits. For larger photo sets, SplatMart's paid models start at 200 credits with no subscription. ### How many photos do you need to make a 3D model? Around 100–200 overlapping photos for a single object, and 300–500 for a room, building, or outdoor scene. More sharp, well-overlapped photos almost always beats fewer. ### Can AI turn a single photo into a 3D model? Single-image AI 3D generators exist, but they hallucinate everything the camera didn't see, so results are stylised guesses. For a model of a real object or space that's actually faithful, you want multi-photo reconstruction, photogrammetry or gaussian splatting. ### Photos to 3D model without a powerful computer, possible? Yes. Cloud generators like SplatMart's Leighton do the GPU training in a datacentre, so any laptop with a browser works. You upload photos, training runs remotely, and you download the finished splat. ### Is the result a mesh I can 3D print? No, gaussian splatting produces a photorealistic splat scene, not a printable mesh. For 3D printing, use mesh photogrammetry (e.g. RealityScan). For anything meant to be looked at, web, VR, film, archviz, splats look far more real. Ready to try it? Grab 150 photos of something and [generate your first splat](https://app.splatmart.com/create), you'll have a shareable 3D model before your coffee goes cold. --- # SplatMart vs Splatware (2026): Gaussian Splatting Platforms Compared URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/splatmart-vs-splatware · Published 2026-07-11 SplatMart and Splatware are the two platforms people most often compare when they want to generate, edit, and sell gaussian splats without leaving the browser. Full disclosure up front: SplatMart is our platform, so we have a horse in this race, which is exactly why this comparison sticks to how each product actually works and where each one genuinely wins. Both are good. They're built around different bets on how you'll pay and what you'll do with your splats. ## The short version - Pricing model: SplatMart is free for small captures (Leighton 1.0 Free covers up to 40 photos, twice a week), then pay-per-splat (200–600 credits base per generation, free editor, no subscription; large-input usage applies above 500 frames). Splatware is freemium-subscription, a free tier with capped exports and storage, then Creator/Pro plans that raise daily export and training limits. - Generation: SplatMart's in-house Leighton model runs on enterprise GPUs and accepts up to 3,000 photos or video-derived frames per job. Splatware also trains from photos or video in the cloud, with queue priority tied to your plan. - Editing: both have browser editors. Splatware's includes colour-grading tools; SplatMart's is built on the open-source SuperSplat engine and is free with no export caps. - Marketplace: both let you buy and sell splats. SplatMart additionally runs a hire-a-splatter jobs marketplace, commissioning real-world captures from professionals, which Splatware doesn't offer. ## Generation: pay-per-splat vs subscription This is the biggest practical difference. On SplatMart you pick a tier per job, Leighton 1.0 Lite at a 200-credit base, Leighton 1.0 at a 400-credit base, or Leighton 1.0 Max at a 600-credit base for big captures. Those prices include the first 500 inputs; larger captures add usage in blocks of 50. Generate once a month and you've paid for that job, not a subscription fee. Splatware's free tier lets you try generation at no cost (with export and storage caps), and its paid plans make sense if you're training many models every day: past a certain volume, a flat monthly fee beats per-job pricing. ## Speed and quality Both platforms produce genuinely good reconstructions, cloud training with a real compute budget beats phone-app processing on the same capture. SplatMart's edge is turnaround: Leighton runs on the latest enterprise-tier GPUs and auto-scales its training schedule to your photo count, so a 430-photo interior comes back in roughly a quarter of an hour rather than a training queue. Splatware's queue priority improves with plan tier, so free-tier users wait longest. On either platform, capture quality matters more than the trainer, see [how to make a gaussian splat](/blog/how-to-make-a-gaussian-splat). ## Editors: SuperSplat engine vs Photoshop-style Splatware pitches its editor as 'Photoshop for gaussian splatting', lasso selection, erasing, rotation, and notably colour grading, which SplatMart's editor doesn't have yet. SplatMart's [browser editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor) is built on the SuperSplat engine, the open-source tool the 3DGS community already treats as the standard for splat cleanup, selection tools, floater deletion, crop bounds, transforms, and export to web-ready formats. It's free for everyone, with no daily export limits, and your Leighton generations open in it with one click. If your workflow is capture → clean → publish, both do the job; if you want in-editor colour work, Splatware currently has the feature; if you want unlimited free cleanup of files from anywhere, SplatMart does. ## Marketplaces: selling splats vs selling splats and services Both platforms run an asset marketplace where creators list splats and buyers license them. The structural difference is that SplatMart also has [Hire a Splatter](/jobs), a jobs marketplace where clients commission real-world captures (listings, venues, products, construction sites) and pay only when they approve the delivery. If you're a creator, that's a second income stream from the same skills; if you need a specific place or object captured, it's the piece a pure asset store can't solve. See [become a splatter for hire](/blog/become-a-splatter-for-hire). ## Where Splatware genuinely wins - A free tier, you can try cloud generation without spending anything, caps and all. - Subscription economics at high volume, heavy daily generators can come out ahead on a flat plan. - Colour grading in the editor, SplatMart's editor doesn't do colour work yet. - An Enterprise tier with API access and dedicated support, if you're wiring generation into your own product. ## Where SplatMart wins - No subscription, 200–600 credits base per generation, and the editor and marketplace cost nothing. - Transparent large-input usage, the quote and projected time update before you generate. - Up to 3,000 photos or video-derived frames per job, so full interiors and large scenes fit in one generation. - The hire-a-splatter marketplace, commission real captures, pay on approval. - A SuperSplat-based editor with no export caps, free for files from anywhere. ## Verdict If you generate splats occasionally, want to be paid for capture work as well as assets, or just want the fastest photo-to-splat turnaround with no monthly fee, SplatMart is the better fit. If you train models in bulk every day, want in-editor colour grading, or need an enterprise API, Splatware's subscription model earns its keep. Plenty of creators use both: generate and sell where the economics favour each job. ## Frequently asked questions ### What's the difference between SplatMart and Splatware? Both are browser platforms for generating, editing, and selling gaussian splats. SplatMart is pay-per-generation (200–600 credits base per splat, plus transparent usage above 500 inputs) with a free SuperSplat-based editor and a hire-a-splatter jobs marketplace; Splatware is freemium with Creator/Pro subscriptions that raise export and training limits, and its editor includes colour grading. ### Is there a free way to try either platform? Both. Splatware has a free tier with capped exports and storage. SplatMart's Leighton 1.0 Free gives every account two generations a week on captures up to 40 photos, with no watermark or export restriction. There is no subscription at all, since browsing, the editor, and selling are free and larger generations are pay-per-splat from 200 credits. ### Which is cheaper, SplatMart or Splatware? For occasional use, SplatMart's pay-per-splat pricing is usually cheaper, a $4 generation now and then versus a monthly plan. For heavy daily generation, Splatware's flat subscription can work out cheaper. Price your actual monthly volume both ways. ### Can I hire someone to capture a splat on either platform? Only on SplatMart. Its Hire a Splatter marketplace lets you post a job, compare proposals from professional splatters, and pay when you approve the delivered capture. Splatware is an asset and tools platform without a services marketplace. ### Do both platforms have a splat editor? Yes. Splatware's browser editor offers lasso select, erase, rotate, and colour grading. SplatMart's is built on the open-source SuperSplat engine, selection, floater removal, cropping, transforms, and web-ready export, free with no export limits. Want to see the SplatMart side for yourself? [Generate a splat with Leighton](https://app.splatmart.com/create), clean it in the [free editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor), or [explore the marketplace](/explore). --- # Leighton: Generate Gaussian Splats Online, No GPU Required URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/leighton-gaussian-splatting-generator · Published 2026-07-11 Until recently, making a gaussian splat from your own photos or video meant either a phone app (easy, but capped quality) or a desktop training pipeline (powerful, but you need an NVIDIA GPU, CUDA drivers, and patience). Leighton is SplatMart's answer: an online gaussian splatting generator that runs the whole reconstruction in the cloud. You upload up to 3,000 photos or one raw video in the browser, a fleet of enterprise-tier GPUs trains the model, and you download a finished splat, usually in minutes. ## What Leighton is Leighton 1.0 is SplatMart's in-house reconstruction model. It takes up to 3,000 photos or frames sampled from a video, works out camera positions, trains a 3D gaussian splat, and hands you the result, with progress you can watch live. There's nothing to install and no GPU required on your end; if your machine can run a browser, it can make splats. If you're new to the format, read [what is gaussian splatting](/blog/what-is-gaussian-splatting) first. ## The three tiers - Leighton 1.0 Lite, 200 credits. A quicker training schedule for previews, drafts, and smaller scenes. Results in minutes. - Leighton 1.0, 400 credits. The everyday choice: full training budget, automatically scaled to your photo count. - Leighton 1.0 Max, 600 credits. For large photo sets (big interiors, buildings, dense object rigs) that deserve the full reconstruction budget. Pricing is per generation, no subscription, no monthly minimum. Captures of up to 40 photos are free twice a week on Leighton 1.0 Free. Above that, the 200–600 credit model price includes 500 inputs; every started block of 50 above 500 adds 10% of the selected model's base credits and projected time, shown before you generate. For how that compares with subscription platforms, see [SplatMart vs Splatware](/blog/splatmart-vs-splatware). ## How fast is it? Fast enough to iterate. Leighton runs on the latest enterprise-tier GPUs and scales its training passes to the size of your photo set, so small captures return in a few minutes and even a 430-photo interior finishes in around a quarter of an hour on the standard tier. You watch the job progress live and download the moment it's done. ## Getting a good result The generator can only reconstruct what your photos show, so capture is everything: overlapping frames, full coverage, steady exposure, even light. Aim for 100–200 photos for an object and 300–500 for a space. Our [photos to 3D model walkthrough](/blog/photos-to-3d-model) covers the shoot in detail, and [how to make a gaussian splat](/blog/how-to-make-a-gaussian-splat) goes deeper on avoiding floaters and blur. ## What you get, and what to do with it Every job delivers an editable .ply you can download, plus a one-click hand-off into SplatMart's [free browser splat editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor) for floater cleanup and cropping. From there: embed it, use it in [Unreal](/blog/using-splats-in-unreal-engine) or other engines (see the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats)), or list it on the marketplace, [pricing guide here](/blog/seller-guide-pricing). ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I do gaussian splatting online without a GPU? Yes, that's what cloud generators are for. With SplatMart's Leighton you upload photos or a video in the browser and the training runs on datacentre GPUs, so any laptop works. You download the finished .ply when it's done, usually within minutes. ### How much does it cost to generate a gaussian splat online? On SplatMart it can be free: Leighton 1.0 Free covers captures up to 40 photos, twice a week per account. Beyond that it's 200 credits (Leighton 1.0 Lite), 400 credits (Leighton 1.0), or 600 credits (Leighton 1.0 Max) per generation, pay-as-you-go with no subscription. Tier choice mostly depends on photo-set size and how much training budget the scene deserves. ### How many photos or video frames can I upload? Up to 3,000 photos or 3,000 sampled video frames per job. The base price includes 500 inputs; every started block of 50 above that adds 10% of the selected model's base credits and projected time, shown before generation. ### How long does cloud gaussian splatting take? The current estimates are about 10 minutes for Leighton 1.0 Lite, 20 minutes for Leighton 1.0, and 25 minutes for Leighton 1.0 Max at the base input allowance. Large jobs add projected time in blocks of 50 inputs, with live progress while training runs. ### Is Leighton better than a phone app like Luma or Polycam? Phone apps are great for casual capture, but a cloud generator has a much bigger compute budget, takes far more photos per job, and gives you the editable .ply. If you care about the result, and especially if you plan to sell it, shoot deliberately and generate in the cloud. Try it: gather your photos and [create a splat with Leighton](https://app.splatmart.com/create). First result not clean? Run it through the [free editor](/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor), most captures just need a 10-minute floater pass. --- # Edit Gaussian Splats in Your Browser: Free Online Splat Editor Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/online-gaussian-splat-editor · Published 2026-07-11 Every raw gaussian splat needs cleanup. Training reconstructs everything the camera saw, including the sky behind your subject, the tripod shadow, and the smear of a passer-by, and leaves floaters drifting around the scene. The fix used to require a desktop install; now it's a browser tab. SplatMart's splat editor is free, runs at [splatmart.com/editor](/editor), and is built on the SuperSplat engine, the open-source editor the 3DGS community already treats as the standard for this job. ## What the editor does - Open .ply splat files, from a Leighton generation, a phone app export, or anywhere else. - Select splats with rectangle, brush, and sphere tools, then delete floaters and stray geometry. - Crop the scene bounds so the download only contains what matters. - Move, rotate, and scale the scene to set a sensible origin and orientation. - Export web-ready files when you're done, see the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats) for which format to pick. ## Loading your splat Go to [/editor](/editor) and drag a .ply file in, everything runs client-side in the tab, so even large files are just limited by your machine's memory. If you generated the splat with [Leighton](/blog/leighton-gaussian-splatting-generator), skip the download: every finished job has an Open in Editor button that loads the result directly. ## The 10-minute cleanup pass - Orbit the scene from outside and delete the obvious distant floaters first, big selection tools, coarse passes. - Tighten the crop bounds to your subject. This alone removes most background junk and shrinks the file. - Hunt close-range floaters: orbit at the height a viewer will actually see the scene from and delete the wisps that catch the light. - Set the orientation, floor level, subject centred, so the scene opens the right way up in every viewer. - Export, then sanity-check the file in a [viewer](/blog/best-gaussian-splat-viewers) before you ship it. That pass is the difference between a capture and a product. Cleaned splats consistently outperform raw ones on the marketplace, buyers notice, and [say 'cleaned' in your listing](/blog/what-makes-a-great-splat); it converts. ## How it compares to other splat editors The upstream SuperSplat editor is excellent and free at the PlayCanvas site, SplatMart's editor shares that engine, adds direct hand-off from generation and the marketplace, and stays free with no export caps. Splatware's editor is the other browser option; it adds colour grading but sits behind a freemium plan with daily export limits on the free tier, we compare the platforms honestly in [SplatMart vs Splatware](/blog/splatmart-vs-splatware). Desktop tools like Postshot also edit splats but need an NVIDIA GPU and an install; see [the best 3DGS software](/blog/best-3dgs-software-2026) for the full landscape. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I edit a gaussian splat file? Open it in a splat editor, select the unwanted splats, delete, crop the bounds, and re-export. SplatMart's free browser editor (built on the SuperSplat engine) does all of this at splatmart.com/editor with nothing to install. ### How do I remove floaters from a gaussian splat? Orbit the scene and delete stray splats with selection tools, coarse passes from far away first, then a close pass at viewing height. Tightening the crop bounds also removes most background junk in one step. ### Is there a free gaussian splat editor? Yes, SplatMart's browser editor is free with no export limits, and the open-source SuperSplat editor it builds on is also free. You don't need to pay or subscribe for professional splat cleanup. ### Can I edit splats without a powerful GPU? For cleanup and cropping, yes, browser editors run on ordinary laptops; only very large scenes need more memory. It's training splats that needs serious GPU power, and cloud generators handle that part. ### What file formats can I edit? The editable working format is .ply. Compressed delivery formats (.splat, .spz, .sog) are for shipping, not editing, keep your .ply source, edit that, and re-export. See our splat file formats guide. Got a messy splat sitting in your downloads? [Open the editor](/editor) and give it the 10-minute pass, then maybe [list it](/blog/seller-guide-pricing) when it's looking sharp. --- # How to Hire a 3D Scanning Service (Gaussian Splatting Guide, 2026) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service · Published 2026-06-17 You want a photoreal 3D scan, of a property, a product, a building site, an event, but you don't want to buy a drone, learn COLMAP, and spend a weekend cleaning floaters. The answer in 2026 is the same as it is for photography or video: you hire someone who already owns the gear and knows the workflow. This guide covers what a modern 3D scanning service actually delivers, what gaussian splatting changed, what to look for, and how to hire a splatter without getting burned. ## What "3D scanning" means in 2026 Three techniques sit under the same banner, and a good service picks the right one for your job. Photogrammetry and LiDAR have been around for years and produce meshes, clean geometry, good for measurement and CAD. Gaussian splatting is the newer method that exploded over the last two years: instead of a mesh, it reconstructs a scene as millions of tiny coloured 3D blobs that render with true photographic realism, real reflections, and a real sense of space. For anything where it needs to look like being there, a listing, a venue, a product hero, splatting is usually what you want. If you're new to the method, our [what is gaussian splatting](/blog/what-is-gaussian-splatting) explainer covers the basics. ## What you can hire a 3D scanning service for - Real estate tours, walkable, photoreal listings that beat 360 photos. See [Matterport alternatives for real estate](/blog/matterport-alternative-real-estate). - Construction & digital twins, as-builts, progress capture, site documentation. See [3D scanning for construction](/blog/construction-3d-scanning). - Product & e-commerce, shoppable 3D and AR product views. See [3D product scanning for e-commerce](/blog/3d-product-scanning-ecommerce). - Events & venues, weddings, exhibitions, 3D photo booths. See [3D scanning for events](/blog/event-3d-scanning). - Objects, heritage and one-offs, sculptures, vehicles, keepsakes captured in full 3D. ## What to look for when hiring a splatter The capture is only half the job, delivery is where amateurs fall down. Before you hire, check for these: - A real portfolio of live, interactive splats you can open in a browser, not just rendered video. - File delivery you can use: the editable .ply source plus compressed .spz/.sog for the web. See the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats). - A splat count that matches your platform, web and mobile want lean scenes, desktop can take more. [More gaussians isn't better](/blog/does-splat-count-matter). - Clear licensing, who owns the scan and what you can do with it. - A realistic turnaround and a willingness to do one clean-up pass on floaters and bounds. ## How to brief the job so you get usable files The clearer the brief, the better the bid. Tell the splatter: what you're scanning and how big it is, where it'll be shown (a website embed, a VR headset, a desktop presentation), the deliverable format you need, your deadline, and your budget range. Mentioning the target platform matters most, a splat tuned for a Quest headset is captured and compressed differently than one for a 4K desktop fly-through. ## What does it cost? Pricing ranges from a couple of hundred dollars for a single object or small room to several thousand for a large property, multi-room tour, or full site capture. The drivers are size, number of scenes, travel, and delivery polish. We break it down by project type in the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost). ## How to hire a splatter on SplatMart SplatMart runs a hire-a-splatter marketplace built for exactly this. [Post a job](/jobs/new) describing what you need, professional splatters send proposals with a price and timeline, you pick one, and your payment is held safely in escrow until you approve the delivered work. The platform fee is 9.9% of the contract, and the splatter is only paid once you're happy. Browse open work and splatter profiles at [Hire a Splatter](/jobs). ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I hire someone to make a gaussian splat for me? Yes. Post a job on SplatMart's hire-a-splatter marketplace, get proposals from professional splatters, and pay safely through escrow once you approve the delivered scan. You don't need any equipment or software yourself. ### How long does a 3D scan take? A single object or small room is often captured in under an hour and delivered within a day or two. A full property or construction site can take a half-day on site plus a few days of processing and clean-up. ### Do I need special equipment to get a 3D scan? No. The splatter brings the camera or drone and does the processing. You just provide access to the space or object and a clear brief on how you'll use the final files. ### What files do I get from a 3D scanning service? Usually the editable .ply source plus web-ready compressed formats (.spz/.sog), and often a hosted web viewer link you can embed. Agree the deliverable format up front. ### Does the splatter need to be near me? For on-site captures (real estate, venues, construction) yes, location matters, so filter for someone who can travel to you. For objects and products you can often ship the item or the splatter works remotely from your footage. Ready to get a scan made? [Post a job](/jobs/new) and let pro splatters come to you. If you're the one with the skills, learn how to [get hired as a splatter](/blog/become-a-splatter-for-hire). --- # How Much Does 3D Scanning Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/3d-scanning-cost · Published 2026-06-17 "How much does 3D scanning cost?" is the first thing almost everyone asks, and it's the single most common 3D-scanning question people put to AI assistants too. The honest answer is "it depends," but the ranges are knowable. Here's what gaussian splatting and photogrammetry work actually costs in 2026, broken down by project type, plus what pushes the number up or down. ## The short answer Most professional 3D scanning jobs land between roughly $150 and $3,000. A single object or one small room sits at the low end; a large multi-room property, an event, or a construction site sits at the high end. Recurring or multi-site work is usually quoted per scene or on a day rate. Anyone quoting a flat price without asking about size, location and deliverables is guessing. ## Typical ranges by project type - Single object / product splat: ~$150–$600. See [3D product scanning](/blog/3d-product-scanning-ecommerce). - Real estate listing / small property tour: ~$300–$1,500. See [Matterport alternatives](/blog/matterport-alternative-real-estate). - Large property or multi-room interior: ~$1,000–$3,000+. - Construction site / digital twin: ~$800–$5,000 depending on size and repeat cadence. See [construction 3D scanning](/blog/construction-3d-scanning). - Event / venue capture: ~$400–$2,500 depending on scale. See [event 3D scanning](/blog/event-3d-scanning). ## What drives the price Five things move the number more than anything else: - Size and number of scenes, more rooms or a bigger site means more capture and more processing. - Travel and access, on-site work, parking, scheduling and site rules all add time. - Detail and resolution, a hero product shot at macro detail costs more than a quick room scan. - Delivery polish, floater clean-up, room alignment, a hosted web viewer and multiple formats take extra hours. - Licensing and usage, exclusive or commercial-broadcast rights cost more than a standard web licence. ## Why splatting can be cheaper than the old way Traditional photoreal 3D (CAD modelling, hand-built meshes, or Matterport's hardware-and-subscription model) carries either high labour or recurring platform costs. Gaussian splatting is captured with a normal camera or drone and trained on a GPU, so a skilled splatter can deliver a photoreal result in a fraction of the time. You're mostly paying for their time, gear and judgement, not a software licence. ## How to avoid overpaying Get two or three proposals, give every bidder the same clear brief (size, platform, deliverable format, deadline), and compare on portfolio quality, not just price. On SplatMart you can [post a job](/jobs/new) once and let multiple splatters bid, with payment held in escrow until you approve, so you're comparing real quotes, not paying upfront. For how to write a brief and what to check, see [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service). ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does it cost to hire someone to make a gaussian splat? Most splat jobs run between $150 and $3,000. A single object or small room is at the low end; a large property, construction site or event is at the high end. Size, travel, detail and delivery polish are the main price drivers. ### How much does a 3D scan of a house cost? A typical residential listing tour runs roughly $300–$1,500, and a large or multi-room property can be $1,000–$3,000+. Number of rooms, square footage and whether you need a hosted web tour all affect the quote. ### Is gaussian splatting cheaper than Matterport? Often, yes, there's no required camera or ongoing subscription, so you pay for the splatter's time rather than a platform fee. A one-off splat tour can be cheaper than a recurring Matterport plan, though Matterport's turnkey hosting has its own conveniences. ### Do I pay before or after the work is delivered? On SplatMart your payment is held in escrow and only released to the splatter once you approve the delivered scan, so you're protected if the result isn't what you agreed. Know your budget? [Post a job](/jobs/new) and get real proposals from professional splatters, or read [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service) first. --- # Matterport Alternatives: Gaussian Splat 3D Tours for Real Estate URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/matterport-alternative-real-estate · Published 2026-06-17 Matterport built the category, the dollhouse view and the click-to-move virtual tour are practically synonymous with real estate 3D. But gaussian splatting has changed what's possible: instead of stitched 360 panoramas at fixed points, a splat is a true free-roam, photoreal reconstruction you can glide through with real parallax and real light. If you're shopping for a Matterport alternative for your listings, here's an honest comparison and how to get one made. ## Matterport vs gaussian splatting, honestly Matterport stitches panoramas captured at fixed tripod positions; you teleport between those points. It's turnkey, the hosting and dollhouse view are built in, and it includes measurement tools. A gaussian splat tour is a continuous 3D reconstruction, you can move anywhere, not just between dots, and the photographic realism (reflections, soft light, depth) is noticeably higher. The trade-off: splatting is newer, so the delivery ecosystem is less of a one-click product and more something a skilled splatter assembles for you. ## Where splat tours win for real estate - True free-roam movement instead of fixed teleport points, it feels like walking the property. - Higher photorealism, which makes high-end and architectural listings look their best. - Often lower cost with no required camera hardware or ongoing platform subscription. - Easy to embed in a browser and share as a link, with cinematic fly-through video from the same capture. ## Where Matterport still has an edge Matterport is more turnkey: dependable hosting, the familiar dollhouse and floor-plan views, and built-in measurement that some agents and their clients expect. If your brokerage's workflow is built around it, or you need certified measurements, that convenience is real. Many operators now offer both and let the listing decide. For the broader case for splats in property, see our [gaussian splatting for real estate](/blog/gaussian-splatting-real-estate) guide. ## How to get a splat tour of your listing You don't need to learn the workflow, hire a splatter who already shoots property. On SplatMart you can [post a job](/jobs/new) describing the property (size, number of rooms, deadline), get proposals from splatters who do real-estate captures, and pay through escrow once the tour is delivered and you approve it. Browse splatters at [Hire a Splatter](/jobs). For pricing, see the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost). ## Frequently asked questions ### Is gaussian splatting better than Matterport? They're different. Matterport stitches 360 panoramas at fixed points and is fully turnkey with measurement tools; a gaussian splat is a true free-roam 3D reconstruction with higher photorealism and real parallax. Splats feel more immersive; Matterport is more plug-and-play. Many agents now offer both. ### What's a good Matterport alternative for real estate? A gaussian-splat virtual tour is the leading alternative in 2026, free-roam, photoreal, embeddable in a browser, and often cheaper since there's no required camera or subscription. You hire a splatter to capture and deliver it. ### How much does a 3D virtual tour for real estate cost? Roughly $300–$1,500 for a typical listing, more for large or multi-room properties. See our 3D scanning cost guide for a full breakdown. ### Can I get a splat tour for a single listing without a subscription? Yes, that's a key advantage. You commission a one-off capture from a splatter and own the deliverable, with no ongoing platform fee. Post the job on SplatMart and pay once, via escrow. Want a free-roam tour of your listing? [Post a job](/jobs/new) on SplatMart and compare proposals from real-estate splatters. --- # 3D Scanning for Construction: Digital Twins, As-Builts & Progress Capture URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/construction-3d-scanning · Published 2026-06-17 Construction and AEC teams have used laser scanning and photogrammetry for years to capture as-builts and verify work. Gaussian splatting adds something those don't: a fast, photoreal, walkable record of the site at a point in time, captured from a phone or drone and viewable in a browser. Here's how 3D scanning fits construction workflows in 2026 and how to hire someone to do it. ## What construction teams use 3D scanning for - Digital twins, a photoreal, navigable model of the site or building for remote review and coordination. - As-built documentation, a dated record of what was actually built, before walls close up. - Progress capture, periodic scans to track work, settle disputes, and update stakeholders. - Remote site reviews, let a client, architect or head office walk the site without travelling. ## Splatting vs laser scanning and photogrammetry Laser/LiDAR scanning produces precise point clouds and measurements, still the right tool when you need survey-grade accuracy. Photogrammetry produces textured meshes. Gaussian splatting isn't a replacement for survey measurement; its strength is speed and photorealism. A splat captures the look and spatial feel of a site quickly and cheaply, which is exactly what you want for communication, documentation and progress records. Many teams use both: LiDAR for metrics, splats for the visual record. ## What to brief and what to expect Tell the splatter the site size, how often you'll need it captured (one-off as-built vs recurring progress), whether you need it tied to real-world scale, and where it'll be viewed. Large or active sites usually mean drone plus ground capture, a half-day on site, and a few days of processing. Agree on delivery format and a hosted viewer link up front. For more on writing a brief, see [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service). ## How to hire a site scanner On SplatMart you can [post a job](/jobs/new) with your site details and specialty (aerial/drone or interior), get proposals from splatters who handle construction and digital-twin work, and pay via escrow on approval. Recurring progress capture can be set up as repeat jobs. Browse splatters at [Hire a Splatter](/jobs), and see the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost) for budgeting. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a digital twin in construction? A digital twin is a navigable 3D model of a real site or building. A gaussian-splat digital twin is photoreal and walkable in a browser, used for remote reviews, coordination and a dated record of site conditions. ### Is gaussian splatting accurate enough for construction measurement? For survey-grade measurement, LiDAR/laser scanning is still the standard. Splatting's strength is fast, photoreal documentation and communication. Many teams capture metric scale alongside the splat or pair it with a LiDAR scan when measurements matter. ### How often should a site be scanned for progress capture? It depends on pace and stakeholder needs, common cadences are weekly or at each major milestone. Set this up as recurring jobs so the same splatter captures consistently. ### Can one splatter handle a large site? Yes, typically with drone plus ground capture. Brief the site size and access up front so the proposal covers the right time on site and processing. Need a site scanned or a digital twin built? [Post a job](/jobs/new) and get proposals from construction-savvy splatters. --- # 3D Product Scanning for E-commerce: Photoreal 3D Models That Sell URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/3d-product-scanning-ecommerce · Published 2026-06-17 Shoppers convert better when they can spin a product in 3D or drop it into their room in AR. Building those 3D models by hand in CAD is slow and rarely captures how a real product looks, the grain, the stitching, the way light catches a surface. Gaussian splatting captures the real thing, fast, with photographic realism. Here's how 3D product scanning works for e-commerce and how to get it done. ## Why 3D product scans sell - Interactive 3D and AR views lift conversion and cut returns by setting accurate expectations. - Real materials and lighting, a scan shows the actual product, not an idealised CAD render. - Fast to produce at volume compared with hand-modelling a catalogue. - Reusable across your store, ads, and social as both interactive 3D and rendered stills. ## What works well (and what doesn't) Splatting loves products with texture and form, furniture, footwear, bags, decor, collectibles, food and packaging. Highly reflective chrome, clear glass and tiny fiddly items are harder and need an experienced splatter with controlled lighting and a turntable rig. If you're scanning many SKUs, a repeatable studio setup matters more than any single capture, so look for someone with a product pipeline, not just scene experience. ## Delivery formats for the web For online stores you want compressed, web-ready splats (.spz/.sog) that load fast on mobile, plus the editable .ply source. A good splatter will also keep the splat count lean so it performs on phones, [more gaussians isn't better](/blog/does-splat-count-matter), it's a performance budget. See the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats) for what each format is for. ## How to commission product scans Decide how many SKUs and how you'll display them, then [post a job](/jobs/new) on SplatMart with the product type and volume. Splatters who do product/object work will propose a per-item or batch price, and payment is held in escrow until you approve. Browse splatters at [Hire a Splatter](/jobs); for budgeting see the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is 3D product scanning? It's capturing a real product as a 3D model, increasingly as a gaussian splat, so shoppers can rotate it, zoom in, or view it in AR. It captures real materials and lighting far faster than hand-built CAD modelling. ### How much does a 3D product scan cost? Typically $150–$600 per product, with batch discounts for catalogues. Reflective or very small items cost more because they need controlled lighting and more careful capture. ### Can 3D scans be used for AR shopping? Yes. Web-ready splat formats can be embedded for interactive 3D and AR try-in-your-space views, which is exactly where they lift conversion. ### What products scan well? Textured, solid items, furniture, footwear, bags, decor, collectibles, packaging. Mirror-finish metal, clear glass and tiny intricate parts are the hardest and need an experienced product splatter. Want shoppable 3D for your store? [Post a job](/jobs/new) and get proposals from product splatters. --- # 3D Scanning for Events, Weddings & Venues (Beyond the Photo Booth) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/event-3d-scanning · Published 2026-06-17 A photo captures a moment; a gaussian splat captures the space. 3D scanning at events, from a 3D photo booth that turns a guest into a spinnable 3D keepsake, to a full capture of a wedding venue or exhibition stand, lets people revisit the real place in their browser long after the day. Here's what's possible and how to hire a splatter for your event. ## Ways to use 3D scanning at events - 3D photo booths, guests captured as photoreal 3D models they can share, a step beyond the GIF booth. - Venue and set captures, preserve a wedding, gala or exhibition space exactly as it was dressed. - Exhibition and trade-show stands, a shareable 3D record of your booth for follow-up and next year's planning. - Performances and installations, capture a stage, art piece or pop-up before it's struck. ## What makes event capture different Events are time-boxed and full of moving people, which is the hard part for splatting, it reconstructs static scenes best. A good event splatter plans around it: capturing the space during set-up or quiet windows, using fast capture rigs, and for 3D photo booths, a controlled multi-camera or quick-orbit setup so a person can be captured in seconds before they move. Ask to see event work specifically, not just architectural scenes. ## Delivery and sharing For events you usually want a web link guests or clients can open on a phone, plus optional rendered fly-through video for social. Compressed splat formats keep it fast on mobile. Agree on whether you need individual guest captures delivered separately or one venue scene. ## How to hire an event splatter [Post a job](/jobs/new) on SplatMart with the event date, location and what you want captured (a booth, the venue, both), get proposals from splatters who do event work, and pay through escrow once it's delivered. Because events are date-critical, book early and confirm the splatter can travel to you. Browse splatters at [Hire a Splatter](/jobs); see the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost) for pricing. