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3DAI

Best image to 3D model AI: 7 tools compared

Last checked October 2026. Every fact links to the vendor page we read. We give no scores and ran no tests of our own; speeds are the vendor's figures. Prices change, so check the linked page before you buy.

There is no single best image to 3D AI: the right one depends on where the model goes. Meshy, Tripo and Hyper3D Rodin are hosted tools with PBR textures and the most export formats. Microsoft TRELLIS.2 is the open model with the simplest licence (MIT) if you have a 24 GB GPU. Hunyuan3D is free to try every day and also has open weights. Stability SF3D is the light option for small GPUs. The3DAI is the low-cost start for a GLB or a printable STL. We did not test or score them; the facts below come from each vendor's own pages.

Turn a photo into a 3D modelGet a printable STLTexture a model with AI

All 7 at a glance

Hosted tools first, then open models. The order is not a ranking.

  • Meshy

    Hosted app and API

    Free start:
    100 credits a month
    Paid from:
    Pro $20/month, 1,000 credits
    Formats:
    FBX, OBJ, GLB, USDZ, STL, BLEND, 3MF
    Licence of outputs:
    Free plan: CC BY 4.0. Paid: private, yours
  • Tripo

    Hosted app and API

    Free start:
    Free plan (public models)
    Paid from:
    API: $0.01 a credit, 20-30 credits a model
    Formats:
    GLB; converts to FBX, OBJ, USDZ, STL, 3MF, GLTF
    Licence of outputs:
    Free: non-commercial. Paid: commercial
  • Hyper3D Rodin

    Hosted app and API

    Free start:
    $0: pay only for results you keep
    Paid from:
    Creator $30/month
    Formats:
    STL, FBX, OBJ, GLB, GLTF, USDZ
    Licence of outputs:
    Creator: any use. Free tier: not stated
  • Tencent Hunyuan3D

    Hosted app and open model

    Free start:
    20 generations a day (hosted)
    Paid from:
    Open 2.1 weights: free to self-host
    Formats:
    OBJ, GLB
    Licence of outputs:
    Tencent Hunyuan community licence
  • Microsoft TRELLIS.2

    Open model

    Free start:
    Free to self-host; demo on Hugging Face
    Paid from:
    None (your own GPU)
    Formats:
    GLB with PBR
    Licence of outputs:
    MIT
  • Stability AI SF3D and SPAR3D

    Open models and API

    Free start:
    Free to self-host under $1M revenue
    Paid from:
    Enterprise licence above $1M revenue
    Formats:
    GLB (SF3D)
    Licence of outputs:
    Stability Community License
  • The3DAI Image to 3D (ours)

    Hosted app

    Free start:
    Free credits on signup (60 in most countries)
    Paid from:
    $4.99/month (100 credits) or a $9.99 pack
    Formats:
    GLB (textured), STL
    Licence of outputs:
    You keep the rights (our terms)

Meshy

Hosted app and API

Meshy builds a textured model from one photo, or from up to four photos of the same object, and lets you batch up to ten images in one run. It exports seven formats, including BLEND for Blender, and adds print checks for STL and 3MF.

Free start
100 credits a month with no card. Free-plan models carry a CC BY 4.0 licence, so commercial use needs a credit to Meshy, and the plan includes 10 downloads a month of Meshy 6 Lite models. meshy.ai: pricing
Paid
Pro is $20 a month for 1,000 credits; on paid plans the assets are private and owned by you. meshy.ai: pricing
Cost per model (API)
Image to 3D is 20 credits for a mesh only and 30 with a 2K texture on Meshy 6 and 7.1; the lite models start at 5. docs.meshy.ai: API pricing
Formats
FBX, OBJ, GLB, USDZ, STL and BLEND, plus 3MF on the image to 3D page. meshy.ai: Image to 3D
Textures
PBR maps: diffuse, roughness, metallic and normal. meshy.ai: Image to 3D
Speed
Most conversions take about a minute with Meshy 7, per Meshy. meshy.ai: Image to 3D

Good fit for

One hosted tool that covers games, AR and printing, with every common format.

