Meshory vs Modelist
Modelist and Meshory are both local-first 3D print library apps with one-time pricing. A sourced comparison of duplicates, AI search, archives and scale.
Modelist is the competitor most alike Meshory on paper: a local-first desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) that indexes the files you already have, renders thumbnails automatically, handles archives without extracting them, and charges once instead of monthly (€20 for v1.x, €60 lifetime, free up to 50 files). It's built by a solo developer in Slovenia and has some clever features: nested and smart collections, a phone-to-desktop share inbox, a printers-and-materials library you can filter your models against, and a duplicate finder with three matching methods.
Since the philosophies match, the choice comes down to specifics: what happens at real library scale, how metadata survives reorganizing, AI search, and slicer workflow.
All Modelist facts verified against modelist.app as of 26. August 2026. We make Meshory, so read accordingly, and tell us if anything here has gone stale.
The short version.
| Funktion | Meshory | Modelist |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Windows x64, Linux x64 |
| Price | $34.99 one-time (early access) | Free up to 50 files; €20 (v1.x) or €60 lifetime, discounted to €45 on the current promo |
| Scans files in place | Yes: watches your folders; files are never moved or uploaded | Yes: watched folders, rescanned at launch (no live watching) |
| Thumbnails | Automatic: a background worker pool renders STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX and STEP | Automatic, plus embedded 3MF thumbnails |
| 3D viewer | STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX and STEP/STP, including multi-plate Bambu 3MF projects | STL, 3MF, OBJ and STEP (200 MB default render cap) |
| ZIP / archive handling | Browse inside ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ archives and preview models without extracting | ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, TAR.GZ and TAR.BZ2 indexed without extraction |
| Bundled photos & PDFs | Photos viewed inline, PDFs in an embedded viewer, inside archives too | Custom thumbnail images only; no photo gallery or documents documented |
| Collections & favorites | Collections, tags & favorites on top of your folders | Nested + smart collections; no favorites flag |
| Per-model notes | Free-text notes on every model | Yes: searchable freeform notes |
| Duplicate finder | Exact, geometry-aware and whole-folder matching (archives and NAS included), plus a review queue for near-copies | 3 methods: exact, name+size, perceptual |
| AI tagging & search | AI tagging + semantic search with your own OpenRouter key | None |
| Slicer hand-off | 15+ slicers auto-detected, one click from library to slicer | OS “Open With” + custom commands per file |
| Print & filament tracking | Filament library (brand, material, color) assignable per model; spool & printer tracking on the roadmap | Printers & materials library you can filter models against, printer/material/weight read from sliced 3MFs, plus a user-defined status flag |
| NAS / network drives | Indexed and browsable immediately; duplicate analysis is a separate pass you start | Partial: cross-drive moves lose tags and notes |
| Account required | No account: a license key, nothing else | None |
| Open source | No | No |
| Maturity | Early access; indexes a 118,270-model library over a NAS in about 90 seconds | v1.10.0 (Jul 2026), solo developer |
The differences that matter.
What happens when you reorganize your drives
Modelist's own docs note that moving files between drives looks like a delete plus re-add: tags, notes and metadata are lost (same-drive moves are safe), and it deliberately avoids live filesystem watchers, rescanning at launch instead. Meshory tracks models by content fingerprint, so tags, notes and thumbnails follow the file through renames and reorganizing, and sources are watched in place.
Duplicates: three methods versus a tiered pipeline
Credit where due: Modelist's duplicate finder offers three methods (exact, name+size, and perceptual matching). Meshory answers with a tiered pipeline: exact content matching (archive interiors and NAS included), geometry matching that groups the same mesh saved as different files, and a review-only “likely duplicates” queue for moved, rotated, rescaled or re-tessellated copies. The guarantee that matters: bulk cleanup only ever operates on the certain tiers. Near-matches stay quarantined for human review, so a group you clean up really is the same model.
Search: text fields versus meaning
Modelist has solid full-text search with filters, fuzzy matching and smart collections, but no AI. Meshory adds AI tagging and semantic search with your own OpenRouter key: every model gets generated tags and a description, so you can find “low-poly planter” even if the file is called output_v3_final.stl.
Slicer workflow
Modelist is slicer-agnostic through the OS “Open With” menu, with remembered choices and custom commands. Meshory auto-detects 15+ installed slicers (Bambu Studio, Orca, Prusa, Cura, Lychee and more, resin included) and hands off in one click without configuration.
Meshory's side of these claims is documented, not asserted: how duplicate detection works, and which formats get thumbnails, a viewer and duplicate matching.
Choose Modelist if…
- You want to try a full-featured library free up to 50 files
- You want to catalogue your printers and materials and filter the library down to what you can actually print today
- You send models from your phone to your desktop often; the share inbox is neat
- Your archives include TAR.BZ2 specifically: Modelist indexes that too, where Meshory covers ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR and TAR.GZ/TGZ
- You want a one-click backup and restore of your tags and collections, which Modelist added in v1.10
Choose Meshory if…
- You reorganize drives and need metadata to survive cross-drive moves
- You want AI tagging and semantic search on top of filename search
- You want auto-detected one-click slicer hand-off
- Your library is in the tens of thousands of models across drives and NAS
Meshory vs Modelist: common questions
How do the prices compare?
Modelist: free up to 50 files, €20 one-time for v1.x updates, €60 lifetime including future major versions, discounted to €45 on the promo running when we checked (August 2026). Meshory: $34.99 one-time early-access license with every update through version 1 included, and one key activates all your machines. Neither has a subscription.
Which finds duplicates better?
Modelist offers three methods including perceptual matching. Meshory runs a tiered pipeline: exact content hashes (inside archives too), geometry hashes that catch the same mesh saved as a different file, and a review-only likely-duplicates tier for moved, rotated, rescaled or re-tessellated copies. Bulk actions only ever touch the certain tiers, so every group you clean up is a guaranteed true duplicate.
Do both handle ZIP archives?
Yes. Modelist indexes ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, TAR.GZ and TAR.BZ2 archives without extraction (500 MB default cap, configurable). Meshory treats ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ archives as browsable folders: preview each model inside and open one straight in the viewer or your slicer without unpacking the bundle.
Is either one open source?
No, both are proprietary desktop apps with one-time licenses. Modelist publishes releases through GitHub but keeps its source private. Meshory is closed source; its macOS build is signed and notarized, while the Windows and Linux builds are not code-signed yet.
Or skip the reading and scan your own library.
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