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a 3D photo booth? A 3D photo booth captures guests as photoreal 3D models, often gaussian splats, that they can spin and share online, instead of a flat photo or GIF. It uses a fast multi-camera or quick-orbit rig so a person is captured in seconds. ### Can you 3D scan a wedding or event venue? Yes. A splatter can capture the dressed venue as a photoreal, walkable 3D scene you and your guests can revisit in a browser. It's best captured during set-up or a quiet window since splatting reconstructs static spaces best. ### How far in advance should I book event 3D scanning? Book as early as you'd book a photographer, event dates are fixed and you'll want to confirm the splatter can travel and capture during the right window. ### How much does event 3D scanning cost? Roughly $400–$2,500 depending on scale, a single 3D photo booth setup is at the low end, a full venue or multi-area capture at the high end. Planning an event? [Post a job](/jobs/new) and find a splatter who captures venues and photo booths. --- # Become a Splatter for Hire: Get Paid to Make Gaussian Splats URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/become-a-splatter-for-hire · Published 2026-06-17 If you can capture a clean gaussian splat, there's paid work out there, real estate agents, online stores, builders and event planners all want photoreal 3D and most can't make it themselves. This is the supply side of the hire-a-splatter market: how to turn the skill into income, what to charge, and how to get hired. ## Who's hiring, and for what Demand is strongest where the work has obvious commercial value: property tours for [real estate](/blog/matterport-alternative-real-estate), [construction and digital-twin](/blog/construction-3d-scanning) documentation, [product scans](/blog/3d-product-scanning-ecommerce) for e-commerce, and [event captures](/blog/event-3d-scanning). Buyers search for "3D scanning service" and "3D scanning near me," rarely for "gaussian splatting" by name, so position yourself as a 3D scanning pro who uses the latest method, not just a splat hobbyist. ## What to charge Price on value and time, not splat count. Single objects and small rooms commonly run $150–$600; property tours $300–$1,500; sites and large jobs more. Travel, turnaround and delivery polish justify higher rates. See the full breakdown in the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost), knowing the going rate helps you bid competitively without underselling. ## How to deliver work clients can actually use - Deliver the .ply source plus compressed .spz/.sog for the web, and a hosted viewer link. - Keep the splat count matched to the client's platform, lean for web/mobile, heavier only when desktop justifies it. - Do a clean-up pass: kill floaters, crop bounds, fix orientation in SuperSplat before handing over. - Be clear about licensing and what the client can do with the files. ## How to get hired on SplatMart Set up a splatter profile on the [Hire a Splatter](/jobs) marketplace, connect your payouts, and start sending proposals on open jobs. Payment is held in escrow and released when the buyer approves, so you're protected too, the platform fee is 9.9% of the contract. A strong profile with live, interactive splats wins more bids than any pitch. You can also list ready-made captures for sale on the marketplace, [sell a splat](/sell/new), and our [seller pricing guide](/blog/seller-guide-pricing) covers how to price those. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you make money with gaussian splatting? Yes, by getting hired to capture splats for clients (real estate, products, construction, events) and by selling ready-made splats. The hire side pays per job; the marketplace side earns passively from listings. ### How do I get hired as a splatter? Set up a splatter profile on SplatMart's Hire a Splatter marketplace, show live interactive splats in your portfolio, and send proposals on open jobs. Buyers pick a proposal and pay via escrow on approval. ### What should I charge for a gaussian splat? Price on time and value: ~$150–$600 for objects and small rooms, $300–$1,500 for property tours, more for large sites. Travel, turnaround and delivery polish justify higher rates. ### Do I need a business to get paid? No, you connect a payout account and get paid per approved job. Keep your own records for tax, but you can start taking work as an individual. Got the skills? Set up your profile on [Hire a Splatter](/jobs) and start bidding, or learn how buyers choose splatters in [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service). --- # Where to Download Gaussian Splats: Free & Paid Sources (2026) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/where-to-download-gaussian-splats · Published 2026-06-11 You can download gaussian splats from free community galleries, capture-app showcases, and dedicated marketplaces. The right source depends on what you need: a quick test file, a polished commercial asset with a clear licence, or a specific category like an interior or a product scan. Here's the honest rundown of every option in 2026. ## SplatMart, marketplace with free and paid splats [SplatMart Explore](/explore) is a dedicated gaussian splat marketplace: browse by category ([interiors](/categories/interiors), [architecture](/categories/architecture), [nature](/categories/nature), [objects](/categories/objects) and more), preview every splat interactively in the browser, and download in multiple formats, the source .ply plus compressed .spz and .sog versions generated automatically. Every listing shows its specs (splat count, file size, capture tool) and licence before you buy, there's a free section, so the catalogue grows from real captures. ## SuperSplat gallery (superspl.at), free community shares The PlayCanvas SuperSplat editor has a public gallery where the community shares scenes for free. Quality varies from quick phone scans to spectacular showcase pieces. Two things to know: scenes are stored in the compressed SOG format (you may need a tool like SplatTransform to convert back to .ply for editing), and licensing is per-creator, check before commercial use. ## Capture-app showcases, Polycam, Luma, Scaniverse, Teleport The big capture apps each host public galleries of user scans: Polycam's explore page, Luma AI's featured captures, Niantic Scaniverse's map of public scans, and Teleport by Varjo's Discover feed. These are great for inspiration and casual viewing, but download options and licences are limited, they're designed to keep you inside each app's ecosystem. ## Free asset packs and stock sites - The Pixel Lab gives away a 10-model splat pack (statues, skulls, ruins) in .spz format in exchange for a newsletter signup. - Sketchfab and Epic's Fab have early gaussian splat support, but splat listings are still rare compared to traditional 3D models. - Research datasets (Mip-NeRF 360, Tanks and Temples) provide raw capture images you can train yourself, useful for learning, not for production assets. ## What to check before downloading any splat - Format: .ply is the editable source; .spz/.sog are 10–20x smaller for web delivery. Ideally get both. See our [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats). - Splat count vs your platform: web and mobile want compressed scenes under ~2M splats; desktop can handle far more. [More gaussians isn't better](/blog/does-splat-count-matter), it's a performance budget. - Cleanliness: has the creator removed floaters and cropped the bounds? It saves you an editing session. - Licence: free downloads often allow personal use only. Marketplaces state commercial terms explicitly. ## Frequently asked questions ### Where can I download gaussian splats for free? SplatMart's free section, the SuperSplat community gallery at superspl.at, and The Pixel Lab's free splat pack are the main sources. Capture apps like Polycam, Luma AI and Scaniverse also host public galleries, though downloads are more restricted. ### What's the best site to buy gaussian splats? SplatMart is built specifically for buying and selling splats: interactive previews, multi-format downloads (.ply/.spz/.sog), visible specs and clear licences on every listing. General 3D marketplaces like Sketchfab and Fab have only early, limited splat support. ### What file format will my downloaded splat be in? Usually .ply (full-quality source) or a compressed format like .spz or .sog for web use. SplatMart listings include both where available, so you don't need to convert. ### Can I use downloaded splats commercially? Only if the licence allows it. Community galleries are per-creator and often non-commercial; marketplace listings state usage rights up front, which is the safest route for client work. ### Can I view a splat before downloading it? On SplatMart and superspl.at, yes, scenes preview interactively in the browser. That's the fastest way to judge quality, coverage and floaters before committing. --- # Does Splat Count Matter? Why More Gaussians ≠ Better Quality URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/does-splat-count-matter · Published 2026-06-11 Splat count, the number of 3D gaussians in a scene, is the first spec everyone looks at, and the most misunderstood. The short answer: more gaussians does not mean better quality. Count is a capacity and performance budget; quality comes from the capture and training behind it. Here's how to actually read this number. ## What splat count actually controls Each gaussian is a tiny coloured blob; millions of them together form the scene. More gaussians give the training process more capacity for fine detail, but capacity only converts into detail if the source images support it. One drone-mapping team's 70-million-splat city scene needed around 8,000 input photos at 5K resolution to fill that capacity. The same 70M budget trained from 300 phone photos would just be a heavier, blurrier file. ## Where quality really comes from - Input images: count, resolution, sharpness and coverage. This is the single biggest factor, practitioners routinely capture hundreds of photos for a single object. - Training: iterations and settings matter; under-trained scenes look soft no matter the count. - Cleanup: removing floaters and cropping bounds. A cleaned 3M-splat scene reads as higher quality than a raw 10M one. In the r/GaussianSplatting community, where drone mappers regularly push past 50M splats, the consensus is blunt: "more splats does not always equal better quality," and for most scenes tens of millions is simply overkill. ## Splat count is a performance budget Every gaussian costs file size, loading time, and GPU work at render time. That's why the right question isn't "how many splats can I get?" but "how many can my target platform afford?" - Web and mobile embeds: aim under ~2M splats in a compressed format (.sog/.spz). A typical product splat compresses from ~16MB to ~4MB with SOG, and load time is what users actually feel. - Quest 3 / standalone VR: roughly 1–3M splats compressed runs comfortably in WebXR viewers. - Desktop apps and offline renders: 20M+ is fine; streamed level-of-detail systems handle the truly huge scenes. ## How to judge a splat before you buy it - Use the interactive preview, zoom into edges and fine detail; your eyes beat any spec. - Check capture details: input photo count, camera, capture tool. Strong inputs are the real quality signal. - Look for 'cleaned' or 'floaters removed' in the description. - Match the splat count and compressed file size to your platform budget, not to a bigger-is-better instinct. Every [SplatMart listing](/explore) shows splat count, file size per format and capture tool for exactly this reason, so you can budget instead of guess. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is a higher splat count better quality? Not by itself. Splat count is capacity, it only becomes detail if the input photos and training support it. A clean, well-captured 3M-splat scene beats a noisy 20M one. Treat count as a performance budget for your target platform. ### How many splats do I need for VR on Quest 3? Roughly 1–3 million splats in a compressed format (.spz/.sog) runs well in standalone WebXR viewers. PC-tethered VR can push much higher. ### How many splats for a web page embed? Stay under about 2M splats and use SOG or SPZ compression to keep the file in the low megabytes, visitors feel load time more than they see extra detail. ### Why is my splat file so large? Raw .ply files store every gaussian uncompressed, so size scales directly with count, often hundreds of MB. Convert to .sog or .spz for a 10–20x reduction with minimal visible loss. ### Does splat count affect frame rate? Yes, directly, rendering cost scales with the number of visible gaussians. If a scene stutters, use a lower-count version or a viewer with level-of-detail streaming. --- # The Best 3D Gaussian Splatting Software in 2026: Desktop, Cloud & Mobile URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/best-3dgs-software-2026 · Published 2026-07-19 The gaussian splatting software landscape changed dramatically over the past year: Postshot, long the default desktop trainer, moved to a subscription with no free .ply export, and a wave of free, open-source alternatives matured fast. For most creators, SplatMart is now the clearest end-to-end choice: upload photos or video, generate on cloud GPUs, clean the result in the built-in browser editor, then download, publish, or sell it without changing platforms. Here is where it wins, and where a specialist tool is still the better fit. ## Quick picks - Best overall browser workflow: SplatMart, Leighton cloud generation, a free built-in editor, downloads, and marketplace publishing in one account. - Best fully free pipeline: RealityScan (alignment) → Brush or LichtFeld Studio (training) → SplatMart's free editor (cleanup and export). - Easiest start: Polycam, Luma AI or Scaniverse on your phone, or Teleport by Varjo for guided capture. - Best cloud GPU workflow without a subscription: SplatMart Leighton, upload photos or video in a browser and pay per generation, with no local GPU needed. - Best all-in-one desktop (paid): Jawset Postshot, still the smoothest video-to-splat workflow if the subscription fits your budget. - Best free editor and publisher: SplatMart's browser editor, with direct hand-off to downloads and the marketplace. ## Why SplatMart is our top pick for most creators A good splat workflow does not end when training finishes. You still need to remove floaters, crop the scene, preserve an editable PLY, create web-ready delivery files, and decide whether to download, share, or sell the result. SplatMart keeps those steps connected: Leighton handles cloud reconstruction from photos or video; the free built-in editor handles cleanup; and the same account can manage versions, download the PLY, or publish a listing. Creators can set a price, choose a licence, and sell their finished splats through the marketplace, turning a strong capture into an asset that can earn money. It is the strongest fit when you want a finished, usable splat rather than a collection of tools to stitch together. ## The free desktop pipeline that replaced Postshot for many When Postshot 1.0 went subscription-only, the community converged on a free three-step workflow. Step one: align your photos in RealityScan (free from Epic) or COLMAP, export the camera registration plus images. Step two: train the splat in Brush (open source, runs on Windows/Mac/Linux and even AMD GPUs) or LichtFeld Studio (newer, fast-moving, excellent results). Step three: open the PLY in SplatMart's free browser editor to remove floaters, crop bounds, adjust orientation, and export. The results rival paid tools; the cost is more setup friction than SplatMart's cloud path. ## SplatMart, the best no-GPU workflow If you want to go from a folder of photos or a raw video to a cleaned, downloadable, sellable splat without setting up a local pipeline, start with SplatMart. Leighton accepts up to 3,000 photos or sampled video frames in a browser, runs training on cloud GPUs, and returns an editable PLY for 200–600 credits base per generation. Open it directly in SplatMart's free editor to delete floaters, crop bounds, and adjust orientation; then download it or publish it to the marketplace. There is no generation subscription and no local GPU requirement. Polycam, Luma AI, Scaniverse, Teleport, and KIRI Engine remain good choices when guided phone capture or their specific mobile workflows matter more than a connected editing and publishing path. Compare [Postshot with SplatMart](/blog/postshot-vs-splatmart) if the real decision is local versus cloud training. ## Postshot in 2026, still good, now paid Jawset Postshot remains a polished drop-a-video-in, get-a-splat-out desktop app, with local training, an integrated viewer, and production controls. The free plan is for non-commercial work and does not include Radiance Field export to PLY or SPZ; commercial use and those exports require a paid subscription. If you produce splats frequently, already own a compatible NVIDIA GPU, and value keeping footage local, it can still be the right tool. See the full [Postshot vs SplatMart comparison](/blog/postshot-vs-splatmart). ## Pro and survey-grade tools For georeferenced, scale-accurate work there's a separate tier: Pix4D produces survey-grade georeferenced splats used by utilities and inspectors, and SLAM scanners from XGRIDS (with CyberColor software) capture huge spaces fast. Expect pro pricing. ## Edit in SplatMart, then publish when you are ready Every raw splat benefits from a cleanup pass: deleting floaters, cropping bounds, and setting the right orientation before anyone else sees it. Do that in [SplatMart's free browser editor](/editor), which works with PLY files from Leighton, phone apps, or other tools and connects directly to your downloaded versions and SplatMart listing flow. Once it is ready, you can set the price and licence, then sell it on the SplatMart marketplace. SuperSplat is a capable standalone editor alternative, but SplatMart is the stronger choice for creators who want to finish, distribute, and earn from their work in one place, not just inspect it. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best all-in-one gaussian splatting software? For most creators who do not want to run a local GPU pipeline, SplatMart is the best all-in-one option: Leighton trains from photos or video in the cloud, the free built-in editor cleans the editable PLY, and the same account handles downloads and marketplace publishing. Use a specialist tool instead when you specifically need local-only training, survey-grade georeferencing, or mesh production. ### Can I make money selling gaussian splats? Yes. After cleaning and preparing the PLY in SplatMart's editor, creators can publish the splat to the marketplace, set a price and licence, and earn from completed sales. Strong previews, clear capture details, and useful delivery formats help a listing stand out. ### What is the best free gaussian splatting software? The strongest fully free pipeline in 2026 is RealityScan or COLMAP for alignment, Brush or LichtFeld Studio for training, and SplatMart's free browser editor for cleanup and export. On a phone, Scaniverse is free with on-device training. ### What are the best alternatives to local desktop training? For the simplest no-GPU workflow, SplatMart's Leighton accepts photos or video, supplies the cloud GPU, opens the result in its built-in editor, and lets you download or publish it in one place. Brush and LichtFeld Studio are leading free desktop trainers when paired with RealityScan or COLMAP; phone-first options include Polycam, Luma AI, and KIRI Engine. ### Can I make gaussian splats on a Mac? Yes, Brush runs natively on Apple Silicon, dedicated Mac training apps exist, and all the phone/cloud apps work regardless of your computer. Heavy local training is still fastest on an NVIDIA GPU. ### Do I need a powerful GPU for gaussian splatting? For local training, a recent NVIDIA card with 8GB+ VRAM is the comfortable baseline (more for big scenes). Cloud apps and services remove the requirement entirely by training server-side. ### Which software do professionals use? Professionals mix tools to match the job. SplatMart is the streamlined choice for cloud generation, editing, asset delivery, and publishing; Postshot, Brush, and LichtFeld suit local training; RealityScan, Metashape, Pix4D, and XGRIDS address specialist alignment, georeferencing, or survey requirements. SuperSplat remains a standalone editor alternative for teams that prefer a separate tool. --- # Gaussian Splatting for Real Estate: Virtual Tours That Actually Feel Like Being There URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/gaussian-splatting-real-estate · Published 2026-06-10 Real estate is gaussian splatting's biggest commercial arena right now. A splat tour lets a buyer walk through a property in their browser with true photorealism, real light, real materials, real sense of space, for the cost of a careful capture session. Here's how it works, what it costs, and an honest view of when it's worth it. ## Why splat tours beat 360 photo tours - Free movement: viewers walk anywhere instead of jumping between fixed bubbles, so the floor plan makes sense instinctively. - True depth: parallax as you move conveys room size in a way flat panoramas can't, wide-angle photo tricks stop working. - Photorealism: lighting and materials come straight from photographs of the actual property; nothing looks like a video game. - Browser delivery: modern viewers stream compressed splats on any device, no app install, and VR walkthroughs work on a Quest 3. ## The workflow, end to end A typical pipeline: capture each room with slow, overlapping video or photo passes (interiors are the hardest scenes, blank walls and mixed lighting punish rushed captures); train each room into a splat; clean floaters and align rooms in an editor like SuperSplat; then publish to a web viewer with walk-mode navigation. Tools like SuperSplat's Walk Mode and PlayCanvas-based viewers made the delivery step dramatically easier this year, that's the development that pushed splat tours into real-estate workflows. For headline shots, agents render cinematic fly-throughs from the same splat. ## What it costs A skilled operator can capture and process a typical home in a day, and service pricing varies hugely by market, from a few hundred dollars to four figures for large or complex properties. The hardware floor is low (a recent phone or a 360 camera plus free software), but consistent interior quality takes real practice, which is why capture services exist. ## The honest take: when it's not worth it In hot markets where homes sell in a week from photos alone, a 3D tour adds little to the sale price, some agents say exactly that. Splat tours earn their keep on premium listings, remote and international buyers, short-stay properties (hotels, holiday rentals), new developments selling off-plan, and architecture documentation. Treat them as a differentiator and a time-saver for serious buyers, not a magic price booster. ## Don't want to capture it yourself? Hire a splatter Most agents don't shoot their own tours, they hire someone who already captures property. On SplatMart you can [post a job](/jobs/new) describing the listing, get proposals from real-estate splatters, and pay safely through escrow once the tour is delivered and you approve it. For a head-to-head with Matterport see [Matterport alternatives for real estate](/blog/matterport-alternative-real-estate); for how to brief and budget the work see [how to hire a 3D scanning service](/blog/hire-3d-scanning-service) and the [3D scanning cost guide](/blog/3d-scanning-cost). ## Get the assets without capturing Staging a visualisation, building a proptech demo, or practising your pipeline? Ready-made [interior](/categories/interiors) and [architecture](/categories/architecture) splats on SplatMart give you photoreal spaces to work with immediately, and if you're already capturing properties, [selling your splats](/sell/new) turns each job into a recurring asset. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I make a 3D tour of a house with gaussian splatting? Capture each room with slow, overlapping video or photos, train the captures into splats, clean and align them in an editor like SuperSplat, and publish to a browser viewer with walk-mode navigation. See our step-by-step capture guide for technique. ### Is gaussian splatting better than Matterport? They're different approaches: Matterport stitches 360 panoramas at fixed points, while a splat is a true free-roam 3D reconstruction with photographic realism and real parallax. Splats feel more immersive; Matterport's ecosystem is more turnkey. Many operators now offer both. ### Do 3D tours help sell homes? They help most on premium listings, remote buyers, and off-plan sales. In fast-moving markets where photos sell the home in days, the data is honest: a tour may not raise the price, its value is reach and buyer confidence. ### Can buyers view a splat tour in VR? Yes, compressed splat tours run in WebXR on a Quest 3 directly from the browser, which is a genuinely different experience from clicking through photos: clients report it feels like standing in the property. --- # What Is Gaussian Splatting? A Plain-English Guide to 3DGS URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/what-is-gaussian-splatting · Published 2026-06-09 Gaussian splatting is a technique for turning a set of photos or a short video of a real scene into a photorealistic 3D model that you can view and fly through in real time. Instead of building the scene out of triangles like a traditional 3D model, it represents the scene as millions of tiny, soft, coloured blobs, called 3D Gaussians, that blend together to recreate exactly what the camera saw. The full name is 3D Gaussian Splatting, often shortened to 3DGS. It was introduced in a 2023 research paper ("3D Gaussian Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering") and has quickly become one of the most popular ways to capture real places and objects in 3D, because it looks incredibly realistic and runs fast enough for games, VR, and the web. ## What is a Gaussian splat, exactly? A "Gaussian" is just a soft, fuzzy blob, think of a small cloud of colour that is bright in the middle and fades out at the edges. A Gaussian splat scene is made of millions of these blobs, and each one stores a few pieces of information: - Position, where the blob sits in 3D space. - Scale and rotation, how big it is and which way it is stretched (they are usually little ellipsoids, not perfect spheres). - Colour, what colour it is, including how that colour changes depending on the angle you view it from (which is what gives splats realistic, view-dependent reflections). - Opacity, how see-through it is. On their own, the blobs look like coloured dust. But when millions of them are layered and blended together, "splatted" onto your screen, they reconstruct the original scene