gsplat
CUDA-accelerated Gaussian splatting rasterization library with Python bindings from the Nerfstudio team.
About
Born out of the Nerfstudio project, gsplat packages CUDA-accelerated rasterization of 3D Gaussians behind clean Python bindings and has become the standard open library for Gaussian splatting research and production pipelines. Compared with the original Inria implementation it trains with up to 15 percent less time and up to 4x less GPU memory, and it layers on features the reference code never had: pinhole, fisheye, and LiDAR camera models, NVIDIA 3DGUT integration, batched rendering of arbitrary scene sets, TorchScript deployment, and experimental HiGS inference rendering. Installation is pip install gsplat with just-in-time kernel compilation on first run, or prebuilt wheels for common Python, PyTorch, and CUDA combinations; an NVIDIA GPU is required. Contributors from UC Berkeley, NVIDIA, ShanghaiTech, Amazon, and Meta maintain the library, with documentation at docs.gsplat.studio and version 1.5.3 current as of May 2025 and active commits into 2026. Everything ships under Apache-2.0, so commercial use is unrestricted, which is why many downstream splatting toolkits build on it; the repo holds about 5.5k stars.
Should you use gsplat?
Pick it when
Use gsplat when you are building a splatting pipeline or product and need a maintained, pip-installable CUDA rasterizer under Apache-2.0, especially with fisheye or LiDAR cameras or batched scene rendering.
Look elsewhere when
Skip it if you want a finished app rather than a library: Nerfstudio wraps training, data processing, and a web viewer, and Meshroom gives a GUI mesh workflow. It also requires an NVIDIA GPU, so there is no CPU path.
Alternatives to gsplat
- Gaussian Splatting
The original reference implementation for reproducing paper baselines, but research-use only, with slower training and higher memory use than gsplat.
- Nerfstudio
Full framework with a viewer and capture processing from the same project, better when you want to train scenes rather than write rendering code.
- Meshroom
Outputs textured meshes from photos via photogrammetry with a node GUI, if you need editable geometry rather than a splat renderer.
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Details
- Category
- 3D Model Generation
- Price
- Free
- Platform
- Local/Desktop
- Difficulty
- Intermediate (3/5)
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Added
- Jul 29, 2026