"Is there a better alternative to Matterport 3D Virtual Tours?" We get this question a lot!

Matterport 3D Virtual Tours May Actually "Cost" You More Than You Think

Why Using Matterport Could Be Very Costly to Your Business in More Ways Than Money

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of Matterport for Virtual Tours. Due to their extensive marketing budget over the last few years, Matterport has become a very popular “all in one” platform for Virtual Tours. But in addition to TrustPilot reviews as well as first-hand research, testing and use of Matterport, we feel it has many drawbacks from customer service issues, technical problems to excessive costs that make it a real disadvantage, especially to those just starting out and looking for a Turn-key and affordable solution to offering virtual tours for their business.

What is Matterport Exactly?

Matterport is not a camera actually, but more of a platform with an online subscription service that processes 360° photographs. You either purchase one of their pro 360° cameras or they accept various 360° photography files from other cameras as well, and with those you’re able to create a virtual tour. After you take the photographs you upload them to Matterport for processing.

Watch for Hidden “Costs” That Can Hurt Your Bottom Line

Although Matterport says they are transparent about their costs, there are many things that could end up costing you in the long run. Watch out for the following in our opinion:

The overall quality of your final tour is low if you don’t purchase their Pro 2 3D camera (for $3,400!). Our testing proved this.
You get your tour back without any control of the images, not allowing for correction, adjustments or editing of your photographs, hindering the final tour output quality.
Several of their Add-on services really need to be included into their basic tour features.
You cannot modify or change your tour without incurring additional costs.
You never actually own your tour. (Matterport owns the tour) which means you must host it through Matterport always inside their “cloud”, which gets very expensive really quickly, especially if you have more than just a handful of tours.
Poor customer service. If you’re ever stuck or need help, chances are you won’t get timely customer support. This was super frustrating for us, as a service-oriented company.

so…

Is There a Better Alternative to Using Matterport 3D Virtual Tours?

Yes, there is. ...POVC360

We have the Experience, Dedication and Services You Need.

We have researched and tested equipment and services that we believe will get you the best overall virtual tour results, and created a total

Easy and Step-by-Step
“Do-It Yourself” Virtual Tour Solution!

You Take the 360° Photos.
…We create the Virtual Tour!

Easily take and submit your 360° photography to be transformed into a final Virtual Tour, and get a professional, creative experience your potential buyers will love! …Without the learning curve or needing extensive technology knowledge.

Register today and checkout our DIY360 Virtual Tour Solution that gives you access to seeing EVERYTHING you need to get started having Virtual Tours for your listings!

FAR LESS EXPENSIVE THAN MATTERPORT! Using our “Get It All” Package save over 50% compared to Matterport costs in only your first 10 Virtual Tours!
FREE “Live Guided Showing” Feature Is Included in Every Signature Virtual Tour!
FREE Camera Equipment Plus Discounted Virtual Tour Pricing in Our “Get It All” Package!
FREE Hosting for 1 Year on All Tours
FREE Online Training How to Take 360° Photos Effectively for Vehicles

POVC360 ~vs~ Matterport 3D Virtual Tour

Start-Up Investment Cost

Since we are processing the Virtual Tour results ourselves, we have much more control of the Tour, images and over-all quality of your Virtual Tour.

MATTERPORT - $5,000+ Equipment Investment

For the price, the Matterport Pro 2 3D (their proprietary camera) system required to scan a unit consists of minimum $3,400 camera

+ $1,500 for iPad Pro 2 (must be mi. 256gb (enough to process).

+ Initial equipment investment of approximately $5,000 minimum.

+ Plus the cost of your virtual tour design and hosting for every tour (this MUST go through Matterport)

POVC360 DIY Solution - $600 Equipment Investment

When you register for our DIY360 Virtual Tour Solution, you learn everything you need to start implementing Virtual Tours right away...without the high price tag! The 360° camera we suggest is based on numerous tests and comparisons. (we don't sell equipment, it's our recommendation for using the DIY360 Solution. The camera is the Insta360 ONE RS Twin Edition.

This camera plus all necessary equipment to take quality 360° photography total is around $600, and you can use your current phone to run the App. (no iPad Pro /expensive mobile device needed like with Matterport!)

Image Control & Quality

Since we are processing the Virtual Tour results ourselves, we have much more control of the Tour, images and over-all quality of your Virtual Tour.

MATTERPORT - 1%

Matterport retains the quality-control over your uploaded panos and images. This means there is ZERO ability to edit panos or tours, but we'll give them 1% allowing users to blur faces. You do NOT have ability to fix even common issues such as exposure, contrast, sharpness, grain removal, and color correction.

POVC360 - 100%

We have 100% quality control over your panos/images allowing professional photo editing of every one of your photographs, giving your tour that professional quality. Exposure, sharpness, grain removal, and color correction to name just to list a few! We can enhance your panos, add logos to TVs or screens, and can provide quality and image options that make your Virtual Tour shine! We manually censor sensitive information, licenses, faces, unless you request otherwise.

Ownership of Your Photos and Files

We know, it sounds counter-intuitive, but you don’t own your files with Matterport. It’s your Virtual Tour…so we believe you should own your images and files! It just makes sense to us!

MATTERPORT - They OWN Your Photos and Files

Once you upload your tour panos to Matterport the file ownership transfers to Matterport. They OWN your photos and files...even though you took them.

POVC360 - They Are YOUR Photos and Files

Your Tour photos and panos that you send to us are YOURS. You are simply hiring us to create your final creative Virtual Tour from them, saving you time while still giving you expert results! Stay in control!

Play Virtual Tours Offline

Play your Tour any time. Even without an internet connection you experience your Tour.

MATTERPORT - Can't Access Offline

Virtual Tours can only be accessed from the Matterport platform. The Virtual Tours DO NOT work offline, which is extremely inconvenient if you are on site and have no signal

POVC360 - Online or Offline Access

POVC360 Virtual Tours are downloadable for offline viewing on any computer or device. They are also sharable on social media with just a simple link.

Customer Support

MATTERPORT - Questionable

We'd give their customer service a "poor" at best. Response time was super slow, and not always helpful in our opinion. If we are paying for a premium subscription, we would expect premium customer service if it was needed, and this was definitely not the case for us in our experience.

POVC360 - Personable, Accessible, Helpful

We don't just set the bar, we keep raising it, especially in our Client Support. We understand when you need answers, you need them quickly, and our team goes out of it's way to help you. For our DIY Virtual Tour Program, we are even available when you are onsite at your listing to walk you though taking proper photos for your Virtual Tour. Just reach out and let us know what we can do to help.

Hosting of Virtual Tours

Matterport’s entire business plan is designed to keep you locked in to their platform for an indefinite time. You can transfer your tour to self-hosted at any time with us.

MATTERPORT - Stuck Only with Matterport

You cannot self-host your Virtual Tour on your own website or server. All tours must be hosted through Matterport. Their hosting cost is based on number of tours you host, and can get expensive if you need to host very many tours. If you close your Matterport account for any reason, all your tours are set to "private" and no longer can be shared publicly.

POVC360 - Host Your Tour Wherever You Want!

We offer the COMPLETE ability for you to self-host your Tour on your own server. Your not limited to our hosting. Choose Google Drive, AWS, Database or FTP. Otherwise, we can host your tour for you. Our minimal cost is simply based per hosted tour, renewed annually, not an ongoing monthly commitment.

Aerial Photos or Drone Footage

MATTERPORT - NO

Matterport doesn't allow aerial panos to be added to tours.

POVC360 - YES!

Yes! We can enhance your virtual tour by adding aerial or drone video or pole-cam images to your tour!

Branding on Your Tour

MATTERPORT - Prominent Branding

Tours are branded quite obviously and prominently with the Matterport logo at the bottom. There is no way of removing their logo from the Virtual Tours.

POVC360 - Modest Branding

We implement modest branding with the option of white-labeling completely with your own logo or branding for your Virtual Tour.

Embedding Your Virtual Tours

Now that your tour is complete, how is it accessed? How do people view it?

MATTERPORT - Embedding Is Not Supported

Does not support embedding in all browsers and operating systems, especially evident in corporate sites.

POVC360 - Supported Embedding

Our Virtual Tours work on all platforms and work in all browsers. Any device that has a browser can be used. Your Tour works with any EXISTING website or landing page with NO CODING KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED.