Meshroom for PC: Download & Install on Windows (2026)

Turning a set of photographs into a real 3D model sounds like a research-lab trick, but free photogrammetry software has made it a weekend project. This meshroom download for pc guide covers Meshroom, the open-source 3D reconstruction tool from the AliceVision project: take overlapping photos of an object, feed them in, and receive a textured 3D mesh you can open in any 3D software.

This guide covers the official download, the Windows setup (a simple ZIP — there is no installer), and your first reconstruction. It also states the one hardware fact to know upfront: the full pipeline needs an NVIDIA CUDA GPU, explained honestly in the requirements below.

What Is Meshroom?

Meshroom is a free, open-source photogrammetry software package built on the AliceVision framework, a computer-vision library developed with academic and film-industry partners. Photogrammetry means measuring from photographs: Meshroom analyses dozens of overlapping photos of the same subject, works out where each camera stood, and rebuilds the subject as 3D geometry with photographic textures.

Its interface is a node-based pipeline. Each stage of the reconstruction — feature extraction, camera matching, depth maps, meshing and texturing — is a node in a graph that you can watch, adjust and re-run. That design makes Meshroom both approachable (the default graph just works when you press Start) and powerful (advanced users can change depth-map quality, add their own photos mid-project, or script the pipeline).

The results are used for game assets, 3D printing references, archaeology and heritage recording, product visualisation and VFX. What you get at the end is a textured mesh export — an OBJ model with image textures — ready for Blender, MeshLab or a game engine.

Key Features

Photogrammetry software: Rebuilds real objects and spaces as 3D models from ordinary photographs.
3D reconstruction pipeline: The complete AliceVision framework — camera solving, dense geometry and texturing.
Node-based pipeline: Every processing stage is a visible, adjustable node you can customise and re-run.
Photos to 3D model: Drag in a photo set and receive a textured mesh without manual modelling.
Depth maps: Computes per-photo depth maps that drive the detailed surface reconstruction.
CUDA GPU acceleration: Uses NVIDIA CUDA to make the heavy stages dramatically faster.
Textured mesh export: Outputs OBJ models with photographic textures for Blender, MeshLab and game engines.

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
Processor: A modern quad-core Intel or AMD CPU recommended
RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended for large photo sets
Graphics: An NVIDIA GPU with CUDA support is required for the full pipeline (depth-map stage); basic camera solving works without one
Storage: 2 GB for the app, plus generous free space — projects can use many gigabytes of cache
Camera/photos: A set of overlapping photos (phone cameras work well), typically 30–100+ images per object
Internet: Only needed for the download

How to Download Meshroom (Official Method)

Meshroom is free and open source, distributed from the official AliceVision website and the project’s GitHub releases. There is no installer — the Windows build is a portable ZIP. Download portals sometimes repackage it or list ancient versions, so use the official route below.

Official Website: Download Meshroom from the official website

Step-by-Step Installation

Open the official AliceVision website linked above and go to the Meshroom download section.
Choose the Windows binary release (the page also links the official GitHub releases).
Download the ZIP file and save it to your Downloads folder — it is a large download, so give it time.
Right-click the ZIP and choose Extract All, extracting to a permanent folder such as C:\Meshroom.
Open the extracted folder and run Meshroom.exe — no installation is performed.
If Windows SmartScreen appears, choose “More info” → “Run anyway”.
On first launch, let Meshroom create its cache folder on a drive with plenty of free space.

Tip: Set the cache location (in Meshroom’s preferences) to your largest, fastest drive before your first big project. Photogrammetry generates heavy intermediate data, and running out of disk space mid-pipeline is the most common beginner failure.

How to Reconstruct Your First 3D Model in Meshroom

Photograph your subject: walk slowly around it taking 40–80 overlapping photos from two heights, in even light.
Open Meshroom and drag the whole photo folder into the images panel.
Wait for the green checkmarks — Meshroom reads camera data and prepares the default pipeline graph.
Press Start at the top and let the pipeline run; the depth maps and meshing stages take the longest.
When processing finishes, double-click the Texturing node output to view the textured mesh in the 3D viewer.
Find the exported OBJ and textures in the project folder and open them in MeshLab or Blender to clean up and share.

The Honest Hardware Truth About Meshroom

Meshroom itself is completely free and open source — no licence, no account, no limits on models or exports. The catch is not price; it is hardware. The most important stage, depth-map computation, requires an NVIDIA graphics card with CUDA. On a PC with only Intel or AMD graphics, the pipeline can solve the cameras but cannot complete the dense reconstruction.

That is still remarkable value: commercial photogrammetry suites with the same AliceVision-grade mathematics cost hundreds of pounds, and Meshroom gives the pipeline away. If your PC has an NVIDIA GPU — even a modest gaming card — you have a professional-grade scanner in your pocket, powered by your phone camera. If it does not, plan subjects around a friend’s NVIDIA machine, or use Meshroom for camera solving and preview while you save for an upgrade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Meshroom safe to download?
Yes, from the official AliceVision website or the project’s GitHub releases linked from it — those are the channels the developers publish. Avoid unofficial download sites, which may bundle the ZIP with unwanted software.

Is Meshroom really free?
Yes. Meshroom and the AliceVision framework are free and open source, including for commercial work. There is no paid edition and no export watermark.

Can Meshroom work without an NVIDIA GPU?
Only partly. Camera solving and sparse reconstruction work on any PC, but the depth-map stage — which produces the detailed model — requires an NVIDIA CUDA GPU. An AMD or Intel-only PC cannot finish the full pipeline.

How many photos do I need for a good model?
For a small object, 40–80 overlapping photos usually work well; large scenes may need several hundred. Overlap matters more than count: every part of the subject should appear in at least three photos.

Conclusion

Meshroom turns a phone camera and an NVIDIA GPU into a 3D scanner, using the same AliceVision mathematics as professional suites — completely free. Download it from the official site, shoot an overlapping photo set of something you love, and watch it become a textured 3D model.

Download Meshroom from the Official Website