23 Free STL file Viewers for Windows, Linux, macOS and the Web
What is a STL file?
STL (Stereolithography) is a file format commonly used for 3D printing. It represents 3D models as a collection of triangular facets, defining the shape’s surface geometry. STL files are lightweight and widely supported by 3D modeling software and printers. They lack color, texture, and other complex attributes, focusing solely on the geometry.
Designers create STL files using CAD software or 3D scanners, making them essential for translating digital designs into physical objects.
3D Printing and STL files
3D printing involves layer-by-layer additive manufacturing, where a printer deposits material (such as plastic, metal, or resin) to build a 3D object.
To 3D print an object, you need an STL file. Designers create or download STL files, slice them into layers using slicing software, and then send the instructions to the printer.
The printer reads the sliced STL file and produces the physical object by depositing material according to the design’s specifications.
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STL file Viewers!
STL File Viewers enable you to view STL file directly without the need to have heavy software as 3D printing software to do so.
Online STL viewers allow you to preview and analyze STL files directly in your web browser without installing any software.
desktop applications like MeshLab, GLC-Player, and Pleasant3D offer more advanced features for analyzing and editing STL files.
In this following list, we offer you the best open-source free STL file viewers for the desktop and the web.
1. f3d
F3D (pronounced `/fɛd/`) is a fast and minimalist 3D viewer desktop application. It supports many file formats, from digital content to scientific datasets (including glTF, USD, STL, STEP, PLY, OBJ, FBX, Alembic), can show animations and support thumbnails and many rendering and texturing options including real time physically based rendering and raytracing.
It is fully controllable from the command line and support configuration files. It can provide thumbnails, support interactive hotkeys, drag&drop and integration into file managers.
F3D also contains the libf3d, a simple library to render meshes, with C++ and Python Bindings, as well as experimental Java and Javascript bindings.
f3d-app2. STL Viewer
This is a free and open-source app that enables you to display and manipulate the content of stereolithography or STL files.
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3. ModelViewer3D
3D model viewer app for Android! Supports STL files (ASCII and binary), and has limited support for OBJ (Wavefront) and PLY (Stanford) files.
dbrant4. stl Thumb (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
Stl-thumb is a fast lightweight thumbnail generator for STL files. It can show previews for STL files in your file manager on Linux and Windows. It is written in Rust and uses OpenGL.
5. ManyFold (Web-based)
Manyfold is an open source, self-hosted web application for managing a collection of 3d models, particularly focused on 3d printing.
manyfold3d6. STLVault
STLVault is an open source 3d model viewer and organizer. Think of it as Lightroom, but for 3d printing. It is built to work for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
rubenwe7. Erizo
Erizo is another extremely fast STL viewer. It is a sequel to fstl, which was challenged by meshview. It supports both binary and ASCII STLs, Implemented in fast, native code, and Distributed as a single, statically-linked binary.
It works for Windows, macOS and Linux.
mkeeter8. fstl (Windows, macOS & Linux)
fstl is a very fast .stl file viewer. It is designed to quickly load and render very high-polygon models; showing 2 million triangles at 60+ FPS on a mid-range laptop.
fstl-app9. ViewSTL
Viewstl is an open source way to view Stereo Lithography Files as shaded on-screen images. Ascii STL files and dynamic rotation, scaling, and panning are currently supported. Written in C using OpenGL, GLU and GLUT.
10. 3D Object Viewer (Web & Android)
3D Object Viewer in STL, OBJ and 3DS format with weight, size, volume, cost and printing time functions. It comes as a self-hosted web version and an Android app version.
lrusso11. STL Viewer (Windows)
Visualization tool for Binary and ASCII formatted STL files.
12. STL-Editor
☠️ Graphic editor for 3D-printable (biomedical implant) models in STL format. WebGL + Rust.
avbelyaev13. stlloader (Library)
Simple loader for STL 3D model files
This is a C++ header-only library. To use it, #include "stlloader.h" wherever you intend to use the library. You must #define STLLOADER_IMPLEMENTATION before including it in one of your files for the implementation to be defined for the linker.
dacunni14. ts-3d-model-viewer
This is a free and open-source Google Model Viewer built with React to enable you display and customize STL 3D files directly from your browser.
wx-chevalier15. stl-viewer
An HTML custom element to render 3D STL models in a web page, used on my blog.
Include stl-viewer in your web page and then add the custom viewer element:
ottobonn16. stl-part-viewer
This is a it-element web component that uses Three.js to display an STL model file.
Features
- Uses Intersection Observer to load STL files when only in the viewport.
- Uses Intersection Observer to pause rendering of scene when viewer is not in viewport
- Loads Binary and ASCII STL files
- Built as a web component on Polymer 3 / LitElement
justinribeiro17. stlviewer
A simple browser based STL viewer based on tbuser's Thingiview. you can easily drag and drop your STL files directly to the browser, it takes secs to display the model.
18. WebGL 3D Viewer
This is a free and open-source ThreeJS WebGL STL viewer with basic mouse and touch controls. You can view the demo here.
piscis19. React STL Viewer
A Web-based STL model viewer that is built using React.js framework. It runs in all modern web browsers and uses Three.js.
React developers can include it easily in their apps.
20. OctoPrint-STLViewer
This is an open-source simple stl viewer tab for the famous OctoPrint app. Currently a work in progress and simple skeleton. Based on the Javascript STL Viewer located here. Currently tested with Octoprint running on Raspberry Pi and Google Chrome.
21. WASM STL Viewer
This is a WebAssemby project that parses STL files and renders them in the browser.
22. STL-Viewer (Window)
This is a Windows app that enables you to view, zoom, rotate STL 3D models easily. It comes with an integrated file browser and supports multiple file viewing at the same time.
23. Viewstl
Viewstl is a web-based JavaScript STL/OBJ 3D files Viewer app. It reads binary/ASCII STL files; OBJ files. Under the hood, it uses THREE.js lib - Can load THREE.js lib files in the background.
To view the working online version, you can head to.
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