Compare · ifcreport vs BIMcamel
ifcreport.app vs BIMcamel
BIMcamel is a large, well-made suite of free browser tools for IFC — view, validate, clean, convert, and a Quantity Takeoff that exports to Excel and CSV. It overlaps with ifcreport.app on the one job we do, so it's fair to ask which to reach for. The honest answer comes down to two things: where your file gets processed, and whether you want a spreadsheet or a report.
Where they overlap
Both run in a browser tab with no desktop install and no Revit, ArchiCAD or Allplan licence, both have a genuinely free tier, and both read quantities from the IFC's own IfcElementQuantity property sets. On a well-authored model the numbers they pull will largely agree, because they are reading the same psets. If you just need quantities out of an IFC without opening a BIM authoring tool, either one clears that bar.
Where they differ
BIMcamel processes files on its servers. Its own documentation is clear about it: guest uploads are stream-only and deleted once the download finishes, and free-account results are kept for seven days. That's a reasonable posture, and nothing is used to train AI — but the file does leave your machine. ifcreport.app parses the IFC entirely in a Web Worker inside your browser; it is never uploaded, stored or proxied. For a confidential or NDA-bound model, that is the line that matters.
The second difference is the output. BIMcamel hands back spreadsheet data — XLSX and CSV, grouped by class, storey, type or material, with subtotals, a project total, and a GlobalId and source flag on every row. That is more flexible than what we produce, and on export breadth BIMcamel is ahead of us: ifcreport.app exports PDF only, with Excel still on the list. ifcreport.app instead produces a finished takeoff PDF — cover page, element schedule, storey breakdown, branded on Pro — meant to be attached to a tender or sent to someone who will never open an IFC. One tool gives you data to shape; the other gives you a report to send.
One more, in BIMcamel's favour: when a model was exported without authored quantities, BIMcamel can compute them from the geometry and flags which values it derived. ifcreport.app does not re-derive geometry — it falls back to element counts and labelled bounding-box estimates. On sparsely-authored models, BIMcamel will fill more cells.
| Capability | BIMcamel | ifcreport.app |
|---|---|---|
| Install required | None — runs in browser | None — runs in browser |
| Where the file is processed | Uploaded to BIMcamel servers (guest files stream-only, deleted after download; free-account results kept 7 days) | Local in browser — the IFC is never uploaded |
| Primary output | Excel (XLSX) + CSV data | Structured takeoff PDF report |
| Grouping | IFC class, storey, type or material | IFC class + storey (material schedule on Pro) |
| Missing quantities | Computed from geometry as a fallback | Element counts + bounding-box estimate — no geometry re-derivation |
| Per-row provenance | GlobalId + authored-vs-geometry source flag on every row | Quantities read from IfcElementQuantity property sets |
| Free tier | Guests 3 runs/day (≤25 MB); free account 6 runs/day (≤100 MB) | 3 full reports per month |
| IFC versions | IFC2x3, IFC4; IFC4.3 for most operations | IFC2x3, IFC4, IFC4x3 |
| Scope | 40+ IFC tools — view, validate, clean, convert, COBie | One job — the takeoff report |
BIMcamel details from bimcamel.com, accessed July 2026. Features and limits change — check their site for current terms.
Pick BIMcamel when…
You want the quantities as a spreadsheet to pivot or feed an estimating tool, you need per-row GlobalId and a source flag for auditability, you are working with models that skipped authored quantities and want a geometry-computed fallback, or you want the wider toolkit — validation, cleaning, conversion, COBie. If uploading the file to BIMcamel's servers is fine for your project, its breadth is a real advantage.
Pick ifcreport.app when…
The file cannot leave your machine — an NDA-bound or confidential model where “never uploaded” is a requirement, not a nicety. You want a finished, branded PDF a client or cost manager can read rather than a raw export. And you'd rather drop a file and be done than configure anything. That is the whole product.