with photographic detail. ## How does Gaussian splatting work? The process happens in three broad stages: ### 1. Capture You take a set of overlapping photos or a slow video that moves around the subject, covering it from many angles. The more complete and steady the coverage, the better the result. ### 2. Camera solving (Structure from Motion) Software figures out where each photo was taken from by matching features between images. This step, called Structure from Motion (often run with a tool like COLMAP), produces a rough point cloud and the camera positions. ### 3. Training (optimisation) Starting from that point cloud, the system places Gaussians and then repeatedly compares its rendered output to the original photos, nudging each blob's position, size, colour, and opacity until the rendered scene matches the photos. After a few minutes to an hour on a GPU, you have a finished splat, typically saved as a .ply or .splat file. ## Why is Gaussian splatting such a big deal? - Photorealism, because it is optimised directly against real photos, it captures soft reflections, transparency, and fine detail that traditional photogrammetry meshes struggle with. - Real-time speed, a trained splat renders in milliseconds on a modern GPU, so it works in games, VR/AR, and even directly in a web browser. - Accessibility, you can make a usable splat from an ordinary phone video using free or low-cost apps; you don't need a lidar scanner or a camera rig. ## What is Gaussian splatting used for? - Games and virtual production, realistic environments and backdrops. - Real estate and architecture, walkable 3D captures of properties and buildings. - VR and AR, immersive, photoreal spaces. - E-commerce and product shots, turn an object into an interactive 3D model. - Film, VFX, and digital twins, capturing real locations for reuse. ## How is it different from NeRF and photogrammetry? Photogrammetry builds a traditional mesh (triangles plus a texture). It is widely supported but tends to look flat on reflective or fuzzy surfaces. NeRF (Neural Radiance Fields) uses a neural network to achieve gorgeous results, but it is typically slow to render. Gaussian splatting sits in the sweet spot: NeRF-level realism with real-time rendering and no neural network at view time. We cover this in depth in our guide to NeRF vs Gaussian splatting. ## How do I make, or get, a Gaussian splat? To make your own, capture a scene and process it with an app like Luma AI, Polycam, or Postshot, or train it yourself with open-source tools. If you would rather skip the capture and processing, you can buy ready-made, professionally captured splats. SplatMart is a marketplace for exactly that, browse photorealistic .splat assets across architecture, interiors, nature, vehicles, and more, ready to drop into your project. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Gaussian splatting in simple terms? It is a way to turn photos or video of a real scene into a photorealistic 3D model made of millions of tiny coloured blobs (3D Gaussians) that blend together. The result looks like the real place and can be explored in real time. ### Is Gaussian splatting the same as a point cloud? No. A point cloud is a set of single-coloured points. Gaussian splatting uses soft, scalable, semi-transparent ellipsoids with view-dependent colour, so it reconstructs a far more realistic, continuous-looking image than raw points. ### Is Gaussian splatting AI? Not in the usual sense. Unlike NeRF, it does not use a neural network to render. It uses an optimisation process (gradient descent) to fit the blobs to your photos, which is a machine-learning technique, but the final splat is just data, no AI model runs when you view it. ### What file format is a Gaussian splat? Splats are most commonly stored as .ply or .splat files. Newer compressed formats such as .spz and .sog are also appearing. Most viewers and game engines accept .ply or .splat. ### Do I need a powerful computer to view a Gaussian splat? Viewing is lightweight, many splats run smoothly in a web browser or on a phone. Training (creating) a splat is the demanding part and usually needs a GPU, which is why many people use cloud apps or buy ready-made splats. --- # NeRF vs Gaussian Splatting: What's the Difference? URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/nerf-vs-gaussian-splatting · Published 2026-06-09 NeRF and Gaussian splatting are two ways to turn a set of photos into a photorealistic, explorable 3D scene. The short version: NeRF uses a neural network and produces beautiful results but is usually slow to render, while Gaussian splatting reaches similar quality and renders in real time, which is why it has largely overtaken NeRF for practical use. Both belong to a family of techniques called radiance fields, they reconstruct not just the shape of a scene but how light leaves every point of it, which is what makes reflections and soft materials look right. Here is how they actually differ. ## How NeRF works NeRF (Neural Radiance Fields) trains a neural network to answer a question: "if I look at this exact point in space from this exact direction, what colour and density do I see?" To render an image, it asks that network thousands of times per pixel and adds the results up. The quality is stunning, but all those network lookups make rendering slow, historically seconds per frame, not real time. ## How Gaussian splatting works Gaussian splatting throws out the neural network. It represents the scene explicitly as millions of little coloured 3D blobs (Gaussians) and draws them directly to the screen, sorted front-to-back. There is no network to query at view time, so a trained splat renders in milliseconds. If you want the full explanation, see our guide to what Gaussian splatting is. ## The key differences ### Rendering speed Gaussian splatting wins clearly. It runs in real time on ordinary GPUs and even in a web browser. Classic NeRF is much slower, though faster NeRF variants exist. ### Visual quality Roughly comparable at the high end. Both can look photoreal. NeRF can have an edge on certain volumetric effects like haze; splatting is extremely sharp on solid detail. ### Training time Gaussian splatting usually trains faster, minutes to under an hour, versus longer for many NeRF setups. ### Editability Gaussian splatting is easier to edit. Because the scene is explicit blobs, you can move, crop, recolour, or delete parts of it. A NeRF is locked inside a neural network, which is much harder to edit directly. ### File size and portability Splats are plain data (.ply / .splat) and play in many viewers and engines. NeRFs are tied to their model and tooling, so they are less portable. ## Which should you use? - Choose Gaussian splatting if you need real-time performance, want to use the result in a game engine, VR/AR, or the web, or want to edit the scene. This covers the large majority of practical projects today. - Consider NeRF mainly for research, or specific volumetric looks where a particular NeRF method excels. For most creators in 2026, Gaussian splatting is the default choice, and you don't even have to make one yourself. SplatMart sells ready-made, real-time-ready splats you can drop straight into a project. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Gaussian splatting better than NeRF? For most practical uses, yes, it renders in real time, trains faster, and is easier to edit and move between tools, at comparable visual quality. NeRF remains relevant in research and for some volumetric effects. ### Is Gaussian splatting a type of NeRF? Not exactly. They are cousins, both are radiance-field methods that reconstruct a scene from photos, but NeRF uses a neural network while Gaussian splatting uses explicit 3D blobs and no network at render time. ### Does Gaussian splatting use AI? It uses an optimisation process to fit the blobs to your photos, which is a machine-learning technique, but unlike NeRF there is no neural network running when you view the finished scene. ### Can I convert a NeRF to a Gaussian splat? There is no perfect one-click conversion, but since both are built from the same input photos, you can usually retrain the same capture as a Gaussian splat to get a real-time version. --- # Luma AI for Gaussian Splatting: A Capture Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/luma-ai-gaussian-splatting · Published 2026-06-09 Luma AI is one of the easiest ways to create a Gaussian splat: you record a short video with your phone, upload it, and Luma's cloud processes it into a 3D scene you can view, share, and export. It is a great starting point if you want a splat without setting up a GPU or training pipeline. This guide walks through getting a clean result and exporting a usable file. ## What you need - A smartphone (iPhone or Android) or any video camera. - The Luma AI app, or the web uploader. - A subject and decent, even lighting. ## Step 1: Capture the scene Good input is 90% of a good splat. Move slowly and steadily around your subject, keeping it in frame, and try to cover it from many heights and angles, low, eye-level, and high. Aim for full coverage, as if you were wrapping the object in a sphere of camera positions. ### Capture tips for a clean result - Shoot in soft, even light, overcast outdoors or diffuse indoor light is ideal. Avoid harsh direct sun and deep shadows. - Keep the scene still. Moving people, leaves, or cars create floating artefacts ("floaters"). - Move slowly to avoid motion blur; orbit the subject rather than just panning from one spot. - Don't change zoom mid-capture, and try to keep exposure locked if your app allows it. - Capture a bit more than you think you need, especially around edges and the top. ## Step 2: Process in Luma Upload the capture and let Luma process it in the cloud. After a short wait you get an interactive 3D scene you can orbit and inspect. Check it for floaters, holes, or blurry areas, if a region looks bad, it usually means it needed more or steadier coverage, and a quick re-shoot of that area fixes it. ## Step 3: Export your splat Luma lets you export the Gaussian splat so you can use it elsewhere. Export it as a .ply or .splat file, which is the standard format accepted by most splat viewers and game engines. From there you can load it into a web viewer, Unreal, Unity, Blender (with a splat add-on), or list and sell it. ## Luma AI vs other capture tools Luma AI is known for being beginner-friendly and handling reflective and outdoor scenes well. Polycam is another popular option that many users find sharper on hard architectural edges, and Postshot is a fast-growing desktop tool for those who want more control. There is no single "best", it depends on your subject. See our Polycam vs Luma AI comparison for a side-by-side. ## Don't want to capture at all? Capturing and cleaning up a great splat takes time and practice. If you just need a high-quality asset for a project, you can buy professionally captured splats instead. SplatMart offers ready-to-use .splat files across many categories, browse the marketplace and drop one straight into your scene. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Luma AI free? Luma AI offers free usage with paid tiers for higher volume and extra features. Check their current pricing, as it changes over time. ### What file format does Luma AI export for Gaussian splats? You can export Gaussian splats as .ply or .splat files, which work in most splat viewers and game engines. ### Why does my Luma splat have floating blobs? Floaters usually come from things that moved during capture, reflections, or thin areas that lacked coverage. Re-shoot with steadier, fuller coverage in even light, and crop the scene bounds tightly. ### Can I use a Luma AI splat in Unreal or Unity? Yes. Export as .ply or .splat and import it using a Gaussian splatting plugin for your engine. Keep an eye on the Gaussian count for real-time performance. ### Do I need a powerful phone for Luma AI? No. Because the heavy processing runs in Luma's cloud, a normal modern smartphone is enough to capture and view; you mainly need a steady hand and good lighting. --- # 4D and 2D Gaussian Splatting Explained URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/4d-2d-gaussian-splatting · Published 2026-06-08 Standard Gaussian splatting captures a static 3D scene. But you'll also see the terms 4D Gaussian splatting and 2D Gaussian splatting. They are not typos: 4D adds time (splats that move and change), and 2D swaps the 3D blobs for flat discs to get cleaner surfaces. Here's what each one actually means and when you'd want it. ## What is 4D Gaussian splatting? 4D Gaussian splatting extends a splat with a fourth dimension, time, so the scene can move. Instead of a frozen moment, you capture a dynamic scene (a person waving, water flowing, a flag in the wind) and the Gaussians shift, deform, and change colour over time. The "4D" is the usual 3D space plus time. ### What it's used for - Volumetric video, recording a real performance you can replay from any angle. - Dynamic scenes for VR/AR and virtual production. - Research into real-time dynamic scene rendering. The trade-off is cost: 4D captures are heavier to record, far larger to store, and harder to process than static splats, because every moment in time needs its own description. The field is moving fast, but static 3D splats remain the practical default for most projects. ## What is 2D Gaussian splatting? 