The dataset here represents the raw data of the experiments included in the manuscript titled: 3D analogue modelling constraints on rifting in the Afar region. The raw data include, for each experiment, CSV formated files for the surface elevation points of three stages during each experiment evolution, i.e., early, intermediate and advanced, with annotated time-step. The dataset also includes vector graphics files for the displacement vectors of the different evolution stages, for each experiment. These displacement vectors were used to calculate the velocity field for the different experiments and the surface strain maps used in the main manuscript.