IFC File: Complete Guide (Open, Convert, Share) 2026

What is an IFC file (in plain language)

IFC stands for Industry Foundation Classes. It is the open, vendor-neutral exchange format for BIM (Building Information Modeling), maintained by buildingSMART International and standardized as ISO 16739. The current official release is IFC 4.3.2.0 (commonly called IFC 4.3), published as ISO 16739-1:2024, with IFC 5 in development.

Concretely, an IFC file carries two things: the geometry of a building (walls, slabs, openings, MEP, structures, infrastructure assets) and the semantic data attached to each element (a wall is a wall, a door is a door, with material, type, properties, classifications). It exists so two people can exchange a model without using the same authoring software: Revit, ArchiCAD, AllPlan, Tekla, Edificius, SketchUp Pro and many others all read and write IFC.

IFC versions and file extensions

Versions in production today

• IFC 2x3 (officially IFC 2.3.0.1): mature, the most widely supported version, still the default in many BIM workflows
• IFC 4 (officially IFC 4.0.2.1): adds property sets, improved geometry, better quantity takeoff
• IFC 4.3 (officially IFC 4.3.2.0 = ISO 16739-1:2024): adds infrastructure types (bridges, roads, railways, ports, waterways)
• IFC 5 (in development at buildingSMART): a major refactoring effort to unlock advanced use-cases

File extensions

• .ifc: the most common, encoded in the STEP Physical File Format (SPFF). Plain text, human-readable, large.
• .ifcZIP: a zipped .ifc, much smaller (the STEP plain-text format compresses very well). Most viewers open it directly.
• .ifcXML: an XML serialization, used in some specific exchange workflows.

How to open an IFC file (free options)

If your only goal is to open a single IFC file (without owning Revit, ArchiCAD or AllPlan), several free viewers do the job. We covered the full landscape in our dedicated guide on free online IFC viewers; here is the short version, ordered by everyday usefulness.

• BIM Vision (Datacomp, Cracow Poland): Windows desktop, free for personal AND commercial use, IFC 2x3 and IFC 4.0, plugin store. The default safe choice on Windows.
• usBIM.viewer+ (ACCA software, Italy): web and desktop, free with a usBIM account that includes 10 GB of cloud storage. Connects to the broader buildingSMART-certified usBIM Common Data Environment.
• Trimble Connect: web, free plan (current limits and feature mix vary, check connect.trimble.com). Reads IFC alongside Trimble's own Tekla and SketchUp formats.
• That Open / web-ifc (formerly IFC.js): open-source toolkit (permissive license), browser-based. Use it when you embed IFC viewing in your own web app.
• FreeCAD (open source): full CAD application with a BIM workbench that imports and exports IFC. Native builds for Windows, Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux.
• Solibri Anywhere: legacy as of April 13, 2026. The free version remains usable on installs prior to 26.4.0, but no longer recommended for new workflows.

Convert IFC to and from Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUp

IFC to Revit (RVT) and back

Revit reads and writes IFC natively (File > Open > IFC, and File > Export > IFC). The catch: a round-trip rarely preserves everything. Object types, parameters and view organization can shift. For a clean import into Revit, control the IFC export options on the source side (mapping table, property sets, view) rather than trying to fix the result on the Revit side.

IFC to AutoCAD (DWG) and back

AutoCAD reads IFC via the IFC Import workflow (in AutoCAD or AutoCAD Architecture). The result is geometry, not parametric BIM objects: walls become solids, properties may flatten. For 2D drawings, IFC export from a BIM authoring tool is the cleaner path; for full DWG/IFC interoperability, use a dedicated tool (BIM Collaborate Pro, ACCA usBIM.federation, or AllPlan).

IFC to SketchUp (SKP) and back

SketchUp Pro imports and exports IFC (with the IFC plugin, included in Pro and shop subscriptions). As with AutoCAD, the result is mainly geometry; the BIM properties tend not to survive the round-trip. SketchUp's IFC export is widely used for early-design coordination, less so for late-stage BIM.

Share an IFC file with a non-BIM client

Sending a 200 MB .ifc by email rarely works (size limits, IT filters). Sending it by WeTransfer works but loses the audit trail. The clean path: upload it to a browser viewer and share the link.

• Quick and free, no account on the client side: usBIM.viewer+ (web), Trimble Connect (web), or any That Open / web-ifc-based web app
• With permissioned access, expiration control and share history (regulated or commercially sensitive projects): a managed SaaS like ATIS.cloud (Advance plan supports IFC alongside scan files in E57, LAS, LAZ, RCS, RCP, LGSx)
• When IFC + a 3D scan need to live side by side (scan vs BIM, called "as-built"): a platform that handles both, again ATIS.cloud is built for this exact use case

Where to find sample IFC files (for tests and learning)

• buildingSMART's official sample collection (search "buildingSMART IFC sample files")
• Open-source IFC test sets used in the IfcOpenShell, BlenderBIM and That Open ecosystems
• ACCA software publishes a few sample BIM models on accasoftware.com
• Most BIM authoring tools (Revit, ArchiCAD, AllPlan) ship with template projects you can export to IFC