| Criterion | Meshy | Tripo AI |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-colour 3MF | Yes | Not listed |
| Free plan includes downloads | Yes | Not listed |
As of November 2026, Meshy documents more print tooling than Tripo: a printability check with a repair step, a millimetre unit switch and 3MF in 1 to 16 filament colours, where Tripo's multi-colour support and pricing couldn't be verified on its own site. Tripo documents segmentation tools and PLY and glTF output. Neither builds to dimensions. For 3D printing, our pick is GrandpaCAD: it sculpts figurines in a chat too, and builds parts to the millimetres you type.
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Both turn text or a photo into a textured mesh, and both export STL and 3MF. For printing, the differences are in repair, units, colour and licences. Here's what each vendor documents, side by side, with GrandpaCAD as a third column. We haven't printed output from either.
Meshy
Textured meshes for figurines and props, with a documented repair step and 3MF in up to 16 filament colours.
Tripo
Textured meshes with segmentation tools and PLY or glTF output; its pricing and licence couldn't be checked on its own site.
YesPartlyNoNot listed
| Meshy7 / 14 | Criterion | Tripo AI5 / 14 |
|---|---|---|
| Exact mm×3 | ||
| Edit after×2 | ||
| Sculpts×2 | ||
| STL/3MF×2 | ||
| No CAD skills×2 | ||
| Multi-colour×1 | ||
| STEP×1 | ||
| Free files×1 |
Made by the GrandpaCAD team. We set the criteria and score every tool ourselves, GrandpaCAD included. No sponsors or affiliate links. How we score
Side by side
Every cell carries its source. Tripo's pricing page blocked our fetchers, so its prices come from a third party and are marked unverified.
| What | Meshy | Tripo AI | GrandpaCAD |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it makes | Text or image to a textured mesh; remesh, retexture, rig and animate. No parameters.Src: Meshy docs: 3D printing, checked | Text, image or multi-view to mesh; remesh, segmentation, retexture and rigging.Src: Tripo llms.txt, checked | An agent writes OpenSCAD for parametric parts and runs a sculpting engine for organic shapes; both can be fused into one file.Src: GrandpaCAD 2.0, checked |
| Input | Text, image, multi-view image (paid).Src: Meshy pricing, checked | Text, image, multi-view image.Src: Tripo llms.txt, checked | Text, photos, sketches, SVG, and your own STL, 3MF, OBJ or GLB (mesh editing is labelled early access).Src: GrandpaCAD 2.0, checked |
| Exports | STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX, GLB, USDZ and BLEND.Src: Meshy docs: 3D printing, checked | STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX, GLB/glTF, USDZ and PLY.Src: Tripo llms.txt, checked | 3MF, STL, STEP, OBJ, GLB and GLTF downloads on a paid pack or plan.Src: GrandpaCAD (STEP export), checked |
| Printing | Printability check plus "Make Printable" repair for non-manifold edges and holes: 10 credits, paid plan for Meshy-generated models. Default unit is cm (switchable to mm); resizing needs a paid plan; 1.2 mm minimum FDM wall advised.Src: Meshy docs: 3D printing, checked | A third-party guide credits it with auto-repair and direct STL/3MF export but says to verify output. Tripo's own blog lists holes, flipped normals, thin walls and scale errors as the usual causes of unprintable models.Src: Tripo blog: why is my model not printable, checked | Built in millimetres; 3MF and STL load 1:1 in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer and OrcaSlicer. The agent renders the model from several angles and fixes what it sees before handing it over.Src: GrandpaCAD: CAD for 3D printing, checked |
| Multi-colour | Multi-Color Print exports a 3MF with 1-16 filament colours; Pro and above send it straight to Bambu Studio and other slicers.Src: Meshy help: multi-colour prints, checked | Unverified.Src: Tripo llms.txt, checked | 3MF comes painted in four filaments by default, one slot per region; ask for more colours or exact hex values.Src: GrandpaCAD 2.0, checked |
| Edit after | Mesh only: remesh, retexture, rig, animate. No editable dimensions.Src: Meshy docs: 3D printing, checked | Mesh only (remesh, segment, retexture, rig). No parameters.Src: Tripo llms.txt, checked | Every dimension you mention can become a slider; moving it rebuilds the part and doesn't use a generation. Sculpted shapes don't follow sliders: a new shape or palette is a new generation; a height slider only scales the whole model.Src: GrandpaCAD pricing and FAQ, checked |
| Free plan | 100 credits/month, up to 10 assets, 10 downloads/month; free outputs are CC BY 4.0 (commercial use with attribution).Src: Meshy pricing, checked | Third party: 200 credits/month, public, non-commercial models. Tripo's pricing page blocked our fetcher, so this is unverified.Src: CostBench: Tripo AI pricing (third party, checked by them 2026-11-05), checked | 3 trial generations, no card, same output quality as paid. No downloads on the free account.Src: GrandpaCAD pricing and FAQ, checked |
| Paid from | Pro $20/month or $240/year (EU display EUR 19/month), 1,000 credits; Premium $40, Ultra $100 per month.Src: Meshy pricing, checked | Third party: Pro $20/month, 3,000 credits, private models and commercial use. Unverified on Tripo's site.Src: CostBench: Tripo AI pricing (third party, checked by them 2026-11-05), checked | $12 one-off for 25 generations (valid 1 year); $24/month for 70; $228/year for 840. Prices exclude tax.Src: GrandpaCAD pricing and FAQ, checked |
| Commercial use | Free outputs CC BY 4.0; Pro gives private, customer-owned assets.Src: Meshy pricing, checked | Third party: free outputs non-commercial; Pro adds commercial use.Src: CostBench: Tripo AI pricing (third party, checked by them 2026-11-05), checked | You own the models you generate and can use them commercially.Src: GrandpaCAD terms, checked |
Criteria grid
On our eight criteria, Meshy leads Tripo only where Tripo's site doesn't document the feature (multi-colour, free downloads); they match on the other six, and neither has editable dimensions or STEP.
YesPartlyNoNot listed
Where they differ
Meshy documents
- Documented print workflow: a printability check and a "Make Printable" repair for non-manifold edges and holes.
- Multi-colour 3MF with 1 to 16 filament colours, sent straight to Bambu Studio on Pro and above.
- Free plan allows 10 downloads a month (CC BY 4.0), and the price is published: $20 a month or $240 a year.
Tripo documents
- Segmentation tools, which Meshy's docs don't list.
- PLY and glTF export alongside STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX, GLB and USDZ; Meshy lists neither.
- A third party lists 3,000 credits on its $20 Pro plan against Meshy's 1,000 (credit costs per model differ, and Tripo's numbers are unverified).
Where both fall short for functional prints
Neither makes editable dimensions. A mesh can be scaled as a whole, but a 6 mm hole can't be set to 6.2 mm. If your print has to fit a shaft, a screw or a board, you need a text-to-CAD tool. GrandpaCAD does both: measured parts with sliders, and sculpted figurines split into four filament colours by default. See the text-to-CAD comparison.
Test them yourself on the free plans
We haven't run the same prompts through both tools yet, so here's the test we'd run. Meshy's free plan covers it; we haven't confirmed that Tripo's does. Use the same prompt in each, export 3MF and STL, and open both in your slicer.
A sitting fox figurine, 80 mm tall, solid body, flat base so it stands without supports, orange body with a white chest and black paws.
- Check the size the slicer reports. Meshy exports in centimetres unless you switch to mm, so an 80 mm figure can arrive at 8 mm.
- Run the slicer's repair check and count the non-manifold warnings.
- Slice with a 0.4 mm nozzle and look for walls that vanish (thin ears, tails, whiskers).
- For colour, open the 3MF and count the filament slots it asks for.
- Note the credits each attempt used on the free plan.
Before you print either one, run it through our 8-point printability checklist.
Our verdict
Pick GrandpaCAD for 3D printing. It sculpts figurines painted in four filaments in a chat, and when the print has to fit something, or a figure needs an exactly sized base, it builds to the millimetres you type, which neither Meshy nor Tripo does.
Meshy: platform and limits
- Runs in
- Web; API; slicer and DCC plugins.Source: Meshy pricing, checked
- Limits
- No editable dimensions; repair and resize are paid; Meshy's help centre says some models have "effectively zero thickness" and need Solidify.Source: Meshy help: fixing a hollow model, checked
Tripo: platform and limits
- Runs in
- Web (studio.tripo3d.ai); API.Source: Tripo llms.txt, checked
- Limits
- Mesh only; pricing unverified on the vendor site.Source: CostBench: Tripo AI pricing (third party, checked by them 2026-11-05), checked
Questions people ask
Is Meshy or Tripo better for 3D printing?
For 3D printing we'd pick neither: we'd use GrandpaCAD, because it sculpts figurines and also builds parts to exact millimetres. Between the two, Meshy documents more print tooling: a printability check, a Make Printable repair step, a mm unit switch and multi-colour 3MF with 1 to 16 filament colours. Tripo exports STL and 3MF too, but its multi-colour support and pricing couldn't be verified on its own site. We haven't printed output from either.
Can I use Meshy or Tripo models commercially on the free plan?
Meshy's free outputs are CC BY 4.0, so commercial use needs attribution. A third party (CostBench, 2026-11-05) lists Tripo's free models as public and non-commercial; Tripo's own pricing page blocked our fetcher, so check it before you sell prints.
Do Meshy and Tripo models print without repair?
Not reliably. Meshy's help centre says some models have "effectively zero thickness" and need Solidify, and its repair step costs 10 credits on a paid plan. Tripo's own blog lists holes, flipped normals, thin walls and scale errors as the usual causes of unprintable models. Run every mesh through your slicer's repair check first.
Can Meshy or Tripo make a part to exact dimensions?
No. Both make meshes without editable dimensions. You can scale the whole model in your slicer, but you can't set a hole to 6 mm. For parts that must fit, GrandpaCAD builds to the millimetres you type and gives each one a slider, and sculpts figurines in the same chat.