Scan-to-BIM Companies: How to Compare Quotes on the Same Scope

Nikita ShuvalovSep 12, 2026

Two scan-to-BIM companies can both promise a Revit model of the same building and quote prices far apart, because one is pricing the architecture at LOD 200 and the other the architecture, the structure and the visible systems at LOD 300 with the registered point cloud delivered. This guide explains how to compare scan-to-BIM companies and providers so that the quotes describe the same thing: what to send every company, what to ask about the scan, the model and the handoff, and which answers tell you a scope is real.

Send every company the same request

A comparison only works when every company prices the same request, so write it once and send it unchanged. It should name the building and its area, the floors in scope, whether the exterior and the site are included, the element categories the model needs, the level of development per category, the Revit version your team works in, whether the company scans the building or you supply a point cloud, the sheets you need as well as the model, and the date the model is due. The guide to the scan-to-BIM quote checklist lists each item. Once the same description reaches every company, the quotes can be laid side by side; until then the lower number may simply be quoting less.

Ask what is modeled, and at what LOD

“A BIM model” is too broad to price. A useful quote names the categories: walls, floors, levels, doors, windows, stairs, roofs, ceilings, the visible structure, the visible mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, fixed equipment, and the exterior and site if they are in scope. It also names what is excluded, because furniture, small conduit, systems hidden behind walls and above hard ceilings, manufacturer-specific families and asset data are not in a model unless the scope says they are.

The level of development belongs to the categories, not to the whole building. The BIMForum Level of Development Specification, which most scopes cite, is plain about it: “There is no such thing as an ‘LOD ### model.’” It leaves the level for each step of a project to the project team. A sensible renovation scope reads like a list: walls and openings at LOD 300, ceilings simplified, visible systems at LOD 200 as generic families, hidden systems excluded. A company that quotes one LOD for the whole building is pricing a label rather than the scope. The guide to LOD 200 vs LOD 300 for a renovation shows the difference on real elements.

Ask about accuracy, not just detail

Detail and accuracy are separate questions: a model can carry LOD 300 detail and still be off by inches if the scan was thin or the registration was never checked. Ask each company to state the accuracy of the model in the U.S. Institute of Building Documentation’s Level of Accuracy terms, where each level is a standard deviation at the 95 percent confidence level: LOA30 is a deviation between 15 mm and 5 mm, LOA40 between 5 mm and 1 mm. A company that quotes a level, says how the model is checked against the cloud before delivery and names the scanner’s datasheet accuracy, which for a scanner of the Trimble X7 class is a 3D point accuracy of 2.4 mm at 10 m (one standard deviation), has a process behind the number. “Survey grade” on its own is not an accuracy statement; ask for the LOA.

Ask about the scan and the registration

If the company scans the building, ask how the stations are registered and what comes with the cloud: a registered cloud should arrive with a registration report that lists the average error of each station and the overlap between scans, which is the document that tells you how well the cloud holds together. If you supply the cloud, ask whether the company reviews the registration before quoting, because re-registering it later is work someone pays for. The guide to registered vs unregistered point clouds explains what the report shows.

Ask what the handoff contains

Companies differ most in what arrives at the end. Confirm in writing that you receive the Revit model in your version, the registered point cloud in E57 (the ASTM exchange format for 3D imaging data) and in RCP/RCS so it links into Revit, the registration report, the sheets if they were in scope, and the notes that make the file usable: the coordinate system and the levels, the exclusions, and the areas the scanner could not reach with what was drawn there from older documents. Ask how many review rounds are included and how a correction is told from added scope. The guide to laser scanning deliverables describes a complete package.

The answers that tell you the scope is real

Lay the proposals next to each other on the points above, specific answer against vague one:

Point	Specific answer	Vague answer
Categories	Named list, exclusions stated	“Full BIM model”
LOD	Set per category	One label for the building
Accuracy	LOA stated, check described	“Survey grade”
Point cloud	Delivered with its report	Not mentioned
Revit version	Matches yours	Not asked
Sheets	Named set, or excluded	“Drawings included”
Review	Set number of rounds	Not defined

A company that gives the specific answer on each line has priced your building; one that gives the vague answers has more scoping to do before its number means anything.

What a comparable quote looks like from us

Price follows the area, the level of development and how much of the building is in scope. Typical ranges from recent projects: a house or an apartment, scanned and modeled, $2,000 to $4,500; interiors with the facades and the site, $2,500 to $5,000; an office or a commercial floor, $3,000 to $9,000; large buildings from $12,000, quoted on their own; the point cloud alone from about $1,200, and a model built from your own cloud quoted on that cloud. The quote arrives within one business day of your sending the address, the LOD and the element categories, and it states the LOA, the Revit version, the deliverables and their dates, so it can be laid next to any other. The scan-to-BIM page describes the scope, and we scan in all 50 states.

FAQ

Why do scan-to-BIM quotes differ so much?

Usually because they price different scopes: a different set of element categories, a different LOD, with or without the point cloud and the sheets. Send every company the same written request and the spread narrows to real differences.

What should the request include?

The building and its area, the floors and whether the exterior is in scope, the element categories, the LOD per category, the Revit version, whether the company scans or you supply the cloud, the sheets needed and the due date.

What is the difference between LOD and LOA?

LOD, from the BIMForum specification, says how far an element is developed in the model. LOA, from the USIBD specification, says how close the model is to the building, as a standard deviation at the 95 percent confidence level. A quote should state both.

Should the point cloud be delivered with the model?

Yes, with its registration report, in E57 and RCP/RCS. It is the record the model was built from and what the model is checked against later.

How much does scan-to-BIM cost?

A house or an apartment usually $2,000 to $4,500, interiors with facades and the site $2,500 to $5,000, an office or a commercial floor $3,000 to $9,000, large buildings from $12,000. The guide to scan-to-BIM cost explains what moves the price.