Matterport vs 360 photo - what to choose for business

How is Matterport different from a regular 360 panorama?

A 360 panorama is one spherical photo that you can rotate with your mouse. The user sees the space from one point, but cannot “move” to another room. The format is convenient, but flat: take a shot and get a picture.

Matterport works differently. The Matterport Pro3 camera captures dozens or hundreds of lidar points and assembles them into a coherent 3D building model. The user moves between points as in a game, switches to the dollhouse view (dollhouse from above), looks at the floor plan, and measures distances directly in the browser. Essentially, it is a digital twin of the room, not a photograph.

The difference is in perception. A 360 panorama is suitable when you need to show one room or the view from a window. Matterport is needed when you need to transfer an entire space - an apartment, a showroom, a factory, a museum. 360° Space has completed more than 5,000 virtual tours since 2016 and sees a pattern: customers who start with 360 photos are more likely to return to Matterport once they see a difference in user engagement on the site.

What is more expensive - Matterport or 360 photos, and why?

A basic 360 panorama is cheaper: one frame costs from 2,000 rubles. Matterport tour starts from RUB 15,000 per object. The final price depends on the area: the more shooting points, the higher the costs for the operator’s work and model processing.

Why such a difference in cost? A 360 photo is one spherical photo stitched together in an hour. Matterport - dozens of scans that the camera combines into a single model with depth. For an apartment of 60 m² you need 20-30 points, for a showroom of 500 m² - more than a hundred. Each point is captured with lidar and processed on Matterport servers.

The timing is also different. 360-panorama - one day. Matterport tour in 360° Space - 1-3 days from shooting to ready link. After delivery, the tour lives without a monthly fee on three hosting formats: Matterport cloud, client server or offline copy for presentations without the Internet. For a one-time cover on social networks, a 360 photo is enough. For a real estate catalog where the user must “walk around” the property before making a transaction, Matterport pays for itself from the first booking.

Which format should you choose for your business?

The solution depends on the problem. If the goal is to decorate the site and show off the main hall, take a 360 panorama. This is enough for restaurants, hairdressers, small studios and photo content on social networks.

If the task is to sell or rent out space remotely, you need Matterport. Real estate, hotels, warehouses, medical centers, educational institutions - anywhere where the client must make a decision on the object before a personal visit. Built-in measurements allow the tenant to immediately understand whether their equipment will fit. Dollhouse view helps hotel guests choose a room in advance. For schools and universities, the tour replaces an open day.

Industry and museums are a different story. For factories and cultural sites, 360° Space makes Matterport tours hosted on the client’s server, without depending on the Matterport cloud. This is critical for objects with a trade secret regime and for sites that need an offline version for exhibitions. Do you doubt what is right for you? Calculate the cost in the calculator based on the area of ​​the object per minute.