The short version: they do not do the same job
If you searched magicplan vs Polycam vs Alcovia, you probably want one app that scans a room, measures it, and helps you win the project. The honest answer is that these three tools overlap on the scan and diverge hard after that.
All three use your iPhone or iPad LiDAR sensor to capture a room. That LiDAR sensor is accurate to roughly 1-2 percent of the actual distance at its working range of about 16 feet, which is plenty for remodel estimating. After the scan, the apps split. magicplan turns the scan into floor plans, field reports, and line-item estimates. Polycam produces the cleanest 3D capture and an AI floor-plan editor. Alcovia is the only one of the three that takes the scan and generates a photorealistic remodel render from a text prompt, then builds a takeoff, estimate, and client-ready PDF.
So the real question is not which scans best. It is which one matches the job you are actually trying to do. Read our full Alcovia vs magicplan and Alcovia vs Polycam breakdowns for the head-to-head detail.
magicplan: floor plans and field reports first
magicplan has been around since before most contractors had heard the word LiDAR, and it shows in the polish of its floor-plan output. You scan a space, it draws a clean 2D plan, and you can attach photos, notes, and field reports per room. It is genuinely strong for insurance work, restoration, and any job where the deliverable is a documented, measured plan.
magicplan also added line-item estimating, so you can attach costs to the rooms and objects you capture and produce a structured quote. It is iOS-only for the LiDAR capture, which matches the hardware reality.
What magicplan does not do is generative design. There is no photorealistic remodel render, no text-prompt redesign, no before-and-after visual to put in front of a homeowner. If your sales motion is built on showing clients what the finished kitchen will look like, magicplan leaves that gap for another tool to fill. It measures and prices the existing space well, but it does not sell the vision.
Polycam: best-in-class capture, no remodel render
If raw capture quality is your priority, Polycam is the strongest of the three. It produces excellent LiDAR point clouds and photogrammetry meshes, and the models are clean enough to hand to an architect or push into a BIM workflow. Polycam also added an AI floor-plan editor, so you are not stuck with just a mesh.
For documentation, as-builts, and detailed 3D records, this is the tool a lot of pros reach for. The exports are flexible and the scans hold up.
The limitation for remodelers is the back half of the job. Polycam captures reality beautifully but it does not generate a photorealistic remodel of that reality, and it has no contractor business layer. There is no material takeoff, no labor-and-materials estimate, and no client presentation builder. You get an outstanding scan and then you are on your own for design, pricing, and the close. Most contractors who use Polycam pair it with two or three other apps to complete a project.
Alcovia: scan, render, estimate, present in one app
Alcovia starts the same way the other two do: you scan the room with iPhone or iPad LiDAR. Where it splits off is what happens next. From that single scan, you prompt the AI to redesign the space and it generates a photorealistic remodel render, not a stylized sketch. Open the wall, change the cabinets to shaker white, swap the flooring to wide-plank oak, and you get a believable image of the finished room.
From the same scan, Alcovia builds a material takeoff and an instant estimate against your own price list, then assembles a client-ready PDF presentation with the before, the after, and the numbers. Scan to signed-ready proposal happens in one app on one visit.
It is iOS and iPadOS only, which is the same hardware constraint every LiDAR app shares. The trade-off versus Polycam is that Alcovia is not chasing the absolute cleanest mesh for BIM. It is built to win remodeling jobs, not to document them. See how it works for the full workflow.
Side-by-side: what each app actually delivers
Here is the honest feature line-up, no marketing spin.
- LiDAR room scan: magicplan yes, Polycam yes, Alcovia yes - Best raw 3D capture quality: Polycam - 2D floor plans and field reports: magicplan strongest, Polycam editor, Alcovia included - Generative photorealistic remodel render: Alcovia only - Material takeoff: Alcovia (magicplan and Polycam no) - Instant line-item estimate: magicplan and Alcovia yes, Polycam no - Client presentation PDF: Alcovia - Platform: all iOS/iPadOS for LiDAR - Pricing model: magicplan and Polycam subscription, Alcovia per-project
Notice none of these tools is strictly better than the others. Polycam wins capture. magicplan wins documentation and field reporting. Alcovia is the only one that carries the scan all the way to a photorealistic pitch and a priced proposal. Pick based on your deliverable, not the spec sheet.
Pricing: subscription vs per-project
Cost structure matters more than monthly sticker price, especially for contractors with uneven schedules. magicplan and Polycam both run on subscriptions, so you pay every month whether you scanned five rooms or zero. If you only run a handful of projects a quarter, a year-round subscription quietly eats your margin during slow stretches.
Alcovia uses per-project pricing instead. There is no monthly fee. You pay 49 dollars on the Core plan or 199 dollars on the Growth plan, and only when you actually take on a project. The Growth plan adds full measurements, automated takeoff, and instant estimating against your price list. Your first project is free, so you can run a real job through it before spending anything.
For a busy production remodeler doing volume, a subscription can pencil out fine. For everyone with seasonal swings or a smaller book, paying only when you have work in hand usually costs less over a year. Compare the math on the pricing page.
Which one should you pick?
Match the tool to the job. If your work is insurance, restoration, or anything where a documented measured floor plan is the deliverable, magicplan is the practical pick. If you need the cleanest possible 3D capture for architects, BIM, or detailed as-builts, Polycam is the strongest scanner of the three.
If you are a remodeling contractor whose income depends on showing homeowners a photorealistic vision and handing them a priced proposal on the same visit, Alcovia is the only one of the three that does the whole loop in a single app. You stop juggling a scanner, a render tool, an estimating spreadsheet, and a presentation builder.
Plenty of pros use two of these together, like Polycam for capture and Alcovia for the design-and-close, and that is a reasonable stack. But if you want one app that takes a LiDAR scan all the way to a signed-ready presentation, that is the gap Alcovia was built to fill. Try it on a real project before you decide.
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Run a real job through Alcovia start to finish. Scan with LiDAR, generate a photorealistic remodel render, and export a client-ready proposal. Your first project is free, with no monthly fee.
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