• ApplyDesign Virtual Staging App vs PhotoUp
• Our Results – Which Is Best?
• Trust PhotoUp for Outstanding Virtual Staging

ApplyDesign and PhotoUp are two leading real estate virtual staging providers.

Virtual staging is now a common real estate marketing tool – one reason why is that 85% of staged properties sell for the asking price or above.

ApplyDesign is a DIY virtual staging app. PhotoUp is a full-service virtual staging provider. Which one should you use for your virtual staging needs?

To make your decision process easier, we’ve compared the two services – ApplyDesign virtual staging vs PhotoUp – to see which is best.

ApplyDesign Virtual Staging App vs PhotoUp

ApplyDesign is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is a marketing service company that works with virtual staging, computer graphics, and 3D technologies. 

As a do-it-yourself virtual staging app and website, ApplyDesign helps real estate sales professionals virtually stage photos quickly and inexpensively.

With its user-friendly and intuitive interface, the software enables you to virtually stage real estate photos in a few clicks. 

Moreover, it boasts sophisticated editing functionalities, empowering users to personalize the staging according to their precise specifications.

Our second virtual staging provider is PhotoUp—an internationally recognized real estate marketing company with an impressive track record spanning over a decade.

PhotoUp has an exceptional team of world-class virtual staging editors and designers based in the Philippines and a highly efficient customer service group in the US.

This industry-leading company offers an extensive array of marketing solutions, including:

• AI Virtual staging
• Virtual house tours
• Real estate photo editing
• Single property websites
• Property flyers
• And more!

With those introductions now done, let’s move on to our comparison. We’ve examined both virtual staging services with the following items in mind:

• Creating an account  
• Turn around time 
• Pricing plans and options
• The range of design styles
• And the quality of the results

Now, let’s start our review and comparison!

1. Creating an Account

Let’s begin by noting how easy it is to use ApplyDesign.

The registration process is simple—all you need to do is create an account using your email address and a password. It takes less than 30 seconds to complete, and there are no complicated steps involved.

Once registered, you can dive right in and start uploading photos for virtual staging or head to your account page. 

On the account page, you can personalize your settings by adding your name, role, company, and other relevant details. Moreover, you can conveniently access your purchase history and download receipts from previous orders.

Uploading images is just as straightforward and swift. Navigate to the “Upload Images” page, where a dialogue box will appear, allowing you to drag and drop your images for upload effortlessly. 

Alternatively, you can use the “browse files” option for quick and seamless image uploads.

Second, you’ll be asked to name the image and identify whether it is 2D or 3D. In terms of file types, keep in mind the following:

• 2D images can be uploaded in JPG or PNG format 
• Your final images can be rendered in JPG, PNG, or TIFF formats

After selecting “continue,” you will have the opportunity to review your upload. If everything looks good, click “upload.”

Once the image is uploaded, it undergoes processing, typically taking 1-5 minutes.

PhotoUp also provides a swift and uncomplicated free account set-up, taking approximately a minute to get started. 

Once you have signed up for a free PhotoUp account, you can easily purchase any required service. Simply choose the service you want to use on the “Dashboard” and upload your images.

Okay, let’s next review both services’ turnaround times.

2. Turnaround Time – ApplyDesign vs PhotoUp

When it comes to turnaround times, ApplyDesign is a DIY virtual staging service, so you get your results within minutes. 

PhotoUp does the virtual staging for you. The results are better, but there’s a slight wait time. 

With ApplyDesign, being a do-it-yourself virtual staging service, within minutes of completing your design, you’ll receive a high-resolution image for review. 

Most orders are completed within 20 minutes. If you are unsatisfied with a design, you can make endless revisions until you’re fully content.

On the other hand, PhotoUp delivers its AI virtual staging within 5 minutes. The next day, you’ll receive low-resolution proofs for your approval. Once approved, PhotoUp sends you high-resolution, virtually staged images within just a few hours.

And PhotoUp also offers unlimited revisions until you are completely satisfied. 

Now, let’s delve into comparing pricing plans and options offered by both companies.

3. Pricing Plans and Options

ApplyDesign operates on a credit purchase system. The tokens are referred to as “Apply Coins.”