2D Gaussian splatting replaces the 3D ellipsoid blobs with flat, oriented 2D discs (sometimes called surfels). Because real-world surfaces are essentially thin, aligning flat discs to them produces more accurate geometry and cleaner surface reconstruction, which is especially useful if your goal is to extract a mesh from the splat. ### Why use 2D instead of 3D splats - Sharper, more accurate surfaces, less "fuzz" on walls, floors, and objects. - Better mesh extraction, the discs hug the true surface, so converting to a traditional 3D mesh is cleaner. - Good for scanning and reconstruction workflows where geometry accuracy matters more than raw speed. ## Which one do you need? - Most people want standard 3D Gaussian splatting, the best balance of realism and real-time speed. See our guide to what Gaussian splatting is. - Choose 4D if your subject moves and you need to capture motion over time. - Choose 2D if you care most about accurate surfaces or want to turn the capture into a clean mesh. Whatever variant you explore, you can start from ready-made 3D splats. Browse SplatMart to see high-quality static splats across categories. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is 4D Gaussian splatting? It is Gaussian splatting with time added, so the scene can move and change. It is used for volumetric video and dynamic scenes, at the cost of much larger data and heavier processing than static 3D splats. ### What is 2D Gaussian splatting? It uses flat oriented discs instead of 3D blobs. Because surfaces are thin, the discs align to them better, giving more accurate geometry and cleaner mesh extraction. ### Is 4D splatting just a video? No. A video is fixed to one camera path. A 4D splat is a moving 3D scene you can replay from any angle and position, like volumetric video. ### Should beginners use 2D or 4D splatting? Neither to start. Begin with standard 3D Gaussian splatting; reach for 2D when you need accurate surfaces or meshes, and 4D when you need to capture motion. --- # Best Gaussian Splat Viewers (Web, Desktop & Mobile) URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/best-gaussian-splat-viewers · Published 2026-06-07 Once you have a Gaussian splat, a .ply or .splat file, you need a viewer to open it. The good news: viewing a splat is lightweight, and you have plenty of free options that run in a web browser, on the desktop, or inside a game engine. Here are the best ways to view and share Gaussian splats. ## Web-based splat viewers For most people, a browser viewer is the fastest way to open a splat, no install, and easy to share with a link. Web viewers use WebGL to render the splat right on the page, and many run smoothly even on phones. - Great for quickly checking a file, embedding a splat on a website, or sending a client a link. - Open-source viewers built on three.js are widely used and free to self-host. - Look for drag-and-drop support so you can just drop a .ply or .splat file onto the page. ## Desktop viewers and apps Desktop tools handle large splats more comfortably and often add editing, cropping, cleaning up floaters, and re-exporting. If you create splats regularly, a desktop viewer/editor is worth having alongside a web viewer. ## Game engines (Unreal, Unity, Blender) - Unreal Engine, view and use splats via a Gaussian splatting plugin; great for real-time environments. - Unity, several community and commercial splat packages let you import and render .splat/.ply files. - Blender, add-ons bring splats into Blender for layout and rendering alongside traditional 3D. Engines are the right choice when the splat is part of a bigger interactive project rather than something you just want to look at. ## How to open a .splat or .ply file - Quickest: open a web splat viewer and drag your file onto it. - For big files or editing: use a desktop splat app. - For a project: import into your game engine with a splat plugin. ## Tips for smooth viewing - Gaussian count drives performance, very large splats (millions of Gaussians) can stutter on weaker hardware; reduce the count for real-time use. - Compressed formats (.spz, .sog) load faster over the web than raw .ply. - If a viewer shows nothing, confirm the file is actually a Gaussian splat (.ply/.splat) and not a regular mesh. Every splat sold on SplatMart is captured to load and view cleanly, so you can drop it into your viewer or engine of choice and get straight to work. Browse the marketplace to see what's available. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I open a .splat file? The easiest way is a web-based Gaussian splat viewer, open it in your browser and drag the file in. For large files or editing, use a desktop splat app; for projects, import it into a game engine with a splat plugin. ### Can I view a Gaussian splat in a browser? Yes. WebGL-based viewers (many built on three.js) render splats directly in the browser, with no install, and many work on mobile too. ### What's the difference between a splat viewer and a mesh viewer? Mesh viewers display triangles and textures. Splat viewers render millions of soft Gaussians with view-dependent colour, so a normal 3D model viewer usually can't display a splat correctly. ### Why is my splat viewer slow? Usually the splat has too many Gaussians for your hardware. Try a smaller/compressed version, close other GPU-heavy apps, or reduce the Gaussian count. --- # Gaussian Splat File Formats: .ply, .splat, .spz & .sog URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats · Published 2026-06-11 Gaussian splats are saved in a handful of file formats, and the one you choose affects file size, loading speed, and which tools can open it. The main formats are .ply, .splat, .spz, and .sog. Here's what each is, how they compare, and how to convert between them. ## .ply, the universal source format PLY (Polygon File Format) is the most common way splats are stored, especially straight out of training. It holds every Gaussian's full data (position, scale, rotation, colour with view-dependent terms, opacity) in an uncompressed form. That makes it the most compatible and editable format, but also the largest, often hundreds of megabytes. ## .splat, the lightweight web format The .splat format strips a splat down to the essentials and packs it efficiently, so it loads faster, particularly in web viewers. It's a popular delivery format when you want a splat to open quickly online. The trade-off is that it may drop some higher-order colour detail compared to a full .ply. ## .spz and .sog, modern compressed formats - .spz, Niantic's open compressed splat format (born from Scaniverse), shrinking files by roughly 10x while keeping quality high. Well supported in mobile and web pipelines. - .sog, the Self-Organizing Gaussians format adopted by PlayCanvas/SuperSplat as its web standard, compressing scenes up to ~20x. A 16MB product splat becomes ~4MB, the difference between a sluggish page and an instant one. These formats exist because raw .ply files are simply too big to stream comfortably. Compression interacts with spherical harmonics too, the view-dependent colour data that makes reflections shift realistically. Higher SH detail means bigger files, which is why some web exports trim it; if accurate reflections matter (car paint, glass), check what the compressed version keeps. ## Which format should you use? - Keep a .ply as your master/source, it's the most editable and compatible. - Deliver on the web with .splat, .spz, or .sog for fast loading. - For a game engine, use whatever your splat plugin supports best (often .ply or .splat). ## How to convert between splat formats Converting (for example, .ply to .splat) is common and well-supported. Many capture apps export multiple formats directly, web viewers often include a converter, and command-line tools exist for batch conversion. The usual workflow is: train or capture to .ply, then convert to a compressed delivery format for sharing. On SplatMart, listings note the file format so you know exactly what you're getting and that it will work in your pipeline. Browse the marketplace to see available splats and formats. ## Frequently asked questions ### What file format is a Gaussian splat? Most commonly .ply (uncompressed, fully compatible) or .splat (lightweight, web-friendly). Newer compressed formats include .spz and .sog, which are much smaller and good for streaming. ### How do I convert a .ply to a .splat? Many capture apps and web viewers can export or convert directly, and command-line tools exist for batch jobs. The common flow is to keep the .ply as the source and convert to .splat (or .spz/.sog) for delivery. ### Why are .ply splat files so large? Because .ply stores every Gaussian's full data uncompressed, including view-dependent colour terms. Compressed formats like .spz and .sog reduce size dramatically for sharing. ### Which splat format loads fastest on the web? Compressed formats (.spz, .sog) and the lightweight .splat load faster than a raw .ply, which is why they're preferred for web viewers and streaming. --- # How to Make a Gaussian Splat: A Step-by-Step Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/how-to-make-a-gaussian-splat · Published 2026-06-05 To make a Gaussian splat, you capture a scene with overlapping photos or a slow video, then process it with a splatting app or tool that reconstructs it into a 3D model. You don't need special hardware to start, a phone and good technique are enough. Here's the full step-by-step. ## What you'll need - A camera, a modern smartphone is fine. - A capture/processing tool such as SplatMart Leighton, Luma AI, Polycam, KIRI Engine, or Postshot, or open-source tools if you want to train it yourself on a GPU. - A subject with even lighting and not much movement. ## Step 1: Plan and light the scene Pick a subject that holds still and light it evenly. Soft, diffuse light, overcast outdoors or bright indirect light indoors, gives the cleanest results. Avoid harsh direct sun, strong shadows, and shiny or transparent surfaces, which are the hardest things to capture well. ## Step 2: Capture with full coverage This is the step that makes or breaks a splat. Move slowly around the subject and photograph or film it from many angles and heights, low, mid, and high, with lots of overlap between viewpoints. Imagine wrapping the subject in a dome of camera positions and filling in every part of it. ### Capture do's and don'ts - Do move steadily and keep the subject in frame the whole time. - Do capture more coverage than you think you need, especially edges and the top. - Don't let people, pets, leaves, or traffic move through the shot, moving objects become floaters. - Don't change zoom mid-capture, and avoid motion blur by moving slowly. ## Step 3: Process into a splat Upload your capture to your chosen app. Behind the scenes it solves the camera positions (Structure from Motion) and then trains the Gaussians to match your images. Cloud tools handle all of this for you; SplatMart's Leighton accepts the original video without manual frame extraction. If you train locally with open-source tools, you'll need a GPU and more setup. See the dedicated [video-to-Gaussian-splat walkthrough](/blog/video-to-gaussian-splat-online). ## Step 4: Review, clean up, and export - Inspect the result for floaters, holes, and blur, re-shoot weak areas if needed. - Crop the scene bounds tightly to cut background junk. - Export as .ply or .splat so you can view it, use it in an engine, or share it. See our guide to splat file formats. ## The faster alternative: buy a splat Capturing a great splat takes practice, and some subjects (large, busy, or reflective scenes) are genuinely hard. If you need a polished asset for a project now, you can buy a professionally captured one instead. SplatMart is a marketplace of ready-to-use splats, browse and download one that fits your scene. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I make a Gaussian splat from a video? Record a slow, steady video that orbits a static subject from several heights, then upload it to a splatting tool such as SplatMart Leighton, Luma AI, Polycam, KIRI Engine, or Postshot. The tool solves the camera positions and trains the splat; cloud options do not require your own GPU. ### Do I need a GPU to make a Gaussian splat? Not if you use a cloud app, the processing runs on their servers. You only need a GPU if you train splats locally with open-source tools. ### How long does it take to create a splat? Capture takes a few minutes; cloud processing typically takes minutes to under an hour depending on the scene and service. ### Why does my splat look blurry or full of floaters? That almost always traces back to capture: not enough overlap or coverage, moving objects, harsh lighting, or motion blur. Re-shoot slowly with even light and fuller coverage, and crop the bounds tightly. --- # Postshot for Gaussian Splatting: A Quick-Start Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/postshot-gaussian-splatting · Published 2026-06-04 Postshot is a desktop application for training Gaussian splats (and NeRFs) on your own computer. Instead of uploading footage to a cloud service, you drop in your photos or video and Postshot processes the splat locally on your GPU, which gives you speed, privacy, and more control over the result. It's become a popular choice for creators who want to move beyond beginner cloud apps. ## What is Postshot? Postshot takes a set of images or a video of a scene and reconstructs it into a Gaussian splat you can preview, refine, and export. Because it runs on your machine, processing speed depends on your GPU rather than a server queue, and your footage never leaves your computer. ## Who is Postshot for? - Creators who make splats often and want faster, local processing. - Anyone who prefers keeping footage private rather than uploading to the cloud. - Users who want more control over training settings and quality than a one-tap app offers. If you're brand new to splatting, a