How Much Does 3D Laser Scanning Cost in Montreal?
Published price ranges for point clouds, scan-to-DWG, Revit BIM at LOD 200/300/350, MEP scope and digital twins, plus every variable that pushes a project toward the low or high end of the range.
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Send us the building location, approximate square footage and required deliverables. We'll review the scope and get back to you.
There is no single number for what 3D laser scanning costs in Montreal. A vacant 5,000 sq ft retail unit and an occupied 120,000 sq ft industrial plant are both "as-built projects," but they cost completely different amounts per square foot because the work behind the scenes, field time, registration, drafting and coordination, scales with complexity and access, not just area. What follows are the real ranges we quote against, the variables that move a project between them, and worked examples so you can place your own building on the scale before you call.
These ranges apply to commercial, institutional and industrial buildings across Greater Montréal, from Vieux-Montréal heritage stock to Laval industrial parks and Downtown office towers. If your project sits outside Quebec entirely, the same variables apply, but travel and mobilization will move the number, covered below.
Get a Quote for Your Project
Send us the building location, approximate square footage and required deliverables. We'll review the scope and get back to you.
Request a QuotePrice ranges by deliverable
Rates are quoted per square foot of the building or area being captured, on top of standard site access. See the variables section below for what pushes a project up or down within each range.
| Deliverable | Range | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point cloud only (registered, no drawings) | $0.10 – $0.25 | per sq ft | Raw or lightly cleaned registered scan data, delivered as .e57/.rcp. No 2D or 3D modelling included. |
| Scan-to-DWG (2D as-built plans) | $0.35 – $0.85 | per sq ft | Architectural floor plans, reflected ceiling plans and/or elevations drafted from the point cloud in AutoCAD. |
| Revit BIM, LOD 200 | $0.70 – $1.30 | per sq ft | Generalized systems with approximate size, shape, location and orientation. Good for early planning and space programming. |
| Revit BIM, LOD 300 | $0.90 – $1.80 | per sq ft | Precise geometry, quantity and location, suitable for construction coordination and permit drawings. |
| Revit BIM, LOD 350 (interdisciplinary coordination) | $1.20 – $2.30 | per sq ft | Adds interfaces with other building systems, connection details and clash-ready geometry for MEP/structural coordination. |
| MEP scope add-on (ductwork, piping, conduit, equipment) | +40% – 80% | over base LOD price | Ceiling and shaft congestion, occupied-space scanning restrictions and dense system counts push MEP toward the high end. |
| Digital twin build (hosted, navigable point cloud + linked data) | $1.50 – $4.00 | per sq ft | Includes cloud hosting setup, tagging/markup tools and integration with a CMMS or asset register where applicable. |
| Digital twin hosting and annual re-scan | 15% – 25% | of initial build cost, per year | Covers platform hosting, storage and a scheduled re-capture to keep the twin current as the building changes. |
These are Montreal-market ranges based on projects we have delivered across LiDAR scanning and drone surveying, as-built documentation and digital twin and BIM scopes. No package on this page is a flat rate; every quote is built from the actual building and scope described to us.
The variables that determine your number
Two buildings of identical square footage can land at opposite ends of the same price range. These are the factors we weigh on every quote.
Building size and floor count
Price per square foot drops as total area grows because mobilization, setup and registration overhead is spread across more space. A single 3,000 sq ft floor costs more per square foot than a 200,000 sq ft plant, even though the plant costs far more in total. Multi-storey buildings also add vertical circulation, stairwells and shafts that need their own scan positions.
Geometric complexity
An open-plan warehouse with tall clear spans scans fast. A building full of partitions, mezzanines, curved walls, split levels or dense equipment rooms needs many more scan positions per square foot and more time in registration and drafting to resolve overlapping geometry.
Accessibility and ceiling heights
Locked mechanical rooms, roof access without a hatch, crawlspaces, tank interiors and ceilings above 6 m all slow a crew down. High ceilings often require scanning from multiple heights or supplementing terrestrial LiDAR with a pole-mounted or drone-based scanner, which adds equipment and processing time.
Required accuracy and tolerance
Most as-built work is delivered at 3 to 6 mm relative accuracy. Tighter tolerances, such as those required for precision manufacturing layouts or structural deflection monitoring, call for more overlapping scan positions, checked control networks and slower field procedures, which raises cost.
Number of scan positions and registration effort
Every additional scan position adds field time and, more significantly, registration and QA time in the office. Complex or cluttered spaces can need two to three times the scan density of an open floor plate to avoid occlusion gaps, and each position has to be tied cleanly into the overall network.
Occupied vs. vacant space, and after-hours work
A vacant unit can be scanned in a single continuous shift during normal hours. An occupied office tower, retail store or hospital typically requires evening, overnight or weekend mobilization to avoid disrupting staff, tenants or the public, which adds crew premiums and stretches the schedule across more visits.
Heritage detail
Pre-1950 buildings with ornamental plaster, stone coursing, curved staircases or irregular masonry take longer to capture cleanly and longer to draft, since the drafter has to represent as-is irregularities rather than idealized straight lines. Heritage permit submissions may also require a higher level of elevation detail than a typical commercial as-built.
Exterior, façade and drone add-ons
Roof, façade and site-context capture is usually priced separately from interior scanning. Ground-based façade scanning is straightforward on accessible streets; drone photogrammetry or drone LiDAR is needed for tall towers, restricted-access roofs or full-site topographic context, and pricing depends on flight complexity, airspace restrictions and required ground control.
Deliverable format and required LOD
A 2D DWG floor plan is cheaper than a Revit model of the same space because Revit modelling requires building intelligent, parametric objects rather than drafted lines. Within Revit, each step up in Level of Development from LOD 200 to LOD 350 adds modelling time, since more precise geometry and system interfaces have to be represented.
Travel and mobilization inside vs. outside Greater Montréal
Sites inside Greater Montréal are typically a single day trip with no travel premium. Projects on the North Shore, South Shore fringe, Eastern Townships, Outaouais or further afield add mobilization time, mileage and sometimes overnight crew costs, which are quoted as a line item rather than folded into the per-square-foot rate.
Winter conditions
Snow cover can obscure exterior grade, drainage and site features, so winter exterior surveys sometimes need a follow-up capture once snow melts. Cold also slows equipment setup and battery performance in unheated buildings, and access to roofs and exterior stairs can require extra safety precautions.
Turnaround and rush fees
Standard turnaround for a 2D as-built is roughly 5 to 10 business days after field capture, and 2 to 4 weeks for a full LOD 300 Revit model, depending on size. Compressing that timeline to meet a permit deadline or closing date usually adds a rush fee, since it means reallocating drafting staff off other projects.
Revisions and coordinate control
A quote typically includes one or two rounds of revisions against the agreed scope. Projects that need the model tied into a specific site coordinate system or geodetic datum, or coordinated against a third-party survey, add control network setup and cross-checking time before drafting starts.
What real projects cost, and why
Four representative scopes, the assumptions behind each estimate, and the specific factors driving the number up or down within the published ranges.
5,000 sq ft retail unit, scan-to-DWG
Single-storey, mostly open sales floor with a stockroom and one washroom core, vacant between tenants, standard 3 m ceilings.
Roughly $2,500 to $3,800 for a full 2D as-built package (floor plan, RCP and elevations).
- — Small footprint sits toward the higher end of the per-square-foot range because mobilization and setup are fixed costs spread over less area
- — Open layout with few partitions keeps scan position count low
- — Vacant unit means daytime access with no after-hours premium
- — No MEP or Revit scope requested, keeping this to the base DWG rate
40,000 sq ft office floorplate, LOD 300 Revit with MEP
Single occupied floor in a downtown tower, mixed open workstations and closed offices, ceiling-mounted mechanical and electrical systems, weekend-only access.
Roughly $58,000 to $104,000 for a coordinated LOD 300 architectural and MEP Revit model.
- — Base LOD 300 rate applies to the full floor area
- — MEP scope adds 40-80% on top of the architectural base rate because of ceiling congestion and system density
- — Occupied building requires weekend or overnight mobilization, which lengthens the field schedule across two or three visits
- — Partition walls and closed offices raise scan position count relative to an open floor plate
120,000 sq ft industrial plant, point cloud plus 2D as-built
Single-storey manufacturing floor with high clear-span ceilings, overhead crane rails, process equipment and a mezzanine office area, operating during capture.
Roughly $54,000 to $90,000 combining registered point cloud delivery with 2D structural and layout drawings.
- — Large open area brings the per-square-foot rate toward the lower end of the range
- — High ceilings and crane rails require scanning from multiple heights, adding field time despite the open layout
- — Live production means working around equipment and scheduling around shift changes rather than full building shutdown
- — Mezzanine and office pod add localized complexity inside an otherwise simple envelope
Heritage façade documentation, single building elevation set
Four-storey stone building in a historic district, ornamental cornice and window surrounds, ground-floor commercial frontage on an active street.
Roughly $6,000 to $14,000 for full elevation drawings suitable for a heritage restoration permit.
