Point cloud exports are one of those things nobody really explains. You know your scan looks right, but LAS, PLY, XYZ, and PTS: the format you pick determines what survives the handoff to Revit, Civil 3D, or CloudCompare, and the differences aren't obvious until something's missing on the other end. This guide breaks down what each format actually stores and which one to reach for depending on where your data is going.
Which Format Should You Use?
The format you need depends on where the data is going. For Revit, export LAS and process it through ReCap. AutoCAD Civil 3D also requires ReCap in the current versions, and LAS remains the preferred export format because it preserves classification data during conversion. CloudCompare and MeshLab both support PLY import and export, with MeshLab treating it as a primary format for mesh and point cloud data. It preserves color, normals, and custom fields during transfer.
Format at a Glance
| Downstream Tool | Recommended Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Revit | LAS to ReCap (RCS) | Revit reads RCS natively; ReCap converts LAS cleanly |
| AutoCAD / Civil 3D | LAS to ReCap (RCS) | Civil 3D 2018+ requires ReCap conversion; LAS carries classification data that survives the process |
| CloudCompare | PLY or LAS | PLY preserves normals and color; LAS preserves intensity and classification |
| SketchUp | PLY or LAS | Undet for SketchUp supports both natively; XYZ requires custom ASCII import settings |
| GIS (ArcGIS, QGIS) | LAS / LAZ | ASPRS standard; broad native support |
| BIM Coordination (Navisworks) | RCS/RCP via ReCap | Navisworks links RCS/RCP files directly via the ReCap file reader; loads on demand without full conversion |
| General / Open tools (MeshLab, PDAL) | PLY or LAS | Widest support across open-source toolchains |
Point Cloud Format Breakdown: PLY, LAS, XYZ, PTS, DXF
PLY (Polygon File Format)
PLY emerged from Stanford in the mid-1990s, originally designed to store 3D scan data from their range scanners. The format is essentially a list of elements (vertices, faces) with user-defined properties attached to each one. No formal standards body upholds it; the earliest Stanford spec is the de facto reference and has been stable for decades.
File sizes sit in the middle of the pack. PLY supports ASCII and binary modes: ASCII is human-readable but bloated, binary is compact. For a 10-million-point cloud, a binary PLY file typically ranges from 200 to 400 MB, depending on which properties are stored.
Metadata preserved:
- RGB color (per-point)
- Surface normals
- Custom scalar fields (you define the property names)
- No standardized intensity field (can be added manually as a custom property)
- No native LiDAR classification support
Best-fit downstream tools: CloudCompare, MeshLab, Blender, open-source research pipelines, PDAL
Use PLY when you're moving data between open-source tools, you need normals preserved for meshing, or you're working with photogrammetry outputs that include per-vertex color.
LAS / LAZ: Best Point Cloud Format for CAD and GIS Workflows
LAS is the industry standard for LiDAR point clouds, maintained by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). The current version is LAS 1.4. LAZ is the losslessly compressed format developed by Dr. Martin Isenburg and is now the practical default for storage and file transfer. According to the official LASzip documentation, LAZ files are typically 7-20% of the original LAS file size, with no data loss.
Metadata preserved:
- Intensity (return signal strength, critical for infrastructure workflows)
- RGB color (in point record formats 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10; present since early LAS versions, not exclusive to 1.4)
- Return number and number of returns (multi-return LiDAR)
- Classification (ground, vegetation, building, per ASPRS standard codes)
- GPS timestamp
- No surface normals (not part of the spec)
Best-fit downstream tools: Revit (via ReCap), AutoCAD Civil 3D, ArcGIS, QGIS, CloudCompare, PDAL, and virtually every professional geospatial tool
Use LAS when your workflow is geospatially rooted, you need to preserve intensity or classification data, or your end destination is any Autodesk product. It's the closest thing to a universal standard the LiDAR world has. Polycam's LAS export includes intensity data when the capture was made with a LiDAR-capable device, and you can set a coordinate reference system (CRS) before exporting, which matters for any geo-registered workflow.
XYZ: Simplest Point Cloud Format for Maximum Compatibility
XYZ is about as simple a format as it gets. Each line in the file is a point: X, Y, and Z coordinates separated by spaces or commas. Sometimes you'll see XYZRGB (with color) or XYZI (with intensity), but there's no enforced standard across tools. Nobody formally maintains the spec, which is both its strength and its problem. Anything can read it; nothing guarantees which fields will be there.
