As the leader in spatial data capture, storage, and presentation,
Matterport
offers a true-to-life 3D digital twin
of any physical space. Matterport virtual tours
are trusted tools for professionals in a host of industries: travel and hospitality; restaurants; retail stores; architecture, engineering and construction; event venues; cultural spaces; news and entertainment; and, of course, real estate.
But
Matterport
is not the only technology available for creating
3D tours
. Every product has unique features that make it a viable option for use in your
real estate business
.
So, how does
Matterport
stack up against some of its leading competitors?
Like
Matterport
, VPix 360° offers its own real estate virtual tour camera with a high-quality 4K lens and capable of producing 3D and 2D HDR images. VPix 360° also allows you to use a high end DSLR camera, like those from Nikon and Canon. You can take still photographs in 2D and use the same camera for 3D capture with a device you may already own and be familiar with. If you do not have a DSLR camera, you will need to either purchase one of your own or buy the VPix 360° camera package.
An advantage of VPix 360° is that, unlike
Matterport
, you can brand your tour with your own logo. With
Matterport
, their logo is present as a watermark. It disappears when a client is underway on a tour, but it cannot be removed entirely.
What you do
not
get from VPix 360° that you
do
get from
Matterport
is the ability to use an
iPhone
or iPad for 3D capture. While VPix 360° is optimized for viewing on iPhone, Android, and tablets, the software is not compatible with an iPhone or iPad camera.
Matterport
is. Of course, your highest level of quality for your
Matterport
immersive 3D tour is going to come from their Pro2 camera (the same could be said of VPix 360° and their camera), the ability to use your cell phone for capture may be an advantage over the use of a DSLR camera.
Naturally, the type of camera is of less importance if you contract a professional service to put together your
home tour
. But so is the benefit of a lower cost that VPix 360° boasts.
Another company that offers a competitive product is iGuide. Similar to
Matterport
in that it comes with a proprietary camera, iGuide produces many of the same features: 360 degree images, floor plan view, room dimensions and measurements, ability to add photos and videos and even neighborhood information.
What iGuide does
not
have is the ability to use other cameras. The iGuide camera system is required if you are going to use the platform, whereas with
Matterport
, not only can you use their state-of-the-art Pro2 camera (or previous iterations), you can use any compatible 3D capture device, or your iPhone or iPad.
iGuide can capture data faster than
Matterport
can, but it uses less data to upload. It is nice that you can scan as many times as you like in a project, but you are not able to add information tags and create hotspots the way you can with
Matterport
.
The occlusion feature in
Matterport
that prevents a viewer from walking through walls and obstacles and such is also not present in iGuide, making for a less-than-realistic experience. It is also not compatible with virtual reality devices.
Matterport Vs. immoviewer
immoviewer touts itself as providing
“simple, affordable 360° tours”
. Like
Matterport
(but unlike iGuide), immoviewer allows you to capture images with your own 360° camera, but if you do, you will need to upload the pictures to their customer portal and create your
3D virtual tour
manually. If you want their AI technology to create the tour for you, then you must use a Ricoh Theta camera, the only one that works with their system. If you prefer a higher-quality camera, you must build the tour yourself.
With immoviewer, you also lose the ability to add information tags in your tour and you are only able to navigate through hotspots and highlights, as opposed to simply using the mouse or keyboard to move around the property.
Matterport Vs. InsideMaps
Another platform that is similar to
Matterport
is InsideMaps. Using your iPhone, an app, and their Hero360 Rotor device, you can capture your space and upload it to their servers. The amount of data captured makes for a slow upload and processing is quite a bit slower than
Matterport
. You also do not have the ability to modify imagery or add tags to your
3D virtual tour
like you can with
Matterport
, although you can add your own branding. Movement through the space is not nearly so natural with InsideMaps as you seem to walk through walls and obstructions and the vertical field of view is somewhat limited.