What does a 3D laser scan cost? How the price is determined
“What does a scan cost?” is the most frequently asked question in a first conversation. The honest answer: it depends. Not because we want to be vague, but because the price of a 3D laser scan depends on a number of specific factors. This article explains them, so you know what to expect and what you can influence.
Factor 1: Floor area
The size of the building is the most important factor in the price. An office building of 500 m² is scanned more quickly than a 10,000 m² factory hall. With the NavVis VLX mobile scanner, Crew-B scans around 1,500 m² per hour. An average office building or school can therefore be fully mapped in a few hours.
Factor 2: Complexity
Not every square metre is the same. An open-plan office floor is easier to scan than a plant room full of installations, or a listed building with ornamentation and changes in level. The more complex the space, the longer the scan takes and the more processing time the model requires.
Factor 3: Required output
A point cloud on its own costs less than a full BIM model. And an architectural model at LOD 300 takes fewer hours than a model including all MEP installations. The output determines a large part of the price:
- Point cloud: the basis: A three-dimensional point cloud of the scanned situation, suitable for measuring, visual inspection, or your own processing.
- 2D drawings: Floor plans, sections, or elevations generated from the scan data, directly from the point cloud or the model.
- BIM model: A structured 3D model in Revit, IFC, or DWG. Architectural, structural, and, upon request, MEP (building services). The level of detail (LOD) determines the amount of work required.
- Indoor viewer: A web-based environment in which you can digitally walk through the building, take measurements, and share locations. No installation required.
- Model management via Autodesk Docs: A central platform for models, drawings, and documentation. Particularly relevant for larger portfolios or projects involving multiple stakeholders.
What each LOD level precisely covers dictates the workload involved in creating the model.”
Factor 4: Number of locations
For multiple locations, we work with a standardised process. That lowers the cost per location, because the pilot phase (in which the modelling standard and naming conventions are set) only happens once. The more locations, the sharper the price per building.
Factor 5: Access and scheduling
Scanning during office hours is standard. For buildings that are only accessible outside working hours or at weekends, this may affect the schedule and the costs. Crew-B can usually be on site within five working days.
Factor 6: Available drawings
If usable archive drawings are available (floor plans, structural drawings, services layouts), they improve the quality of the final model. The scanner cannot see through walls: information about foundations, wall build-ups or concealed pipework comes from existing documentation.
What does it not cost?
A common misconception is that 3D laser scanning is expensive by definition. In practice, the opposite is often true. The cost of not scanning is often higher: failure costs due to incorrect drawings, additional work due to unforeseen situations, extra site visits for measuring. In our article on 3D laser scanning versus traditional surveying we set out that comparison.
How do you get an estimate?
The quickest way is to get in touch with a short description of your project: the type of building, the approximate floor area, the number of locations and what you want to do with the data. Based on that, we prepare a tailored quote. On our page on 3D laser scanning from intake to delivery we describe the full process.