To acquire Apply Coins, click on the gold coin Icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the navigation bar. From there, you will be prompted to specify the quantity of Apply Coins you wish to purchase. 

They offer three purchase options:

• Starting Out – $10 per Apply Coin when purchasing up to 9 coins
• Scaling Up – $8 per Apply Coin when purchasing 10 to 19 coins
• Pro Deal – $7 per Apply Coin when buying 20 or more coins

However, you need also to know that the price varies based on the image type:

• Uploading a 2D image costs 1 Apply Coin
• Uploading a 3D image costs 2 Apply Coins

Once you’ve selected the number of Apply Coins you wish to purchase, click the “Proceed to Checkout” button.

You will then be prompted to fill in your payment method details. 

PhotoUp also relies on an easy-to-understand credit system to make payments, offering discounts for bulk buying of credits.

Here’s the cost for credits:

• $1.15 per credit for subscription clients
• $1.60 per credit for on-demand, pay-as-you-go clients

And right now, PhotoUp offers 10 free credits when you use their virtual staging services!

Additionally, PhotoUp’s price for virtual staging starts at just $5.00 per image.

A set is determined according to the number of design pieces and furniture and how many frames the room or space requires.

Next, we compare the design style options for virtual staging. 

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AI Virtual Staging

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Try AI Virtual Staging Learn More

4. The Range of Design Styles

At ApplyDesign, you can explore their design collection, primarily focused on contemporary-style furniture and decor items.

The furniture is conveniently organized in a gallery—a dynamic rotating carousel showcasing various furnishing options. You can view these options as complete room bundles or sort them by furniture type.

The room bundles offer an array of versatile options, including:

• Living rooms
• Dining sets
• Bedroom,
• Children’s bedrooms
• Bathroom fixtures
• Basement furnishings
• Office sets
• And exterior furniture and decor

Now, if you prefer to search by furniture type, your choices are the following:

• Beds
• Sofas
• Lamps
• Rugs
• And so on

Unfortunately, AppyDesign’s furnishing options are sparse compared to the more extensive virtual staging services. 

Additionally, when selecting your design options, you only see a black icon drawing of the design piece – so you don’t actually know what it looks like until you move it to your photo.

In contrast, PhotoUp features a professional design library featuring 5 decor style options. 

And with PhotoUp, you see an actual photo of the furniture or design piece, not just an icon.

So far, so good. We’re almost done with our comparison. Last, let’s take a look at the quality of the virtual staging results and compare them. 

5.  Quality of Results

To try out the ApplyDesign virtual staging systems, I selected three rooms for review – a main bedroom, a dining/kitchen, and a living room.

And what did the results show? The virtual staging results were acceptable, but not great. And it’s important to note some of the drawbacks to ApplyDesign’s staging results, such as:

• Not everyone is skilled at DIY technology
• The average user will likely produce mediocre virtual staging results
• Their furniture and decor options are limited

PhotoUp’s virtual staging samples were outstanding. And here are a few other observations, as well:

• The virtually staged photos were realistic and executed with great skill
• Each image featured alluring, well-decorated spaces and rooms that capture your attention
• Furthermore, you can add your branding and other information to each photo to meet specific preferences and needs

All right, now it’s time to review the results of our comparison of these two virtual staging providers. 

Our Results – Which Is the Best?

Both companies are easy to work with and produce solid virtual staging. However, we need to call out some significant differences between the companies, including the following:

ApplyDesign virtual staging offers the following important benefits:

• The service is easy to use
• It’s affordable
• Turnaround time is relatively quick
• And the results are of good quality

However, as we’ve already noted, there are a few drawbacks to ApplyDesign, such as:

• Their DIY service is a bit hard to use well
• Their furniture and decor options are pretty limited
• And the only real estate marketing service they provide is virtual staging 

But with those drawbacks called out, ApplyDesign is a good choice for someone looking for fast and acceptable virtual staging. 

In comparison, PhotoUp has several distinct advantages, including the following:

• The virtual staging results are of superior quality
• You have more design choices with PhotoUp than with ApplyDesign
• The turnaround time is more than quick enough when marketing a listing

Your clients will notice the difference in the virtual staging quality, and that’s not a minor detail. So for just slightly more cost — consider a professional service like PhotoUp.

