Compare · ifcreport vs BIMvision
ifcreport.app vs BIMvision
Let's start with the obvious: BIMvision is a real, well-built tool. The Datacomp team in Krakow has shipped a free Windows IFC viewer for over a decade, with a paid plugin ecosystem (Advanced Reports, Clash Detection, Comparison) that genuinely solves problems. If you're a Windows shop that wants a 3D viewer, a clash tool and a quantity reporter in one place, BIMvision is hard to beat.
ifcreport.app is a narrower product. It does one job — turn an IFC into a takeoff PDF — and it does it in a browser tab. There is no 3D viewer, no Windows install, no plugin store. The two tools overlap on quantity extraction and diverge on almost everything else.
Where they overlap
Both read IfcElementQuantity property sets and produce a schedule of element counts and quantities. Both support IFC2x3 and IFC4. Both let you break the schedule down by building storey. If the only thing you need is a list of how many walls, slabs and doors the model contains and how much volume they add up to, either tool will give you the same numbers — they're reading the same psets, after all. The disagreement, when there is one, comes down to how each tool aggregates element types and what it does when a quantity is missing from the export.
ifcreport.app falls back to bounding-box estimates when IfcQuantityVolume is absent and labels those rows explicitly so you don't mistake an estimate for an authored value. BIMvision's Advanced Reports plugin handles the same case but tends to leave the cell blank. Neither approach is wrong; they just suit different review styles.
Where they differ
| Capability | BIMvision | ifcreport.app |
|---|---|---|
| Install required | Windows install | None — runs in browser |
| Platform | Windows desktop | Any modern browser |
| 3D viewer | Yes | No (different product) |
| Element schedule | Paid Advanced Reports plugin | Free |
| Storey breakdown | Paid plugin | Pro |
| Branded PDF export | Yes (via plugin) | Pro |
| Excel export | Yes | Not yet |
| Pricing | Free viewer; plugins from ~€350 | Free + €19/mo Pro |
Pick BIMvision when…
You're on Windows, you want a full 3D viewer alongside your reports, you already use Allplan or Vico and want a workflow that plays nicely with them, or you need clash detection and model comparison in addition to takeoff. The plugin pricing pays for itself fast in a busy office, and the desktop UX has more keyboard shortcuts than any browser tool will match.
Pick ifcreport.app when…
You need a takeoff PDF on a tender deadline, you can't install software on the machine you're working on (locked-down client laptops, IT policy, Mac without a Windows VM), the IFC is NDA-bound and you don't want to upload it anywhere, or you just want a clean attachment to send a client without explaining what BIM software is. Drop, click, send.