It is a general-purpose system aimed at the processing of the typical not-so-small unstructured 3D models that arise in the 3D scanning pipeline.

For the removal of noise, usually present in acquired surfaces, MeshLab supports various kinds of smoothing filters and tools for curvature analysis and visualization.

It includes a tool for the registration of multiple range maps based on the iterative closest point algorithm.

MeshLab is available for most platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and, with reduced functionality, on Android and iOS and even as a pure client-side JavaScript application called MeshLabJS.

MeshLab is used in various academic and research contexts, like microbiology,[2] cultural heritage,[3] surface reconstruction,[4] paleontology,[5] for rapid prototyping in orthopedic surgery,[6] in orthodontics,[7] and desktop manufacturing.