Respaced vs Polycam: Choosing a Property Record or General 3D Capture Tool

Choose Polycam when you need a flexible 3D capture tool, spatial measurements and exports for design or other 3D software. Choose Respaced when you need a property-specific workspace where a RoomPlan capture becomes an editable record of observations, evidence, conversations, permissions and selected client sharing.

Polycam is broader as a capture and export platform. Respaced is narrower and more opinionated about how property professionals organise work after capture.

Quick comparison

What Polycam does well

Polycam describes Spatial Capture as a way to preserve a space for investigation, measurement and design. Its Space Mode provides a photorealistic model, 3D room plan and 2D floor plan, with embedded measurements and exports for 3D design software. Polycam also provides team sharing, comments and cross-device work.

That breadth makes Polycam attractive for:

• Architects and designers who need point clouds or model exports
• Teams documenting existing conditions
• General 3D capture beyond residential property rooms
• Users who want several capture approaches in one tool
• Workflows where the scan file or exported geometry is the main asset

Polycam’s product is not limited to property records, which is an advantage when a business captures objects, exteriors, sites and spaces for different purposes.

What Respaced does well

Respaced treats the room model as a structured property document. The user captures a planned survey on a compatible Apple device, retains it locally until review and then syncs it to an organisation-owned workspace. In the browser, the team can organise rooms, make focused edits, save measurements and attach records at specific surfaces.

Respaced includes:

• Verified property address and workspace identity
• Room groups and editable labels
• Observations, issues, repairs, quotes, photos, measurements, proposals, notes, assets, documents and inspections
• Photograph and PDF evidence
• Property-wide and point-specific conversations
• Manager, Editor, Commenter and Viewer workspace roles
• Client links with scan/category selection, passcode choice, expiry and download controls
• Independent snapshots of public structure without copying private evidence

These are product rules, not a claim that Respaced is a better 3D scanner. Its value lies in the property workflow around the capture.

Capture fidelity versus record structure

Procurement teams often compare screenshots of 3D models and stop there. A more useful test separates capture fidelity from record structure.

Capture fidelity asks:

• Does the device see the required geometry?
• Are textures and surfaces clear enough for the task?
• Can the output be measured or exported appropriately?
• How does the workflow handle occlusion, reflective materials and complex spaces?

Record structure asks:

• Can a user identify the property and rooms consistently?
• Where do findings, questions and evidence live?
• Can access be narrowed for a contractor or client?
• What happens when another business begins independent work at the same address?
• Will the record still make sense after a handover?

Polycam deserves close testing on the first set. Respaced is deliberately designed around the second.

Measurements and design decisions

Polycam promotes measurements, area calculations and floor-plan data in its spatial captures. It also supports bringing captures into 3D design software. If the downstream team expects point clouds, meshes or CAD-adjacent files, verify Polycam’s current export formats and plan requirements against that software.

Respaced lets users measure between points in a room and save the result with the spatial record. It is suitable for useful working dimensions and remote orientation. It is not a certified measured survey and should not be the sole source for a fabrication, structural or safety-critical dimension.

That limitation is not unique to Respaced. A sensible iPhone and iPad LiDAR buying process defines required tolerance before choosing an app. For any mobile capture, independently verify the dimensions that drive irreversible decisions.

Evidence, comments and change

Polycam’s official material describes editing in 3D, comments, saved measurements and team sharing. For a design team working around a shared capture, that may be exactly the collaboration layer required.

Respaced separates evidence categories and roles more explicitly for property work. A pin can represent an issue, repair, quote, measurement or other defined category. Photographs and documents stay connected to that point. Editors and Commenters can discuss a matter, while a client-facing public link remains read-only.

Activity history records changes to access, visibility, content status, sharing and administration. It is an audit trail of activity, not a version-control system and not a substitute for the underlying professional evidence.

Sharing with clients and contractors

Polycam can share captures with a link and lets teams explore spatial data. That is useful when the recipient understands a general 3D capture and may need measurement or design context.

Respaced builds the share from the workspace owner’s selection. The owner chooses which scans and point-of-interest categories appear, whether a passcode is required, whether downloads are allowed and when the link expires. A recipient can inspect selected information in a modern browser without installing specialist viewing software.

The difference is subtle but important:

• Polycam sharing starts from the capture.
• Respaced sharing starts from the professional workspace and its disclosure choices.

If a contractor should see one fault and its room, but not unrelated client documents or other scans, test how easily each platform expresses that boundary.

Property identity and independent work

Respaced links each workspace to a verified UK or Isle of Man address. A structure can be private or made public for reuse. When another professional uses a public structure, Respaced creates an independent snapshot of geometry, measurements, room groups, transforms and structural edits.

The snapshot excludes notes, pins, photos, documents, textures, branding, shares and conversations. Later changes do not synchronise between the source and snapshot. This model helps when several regulated or commercially separate businesses need a common spatial starting point without a common private file.

Polycam’s team and sharing model is a more conventional fit when participants should collaborate around the same capture. Decide whether the organisation wants shared-capture collaboration or address-linked independent records.

Export and interoperability

Polycam is the stronger starting point when export flexibility is a primary requirement. Its marketing explicitly positions Space Mode captures as inputs to other 3D design software. Confirm the exact format, coordinate expectations, scale, texture handling and downstream licence before committing.

Respaced can retain and serve source model files through controlled sharing when downloads are enabled, and its web model can be edited for the Respaced workflow. It should not be presented as a replacement for a general point-cloud processor, CAD authoring environment or model-conversion service.

If editable CAD/BIM deliverables are the main purchase, also assess Canvas in the Matterport alternatives shortlist.

A practical evaluation exercise

Capture the same occupied property and score both workflows:

1. Coverage: Are walls, openings and important objects represented clearly?
2. Correction: Can a non-specialist fix names and obvious arrangement problems?
3. Evidence: Add a defect, photographs, a working measurement and a PDF.
4. Question: Ask somebody off site to identify the issue and explain its surroundings.
5. Handoff: Share only what a contractor needs and confirm access can be withdrawn.
6. Downstream use: Export the capture if your design software genuinely requires it.
7. Return: Reopen the job later and judge whether the property history is understandable.

Weight these steps according to the work, not according to which demo is more visually impressive.

When Polycam is the better choice

Choose Polycam when:

• General 3D capture and export versatility are central
• Designers need to bring spatial data into other 3D software
• The same team should collaborate directly around captures
• Your work includes objects, exteriors or varied subjects beyond RoomPlan interiors
• The capture itself is the main reusable asset

When Respaced is the better choice

Choose Respaced when:

• The property and its rooms should be the long-lived index
• Observations, documents and conversations need defined property categories
• Client sharing must expose a selected, read-only workspace view
• Separate businesses should own separate records around one address
• Offline local RoomPlan capture and later deliberate sync fit site conditions

Conclusion

Polycam is a capable spatial-capture platform with broad downstream uses. Respaced is a property-workspace platform that uses structured mobile capture as the beginning of a professional record. The choice is therefore less about which app “does 3D” and more about what must remain organised after the scan.

Use the property documentation buyer’s guide to define requirements. If a continuing property record is the priority, explore Respaced or request a demonstration.