by muhuk·Modeling
Images © muhuk. Used for product review; image policy.
Meshstats stands out in the blender_extensions library for focusing squarely on topology: counts, pole types and viewport highlighting for a selected mesh. It's released under the GPL, the same license as Blender itself.
Meshstats is a Blender add-on that provides topological statistics for meshes. Once enabled, it adds a panel under the Item tab of the 3D viewport sidebar, reporting figures for a selected mesh object in Object Mode. It displays counts for tris, quads and ngons, along with pole counts: e-poles for vertices connecting five edges, n-poles for three edges, and *-poles for six or more edges at a fan center.
Beyond raw counts, you can set a polygon budget for a mesh object and see how much of it is used. Meshstats also highlights tris and ngons directly in the viewport, and can flag e-poles, n-poles and *-poles the same way — both available in Object Mode only.
Stats and overlays are skipped when a mesh has too many faces (a threshold set in the add-on preferences) or when topology-changing modifiers are active on the object. Meshstats is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, the same license as Blender, and lists compatibility with Blender 4.2.2 LTS and newer.
Meshstats is best for blender modelers checking mesh topology — reviewing tri, quad and ngon counts, pole distribution, and keeping objects within a polygon budget.
Meshstats is completely free to download and use.
Meshstats lists compatibility with Blender 4.2.2 LTS and newer. Once you've installed the zip through Blender's Preferences editor, you must enable the add-on manually, since it isn't turned on automatically. After that, open the 3D viewport sidebar with the default N shortcut and find the Meshstats panel under the Item tab. It's distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. Minimum required Blender versions have changed across Meshstats releases, so for details on earlier versions check the developer's page on GitHub.
Meshstats operates in Object Mode. You need a mesh object selected with Object Mode active to view face counts, and the viewport highlighting for tris, ngons and poles works in Object Mode only. The developer has noted that iterating the entire mesh to produce stats and overlay data makes an Edit Mode version challenging without affecting editing performance, and has logged a ticket for it. For now, switch to Object Mode to see statistics and overlays for your selected mesh.
Meshstats appears as a panel under the Item tab of the 3D viewport sidebar, which you open with the default N shortcut. After installing the zip through Blender's Preferences editor, you must enable the add-on manually, since it isn't enabled automatically. Select a mesh object in Object Mode to populate the panel with counts. If the disabled_by_default option is active in the add-on preferences, you'll also need to click Enable inside the Meshstats panel before stats appear.
Meshstats won't display stats or overlays for a mesh if it contains too many faces — a threshold configurable in the add-on preferences — or if modifiers that change topology are active on the object. You also must be in Object Mode with a mesh object selected. If disabled_by_default is set in preferences, click Enable in the Meshstats panel first. Adjusting the face threshold in preferences or toggling topology-changing modifiers can help the stats and overlays reappear.
Meshstats is listed as free here and released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, the same license Blender uses. You can add it through Blender's extensions system, or download it and install from disk via the Preferences editor. The extension notes that it doesn't require special permissions. For current licensing terms, the source code, and any future changes, refer to the developer's page on GitHub.
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