For these reasons, when we review our results — we think PhotoUp is the best choice for virtual staging.

Quick & Easy

AI Virtual Staging

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Try AI Virtual Staging Learn More

Trust PhotoUp for Outstanding AI Virtual Staging

PhotoUp’s experienced virtual stagers do the design and editing for you so you get outstanding images.

Our comprehensive AI virtual staging services include the following:

• Filling empty rooms with your choice of hundreds of professionally designed furnishings
• Repairs and remodeling editing
• Decor updates and replacements
• Decluttering and depersonalizing rooms
• Sky replacement and lawn greening
• And much more!

Additionally, PhotoUp offers an abundance of furnishings and decor options for various room types and popular styles.

Lastly, PhotoUp is a full-service real estate marketing company offering the following effective marketing solutions:

• Real estate photo editing
• Virtual house tours
• Single property websites
• Property flyers
• And more!

You owe it to yourself to take the next step!

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account and let our virtual staging services impress your clients and sell your listings faster and for higher prices.

We hope you benefited from this ApplyDesign vs PhotoUp virtual staging comparison review. Also, before you go, you may want to check out the following related resources:

• PhotoUp Virtual Staging Review: The Best Virtual Staging Service?
• Virtually Staging Properties Review
• 3D Stagers Virtual Staging Review
• Rooomy Virtual Staging Review
• VSH Media Virtual Staging Review
• Stuccco Virtual Staging Review
• VS24 Virtual Staging Review
• BoxBrownie Virtual Staging Review

In this post, we do an in-depth review of ApplyDesign, a DIY virtual staging software. 

There are many DIY virtual staging apps and virtual staging services to choose from. Which is best?

As part of our review, we will examine many of their features, including the ordering process, furnishing options, pricing, customer support, and the quality of the virtual staging results.

So, let’s get our review underway!

Overall Rating Table 

Let’s begin with an overall comparison between ApplyDesign and PhotoUp’s virtual staging services:

Overall Rating
	3.9	4.8
Provider	ApplyDesign	PhotoUp
Current Ranking	6th of 25	1st of 25
Best For	diy	best overall
Cost per Image	$7 per image	$20.00 per image
Turnaround Time	20 minutes	12-48 hours
Furniture
Online Library	yes	yes
Design Styles	3 design styles	3 design styles
Room Types	9 room types	12 or more room types
Pricing
Cost per Image	$7 per image	$20.00 per image
Cost of Revision	free revisions	free revisions
Volume Discount	yes	yes
Ordering
Turnaround Time	20 minutes	12-48 hours
Weekend Service	yes	yes
Interface	good & easy to learn	good & easy to learn
Quality
Realism	fair	very realistic
Placement	okay	natural
Set Design	good	amazing
Support
Email	yes	yes
Chat	yes	yes
USA Phone	no	yes
Response Time	5 minutes	5 minutes
Website	applydesign.io	photoup.net
Other Services	virtual staging	photo editing virtual staging single property websites home flyers house portraits virtual tours

ApplyDesign

3.9

• Ranked 6th of 25
• best for: diy
• $7 per image per Image
• 20 minutes turnaround time

Furniture

• Online Library
• 3 design styles
• 9 room types

Pricing

• $7 per image
• free revisions
• volume discount: yes

Ordering

• 20 minutes turnaround time
• Weekend Service
• interface: good & easy to learn

Quality

• realism: fair
• placement: okay
• set design: good

Support

• FAQ
• Email
• Chat
• Chat
• USA Phone
• response time: 5 minutes
• applydesign.io

Other Services

• virtual staging

PhotoUp

4.8

• Ranked 1st of 25
• best for: best overall
• $20.00 per image per Image
• 12-48 hours turnaround time

Furniture

• Online Library
• 9 design styles
• 12 or more room types

Pricing

• $20.00 per image
• free revisions
• volume discount: yes

Ordering

• 12-48 hours turnaround time
• Weekend Service
• interface: good & easy to learn

Quality

• realism: very realistic
• placement: natural
• set design: amazing

Support

• FAQ
• Email
• Chat
• Chat
• USA Phone
• response time: 5 minutes
• photoup.net

Other Services

• photo editing
• virtual staging
• single property websites
• home flyers
• house portraits
• virtual tours

ApplyDesign Overview

Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, ApplyDesign is a marketing service group that specializes in 3D technologies, virtual staging, and computer graphics.

