GLB to PLY Converter
FileFlip converts GLB to PLY entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert a GLB file to PLY?#
- Drop your GLB file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to PLY and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Assimp on your own machine.
- Save the PLY file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting GLB to PLY lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting GLB to PLY rebuilds the file in PLY's own model rather than re-encoding it, so everything PLY can represent comes through exactly and anything it cannot has to be dropped. Expect the geometry to be exact, and anything the target has no place for, such as a rig, to be left behind.
Is it safe to convert GLB files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts GLB files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What GLB to PLY actually does to the file#
Converting GLB to PLY runs on Assimp, downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, rebuilds the file in the target's own model, and drops skeleton and animation.
| Engine | Assimp |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: GLB → PLY |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Rebuilt in the target's model |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Textures | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Skeleton and animation | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
Worth knowing before you start:
- if the source carries a skeleton or animation, this target has no place to store it
What is a GLB file?#
A GLB file is glTF's binary packaging, developed by the Khronos Group, wrapping the JSON scene description together with its geometry buffers and textures into one self-contained file instead of a JSON document with separate buffer and image files beside it.
Use GLB whenever a model has to be handed to a web viewer, AR app or game engine as a single upload.
Convert GLB back to glTF's JSON form only when something inside the file needs to be read or edited directly.
What is a PLY file?#
A PLY file stores a point cloud or mesh as a list of elements, typically vertices and faces, each carrying whatever properties its writer chose to attach, such as colour, normals or scan confidence, which is why 3D scanners and photogrammetry tools favour it over formats with a fixed vertex layout.
Use PLY straight out of a 3D scanner or photogrammetry tool, since it's built to carry exactly the per-point data those pipelines produce.
Convert PLY to OBJ or glTF once the scan needs to go into a rendering or animation pipeline that expects UV-mapped textures instead of vertex colour.
GLB to PLY questions people ask#
Can I open a GLB file directly on my phone?
Android's Scene Viewer opens a GLB file straight into an AR view without a separate app, since it's built to consume glTF's binary form directly. iOS's AR Quick Look expects USDZ instead, so a GLB usually needs converting first to view in AR on an iPhone.
What does GLB stand for?
GLB is short for binary glTF, the single-file packaging of the glTF format. It isn't a separate format from glTF, just the same JSON scene, buffers and textures bundled into one container.
Why is GLB smaller than glTF?
A .gltf file stores its binary buffer data as base64 text embedded in JSON when it isn't split into separate .bin files, which inflates size by roughly a third. GLB stores that same data as raw binary bytes in its own chunk, so it avoids that text-encoding overhead entirely.
Do GLB and glTF look the same when rendered?
Yes, GLB and glTF describe the identical data model, meshes, materials, animations and scene graph, so a compliant viewer renders them the same way. The only difference is packaging: one file versus a JSON document with separate buffers and textures.