File sizes are large. Plain ASCII text is verbose. A 1-million-point cloud can reach 50 to 100 MB in XYZ format, versus 10 to 15 MB in a compressed binary format.
Metadata preserved:
- Color (if included as XYZRGB variant, but not guaranteed)
- Intensity (XYZI variant, depends on the exporter)
- No normals
- No classification
- No timestamps
Best-fit downstream tools: Any tool with a basic point cloud importer, custom scripts, Excel for very small clouds, and early-stage prototyping
Use XYZ when you need maximum interoperability and metadata isn't a concern, you're handing data to someone who isn't sure what format they need, or you're importing into a tool with limited format support, and you just need coordinates. Polycam exports XYZ as XYZRGB when color data is present.
PTS (Leica Cyclone Point Cloud Format)
PTS originated in Leica Cyclone and is still common in terrestrial laser-scanning workflows, particularly with Leica hardware. Like XYZ, it's plain text. The typical structure includes a point count on the first line followed by X Y Z intensity R G B values per point, which is consistent with how Leica's Cyclone documentation describes its text-based import column order. Leica Geosystems and Hexagon maintain the format; it's vendor-defined rather than an open standard.
File sizes are large, comparable to XYZ for equivalent point counts.
Metadata preserved:
- Intensity (built into the format definition)
- RGB color
- No normals
- No classification
- No timestamps
Best-fit downstream tools: Autodesk ReCap, AutoCAD (via ReCap), Leica Cyclone, CloudCompare
Use PTS when you're working directly with Leica scanner output, your target tool explicitly supports PTS import (ReCap does), or you're handing off to a surveying firm running a Cyclone-based workflow.
DXF: Best for CAD Linework Import
DXF is Autodesk's interchange format for CAD geometry, not a native point cloud format. It stores geometric entities: lines, arcs, polylines, and 3D faces. In the context of point clouds, DXF is used to export a sparse set of point entities or derived geometry, such as feature lines, breaklines, and surfaces. A full-density export of millions of points as DXF entities is impractical; the format is better suited to thinned or derived data.
Metadata preserved:
- Color (via layer or entity color, limited)
- No intensity
- No normals
- No classification
Best-fit downstream tools: AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit (for 2D/3D linework import), any CAD application
Use DXF when your goal is to bring derived linework or thinned geometry into a CAD environment rather than a full-density point cloud. DXF is rarely the right choice for raw scan data; it's better for the output of a processing step. Polycam's DXF export works well for teams who want to drop feature geometry directly into AutoCAD without running a full point cloud pipeline.
Common Workflows: How to Choose the Right Format
Point Cloud Format for Revit Import: Scan to Revit
Export format: LAS
- Step 1: Capture your scan and export it as a LAS file from Polycam (or whichever point cloud software you're using).
- Step 2: Open Autodesk ReCap Pro and import the LAS file. ReCap indexes it and produces an RCS file for a single scan, or an RCP project file for multiple scans.
- Step 3: In Revit, go to Insert> Point Cloud, then link the RCP or RCS file.
- Step 4: Use the point cloud as a reference for modeling walls, floors, and structural elements.
LAS is the cleanest path into ReCap, which Autodesk has built out as the point cloud gateway for Revit. Importing raw XYZ or PLY requires conversion steps that add time and occasionally drop data. Tools like PDAL can handle those conversions if you're starting from a different format, but if Polycam is your capture tool, exporting LAS directly skips that step.
Best Point Cloud Export Formats for CAD Workflows: Scan to Civil 3D
For site survey work, grading, and infrastructure modeling, LAS is the right format.
Export format: LAS or LAZ
- Step 1: Export your scan data from Polycam as LAS. For large site scans where file size is a concern, export as LAZ instead.
- Step 2: Open ReCap Pro and import the LAS file. ReCap indexes it and produces an RCP or RCS file. This step is required for Civil 3D 2018 and later, which no longer supports direct LAS import.
- Step 3: In Civil 3D, go to the Insert tab and attach the RCP or RCS file. Civil 3D displays the point cloud in the drawing.
- Step 4: Create a TIN surface from the point cloud, filtering out vegetation and structure returns using ground-classified points.
LAS is still the right format to export because it carries ASPRS classification data (ground, vegetation, building) that no other format on this list includes. The ReCap conversion step adds a few minutes but is unavoidable in current versions of Civil 3D.
