The right software for your scan-to-BIM model is the one your team works in every day. For modelling an existing building from a point cloud, Revit and Archicad are equals: both produce an accurate, measurable model that can be used up to LOD 300–350. What makes the difference is not the logo on the file; it is the structure of the model, and the fact that it was modelled natively in your tool rather than converted from the other one.
This point is worth making, because the market has a blind spot: most international scan-to-BIM providers work Revit first and Archicad never, or only by conversion. Yet in French-speaking Switzerland a large share of architectural practices work in Archicad. The result: “Archicad” models that are in reality re-imported IFC exports. They open, but they cannot be worked on.
At Studio BIM, we model in both environments, natively, at the same price. Here is the honest comparison, with no tribal warfare.
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Revit vs Archicad for an as-built model: the comparison
Both packages were designed for new-build projects. Scan-to-BIM, which means rebuilding the existing building with its walls that are neither straight nor parallel, uses them against the grain. Here is how each behaves on the four points that really matter.
Point cloud handling
Revit relies on ReCap (same publisher): the cloud is linked as .rcp/.rcs, displayed per view, cropped by zone. On heavy clouds (several hundred million points for an apartment building) the pipeline is proven and fluid.
Archicad imports .e57 and .xyz formats natively and converts the cloud into an internal object. This works well on clouds segmented by storey or by zone; on a complete cloud of a large building, it has to be cut up beforehand to keep navigation comfortable.
In practice, this difference concerns the modeller, not you: we segment and prepare the clouds before modelling in both cases. The delivered result is identical in accuracy.
Revit families vs GDL objects
Revit describes elements through parametric families; Archicad through native tools (walls, slabs, roofs) and GDL objects. For new-build, the debate is real. For existing buildings, far less so: a 19th-century window in Geneva exists in no library. In both packages, you have to create bespoke elements (loadable families on the Revit side, objects or complex profiles on the Archicad side) or accept well-documented generic elements, depending on the agreed level of detail.
The useful criterion: the delivered elements must remain editable with the standard tools of your software. A wall must be a wall, not a frozen solid.
Storeys, layers and file organisation
This is where the two worlds diverge most, and where conversion does the most damage.
- Revit has no layers: everything runs through levels, categories/sub-categories and view templates.
- Archicad structures by storeys and by layers, with layer combinations that drive what is displayed.
A well-built model respects the logic of its software: levels set to the building’s real elevations, one Archicad storey per real storey, layers or sub-categories named according to a readable convention. A converted model ignores that logic, and it is your team that pays for putting it back in order.
IFC exports
A draw, and that is good news: both packages export buildingSMART-certified IFC 2x3 and IFC 4. The quality of an IFC depends on the care taken in mapping classifications and property sets, not on the originating software. We systematically deliver an IFC alongside the native file, at no extra charge.
In summary:
| Criterion | Revit | Archicad |
|---|---|---|
| Point cloud | Very mature ReCap pipeline | Native e57/xyz import, segmentation beforehand |
| Bespoke elements | Parametric families | GDL objects, complex profiles |
| Organisation | Levels + sub-categories | Storeys + layers |
| IFC export | buildingSMART certified | buildingSMART certified |
| Scan-to-BIM verdict | Equivalent | Equivalent |
The real trap: the converted model
The risk is not choosing “the wrong software”. It is receiving a model built in one and converted to the other via IFC. Here is what that looks like in practice when a Revit-first provider “delivers Archicad”:
- Frozen elements. Walls, slabs and roofs arrive as dead objects (morphs, non-native IFC elements). Impossible to move a partition, insert a door or change a thickness with the standard tools.
- Parametrics are lost. Doors and windows are no longer parametric objects: changing a dimension means remodelling.
- The storey structure does not carry over. Badly mapped levels, elements attached to the wrong storey, sections that no longer generate cleanly.
- The 2D is unusable. Hatching, line weights, dimensioning: everything has to be redone before a permit or construction drawing can be issued.
- The quantities are wrong or empty. Area and material schedules no longer come through; the model becomes a 3D picture, not a working tool.
These defects are not visible when the file is opened: the model looks “good”. They come to light three weeks later, when your team starts the preliminary design. We have detailed the checks to carry out on receipt in our checklist for a usable scan-to-BIM model.
The reverse conversion (Archicad → Revit) produces exactly the same symptoms. The problem is not the direction of travel; it is the travel itself.
How we structure a delivered model
Whether the model is Revit or Archicad, the method is the same, and it is decided before modelling, not after:
- Template. We model in your office template if you send it to us (layers, styles, pen sets or view templates included). Otherwise, we deliver on our documented standard template.
- Storeys and levels. One level per real storey, elevations taken from the survey, naming agreed at the start.
- Element naming. Systematic naming convention for wall, slab and joinery types, so that your schedules and quantity take-offs come out clean.
- Layers / sub-categories. Structure agreed upfront; no catch-all “miscellaneous” layer.
- Contractual level of detail. LOD defined per element group (structure, joinery, MEP if requested); see our guide to LOD 100–400.
- Check against the cloud. Before delivery, the model is overlaid on the point cloud and the deviations checked against the agreed tolerance.
The full list of deliverables is on the BIM modelling page.
Special cases
Your practice uses both. Some practices in French-speaking Switzerland run Archicad for design and receive Revit from their engineers. In that case, choose the software of the team that will work on the model day to day; the other parties consult it through the IFC or a viewer (BIMx, BIMcollab), delivered as standard.
You are a building owner or property manager, and your architect has not yet been appointed. Two options: wait for the appointment to decide, or order the model with IFC and agree that the native format will be fixed when modelling starts. The scan itself can go ahead immediately: the point cloud is software-agnostic.
Do you really need both native formats? In practice, no; that case does not exist: a model is worked on in a single package, the one your team uses in-house. Choose yours; every other party consults it through the IFC export, included with every model.
FAQ
Do you really deliver both natively? Yes. Our production team models in Revit and in Archicad every day, on point clouds, without going through a conversion. You receive a file built with your software’s native tools, plus an IFC.
Which versions? Practically every version still maintained by the publishers. We deliver in the version you use, without forcing an upgrade.
Does the choice of software change the price? No. Revit or Archicad, the price depends on the floor area, the scope of the model (furniture, MEP, SIA 416 area report) and the number of storeys, not on the format. You can check for yourself: the configurator only asks for the format as a deliverable.
Can I receive only an IFC? Yes, but we advise against it as the sole deliverable: an IFC is very good for viewing and coordination, poor for editing. If your team has to keep the model alive, insist on the native file.
What about 2D drawings (DWG/PDF)? They are extracted from the model (plans, sections, elevations) and can be included in the deliverables depending on the offer.
Your model, in your software
Tell us the floor area, the scope and the format (Revit or Archicad) and get an immediate estimate, with no appointment and no call-back form.