Watch out for

Free-plan models need attribution. Higher texture and geometry settings cost more credits.

Sources: meshy.ai: pricing · docs.meshy.ai: API pricing · meshy.ai: Image to 3D

Tripo

Hosted app and API

Tripo turns one image, or four views of an object, into a model, and its API documents the settings game artists look for: PBR maps, an optional quad mesh and a separate low-poly model series.

Licence
Free-plan models are public and for non-commercial use; paid plans make models private and allow commercial use. tripo3d.com: Tripo Studio plans
Cost per model (API)
1 credit is $0.01. Image to 3D is 20 credits without a texture and 30 with a standard texture. developers.tripo3d.ai: API pricing
Textures and mesh
PBR maps (base colour, metallic, roughness, normal) and an optional quad mesh, which is delivered as FBX. developers.tripo3d.ai: image to model
Formats
Results come as GLB, and a convert step exports GLTF, FBX, USDZ, OBJ, STL or 3MF. developers.tripo3d.ai: convert format
Inputs
One image, or four multiview images of the same object. developers.tripo3d.ai: docs index
Speed
Not published on the pages we read. developers.tripo3d.ai: image to model

Good fit for

Game assets: PBR, quad or low-poly meshes and FBX for Unity or Unreal.

Watch out for

Free-plan models are public and cannot be used commercially. Tripo's English pricing page blocked our check, so plan prices are left out here.

Sources: tripo3d.com: Tripo Studio plans · developers.tripo3d.ai: API pricing · developers.tripo3d.ai: image to model · developers.tripo3d.ai: convert format · developers.tripo3d.ai: docs index

Hyper3D Rodin

Hosted app and API

Rodin works from a single image with no fixed pose or camera angle, and takes extra views as optional guidance. You choose how long it thinks: Hyper3D lists effort levels from a few seconds to over a minute.

Free start
The free tier costs nothing to generate; you pay only when you confirm a result, and it includes 10 private assets. Credits bought outside a plan are $1.50 each. hyper3d.ai: pricing
Paid
Creator is $30 a month ($24 a month billed yearly) and adds multi-image input, Smart Low-Poly and HD textures. Its workspace assets can be exported and used for any purpose. hyper3d.ai: pricing
Formats
STL, FBX, OBJ, GLB, GLTF and USDZ. hyper3d.ai: Rodin (FAQ, formats, effort levels)
Textures
PBR materials with UVs ready to use. hyper3d.ai: Rodin (FAQ, formats, effort levels)
Speed
About 4 seconds at the lowest effort level up to about 80 seconds at the highest, per Hyper3D. hyper3d.ai: Rodin (FAQ, formats, effort levels)

Good fit for

Product and ecommerce models where you can supply several photos and want PBR detail.

Watch out for

Multi-image input and HD textures need a paid plan. The pricing page does not say how many credits a model uses or what licence free-tier results carry.

Sources: hyper3d.ai: pricing · hyper3d.ai: Rodin (FAQ, formats, effort levels)

Tencent Hunyuan3D

Hosted app and open model

Tencent runs a hosted Hunyuan 3D platform and also publishes open weights. Version 2.1 pairs a 3.3 billion parameter shape model with a 2 billion parameter model that paints PBR textures.

Free start
20 free generations a day on the global platform, with OBJ and GLB export (announced November 2025). tencent.com: Hunyuan 3D global launch
Open model
Hunyuan3D 2.1 weights and code are on GitHub. Tencent lists about 10 GB of GPU memory for shape only and 29 GB for shape plus texture. github.com: Hunyuan3D 2.1
Licence
The open weights use the Tencent Hunyuan Community License, Tencent's own licence rather than a standard open-source one. Companies whose products had more than 1 million monthly active users at release must ask Tencent for a licence, and outputs may not be used to improve other AI models. github.com: Hunyuan3D 2.1 licence

Good fit for

Trying image to 3D for free every day, or self-hosting on a large GPU.

Watch out for

Self-hosting needs 29 GB of GPU memory for textures, and a business should read the community licence terms first.

