HakaruAR vs Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HakaruAR
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"HakaruAR" uses AR technology to measure multiple distances and measure the area, Everyone can easily "measure" iPhone application. Operation method is easy! It is possible to measure freely simply by tapping the screen. Also, connecting the dots can also measure the area of the surrounded area. caution: Since HakaruAR uses arkit, it supports only the following devices. iPhone 6s and 6s Plus iPhone 7 and 7 Plus iPhone SE iPad Pro (9.7, 10.5 or 12.9) iPad (2017)
Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
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Point Cloud & BIM Viewer opens laser scans and BIM models on your Mac, iPad and iPhone — measure them, cut sections, see where the building differs from the design, and export the results. Everything stays on the device: no account, no upload. A sample project with a guide shows where everything is. FORMATS • E57 with registered scan setups, colour, intensity and spherical photographs • LAS and LAZ 1.0 to 1.4 with colour, intensity and classification, and COPC • PLY, PTS, PTX, and XYZ or TXT with intensity or RGB columns • IFC models, also zipped or gzipped; USDZ, USD, OBJ, STL, glTF and GLB • DXF plans under the scan, with layers to switch off • Several files, a folder or a zip as one project Import never modifies the original, and a hundred million points take tens of megabytes. EVERYTHING IN ONE PROJECT The side panel lists the cloud and each of its scans, every model file, floor plan and saved cut. Show, hide, colour or look at each on its own; colour the scan setups to check the registration. Add scans later, send a project by AirDrop. THE SCAN AGAINST THE MODEL • Every point coloured by its distance to the model, with a tolerance you set • Which elements are built, which are missing, and where the scan never went • The elements built out of tolerance, listed • Place a model by pairs of corners, by the walls in the scan, by matching the floor plans, or where its georeference says • Measure from the scan to a surface of the model SCAN WITH LIDAR On an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR, scan a room into a project, fit it to the other scans, and continue later. For orientation, not millimetres. FLOOR PLAN RoomPlan draws the walls, doors and windows as you scan and divides the floor into rooms with their areas; walls found in any scan make a draft. Correct the plan, then export IFC, DXF, SVG or a PDF to scale. THE PROJECT IN AR On iPhone and iPad, stand the project on a table, or at 1:1 in the building by a few shared points, with a scan's panorama over the walls. ON THE MAP Coordinates as a surveyor writes them: S-JTSK Y and X, or E and N in the system the file or IFC georeference names. See the project on a map with an aerial view under the scan, or place it by hand. The map loads from Apple Maps only when switched on. THE MODEL Browse elements by storey, class or file; find them by name, GlobalId or property. Select, colour and group them, and read every property, inherited ones too. Check a model against IDS: what fails is listed, and each failure can become a note. On an IFC 4.3 alignment, read station and offset, with cross and long sections. MEASURE • Distance with its horizontal and vertical parts, and height • Face to face: wall thickness, clear width, clear height • The shortest distance between two elements, or from an element to the scan • A model's edge length and planar area; polylines, angles and best-fit areas • Notes anchored to a point or an element • Every pick is checked against the cloud at full resolution • Metric or imperial units SECTIONS AND ROOMS A box you move, turn and reshape by dragging, a plane or a slice. The model's solids are hatched where a cut crosses them. Save a cut with its view and return to it. SEEING THE SCAN RGB, intensity, classification, a heatmap, or elevation over the scan or a band of a few centimetres; a grid, six side views, panoramas from the scanner's position. ISSUES IN BCF Notes leave as BCF topics with a viewpoint and the element they are on; BCF files from other tools open as notes. EXPORT The cloud or a single scan as E57 with panoramas, LAS, PLY or XYZ; a section as LAS; CSV, JSON with sections, BCF, a PNG snapshot. FREE AND PRO Free with one project; Pro removes the limit for a single payment, no subscription. Projects you have stay open either way. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Point data is not edited, and tripod scans are registered in the scanner's software. Clouds in two coordinate systems are not brought into one. Models you open are never modified.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HakaruAR at none against Point Cloud & BIM Viewer's 1. HakaruAR also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Point Cloud & BIM Viewer's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Point Cloud & BIM Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HakaruAR asks for nothing beyond the download.
HakaruAR ships an update fortnightly, Point Cloud & BIM Viewer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HakaruAR | Point Cloud & BIM Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ideacloud inc. | Sew Grader by Virtalia |
In-app purchases
HakaruAR
No in-app purchases
Point Cloud & BIM Viewer
- Pointclouds Viewer Pro$9.99
Questions
Is HakaruAR free?
Is Point Cloud & BIM Viewer free?
Do HakaruAR or Point Cloud & BIM Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, HakaruAR or Point Cloud & BIM Viewer?
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