How much it costs to scan
an industrial plant in 3D
The 3D scanning service with modelling starts from ~€6,000 (estimated) for one area scanned and modelled — in the order of 200–300 m² depending on the density of services. That price covers the point cloud and the as-built BIM model in .rvt · .nwd · .ifc, all owned by you. The complete plant is quoted by phase and by scope.
Hardly anyone in the sector publishes rates. Here you see the entry price up front, so that you can size the decision before picking up the phone.
What the entry price includes
Scanning a plant in 3D is not “running the laser over it” and leaving it at that. A3D’s entry price covers measuring the real condition AND reconstructing it in a usable model — both deliverables, owned by the client.
The entry point to the 3D scanning service. It covers an area of the plant in the order of 200–300 m² depending on the density of services. The exact scope is fixed after the technical visit, with a fixed price and timescale.
- Laser scanning of the real condition of the area, completed in days.
- A navigable point cloud, a deliverable in itself that you can query and measure.
- An as-built BIM model in .rvt · .nwd · .ifc, faithful to the plant as measured.
- The drawings derived from the model, and ownership of all deliverables: the model is yours.
A3D’s 3D scanning service with modelling starts from ~€6,000 (estimated) for an area of 200–300 m²: point cloud plus as-built BIM model in RVT, NWD and IFC, owned by the client.
What makes the price of 3D scanning vary
That is why the price is published as “from” and is fixed after visiting the area: the same service costs a different amount depending on what is inside the building. These are the factors that size the work — we explain them without inventing figures, because each one depends on your plant.
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Floor area
The square metres to be scanned are the first parameter. More floor area means more time in the field and more model to reconstruct afterwards.
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Density of services
A process room full of equipment, racks and pipework counts for far more than a few square metres of open warehouse floor: there are more elements to measure and model per square metre.
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Disciplines
Surveying only the structure is not the same as also reconstructing pipework, electrical systems, HVAC and process equipment. Each discipline added widens the scope.
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Level of detail (LOD)
The degree of definition of the model — how much information each element carries — determines how much modelling work is required. A high LOD is more useful for intervening, and also more laborious.
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Georeferencing
Anchoring the model to the real coordinates of the site, so that it fits with the topographic survey or with other phases, adds fieldwork and office work.
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Urgency
A very tight deadline — because of a plant shutdown or a tender with a fixed date — shapes how the team and the delivery schedule are organised.
None of these factors translates into a publishable rate per square metre: the real cost emerges from how they combine in your particular plant. That is why the honest step is a technical visit that measures the area and sets a fixed price for that scope, before anything is scanned.
Scanning alone is not the same as scanning with modelling
When you compare quotes for “3D scanning”, look at what they actually deliver. The difference in price almost always comes from here: some leave you the point cloud and go; others deliver a model you can work with.
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Scanning alone · the cheapest Only the point cloud
They deliver the raw measurement: a cloud of millions of points. It is good for looking at and measuring distances, but it is not a model: it does not distinguish a pipe from a wall, and it cannot be edited as objects or used to produce drawings directly. The work of turning it into something usable is still to be done — and usually stays on your side.
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Scanning + modelling · what A3D does Point cloud and as-built BIM model
On top of the point cloud we reconstruct the as-built BIM model: each element is an object with its data — a pipe, an item of equipment, a structure. It can be queried, measured, isolated by system and edited. That is the deliverable on which a job, a tender or an audit is decided. That is what the ~€6,000 (estimated) covers.
Scanning alone delivers a point cloud; A3D’s service delivers that point cloud and the as-built BIM model reconstructed on top of it. Comparing prices without looking at the deliverable is comparing different things.
How much it costs to scan the whole plant
The complete plant is not quoted all at once or as a percentage of the asset’s value. It is approached by phase and by scope: you start with the area that solves a problem today and extend when the first model proves its usefulness.
Each phase — a building, a room, an installation or a process — is quoted as a fixed price for its scope: it is sized on the square metres to be scanned, the number of items of equipment and systems to be modelled and the order in which it makes sense to tackle them. Digitisation goes by usefulness: a process or energy room justifies the survey far more than the open floor space of a warehouse. Each phase leaves a usable BIM model before moving on to the next, and you decide the pace: you stop and resume whenever you wish.
