--- title: Meshy & Tripo API Alternative: Textured GLB at $0.075 description: Meshy and Tripo charge $0.20 to $0.60 per textured model. The ModelsLab text and image to 3D API returns a textured GLB for $0.075. Read Oct 15, 2026. url: https://modelslab.com/meshy-api-alternative canonical: https://modelslab.com/meshy-api-alternative type: website component: Seo/MeshyApiAlternative generated_at: 2026-10-15T15:54:47.849178Z --- 3D Verse Meshy & Tripo API Alternative: Textured GLB at $0.075 --- Last updated Oct 15, 2026 · By ModelsLab Engineering Meshy and Tripo charge $0.20 to $0.60 for a textured 3D model through their APIs. The ModelsLab 3D API turns a prompt or one image into a textured GLB for $0.075, with a median under 2 minutes, and no per-model charge on the $149/month plan. You give up Meshy's and Tripo's polycount and topology controls. [Get API key](https://modelslab.com/register) [API Documentation](https://docs.modelslab.com) - $0.075 per textured model - Text or image in, GLB, OBJ, STL or PLY out - No per-model charge on the $149/month plan Meshy, Tripo and ModelsLab Side by Side --- One textured model from each API, from each provider's own pages. | | Meshy | Tripo | ModelsLab | |---|---|---|---| | Textured model from a prompt | About $0.60 (preview 20 + refine 10 credits) | $0.20 (H2/H3, textured) | $0.075 | | Textured model from an image | About $0.60 (30 credits) | $0.30 (H2/H3, textured) | $0.075 | | How you pay | API needs a Pro plan or higher | Prepaid credits from $1 | Plans from $21/month; $149/month with no per-model charge | | Output | GLB, FBX, OBJ, USDZ, STL | GLB; FBX, USDZ, OBJ, STL through a convert request | GLB (default), OBJ with MTL and texture, STL, PLY | | Steps | Preview, then a separate refine request | One request | One request; median 83 s from text, 106 s from an image | | Mesh size | target\_polycount 100–300,000, quad or triangle topology | face\_limit polycount setting | About 1 million triangles, 35–40 MB per GLB, no polycount control | Read on October 15, 2026. Meshy prices are in credits; the dollar figures use its Pro plan, $20 for 1,000 credits. Should You Switch From Meshy or Tripo? --- ### Switch when cost per model is the problem A textured model costs $0.075 on ModelsLab against $0.20 to $0.30 on Tripo and about $0.60 on Meshy. For 10,000 models a month that is $750 against $2,000 to $6,000, and on the $149/month Open Source Unlimited plan the models carry no per-model charge. If you already use ModelsLab for images, generate the reference image and the model on one key. ### Stay when you need game-ready topology The ModelsLab GLB comes out dense: our latest text-to-3D and image-to-3D samples (October 14–15, 2026) each had about 1 million triangles and weighed 35–40 MB, with base color and metallic-roughness textures stored as WebP (the EXT\_texture\_webp glTF extension). Meshy and Tripo let you set a polycount and remesh in the API. If you need low-poly assets straight from the API, keep them, or decimate the ModelsLab mesh in Blender or a glTF tool before you ship it. Start from the endpoint pages: [text to 3D API](/text-to-3d) and [image to 3D API](/image-to-3d). Generate a 3D model with one request --- Text to 3D and image to 3D are two endpoints with the same response. Jobs are queued: read the model URL from the fetch reply. ### cURL — text to 3D bash ``` 1curl -X POST 'https://modelslab.com/api/v6/3d/text_to_3d' \ 2 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ 3 -d '{ 4 "key": "YOUR_MODELSLAB_API_KEY", 5 "prompt": "A crystal dragon egg on a stone pedestal", 6 "output_format": "glb" 7 }' 8# The reply carries "fetch_result". POST it with your key until "status" 9# is "success"; the model URL is in "output". ``` ### Python — image to 3D python ``` 1import time 2 3import requests 4 5KEY = "YOUR_MODELSLAB_API_KEY" 6 7result = requests.post( 8 "https://modelslab.com/api/v6/3d/image_to_3d", 9 json={ 10 "key": KEY, 11 "image": "https://example.com/sneaker.png", 12 "output_format": "glb", 13 }, 14 timeout=60, 15).json() 16fetch_url = result.get("fetch_result") 17 18while result.get("status") == "processing": 19 time.sleep(10) 20 result = requests.post(fetch_url, json={"key": KEY}, timeout=60).json() 21 22print(result["output"][0] if result.get("status") == "success" else result) ``` 3D Generation API Prices Compared --- Every 3D model API we priced, in the unit each provider publishes. | Provider | API access | Text to 3D | Image to 3D | |---|---|---|---| | ModelsLab 3D API | Public REST API, plans from $21/month | $0.075 per model | $0.075 per model; no per-model charge on the $149/month plan | | Meshy | API on Pro ($20/month for 1,000 credits, about $0.02 a credit) and up | 20 credits preview + 10 credits refine, about $0.60 with texture | 30 credits with