Sources: tencent.com: Hunyuan 3D global launch · github.com: Hunyuan3D 2.1 · github.com: Hunyuan3D 2.1 licence

Microsoft TRELLIS.2

Open model

TRELLIS.2 is a 4 billion parameter open model from Microsoft that turns one image into a mesh with PBR materials. It is the open option here with the fewest licence strings attached.

Licence
MIT for the model and code. Some dependencies, such as nvdiffrast and nvdiffrec, have their own licences. github.com: TRELLIS.2
Output
A GLB with base colour, roughness, metallic and opacity maps. github.com: TRELLIS.2
Hardware
An NVIDIA GPU with at least 24 GB of memory; tested on Linux. github.com: TRELLIS.2
Speed
On an H100, about 3 seconds at 512³ resolution, 17 seconds at 1024³ and 60 seconds at 1536³, per Microsoft. github.com: TRELLIS.2
Try it
A demo Space runs the model on Hugging Face. huggingface.co: TRELLIS.2-4B

Good fit for

Running image to 3D on your own hardware with a permissive licence and no per-model fee.

Watch out for

Needs a large NVIDIA GPU and some setup; there is no hosted app with an account and history.

Sources: github.com: TRELLIS.2 · huggingface.co: TRELLIS.2-4B

Stability AI SF3D and SPAR3D

Open models and API

Stable Fast 3D (SF3D) and Stable Point Aware 3D (SPAR3D) are fast single-image models. SPAR3D first builds a point cloud you can edit (delete, stretch or recolour points) before it makes the mesh.

Output
SF3D makes a UV-unwrapped, textured mesh with a fairly low polygon count and predicts roughness and metallic values. huggingface.co: Stable Fast 3D
Hardware
About 6 GB of GPU memory for one image with default settings; the script saves a GLB. github.com: stable-fast-3d
Speed
SF3D: under one second per model. SPAR3D: about 0.7 seconds per object for the mesh, per Stability. stability.ai: SPAR3D
Licence
Free for research, non-commercial and commercial use for people and organisations under US$1 million in annual revenue; above that, commercial use needs an Enterprise licence. stability.ai: licence

Good fit for

Quick previews on a smaller GPU, and editing the shape before the mesh is made.

Watch out for

SF3D meshes have a fairly low polygon count, per Stability, and the material output is roughness and metallic values rather than full texture maps.

Sources: huggingface.co: Stable Fast 3D · github.com: stable-fast-3d · stability.ai: SPAR3D · stability.ai: licence

The3DAI Image to 3D (ours)

Hosted app

This is our tool, so here is exactly what it does. You upload one PNG, JPG or WEBP image (up to 10 MB) and get a textured 3D model you can rotate, then download as GLB or as STL for printing. Image to STL runs the same AI with the STL first and slicer steps, and Multi-view to 3D takes 2 to 4 photos of one object.

Free start
New accounts get free credits, 60 in most countries. A model costs 20 credits, so that is 3 models. the3dai.com: pricing
Paid
Basic is $4.99 a month for 100 credits, or a one-time Credit Pack of 200 credits for $9.99, valid for 12 months. the3dai.com: pricing
Formats
GLB with textures and STL. For FBX or USDZ, our free GLB to FBX and GLB to USDZ converters run in your browser. the3dai.com: Image to 3D
Textures
Textured GLB. To repaint a model or add PBR maps made from its colour, use the AI 3D Texturing Studio. the3dai.com: Image to 3D
Licence
Our terms say you keep the rights to models you make, as long as you follow the terms. the3dai.com: terms of service, section 5
Speed
About 1 to 3 minutes, sometimes longer when it is busy, per our tool page. the3dai.com: Image to 3D

Good fit for

A low-cost first model or a one-off printable STL, with no subscription needed.

Watch out for

No public API, no rigging, and FBX, USDZ or OBJ come from a separate converter rather than the generator.

Sources: the3dai.com: pricing · the3dai.com: Image to 3D · the3dai.com: terms of service, section 5

Which tool fits which job

3D printing

You need an STL or 3MF and a closed mesh. Meshy exports both and adds print checks; Rodin and Tripo export STL too. For a single print without a plan, our Image to STL gives you an STL with slicer steps, and STL repair fixes holes for free.