The detail of how it is sized by phase, with the ranges by type of area, is on the pricing page. There you will also see why the quote is never calculated as a percentage of the plant’s value, but on the basis of what really has to be measured and modelled.
The complete plant is quoted by phase and by scope — m² to scan, equipment and systems to model — never as a percentage of the asset’s value. Each phase delivers its usable as-built model.
And if you want the model to be maintained: from ~€400 per month
Once your plant has been scanned and modelled, the model can stay as a snapshot of the day of the scan, or be kept up to date as the plant changes. That second path is the digital twin with document management.
The entry price of the twin with document management is set by the scope and the frequency: visits, file updates, number of drawings, volume of information and licences included. A typical plant is in the order of €800/month (estimated). The model is kept up to date, faithful to the plant as it evolves, as the basis of your documentation.
The return on scanning before intervening
The typical saving from an intervention validated on the as-built model is in the order of 2.5–3.5 times its cost (estimated): corrections made on the drawings instead of on site, setting-out that is right first time and production shutdowns that are planned in advance instead of improvised.
On the pricing page you will find the breakdown of where that return comes from and a calculator to enter your own figures — the cost of your intervention against that of the survey.
See the return and the calculator →Are you looking for the price of the scanner or the result?
If you arrived searching for “3D scanner price” because you are considering buying the device, bear in mind that a professional 3D laser scanner is an investment in equipment, training and software to process the point cloud — and then someone has to operate it and do the modelling.
If what you really need is the result — the model of your plant — and not the machine, the 3D scanning service with modelling delivers it to you, owned by you, from ~€6,000 (estimated) per area, without buying or operating the scanner. You get the point cloud and the as-built BIM model; A3D provides the equipment, the operator and the modelling work.
How to request a fixed price for your plant
The entry price is a reference; your price is fixed once the area is known. There are three steps, and none costs anything until you accept the offer.
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You tell us what you are going to work on
The area you are going to modify, put out to tender or audit. With that we define what we are talking about and which disciplines come into play.
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Technical visit to the plant
An engineer looks at the area on site: floor area, density of services, access and timescale. This is where the factors that move the price are pinned down.
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Fixed-price offer
You receive a proposal bounded to that scope, with a fixed price and timescale, and what will be modelled in .rvt · .nwd · .ifc. Based on that first phase, you decide the rest.
What people ask about the price of 3D scanning
Direct answers to the most common searches about the cost of 3D scanning, with the prices we already publish.
How much does it cost to 3D scan an industrial plant?
Entry to the 3D scanning service with modelling starts at around €6,000 (estimated) for one area scanned and modelled: in the order of 200–300 m² depending on the density of services. That price covers laser scanning of the real condition, the navigable point cloud and the as-built BIM model in RVT, NWD and IFC, all owned by the client. The complete plant is quoted by phase and by scope, never as a percentage of the asset’s value.
How much does a 3D scanning service cost?
An industrial 3D scanning service is sized by the floor area to be measured, the density of services, the disciplines surveyed and the level of detail of the model delivered afterwards. A3D does not sell scanning on its own, but the complete area — scanning plus as-built model — from around €6,000 (estimated): the scanning is done in days and the as-built model is delivered in a few weeks.
What is the price of a 3D scanner?
Buying a professional 3D laser scanner means investing in equipment, training and software to process the point cloud. If what you need is the result — the model of your plant — and not the device, A3D’s 3D scanning service with modelling starts at around €6,000 (estimated) per area: you get the as-built model, owned by you, without buying or operating the scanner.
How much does 3D scanning cost?
The cost of 3D scanning depends on the deliverable you need. Scanning and keeping only the point cloud is the cheapest option, but it leaves the job half done. A3D delivers the area scanned AND modelled in as-built BIM from around €6,000 (estimated): the point cloud plus a model that can be queried, measured and edited, ready for the decision on an intervention.
The price is easier to understand when you see what you are buying
Before fixing a number, it helps to see what you receive for it: what an as-built drawing faithful to the measured plant is, how laser scanning works and what documentary risk your plant runs if you intervene with drawings that no longer match reality.
How much would it cost to scan yours?
Tell us about your plant: an A3D specialist tells you in 15 minutes where to start, which area to survey first and with what scope.
Do you want the detail of rates by phase and the return? See the pricing page.