In fact, these two terms sound very similar, and sometimes people even use them interchangeably in practice, but their focuses are indeed different.
You can understand it this way: a 3D foot scanner is more like a “full-body photo.” It captures the entire shape of the foot—from the toes to the heel, from the top of the foot to the sole—scanning the complete three-dimensional outline.
It cares about the overall length, width, girth of your feet, as well as how high the instep is and what shape the arch has.
This kind of scanner is especially useful for custom shoe making, creating shoe lasts, or building population foot databases, because it tells you “what this foot looks like.”
A 3D plantar (foot-bottom) scanner, on the other hand, is more like a “close-up shot”—it’s specifically designed to observe the bottom of your foot.
Its main concern is the part of your foot that contacts the ground: which areas are flat, which are raised, where pressure is too high, or where the structure has already collapsed.
This device can clearly reproduce the shape of the foot arch, determine whether there’s flatfoot or high arch, and even identify areas that might rub or hurt during walking.
Therefore, it’s used more often in diagnosing foot conditions, designing orthopedic insoles, or sports rehabilitation. Doctors and therapists rely on it to “understand” foot-bottom problems.
Simply put, one looks at the “overall foot shape,” while the other specializes in the “terrain of the foot sole.”
If you want to make a pair of shoes that perfectly fit your feet, you might need data from the first type; but if you’re trying to solve issues like flat feet or plantar fasciitis, then the detailed information provided by the latter becomes far more critical.
Nowadays, many advanced devices can actually combine both functions—performing a single scan to obtain not only the full foot shape but also clear details of the sole—making the data even more comprehensive.