ApplyDesign’s do-it-yourself virtual staging software helps real estate sales professionals create photorealistic virtual staging edits quickly and for low prices. 

The user-friendly and intuitive software makes it easy to virtually stage real estate photos with just a few clicks. 

It also features advanced editing capabilities, allowing users to customize the staging to their specifications.

All right, now that you have an overview, let’s walk through the ordering and virtual staging process. 

Ordering From ApplyDesign

So, let’s go, step by step, through the ordering process for ApplyDesign.

1. Creating an Account

Let’s start by noting that it is extremely easy to use ApplyDesign.

You start by creating an account with your email address and a password. There’s nothing else needed for the registration process, and it takes less than 30 seconds. 

Once registered, you can either immediately start uploading photos to be virtually staged or go to your account page, where you can personalize your settings by adding your name, role, company, and other details.

Additionally, you can view your purchase history and download any receipts from previous orders.

Okay, next, let’s talk about uploading photos to be virtually staged. 

2. Uploading Photos

Uploading images is also easy and fast. My three photos uploaded in less than 2 minutes.

You can drag and drop your image to upload or you can also upload by clicking on Browse Files.

Next, you’ll be asked to name the image and identify whether it is 2D or 3D. In terms of file types, do note the following:

• 2D images can be taken from any device and uploaded in JPG or PNG format 
• Final images can be rendered in JPG, PNG, or TIFF formats

Now, select Continue, and you will be allowed to review your upload.

Your image then goes through the uploading process. After the image has been uploaded, it is sent for processing, which takes 1-5 minutes. My photos processed in about 5 minutes.

You will be notified via email once your image is ready to be designed.

To keep your projects organized, you can then assign the images to a new or existing property folder, with the property address as the folder name. 

3. ApplyDesign DIY Virtual Staging

ApplyDesign’s software lets you virtually stage your photos in 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Add Furniture From the Gallery

Select any piece of furniture in the gallery and drag it onto your photo.

If you need details on locating furniture, head to the Gallery Overview.

Step 2: Positioning Furniture

You have a few options for positioning the furnishings in your photo.

First, press and hold the furniture item while dragging it to a different location.

A second option is to click on the furnishing, which will open a dialog area on the left with controls that allow you to move furniture ➖ or ➕ on the horizontal and depth axes in incremental amounts. 

When selecting furniture, a 3-axis control will appear, making it easier to control furniture position. The controls are similar for rotating furniture.

I’ll admit, it took me about a half hour to be able to use the furniture controls with any skill. It’s a bit more of a challenge than it sounds. The tools are easy to use, but difficult to use with precision.

Step 3: Rendering

Press the Render button in the top bar when you finish virtual staging. 

Depending on the rendering settings, the process may take between 5 to 20 minutes. My images rendered in less than 8 minutes.

When the final rendered results are ready, you will be notified via email and on the property page. You can click View Result to see and download your final image.

ApplyDesign – Pricing

The company relies on a credit system for payments. Credits are called Apply Coins, and the more coins you purchase, the lower the price.

To purchase Apply Coins, click on the gold Coin Icon in the upper right-hand corner of the navigation bar. You will then be asked how many Apply Coins you want to purchase. 

They offer three purchase plans:

• Starting Out – $10 per Apply Coin when purchasing up to 9 coins
• Scaling Up – $8 per Apply Coin when purchasing 10 to 19 coins
• Pro Deal – $7 per Apply Coin when buying 20 or more coins

Do note that the price varies based on the image type:

• Uploading a 2D image costs 1 Apply Coin
• Uploading a 3D image costs 2 Apply Coins

Once you’ve selected the number of Apply Coins you wish to purchase, click the Proceed to Checkout button.

You will then be prompted to fill in your payment method details. Here’s information on their accepted payment methods:

• Card Types Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, AmericanExpress, Discover, JCB, Diners Club International, and UnionPay International
• Other Accepted Methods: Paypal, Klarna, Affirm, Alipay, and WeChat

It should only take a few seconds for your Apply Coins to appear. You will receive a Payment Successful notice and be emailed a receipt of your purchase. 