Scan to CloudCompare: Point Cloud Processing and Analysis
CloudCompare is the workhorse for point cloud cleanup, comparison, and analysis. It supports a broad range of formats, but PLY provides the smoothest round-trip experience.
Export format: PLY (binary)
- Step 1: Export your scan as PLY (binary) from Polycam.
- Step 2: Open CloudCompare and drag the PLY file into it. CloudCompare reads the per-vertex properties and automatically maps them: color, normals, and any custom scalar fields that Polycam writes.
- Step 3: Run your analysis: distance computation, noise filter, normal estimation, mesh generation (Poisson or Delaunay). Then use the format that best fits your workflow and keep the handoff as clean as possible.
- Step 4: Export in whatever format your next tool requires. CloudCompare can write LAS, PTS, XYZ, and more from the same interface.
CloudCompare handles PLY natively and preserves custom scalar fields that other formats discard. If you're doing iterative processing (cleaning, computing, exporting back out), PLY is the format least likely to silently lose data between steps. MeshLab works the same way; PLY is its native format and round-trips cleanly.
Exporting from Polycam
Polycam exports in PLY, LAS, XYZ, and DXF. As the table above shows, it covers most professional downstream use cases without needing an intermediate conversion step.
To export a point cloud from Polycam:
- Step 1: Open your capture and tap the Share / Export button (top right on mobile, in the toolbar on web).
- Step 2: Select Point Cloud as the export type.
- Step 3: Choose your format from the dropdown: PLY, LAS, XYZ, or DXF.
- Step 4: For LAS, set your coordinate reference system (CRS) before exporting if your data is geo-registered.
A few practical notes from real workflows: PLY exports as binary by default, which keeps file sizes in check. LAS export includes intensity when the scan was captured with a LiDAR-capable device. XYZ exports as XYZRGB when color data is present. DXF is useful mainly for dropping geometry into AutoCAD for drafting rather than working with the raw cloud.
Note: Mobile scanning accuracy depends on lighting conditions, surface texture, and capture pattern. Polycam uses the device's LiDAR sensor, where available, and photogrammetry for color. Results vary by environment and device.
FAQ
What is the best point cloud export format for CAD workflows? For most CAD workflows, LAS is the right call. Both Revit and AutoCAD Civil 3D require a ReCap conversion step, but LAS is the format that flows through it cleanly. DXF is a better fit when you're bringing derived linework into CAD rather than a full-density point cloud.
Which point cloud format works best for Revit import? Revit imports point clouds through Autodesk ReCap, which produces RCS/RCP files. Export as LAS, bring it into ReCap, then link the resulting file into Revit. LAS is well-supported by ReCap and preserves intensity and classification data, which can inform modeling decisions.
Which point cloud format keeps normals? PLY is the format most commonly used to store surface normals per point. Normals are included as custom per-vertex properties and read correctly by CloudCompare, MeshLab, and most meshing tools. LAS and XYZ do not have standardized normal fields.
What is the smallest file size point cloud format? LAZ (compressed LAS) is typically the smallest. According to the LASzip documentation, LAZ files are 7 to 20 percent of the source LAS file size, making it the most efficient format for storage and transfer with no data loss. Binary PLY is also compact. ASCII formats like XYZ and PTS are the largest, often 5 to 10 times bigger than equivalent binary formats at the same point count.
Which point cloud formats support intensity values? LAS/LAZ has a dedicated, standardized intensity field and is the best format for intensity-critical workflows like infrastructure inspection or vegetation analysis. PTS also includes an intensity column by default. PLY can store intensity as a custom property, but there's no standard field name, so compatibility varies by tool.
What is the difference between LAS and LAZ? LAZ is a lossless compression of LAS. The data is identical; LAZ just stores it more efficiently. Most modern tools, including CloudCompare, PDAL, QGIS, and ReCap, read LAZ directly without decompression, so there's little reason not to use LAZ when file size matters.
Can I open a PLY file in Revit? Not directly. Revit's point cloud workflow uses Autodesk ReCap, which doesn't natively import PLY files. To bring a PLY into Revit, you'd convert it to LAS first (CloudCompare or PDAL can handle that), then process it through ReCap. If your capture tool exports LAS, skip PLY for Revit workflows entirely.
What point cloud format should I use for GIS? LAS or LAZ. Both ArcGIS and QGIS have strong native support for LAS 1.4, including classification filtering, display by return, and surface generation. LAS also includes coordinate reference system metadata, which is important for any geospatial work.