texture, about $0.60 | | Tripo | Prepaid credits, $0.01 each, from $1 | $0.10, or $0.20 with texture (H2/H3) | $0.20, or $0.30 with texture (H2/H3) | | Stability AI | Prepaid credits, $0.01 each | — | SPAR3D $0.04; Stable Fast 3D $0.10 | | fal.ai (Trellis 2) | Pay per use | — | $0.25 to $0.35 per model | | Hyper3D Rodin | API on the Business plan only, $120/month | About 416 models a month on that plan | Same plan | Read on each provider's own page on October 15, 2026, in the unit the provider publishes. Meshy publishes API costs in credits and sells credits only inside its plans, so its dollar figures use the Pro plan's $20 for 1,000 credits. Meshy bills preview and refine as separate requests. Sources --- Every competitor price on this page, with the page we read it on. - [Meshy — API pricing](https://docs.meshy.ai/en/api/pricing) — Text to 3D preview 20 credits, refine 10 credits, billed as separate requests - [Meshy — pricing](https://www.meshy.ai/pricing) — Pro $20/month, 1,000 credits; Image to 3D 20 credits without texture, 30 with - [Meshy — Text to 3D API reference](https://docs.meshy.ai/en/api/text-to-3d) — target\_polycount 100–300,000, topology quad or triangle; model\_urls glb, fbx, obj, usdz, stl - [Tripo — Convert Format API](https://developers.tripo3d.ai/en/docs/models-convert) — FBX, USDZ, OBJ, STL and more from a finished model; face\_limit sets the polycount - [Tripo — developer pricing](https://developers.tripo3d.ai/en/pricing) — 1 credit = $0.01 - [Tripo — API pricing table](https://docs.tripo3d.ai/get-started/pricing.html) — H2/H3 text to 3D 10 credits (20 textured), image to 3D 20 (30 textured) - [Stability AI — platform pricing](https://platform.stability.ai/pricing) — Stable Fast 3D 10 credits, SPAR3D 4 credits, 1 credit = $0.01 - [fal.ai — Trellis 2](https://fal.ai/models/fal-ai/trellis-2) — $0.25 to $0.35 per generation by resolution - [Hyper3D — pricing](https://hyper3d.ai/pricing) — API access on Business, $120/month, about 416 models Get Expert Support in Seconds We're Here to Help. --- Want to know more? You can email us anytime at Chat with support[View Docs](https://docs.modelslab.com) On October 15, 2026 a textured model cost about $0.60 on Meshy (30 credits at its Pro plan's $0.02 a credit), $0.20 to $0.30 on Tripo, $0.25 to $0.35 for Trellis 2 on fal, and $0.075 on ModelsLab. Stability AI's SPAR3D costs $0.04 but takes an image only. Replace Meshy's preview and refine requests with one request to https://modelslab.com/api/v6/3d/text_to_3d (or image_to_3d), put your key in the JSON body, POST the fetch_result URL until status is success, and read the model URL from output instead of model_urls. GLB by default, or OBJ with MTL and texture, STL or PLY. Meshy also returns FBX and USDZ, and Tripo converts to them; on ModelsLab, convert the GLB in Blender or another glTF tool. No. Recent ModelsLab samples had about 1 million triangles and weighed 35–40 MB. Meshy's target_polycount (100 to 300,000) and Tripo's face_limit set it in the request; with ModelsLab, decimate the mesh afterwards. Yes. The 3D endpoints run on ModelsLab GPUs, so the $149/month Open Source Unlimited plan carries no per-model charge for them, with up to 15 requests at a time. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is a cheaper alternative to the Meshy API? On October 15, 2026 a textured model cost about $0.60 on Meshy (30 credits at its Pro plan's $0.02 a credit), $0.20 to $0.30 on Tripo, $0.25 to $0.35 for Trellis 2 on fal, and $0.075 on ModelsLab. Stability AI's SPAR3D costs $0.04 but takes an image only. ### How do I switch from the Meshy or Tripo API? Replace Meshy's preview and refine requests with one request to https://modelslab.com/api/v6/3d/text_to_3d (or image_to_3d), put your key in the JSON body, POST the fetch_result URL until status is success, and read the model URL from output instead of model_urls. ### Which formats does ModelsLab return? GLB by default, or OBJ with MTL and texture, STL or PLY. Meshy also returns FBX and USDZ, and Tripo converts to them; on ModelsLab, convert the GLB in Blender or another glTF tool. ### Can I set the polycount? No. Recent ModelsLab samples had about 1 million triangles and weighed 35–40 MB. Meshy's target_polycount (100 to 300,000) and Tripo's face_limit set it in the request; with ModelsLab, decimate the mesh afterwards. ### Is there a plan with no per-model charge? Yes. The 3D endpoints run on ModelsLab GPUs, so the $149/month Open Source Unlimited plan carries no per-model charge for them, with up to 15 requests at a time. --- *This markdown version is optimized for AI agents and LLMs.* **Links:** - [Website](https://modelslab.com) - [API Documentation](https://docs.modelslab.com) - [Blog](https://modelslab.com/blog) --- *Generated by ModelsLab - 2026-10-15*