cloud generator is a gentler start. Postshot is the natural next step once you want more local control. New to the concept entirely? Start with [what Gaussian splatting is](/blog/what-is-gaussian-splatting), or compare [Postshot with SplatMart's cloud workflow](/blog/postshot-vs-splatmart). ## What you need - Windows 10 or later with an NVIDIA GPU at compute capability 7.5 or above (Jawset currently lists an RTX 2060 or Quadro T400/RTX 4000 as the entry point). - A good capture, overlapping photos or a slow, steady video covering the subject from many angles. - The Postshot app installed. ## A basic Postshot workflow ### 1. Capture Film or photograph your subject with full coverage and even lighting, the same way you would for any splat, slow movement, lots of overlap, nothing moving in the scene. See our capture guide for technique. ### 2. Import and train Create a project, import your images or video, and start training. Postshot solves the camera positions and optimises the Gaussians, showing you progress as it goes. Local GPU processing means you're not waiting in a cloud queue. ### 3. Review and refine Inspect the splat for floaters and weak areas. You can adjust settings and retrain, or crop the scene to clean up the bounds. ### 4. Export On a paid plan, export the trained Radiance Field as PLY or SPZ so you can view it, bring it into another tool, or share it. Postshot's free non-commercial plan does not include those Radiance Field exports. For the differences between splat formats, see the [file-formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats). ## Postshot vs cloud apps - Postshot, local, fast on a good GPU, private, more control; needs capable hardware. - SplatMart Leighton, cloud-based, works from a browser, accepts up to 3,000 photos or sampled video frames, and charges per generation rather than by subscription. - Luma AI / Polycam / KIRI Engine, cloud-based, beginner-friendly, and capture-oriented; feature and export terms vary by plan. Whichever tool you use, capturing a polished splat takes practice. If you need a finished asset now, SplatMart sells ready-to-use splats you can download and drop into your project. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Postshot used for? Postshot is a desktop app for training Gaussian splats and NeRFs locally on your own GPU, from photos or video. It's used by creators who want faster, private, more controllable splat processing than cloud apps offer. ### Is Postshot free? Postshot has a free plan for non-commercial use. Its paid plans add commercial use and Radiance Field export to PLY and SPZ, among other production features. Check Jawset's pricing page for current plan pricing. ### Do I need a powerful GPU for Postshot? Yes. Postshot currently requires a compatible NVIDIA GPU because all reconstruction runs locally. Jawset lists compute capability 7.5 or higher, starting around an RTX 2060 or Quadro T400/RTX 4000. Cloud generators are the alternative if you do not own one. ### What can Postshot export? Paid Postshot plans export Radiance Fields as PLY and SPZ for third-party viewers and production tools. The free non-commercial plan can export camera poses and points but does not include PLY/SPZ Radiance Field export. --- # Getting Started with 3D Gaussian Splatting: A Beginner's Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/getting-started-with-3dgs · Published 2025-05-20 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) is a rendering technique that represents a scene as a collection of millions of semi-transparent 3D Gaussians rather than triangles or voxels. The result is photorealistic quality that can render at real-time frame rates on modern GPUs. ## How 3DGS differs from NeRF Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) train a neural network to model volumetric lighting. They produce stunning results but are slow to render. 3DGS skips the neural network entirely: after a Structure-from-Motion (SfM) initialisation pass, it directly optimises a set of Gaussian primitives. Rendering a 3DGS scene on a modern GPU takes just a few milliseconds per frame. ## What you need to get started The easiest way is to use a capture app. Polycam and Luma AI both produce 3DGS exports directly from video. For higher-fidelity results, you can capture a photo set with a DSLR and run it through COLMAP for SfM, then train with the original 3DGS codebase or one of its forks (e.g. Nerfstudio, gsplat). ## Buying vs. capturing Capturing your own splat requires time, equipment, and post-processing. For many use cases, game environments, VR backgrounds, architectural references, buying a professionally captured splat from SplatMart is faster and cheaper. Browse our library of splats across architecture, nature, interiors, vehicles, and more. ## Frequently asked questions ### What do I need to get started with 3D Gaussian splatting? A capture (phone photos or video) and a tool to process it. Beginners can use a cloud app like Luma AI or Polycam; advanced users can train locally with tools like Postshot or open-source code on a GPU. Then export a .ply or .splat file. ### Is Gaussian splatting hard to learn? The basics are easy, a phone video plus a cloud app can produce a usable splat. Getting clean, professional results takes practice with capture technique and lighting. ### Can I buy Gaussian splats instead of making them? Yes. SplatMart is a marketplace of ready-made, professionally captured splats you can download and use right away, which is often faster and cheaper than capturing your own. --- # Polycam vs. Luma AI: Which Capture App Produces Better Splats? URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/polycam-vs-luma-ai · Published 2025-05-14 We captured five identical scenes using both Polycam Pro and Luma AI on an iPhone 15 Pro, then trained .splat files from each capture. Here's what we found. ## Architecture Polycam produced sharper edges on hard surfaces like brick and concrete. Luma AI handled reflective glass better, with fewer floaters near windows. ## Nature Both apps struggled with moving foliage. Luma AI's motion-aware processing gave it a slight edge in windy outdoor conditions. ## Verdict For architectural captures, use Polycam. For organic scenes or anything with motion, Luma AI is the better choice. Both produce SplatMart-ready exports. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Polycam or Luma AI better for Gaussian splatting? Polycam tends to be sharper on hard architectural edges, while Luma AI handles reflective and outdoor/organic scenes with fewer floaters. For most architecture, choose Polycam; for organic or moving scenes, choose Luma AI. Both export splats you can use elsewhere. ### Do Polycam and Luma AI both export Gaussian splats? Yes. Both can produce Gaussian splat exports (.ply / .splat) from a phone capture, which you can open in a viewer or game engine. ### Which is easier for beginners? Both are beginner-friendly cloud apps that work from a phone. Luma AI is often cited as especially approachable; Polycam offers a broad feature set. Try both on the same scene and compare. --- # How to Price Your 3DGS Assets: A Seller's Guide URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/seller-guide-pricing · Published 2025-05-07 The most common mistake new sellers make is pricing too low. Buyers associate price with quality, a $5 splat signals amateur work even if the capture is excellent. ## Benchmark by category Architecture splats: $15–$60. Interiors: $10–$40. Nature scenes: $8–$30. Characters/objects: $5–$25. Set your price relative to capture complexity, file size, and uniqueness. ## The bundle strategy Sellers who offer 3–5 related splats as a bundle at a 20% discount see 3× higher revenue per transaction. Consider bundling by location, style, or theme. --- # What Makes a Great Splat? 7 Quality Signals Buyers Look For URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/what-makes-a-great-splat · Published 2026-06-11 What separates a splat that sells from one that sits? We combined our marketplace data with what the gaussian splatting community consistently praises (and complains about) into seven quality signals, useful whether you're buying a splat or listing one. ## 1. Capture quality, the real foundation Quality starts at capture: lots of sharp, overlapping input photos with full coverage. Pros shoot hundreds of frames for a single object, in soft even light (overcast or golden hour). If a listing shares its capture details, photo count, camera, capture tool, that transparency is itself a quality signal. ## 2. Splat count that fits the use, not the ego [More gaussians isn't better](/blog/does-splat-count-matter), count is a performance budget. A great object splat might be 500k splats and fly on mobile; a great drone scene might be 30M and need a desktop. What matters is that the count (and compressed file size) matches the advertised use: web-ready, VR-ready, or cinematic. ## 3. No floaters Floating artefacts around the subject are the community's #1 complaint, cleanup is tedious, so splats that arrive already cleaned (bounds cropped, floaters deleted in SuperSplat or similar) are genuinely worth more. Sellers: say 'cleaned' in your description; it converts. ## 4. Multiple formats included A .ply source plus compressed .spz/.sog delivery covers every pipeline from editing to web embeds. SplatMart generates compressed versions automatically, so buyers aren't left running converters. See the [file formats guide](/blog/gaussian-splat-file-formats) for what each is for. ## 5. Honest, generous previews Listings with 4+ preview angles convert about 2.4× better than single-preview listings, and an interactive 3D preview beats renders, because buyers can zoom into edges and check for blur themselves. ## 6. Real capture vs AI-generated, labelled clearly Both have buyers, but different ones. Survey, real-estate and documentation work needs real captures; fiction and game projects happily use AI-generated worlds (e.g. from Marble). Labelling the source builds the trust that earns repeat buyers. ## 7. Stated lighting and scale Lighting is baked into a splat, so saying when/how it was lit ('overcast noon', 'warm interior evening') helps buyers match scenes. For interiors and outdoor scans, real-world metric scale, or georeferencing for survey-grade work, is a premium feature worth advertising. ## Frequently asked questions ### What makes a high-quality gaussian splat? Sharp, well-covered input photos, sufficient training, and cleanup, floaters removed and bounds cropped. Splat count should match the intended platform rather than being maximised. ### What should sellers put in a splat listing? Capture details (photo count, device, tool), splat count and file size per format, whether it's cleaned, real capture or AI-generated, lighting conditions, scale accuracy, and clear licence terms. Specific specs sell. ### What's the ideal file size for a splat? There isn't one, it depends on use. Web embeds want compressed files of a few MB; cinematic desktop scenes can justify hundreds of MB for the .ply source. Offering both compressed and source formats covers everyone. --- # Using SplatMart Assets in Unreal Engine 5.4 URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/using-splats-in-unreal-engine · Published 2025-04-18 Unreal Engine 5.4 added native Gaussian Splat import support via the Heterogeneous Volumes plugin. Here's how to use SplatMart assets in your UE5 project. ## Import Download your .splat file from SplatMart. In UE5.4, go to Content Browser → Import → select your .splat file. The engine will create a GaussianSplatting asset automatically. ## Performance tips Gaussian Splat rendering is expensive at high Gaussian counts. For real-time performance, use the Level of Detail settings to reduce Gaussian count at distance. Target under 500K active Gaussians at runtime. ## Lighting with Lumen 3DGS assets bake their own lighting, so they won't respond to dynamic Lumen lights. For best results, match your scene's directional light angle to the capture's original light direction. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Unreal Engine support Gaussian splatting? Yes. Unreal Engine added native Gaussian splat support (via the Heterogeneous Volumes plugin in UE5.4), and community plugins also exist. You can import a .splat/.ply and render it in real time. ### How do I import a Gaussian splat into Unreal? Download your .splat or .ply file, then use Content Browser → Import (or your splat plugin's importer). The engine creates a Gaussian splatting asset you can place in the scene. ### Why does my splat look heavy in Unreal? Gaussian splat rendering cost scales with the Gaussian count. Use level-of-detail settings to reduce active Gaussians at distance, and aim for a manageable runtime count for real-time performance. --- # Community Showcase: Best Splats of April 2025 URL: https://www.splatmart.com/blog/community-showcase-april · Published 2025-04-05 April was a strong month for the SplatMart community. We saw a surge in architectural submissions, three new sellers hitting 100+ sales, and a standout series that caught everyone's attention. ## Pick of the month ArchSplats dropped a 12-part Roman ruin series captured across three days in Rome. Each splat runs 280–320MB and the point density is exceptional, clean geometry, minimal floaters, and captured at golden hour. ## Rising sellers Three sellers crossed the 100-sale milestone in April: NatureCaptures, UrbanDepth, and MicroSplats. Congrats to all three. ## Submit your work Have a splat you're proud of? Upload it to SplatMart and tag it for the May showcase. We feature standout work across all categories each month. ---