Games (Unity, Unreal, Godot)

Look for FBX, PBR maps and a sensible polygon count. Tripo documents quad and low-poly output with PBR, and Rodin offers Smart Low-Poly on Creator. Meshy also exports FBX with PBR maps.

AR on iPhone and iPad

Apple AR Quick Look needs USDZ. Meshy, Rodin and Tripo export it directly. If you already have a GLB, the free GLB to USDZ converter makes one in your browser.

Ecommerce and product views

More photos of the product give the AI less to guess. Rodin (Creator plan) and Meshy take several photos and paint PBR materials; our Multi-view to 3D takes 2 to 4 photos for 20 credits. Use your own product photos.

Self-hosting, no per-model fee

TRELLIS.2 (MIT, 24 GB GPU) has the simplest licence. SF3D runs on about 6 GB of GPU memory but needs an Enterprise licence above $1M revenue. Hunyuan3D 2.1 uses Tencent's own community licence, so read its terms.

Trying it for free

Hunyuan 3D gives 20 free generations a day, Meshy 100 credits a month (outputs under CC BY 4.0), and The3DAI free credits on signup for 3 models. Rodin charges only for results you confirm.

What to check before you pick one

  • Licence of the output. Free plans often make models public or require a credit (CC BY 4.0). Open models can carry revenue or user-count limits.
  • Formats. STL or 3MF for printing, FBX for game engines, USDZ for Apple AR, GLB for the web.
  • Textures. PBR maps (roughness, metallic, normal) matter for games and product renders; a plain colour texture is fine for printing.
  • Cost per model. Compare credits per model, not just the plan price: textures and higher settings often cost more.
  • Your photo. One object, fully in frame, plain background, even light. The AI has to invent the sides it cannot see.

Try image to 3D with your own photo

Upload one image and download a textured GLB or a printable STL, usually in about 1 to 3 minutes. New accounts get free credits.

Turn a photo into a 3D modelGet a printable STLTexture a model with AI

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the job. Meshy, Tripo and Hyper3D Rodin are hosted tools with PBR textures and many formats; Tripo documents game-ready quad and low-poly output; Microsoft TRELLIS.2 is the open model with an MIT licence; Stability SF3D runs on a small GPU; and The3DAI is a low-cost way to get a GLB or STL. We compare published facts only and did not test or score them.
Yes. Tencent's Hunyuan 3D platform gives 20 free generations a day, Meshy's free plan has 100 credits a month (models under CC BY 4.0), Rodin lets you generate for free and pay only for results you confirm, and The3DAI gives new accounts free credits. TRELLIS.2 is free to run on your own 24 GB NVIDIA GPU.
Check the licence for your plan. Meshy free-plan models need attribution under CC BY 4.0, while its paid plans make assets private and yours. Tripo free-plan models are non-commercial. TRELLIS.2 is MIT. Stability models are free for commercial use under US$1 million in annual revenue. Hunyuan3D 2.1 open weights use Tencent's community licence, so check its terms. The3DAI terms say you keep the rights to models you make.
Meshy (STL and 3MF), Hyper3D Rodin (STL), Tripo (STL and 3MF through its convert step) and The3DAI (STL, plus an Image to STL page with slicer steps). Open models such as TRELLIS.2 give a GLB, which you can convert to STL.
Yes, with an NVIDIA GPU. TRELLIS.2 needs at least 24 GB of GPU memory, Hunyuan3D 2.1 about 10 GB for shape only and 29 GB with textures, and Stable Fast 3D about 6 GB with default settings, according to their own repositories.
The AI fills in the sides it cannot see, so they are a guess. More photos help: Meshy takes up to 4, Tripo takes 4 multiview images, Rodin takes several on its Creator plan, and The3DAI Multi-view to 3D takes 2 to 4 photos of the same object.
We picked tools that turn a single image into a 3D model and that publish their prices, formats and licence. Every fact on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing, docs or licence page, read in October 2026. We left out CSM because its website did not load when we checked. Prices change, so check the linked page before you buy.