- — Ornamental stone detail takes longer to capture and draft than a flat curtain wall of the same area
- — Street-level access is straightforward, but early-morning scheduling is often needed to avoid pedestrian and terrasse traffic
- — Permit-grade elevation drawings require finer line-weight detail and stone-course accuracy than a standard commercial elevation
- — No interior scope in this example; adding interior as-builts would be priced separately using the standard per-square-foot rates
Tape and laser distance measuring vs. LiDAR
A technician with a tape measure and a handheld laser distance meter is the cheapest way to get numbers on paper, and for a small, simple, low-stakes space that can be enough. The problem shows up on anything larger or more consequential: tape surveys record a handful of dimensions and assume the rest of the building is square, plumb and level. Real buildings rarely are. Walls lean, slabs settle, columns shift a few centimetres from floor to floor, and none of that shows up in a dimension string taken corner to corner.
Those gaps surface later, usually at the worst possible time. A fabricated duct run that does not clear a beam, a partition wall that lands 80 mm off the drawn line, a tenant fit-out that cannot fit the furniture plan because the room is narrower than the file says: these are change orders, and change orders cost far more per square foot to fix on site than the original measurement would have cost to get right. Industry estimates commonly put rework tied to inaccurate existing-condition information at several times the cost of accurate upfront documentation, once labour, material waste and schedule delay are counted.
LiDAR scanning costs more upfront than a tape survey because it captures millions of measured points instead of a few dozen, typically to within 3 to 6 mm of the real building. That density means the design team is working from what the building actually is, not an assumption of what it should be. On any project with real design or construction risk, that upfront premium is small compared to a single avoided change order.
How to request an accurate quote
A useful quote request does not need a full drawing set, but it does need enough detail that we are not guessing at the variables above. Give us the building address, the approximate square footage and floor count, whether the space is occupied or vacant, and which deliverable you need: point cloud only, 2D DWG plans, Revit at LOD 200, 300 or 350, an MEP scope, or a hosted digital twin.
If you know about any complicating factors, tight ceiling access, heritage detail, a hard deadline, out-of-region travel, mention them up front. We'll come back with a scoped range and, for most projects, confirm the firm number after a short call or a look at any existing drawings or photos you already have.
Frequently asked questions
What does 3D laser scanning cost per square foot in Montreal?
Registered point cloud data alone runs about $0.10 to $0.25 per sq ft. Once you add drafted 2D plans, cost moves to $0.35 to $0.85 per sq ft, and a fully modelled Revit building at LOD 300 runs $0.90 to $1.80 per sq ft. The right number for your project depends on building size, complexity, access and the deliverable format you need.
Why do two buildings of the same size get different quotes?
Square footage sets a baseline, but the price mainly moves with geometric complexity, access restrictions, occupied-versus-vacant scheduling, required accuracy and the deliverable format. A simple open warehouse and a partitioned, occupied office of the same area can differ in price by two times or more.
Is LiDAR scanning more expensive than a traditional field survey?
The upfront quote for LiDAR scanning is usually higher than sending a technician out with a tape and a laser distance meter. The difference shows up later: tape-based surveys miss out-of-square walls, sagging slabs and undocumented changes, which surface as change orders and rework during design or construction. LiDAR captures the building as it actually exists in one visit, which is almost always cheaper over the life of a project once rework is factored in.
Do you charge extra for scanning outside Greater Montréal?
Sites inside Greater Montréal are generally quoted with no separate travel line. Projects further out, such as the Eastern Townships, Outaouais or a distant North Shore or South Shore location, include a mobilization and mileage charge that is itemized separately from the per-square-foot scanning rate.
How long does a typical project take from scan to delivered drawings?
Field capture on a mid-sized commercial building usually takes one to three days. From there, 2D as-built plans typically take 5 to 10 business days to draft, and a full LOD 300 Revit model takes 2 to 4 weeks depending on size and MEP scope. Rush turnaround is available for an added fee.
Can you give me a firm number without a site visit?
We can give a range based on square footage, building type and the deliverable you describe, but a firm quote needs a short scoping call or a look at existing drawings and photos so we can account for access, complexity and any occupied-building constraints.
What information should I send to get an accurate quote?
Send the building address, approximate square footage, number of floors, whether the space is occupied or vacant, the deliverable you need (point cloud, 2D DWG, Revit LOD 200/300/350, MEP, or a digital twin), and any deadline you're working toward. That's usually enough for us to come back with a realistic number and, where needed, a short list of clarifying questions.
Services and service areas referenced above
Get a Quote for Your Project
Send us the building location, approximate square footage and required deliverables. We'll review the scope and get back to you.
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