GLB vs STL vs glTF vs OBJ: Choosing a 3D Format for the Web

· 6 min read · AcademicAR Team

“What format should I export?” is the first question when you want to share a 3D model online. Here’s a researcher-friendly comparison of the formats you’ll meet.

STL — geometry only

STL is the lingua franca of 3D printing and many segmentation tools. It stores triangles and nothing else: no color, no texture, no material. It’s perfect as a source format from CT/MRI or CAD, but on its own a web viewer can only show it as a plain gray shape.

OBJ — geometry plus simple materials

OBJ adds UV coordinates and references an .mtl material file plus texture images. It’s widely supported and human-readable, but it’s verbose and splits a model across several files, which is awkward to host.

FBX — rich but proprietary

FBX (from Autodesk) carries geometry, materials, rigs, and animation. It’s common in CAD and animation pipelines but is a proprietary binary that needs conversion for the open web.

glTF / GLB — built for the web

glTF is the “JPEG of 3D”: an open standard designed for efficient delivery and real-time rendering. GLB is its single-file binary form — geometry, materials, textures, and animation all in one .glb. It supports physically based rendering (PBR) so materials look right, and it compresses well.

So which should you use?

  • Working/source format: keep your STL, OBJ, or FBX from the original pipeline.
  • Sharing on the web: convert to GLB. It’s one file, renders fast, supports real materials, and is what browser viewers and AR expect.

The good news: you don’t have to convert by hand. Upload STL, OBJ, FBX, or GLB to AcademicAR and it produces an optimized GLB (Draco-compressed geometry, compressed textures) plus a USDZ for iOS AR — so your readers get a fast, correct model regardless of what you started from.

Upload any format and get a web-ready GLB automatically.