How to Send Large LiDAR Files to Clients (Without the Headache)

To send large LiDAR files to clients, compress your LAS files to LAZ format (reducing size by 60-80%), upload to a spatial data delivery platform that supports multipart upload and browser-based point cloud viewing, and share a branded link. Your client views the point cloud in their browser without downloading gigabytes of data or installing specialist software.

That is the short answer. The long answer involves understanding why LiDAR files are so large, what your compression options are, and why there is a critical difference between file transfer and file delivery. I have been working with LiDAR data for eight years, and the “how do I send this massive file to my client” problem comes up on almost every project.

How large are LiDAR files, actually?

LiDAR file sizes vary enormously depending on the scanner, the point density, and the area covered. Here is a reference table based on real-world project types:

These are the file sizes you are dealing with. A “small” LiDAR deliverable is 500 MB. A typical project is 5-20 GB. Large corridor surveys can exceed 100 GB.

For context, a typical email attachment limit is 25 MB. The gap between what email can handle and what LiDAR produces is roughly three orders of magnitude.

Why standard transfer methods fail

Email

Obviously not an option. Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB. Outlook caps at 20 MB. Even if you could attach a LAS file, most email servers would reject a multi-gigabyte attachment.

WeTransfer

WeTransfer Free allows up to 2 GB per transfer with links that expire in 7 days. WeTransfer Pro raises this to 200 GB with links that expire in up to a year.

The size limit is workable for single scans, but the expiring links are a problem. LiDAR data is a project record. It might be referenced months or years later for design verification, dispute resolution, or compliance audits. A link that expires is not a delivery — it is a temporary loan.

I wrote about the broader problems with using WeTransfer for survey delivery in Why WeTransfer Is Not a Survey Data Delivery Tool.

Dropbox / Google Drive

Both handle large files and provide persistent links. The upload works. The storage works. What does not work is the client experience on the other end.

Your client downloads a 4 GB LAS file from Dropbox. Then they need to figure out how to open it. LAS files require CloudCompare, QGIS, or a commercial point cloud viewer. Most clients — project managers, property developers, asset owners — do not have this software and should not be expected to install it.

The file has been transferred. The data has not been delivered. There is an important difference.

For a full comparison, see Dropbox vs WeTransfer vs Swyvl.

FTP / SFTP

Some firms still use FTP servers for large file transfers. It works for the transfer itself, but the client experience is even worse than Dropbox. FTP clients are unfamiliar to most people, the interface is technical, and there is zero viewing capability.

Physical media (USB drives)

I know surveyors who still deliver data on USB drives. For very large datasets (100+ GB), physical media can actually be faster than uploading over a typical internet connection. But it is not scalable, not trackable, and not professional. You also lose any ability to update deliverables after the initial handoff.

Step 1: Compress your LAS files to LAZ

Before you think about transfer, think about compression. Converting LAS to LAZ is the single most impactful thing you can do to make large LiDAR files manageable.

What is LAZ?

LAZ is a losslessly compressed version of LAS. “Lossless” means every single point, with every attribute (XYZ coordinates, intensity, classification, RGB colour, return number) is preserved exactly. No data is lost. The file is simply stored more efficiently.

The compression ratio is typically 60-80%, meaning a 5 GB LAS file becomes a 1-2 GB LAZ file. For a 50 GB project, that is the difference between a 50 GB upload and a 10-15 GB upload.

How to convert LAS to LAZ

Most LiDAR processing software can export directly to LAZ:

• LAStools (laszip): The standard. Command line: laszip -i input.las -o output.laz
• CloudCompare: Open LAS, File > Save As > LAZ
• PDAL: Pipeline-based conversion for batch processing
• Global Mapper: Export point cloud as LAZ
• RealityCapture / Metashape: Export options include LAZ

If you are producing LAS files, start producing LAZ instead. There is no reason to deliver uncompressed LAS in 2026. Every professional point cloud tool reads LAZ natively.

For a deeper comparison of point cloud formats, see LAS vs LAZ vs E57: Which Point Cloud Format Should You Use?.

What about E57?

E57 is common with terrestrial scanners — FARO Scene, Leica Cyclone, and similar tools often export E57 by default. E57 includes its own compression, but it is a container format that also stores imagery and metadata, so file sizes can be larger than equivalent LAZ files.

For delivery purposes, LAZ is generally the most efficient format for pure point cloud data. If your client specifically needs E57 (because they are importing into scanner software), deliver E57. Otherwise, deliver LAZ.

For more on working with scanner data, see How to Share FARO and Leica Scan Data with Clients.

Step 2: Understand the difference between transfer and delivery

This is the most important concept in this entire guide.

File transfer means getting bytes from your machine to the client’s machine. Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, and FTP all do this. The output is: the client has a file on their computer.

File delivery means the client receives, views, and understands your data. The output is: the client has seen your point cloud, explored it interactively, and can download the raw file if they need it.

Transfer is a prerequisite for delivery, but transfer alone is not delivery. A 4 GB LAZ file sitting in a client’s Downloads folder that they cannot open is a transferred file, not a delivered file.

For most clients — the ones who are not GIS professionals or surveyors themselves — transfer without viewing is almost useless. They hired you because they needed spatial data about their site. They need to see that data to get value from it.

What delivery looks like for LiDAR

When you deliver a LiDAR file properly, your client:

1. Clicks a link in their browser
2. Sees a 3D point cloud viewer (Potree-based)
3. Can orbit, zoom, pan, and navigate the data
4. Can see the point cloud coloured by elevation, intensity, classification, or RGB
5. Can download the raw LAZ file if they need it for their own tools
6. Does all of this without installing any software

This is a fundamentally different experience from downloading a file and trying to figure out what to do with it. The client actually engages with the data. They see the value of what you captured.

For more on browser-based point cloud viewing, read What Is Potree? and How to View Point Clouds in the Browser.

Step 3: Organise your deliverables by collection

LiDAR projects rarely produce a single file. A typical delivery includes:

• The point cloud itself (LAZ)
• A classified version (ground, vegetation, buildings)
• Derived products (DEM, DSM, contours as GeoTIFF or DXF)
• Survey report (PDF)
• Orthomosaic if drone-based (GeoTIFF)
• Photos or 360 imagery (JPEG, panoramic)

Dumping all of these into a single transfer creates confusion. Your client does not know what to look at first, which file is the “main” deliverable, or how the files relate to each other.

Instead, organise deliverables into logical collections — by capture session, by deliverable type, or by purpose. If you surveyed a site three times over six months, the client should see three clearly labelled sessions, each containing the relevant deliverables for that capture date.

This is where the concept of session-based delivery matters. A platform that groups files by session gives the client a timeline: “Here is what your site looked like in January. Here is March. Here is June.” Each session contains the point cloud, the orthomosaic, the report — everything from that capture, grouped together.

For more on organising drone survey deliverables specifically, see How to Deliver Drone Survey Data to Clients Professionally.

Step 4: Upload with reliable multipart transfer

For large files, upload reliability matters as much as upload speed. A 10 GB file uploaded as a single request will fail if your connection drops for even a moment. You lose the entire upload and start over.

Multipart upload solves this. The file is split into chunks (typically 50-100 MB each), and each chunk is uploaded independently. If a chunk fails, only that chunk is retried. The upload resumes from where it left off after a network interruption.

When evaluating a delivery platform for large LiDAR files, confirm that it supports:

• Multipart upload: Files split into chunks for reliability
• Resume after interruption: Do not lose progress on a 10 GB upload because of a brief network drop
• No file size limits: Or at minimum, limits well above your typical project size
• Progress indication: You need to know where you are on a 20-minute upload

Swyvl uses multipart upload for all files, with automatic retry on chunk failure. There is no file size limit — the platform handles the same 50+ GB projects that would choke a WeTransfer upload.

Step 5: Set up professional delivery with tracking

Once your files are uploaded and organised, the delivery itself should be professional and trackable.

Branded link

Your client receives a link that shows your company identity — logo, colours, company name. Not a Dropbox folder or a WeTransfer download page. This is your work, and the delivery should reflect that.

Browser-based viewing

Every file type opens in an appropriate viewer:

Access controls

You control who can access the deliverables. Email-gated access, password protection, or open links depending on the project requirements.

Activity tracking

You see exactly who accessed the link, when they opened it, which files they viewed, and what they downloaded. This gives you:

• Follow-up intelligence: Know what the client has and has not reviewed
• Compliance evidence: Timestamped, per-file audit trail with user identification
• Engagement insight: Understand how clients interact with your deliverables

Practical tips for large LiDAR deliveries

Here are lessons learned from eight years of delivering LiDAR data:

Always deliver LAZ, offer LAS on request

Make LAZ your default delivery format. If a client specifically needs uncompressed LAS (rare — most modern software reads LAZ natively), provide it as an additional download option. Do not make the default delivery larger than it needs to be.

Include a readme or cover note

For large, multi-file deliveries, include a brief description of what each file contains. “Point cloud (classified)” is more useful than “site_survey_classified.laz” to a non-technical client. Better yet, use a platform that lets you add descriptions to each file.

Warn clients about download sizes

If your client does need to download the raw files (for import into their own tools), let them know the file sizes upfront. “The point cloud is 8 GB — you will need about 15 minutes to download on a typical connection” manages expectations.

Consider tiled delivery for very large datasets

For corridor surveys or large-area scans exceeding 50 GB, consider splitting the dataset into tiles. Delivering 10 tiles of 5 GB each is more manageable than a single 50 GB file — for both upload and download.

Use progressive loading where available

Modern point cloud viewers like Potree support progressive loading — the viewer shows a lower-density version immediately and loads more detail as the client zooms in. This means your client can see and interact with a 20 GB point cloud within seconds of clicking the link, without waiting for a full download. This is a significant advantage over traditional file transfer.

For more on how this works, see What Is a Point Cloud?.

Cost comparison for large file delivery

Here is what it costs to deliver large LiDAR files across different platforms:

The cost difference between platforms is small relative to the value of a professional delivery experience. A single survey project typically costs the client thousands of dollars. The delivery tool is a rounding error in project cost but a major factor in client experience.

Summary: the right workflow for large LiDAR files

1. Compress: LAS to LAZ. Always. 60-80% size reduction with zero data loss.
2. Organise: Group files by session or collection. Label clearly.
3. Upload: Use a platform with multipart upload for reliability.
4. Deliver, don’t just transfer: Browser-based viewing so clients can see the data without software.
5. Brand it: Your company name on the delivery, not a third party’s.
6. Track it: Know who accessed what and when.

If you are currently emailing Dropbox links or WeTransfer downloads for your LiDAR data, you are solving the easy problem (file transfer) and ignoring the hard one (client viewing). The tools to do this properly exist now.

Create a free Swyvl account and try uploading your next LiDAR project. The point cloud renders in the browser, the delivery is branded, and you get a full audit trail. See our pricing for details, or read more about how to share LAS files with clients.

Your LiDAR data is too valuable to deliver as a zip file.