Once you’ve paid and have Apply Coins to spend, you are ready to begin the virtual staging process.

One last thing, ApplyDesign offers a 100% money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with the virtual staging results.

Turnaround Time

Given that ApplyDesign is a do-it-yourself virtual staging service, the turnaround time is extremely fast. 

• Once you are finished with your design, you will receive the high-resolution image for review within minutes
• Most orders are completed within 20 minutes 

Besides, since it’s DIY, you’ll have all the time you need to get the exact result you are looking for. If you are unsatisfied with a design, you can make endless revisions until you are.

Quick & Easy

AI Virtual Staging

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Try AI Virtual Staging Learn More

Customer Support

ApplyDesign has limited customer support. I couldn’t find a phone number anywhere on their website.

However, they do offer two customer support options:

• A support email – info@applydesign.io
• And a customer support contact form

Also, once logged in, the site has live chat customer support functionality. 

The lack of a customer support phone number is a bit worrying, especially given that I haven’t worked with this company yet and don’t know the response time to their email. 

ApplyDesign Furniture Library 

ApplyDesign offers a decent selection of primarily contemporary-style furniture and decor items. 

You’ll find their furniture options in what they call the gallery. The gallery lets you search by room bundles or by furniture type.

The room bundles feature the following options:

• Living rooms
• Dining sets
• Bedroom,
• Children’s bedrooms
• Bathroom fixtures
• Basement furnishings
• Office sets
• And also exterior furniture and decor

If you prefer to search by furniture type, among your choices are the following:

• Beds
• Sofas
• Lamps
• Rugs
• And so on

While ApplyDesign offers a few options for each furnishing and decor item, the selection is relatively sparse compared to the more extensive virtual staging services. 

AI Auto Design Beta

ApplyDesign is currently testing a fully automated virtual staging program powered by AI. 

You can do virtual staging using this program without having to do the virtual staging yourself. Simply upload your image, choose a room bundle, and the AI program does the rest. Some additional details:

• Each image takes about 15 minutes to upload, design and render
• You can make changes until you’re completely satisfied with the results

The program is currently in beta mode and is free. Once it launches, the service will be available for an additional cost. 

Virtual Staging Results

To try out the ApplyDesign virtual staging, I selected three rooms to be staged – a bedroom, a dining/kitchen, and a living room.

Let me start by saying that most of the deficiencies in the quality of the results were due to my lack of experience and technical skill in using their tools. And after half an hour I began to get better using the software, but it remained a bit of a challenge.

For example, the dining table in the kitchen looks off and not completely natural. But that was the best I could do after spending 45 minutes making changes.

I like how the living room turned out, but again the quality is lacking, and that is likely due to my inexperience.

The bedroom turned out okay, but again, not perfect. For example, I had a difficult time trying to get the nightstands to look the same size, and it sort of looks like the one to the right is floating in the air.

Pros and Cons of ApplyDesign

To give you a brief overview, here are some pros and cons of ApplyDesign virtual staging:

In the next part of our review, we’re going to discuss the difference between a virtual staging app and a virtual staging service.

A Virtual Staging App vs a Virtual Staging Service

As part of our review, let’s consider the differences between virtual staging apps and virtual staging services.

Virtual Staging Apps

Virtual staging apps are software programs that allow you to upload real estate photos and perform do-it-yourself virtual staging. ApplyDesign is one of these. The apps are typically easy to use and require minimal technical expertise.

Pros of Virtual Staging Apps:

• Cost-effective: Virtual staging apps are typically more affordable than professional staging services
• User-friendly: Virtual staging apps tend to be easy to use, even for those with limited technical skills
• Quick turnaround: With virtual staging apps, users can typically upload photos and receive a finished product within a matter of minutes

Cons of Virtual Staging Apps:

• Limited customization: Complex staging needs may not be possible
• Quality concerns: The results are not always as polished as those from a service
• Design learning curve: It can be a challenge for those with limited tech skills

Virtual Staging Services

Professional companies provide virtual staging services that employ skilled photo editors to virtually stage properties using high-quality, realistic furniture and decor. PhotoUp is this type of service.

Pros of Virtual Staging Services:

• No design skills needed: Professional staging services do the staging for you
• Customization: Virtual staging can be done to the client’s specific needs
• Superior results: The quality of the virtual staging is simply the best

Cons of Virtual Staging Services:

• Higher cost: Professional staging services typically charge per image or room, making them a bit more expensive than virtual staging apps
• Longer turnaround time: It may take longer to receive the finished images compared to using a virtual staging app

So, by understanding the differences between virtual staging apps and services, you can decide which option is right for your needs.

Benefits of Centralized Services

Real estate sales professionals frequently use virtual staging services as part of real estate marketing efforts. However, many other real estate marketing solutions are also needed for every listing, including:

• Real estate photo editing
• Virtual house tours
• Single property websites
• Property flyers
• And more.

Consolidating all my real estate marketing needs with one vendor on one website is much easier and increases my efficiency. 

ApplyDesign offers only virtual staging services. And while their virtual staging is quite good, it makes vendor and service consolidation impossible, thereby requiring more of my time and money. 

Our Verdict: Is ApplyDesign Virtual Staging Worth Using?

So, to conclude our review, is ApplyDesign virtual staging worth using?

Yes, definitely. But plan on giving yourself a couple of hours to learn the staging tools. I’m a real estate sales agent, not a virtual stager, and the results reflect that.

ApplyDesign virtual staging has the following substantial benefits:

• The service is easy to use
• It’s affordable
• Turnaround time is relatively quick
• And the results are of decent quality

We’ve already noted a few of ApplyDesign’s drawbacks, such as:

• Not everyone is skilled at DIY technology
• Limited furniture and decor options
• The only real estate marketing service they provide is virtual staging 

But those somewhat minor drawbacks aside, I’d have no hesitation in recommending ApplyDesign to someone looking for reliable and fast virtual staging. 

In fact, ApplyDesign and PhotoUp are exploring ways to collaborate on AI virtual staging and maybe other real estate marketing services. This leads us to the last part of this article.

Quick & Easy

AI Virtual Staging

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Try AI Virtual Staging Learn More

For the Best Virtual Staging and More – Choose PhotoUp

The ApplyDesign DIY virtual staging app is an excellent choice if you’re trying to save money. However, if you’re looking for the best virtual staging possible — for just slightly more cost — consider a professional service like PhotoUp. 

PhotoUp’s experienced virtual stagers do the design and editing for you so you get outstanding and authentic images.

Our comprehensive AI virtual staging services can handle any staging job, big or small, simple or complex, including the following:

• Staging empty rooms with your choice of hundreds of professionally designed furnishings
• Virtual repairs and remodeling
• Decor updates and replacements
• Decluttering and depersonalizing rooms
• Sky replacement and lawn greening
• And much more!

Additionally, PhotoUp offers many choices of furniture and decor options for various room types and in popular styles.

Finally, PhotoUp is a full-service real estate marketing company offering the following robust marketing solutions:

• Real estate photo editing
• Virtual house tours
• Single property websites
• Property flyers
• And more!

We have everything you need to market real estate under one roof!

So, take the next step!

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account and let our virtual staging services help impress your clients and sell your listings faster and for higher prices.

We hope you benefited from this ApplyDesign virtual staging review. Also, before you go, you may want to check out the following related resources:

• PhotoUp Virtual Staging Review: The Best Virtual Staging Service?
• Virtually Staging Properties Review
• 3D Stagers Virtual Staging Review
• Styldod Virtual Staging Review
• Rooomy Virtual Staging Review
• VSH Media Virtual Staging Review
• Stuccco Virtual Staging Review
• VS24 Virtual Staging Review
• BoxBrownie Virtual Staging Review

Like so many things in our mobile-first world, when it comes to virtual staging, you can safely say ‘there’s an app for that.’

It’s the simplest thing in the world to go to the App Store on your mobile device, download one of many virtual staging apps and start virtually staging at a basic level.

But is that the best solution for you and your real estate needs?

In this post, we’ll show you what it takes to do your own DIY virtual staging and how it compares to using an online virtual staging provider.

Before we dive in, let’s take a look at what virtual staging is.

What Is Virtual Staging?

Virtual staging is simply the use of graphics software to add (and sometimes remove) items from an image.

That technique typically applies to real estate photography. And it consists of furniture, decor, and artwork that typically match a specific design style. For example, Modern, Scandinavian, or Farmhouse.

So yes, it’s possible to get started right away on your own, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting the best results.

Far from it, actually.

Sure, you’ll come up with something. But it’s not going to be the kind of real estate marketing image that can make someone stop and think: “I could see myself living there!”

In fact, that kind of work requires skilled digital artists using hi-end software packages with enough time and processing power to craft a digital masterpiece.

Unfortunately, that type of quality and attention to detail isn’t available on a consumer mobile app.

The Difference Between DIY Virtual Staging Apps and Virtual Staging Providers

There are many subtle, but quite profound differences in what you can achieve with DIY virtual staging apps vs virtual staging providers.

For starters, DIY virtual staging apps have had to give up performance and quality to focus on speed and usability. 

Second, when it comes to providing a variety of furniture sets, artwork, decor, accessories, and furniture styles, there’s no question that a virtual staging service provider can offer a wider range.

And more importantly, a better quality product than a stand-alone app.

Furthermore, the skilled professionals doing the work for you have access to better lighting and color-correcting software. That way, the finished product looks more realistic to the everyday home buyer.

On the other hand, using an app gives you more control over the final product. This is obviously an advantage if you’re a visual person and need something done immediately.

With an app, you upload an image, select furniture, perform quick placement to transform an empty room into a real estate marketing image that you can quickly upload to your listing.

Sometimes that’s all you need. So, for quick, cheap, and easy virtual staging, an app may be your best bet.

But it’s far from the best quality.

My point is that creating high-quality virtual staging requires skill and processing power.

Quick & Easy

AI Virtual Staging

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

Try AI Virtual Staging Learn More

Pros and Cons of DIY Virtual Staging Software vs a Virtual Staging Provider

Virtual Staging providers like PhotoUp have access to a large library of 3D virtual furniture, CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software experts, and photo retouching professionals.

They also have access to a backend system that makes it simple to upload your images, select furniture, and then go about your day.

Besides, you get to choose the look and feel of your room(s). As well as collaborate with experienced designers who will deliver high-quality virtually staged images in less than 24 hours.

In contrast to using a virtual staging provider, the main benefit of using a DIY virtual staging app on your mobile device is that you get instant results.

But be warned, these apps rarely work as effortlessly as you might imagine.

First of all, your choices are limited.

Second, functionality is often not up to par, meaning that your clients may not be happy with the final results.

Time vs Quality: Take Your Pick!

Except for quality, the main difference between the two systems is the amount of time you have to spend.

Even though you can get started quickly with a virtual staging app, it’s still going to take time to get a deliverable final product.

With a virtual staging service provider, you’ll simply upload an image, select the furniture, and then sit back and wait for the image to be delivered.

Overall, the cost of DIY vs having someone else do the work for you is likely worth the small amount of money you’d pay for using a virtual staging provider.

Best Virtual Staging Providers

If you don’t believe how much better results you get from a provider, we recommend checking it out for yourself.

Best of all, there’s no commitment.

And most services will give you a free trial, where you can test drive their service, make suggestions and get a sense of how quickly they can deliver.

For instance, companies like Roomy, BoxBrownie, and 3D Stagers are all doing beautiful work with quick turnaround times.

Additionally, we strongly suggest checking out PhotoUp for a modern, high quality, and simple virtual staging experience.

Our teams of artists and editors are on stand-by right now, ready to show you what they can do.

So, what are you waiting for?

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Conclusion

Digital marketing and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have made a profound transformation in the real estate industry.

Typically, digital marketing for real estate has become mainstream and expected on every listing.

Processes like home staging that once took hours and cost thousands of dollars can now be replicated online quickly and at an affordable price.

It’s transformed the way that almost every single real estate transaction begins, which is online.

It’s up to you whether you choose to go it alone with a virtual staging app, or if you take a more long-term, high-quality, growth-oriented approach with a virtual staging service provider.

In the end, the choice is yours, so choose wisely.

That’s all for today!

We hoped this post helped you decide whether to use a DIY virtual staging app or a virtual staging provider.

Before you go, you may also want to check out the following resources: