# Compression in 3D Gaussian Splatting: A Survey of Methods, Trends, and Future Directions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.19457 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.19457/

## Key facts

- Cited by 20 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 26 Feb 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 20 of 20)

- [A Survey on 3D Gaussian Splatting Applications: Segmentation, Editing, and Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.09977/) (2025)
- [NeuralGS: Bridging Neural Fields and 3D Gaussian Splatting for Compact 3D Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.23162/) (2025)
- [Feed-Forward 3D Gaussian Splatting Compression with Long-Context Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.00877/) (2025)
- [Prune Wisely, Reconstruct Sharply: Compact 3D Gaussian Splatting via Adaptive Pruning and Difference-of-Gaussian Primitives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.24136/) (2026)
- [CLM: Removing the GPU Memory Barrier for 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04951/) (2025)
- [Towards Next-Generation SLAM: A Survey on 3DGS-SLAM Focusing on Performance, Robustness, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.04251/) (2026)
- [NanoGS: Training-Free Gaussian Splat Simplification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16103/) (2026)
- [Provable Pruning for Efficient 3D Gaussian Splatting via Coresets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.02721/) (2026)
- [Confident Splatting: Confidence-Based Compression of 3D Gaussian Splatting via Learnable Beta Distributions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.22973/) (2025)
- [GAT-NeRF: Geometry-Aware-Transformer Enhanced Neural Radiance Fields for High-Fidelity 4D Facial Avatars](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.14875/) (2026)
- [Local-GS: Accelerating 3D Gaussian Splatting via Tile-Local Warp Coherence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.16566/) (2026)
- [Compression of 3D Gaussian Splatting Data Using GPU-friendly Graphics Texture Coding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.14513/) (2026)
- [RAVE: Rate-Adaptive Visual Encoding for 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.07052/) (2025)
- [Nix and Fix: Targeting 1000x Compression of 3D Gaussian Splatting with Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.04549/) (2026)
- [GETA-3DGS: Automatic Joint Structured Pruning and Quantization for 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.02086/) (2026)
- [CaT-GS: Efficient 3DGS Rendering for Large Scale Scenes via Inter-frame Caching and Tile Scheduling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.17842/) (2026)
- [FlexiAvatar: Unified 3D Gaussian Human Avatars Under Arbitrary Body Visibility](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.19100/) (2026)
- [RoofGS: Roofline-Guided End-to-End Acceleration of 3D Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.15785/) (2026)
- [From Splats to Silicon: Rethinking Computational Efficiency of 3DGS](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.06157/) (2026)
- [RDCompGS: Rate-Distortion Optimization for Compression of 3D Gaussian Splatting with Image Codecs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.19538/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) has recently emerged as a pioneering approach in explicit scene rendering and computer graphics. Unlike traditional neural radiance field (NeRF) methods, which typically rely on implicit, coordinate-based models to map spatial coordinates to pixel values, 3DGS utilizes millions of learnable 3D Gaussians. Its differentiable rendering technique and inherent capability for explicit scene representation and manipulation positions 3DGS as a potential game-changer for the next generation of 3D reconstruction and representation technologies. This enables 3DGS to deliver real-time rendering speeds while offering unparalleled editability levels. However, despite its advantages, 3DGS suffers from substantial memory and storage requirements, posing challenges for deployment on resource-constrained devices. In this survey, we provide a comprehensive overview focusing on the scalability and compression of 3DGS. We begin with a detailed background overview of 3DGS, followed by a structured taxonomy of existing compression methods. Additionally, we analyze and compare current methods from the topological perspective, evaluating their strengths and limitations in terms of fidelity, compression ratios, and computational efficiency. Furthermore, we explore how advancements in efficient NeRF representations can inspire future developments in 3DGS optimization. Finally, we conclude with current research challenges and highlight key directions for future exploration.