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STL to PLY converter, without the upload.

Turn STL 3D models into PLY. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.

Drop STL files here

or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V

Ready · other file types work too0 bytes uploaded, ever

Convert to

How to convert STL to PLY

  1. Add your STL 3D models

    Drop STL files onto the box above, or click it to choose them. ToAny reads the file's contents to detect the type, so a wrong extension does not matter.

  2. PLY is already chosen

    Press Convert. There is nothing else to set. The work happens in this tab.

  3. Download

    Save the PLY, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.

Why ToAny

  • Private by construction

    The STL to PLY converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your 3D models are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

  • No upload, no queue

    Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so the conversion starts the moment you press Convert, even on a slow connection.

  • Free, without an account

    No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.

STL to PLY: what to expect

STL has no colour, no units and no texture, and it is large for detailed models. PLY keeps vertex colours, which STL cannot. STL is at home in 3D printing; PLY is the usual choice for 3D scans and point clouds with colour per vertex.

The model is converted as triangles: lines and points are dropped, positions are used as they are, and no axis conversion is applied, so a model that is Y-up in glTF and Z-up in STL, OBJ and PLY is written exactly as it was read. The PLY is binary and keeps vertex colours. Models up to 3,000,000 triangles are accepted.

STL vs PLY

STL

STL 3D model

STL describes a surface as a list of triangles and nothing else: no colour, no materials, no units. That simplicity made it the standard input of 3D printers and slicing software. It exists as binary and as text; the binary one is much smaller.

Opens in Every slicer and 3D printing program, CAD tools and Windows 3D Viewer

STL converter
PLY

PLY polygon model

PLY stores a mesh or a point cloud with arbitrary per-vertex properties, such as colour, and comes in text and binary forms. It was designed at Stanford to hold scanner output and is still how many 3D scanners and photogrammetry tools save results.

Opens in MeshLab, CloudCompare, Blender and 3D scanning software

PLY converter
STL compared with PLY
STLSTL 3D modelPLYPLY polygon model
Stands forStereolithography filePolygon File Format (Stanford Triangle Format)
Type3D model3D model
CompressionNoneNone
Introduced1987, by 3D Systems1994, by Greg Turk, Stanford University
Opens inEvery slicer and 3D printing program, CAD tools and Windows 3D ViewerMeshLab, CloudCompare, Blender and 3D scanning software
Best for3D printing3D scans and point clouds with colour per vertex
File extension.stl.ply

Questions

Are my 3D models uploaded anywhere?

No. The STL to PLY conversion runs inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. The file is not sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

Is anything lost when converting STL to PLY?

No further quality is lost: PLY stores the decoded audio exactly. The result is identical in content.

Can I convert several STL files at once?

Yes. Add as many as you like, convert them together and download each result or all of them as one ZIP.

How do I convert STL to PLY on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android?

The steps are the same everywhere because ToAny runs in the web browser: open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, add the STL file, press Convert and save the PLY. There is nothing to install.

Is there a file size limit?

Yes. Models up to 150 MB and 3,000,000 triangles are accepted; a larger one is refused with a message. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.