• The Benefits of Real Estate Virtual Tours
• Matterport vs PhotoUp’s Alternative Virtual Tours
• Get Outstanding, Affordable Virtual Tours With PhotoUp

Matterport virtual tours are well-known among real estate marketing and sales professionals. However, they are expensive, and most sales agents don’t find them worth the cost. 

Real estate sales professionals seek quality, more affordable alternatives to Matterport.

Matterport virtual tours and renderings, while impressive, are more elaborate and too expensive for most residential or commercial properties.

Therefore, many real estate photographers and sales agents are looking for similar quality virtual tours that are less expensive. 

So, in this post, we will explore PhotoUp virtual tours: the more affordable Matterport alternative. But first, let’s talk about the benefits of real estate virtual tours.

The Benefits of Real Estate Virtual Tours

Virtual house tours rely on 3D photos and advanced editing techniques to provide potential buyers with a realistic online experience of almost any property using any smartphone, laptop, or other device. 

A virtual tour gives buyers an immersive experience of the listing, allowing them the feeling of being in the property.

Buyers like and expect these virtual tours because they help them narrow down the properties they want to see in person. 

There are many benefits and conveniences to virtual tours, including the following:

• Buyers have 24-7 access to the property without pressure to view the property quickly
• Virtual tours allow sales agents to highlight a property’s best features carefully
• Using virtual tours will enable sellers and their agents to reach a larger pool of potential buyers
• And even better, virtual tours are easier on sellers, reducing the disruption of in-person showings 

Real estate sales professionals increasingly use virtual tours, partly because buyers and sellers like them, but more importantly, because they effectively sell listings. 

A recent nationwide survey found that nearly 50% of potential buyers would make an offer on a home based solely on a virtual tour.

Here are some other powerful virtual house tour statistics to consider:

Now that you understand the benefits of virtual tours, let’s look at why more and more real estate photographers and sales agents are looking for affordable alternatives to Matterport. 

Matterport vs PhotoUp’s Alternative Virtual Tours

Matterport is a well-known name in the real estate marketing industry. 

They are best known for their 3D virtual tours and architectural renderings of homes, businesses, retail locations, and other commercial properties. 

Founded in 2011, Matterport offers a diverse range of real estate visual marketing services, including:

• 3D architectural renderings
• Virtual staging
• Floor plans
• Single property websites
• Real estate advertising 

In general, Matterport caters to high-end commercial and residential real estate brokerages and the hospitality industry.  

The company is located in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas, London, and Singapore. 

We’re comparing Matterport with PhotoUp, another leading virtual tour provider and global real estate marketing company. 

Launched in 2011, PhotoUp’s marketing and sales team is in the US, and they maintain a highly skilled team of photo editors and designers in the Philippines. 

Unlike Matterport, PhotoUp is comfortable working with clients both large and small, and they offer a broader range of real estate marketing and sales services, including:

• Real estate photo editing
• AI Virtual staging
• Single property websites
• And Property flyers

Now that we’ve introduced these two companies, let’s see how their virtual tour services compare with the following in mind:

• Account creation & basic pricing
• Additional costs
• Virtual tour quality
• Turnaround time

1. Account Creation & Basic Pricing

To begin working with Matterport, you need to open a monthly account. 

Here’s a general pricing overview:

• Free – no cost – allows for 1 active tour
• Starter – $9.99 a month — this allows one user to create up to 5 virtual tours but with limited sharing options
• Professional – $69 a month —  this plan allows up to five users to make up to 25 virtual tours with a few sharing options
• Professional plus – $129 a month – allows for 50 active virtual tours
  Business – $309 a month — this plan is designed for teams and allows for up to 100 virtual tours as well as the Matterport 3D video camera

There are also enterprise plan options that provide more tours but for an additional cost.

PhotoUp also requires opening an account to use their services. It takes less than 5 minutes to open a PhotoUp account, which is free. 

Here are the pricing details for PhotoUp’s alternative to Matterport virtual tours:

• For just $39 per month, PhotoUp provides 5 active virtual tours and 5 single property websites
• And the Pro plan costs $99.00 per month for up to 50 virtual tours and 50 single property websites at any given time with unlimited hosting

Those are basic pricing for monthly plans. However, we can’t stop our comparison simply by considering basic expenses, we also need to consider the issue of additional costs. 

2. Additional Costs

This part of our comparison is extremely important. 

You see, to use any of Matterpport’s virtual tours, you must purchase a Matterport 3D camera, which isn’t cheap. 

Here are the camera pricing options:

• Pro2 Basic Camera – $3,395
• Pro3 Advanced Camera – $5995
• Pro3 Acceleration Kit – $7,995

You’ll also need special battery packs, tripods, and other camera gear, which range from $149 to $199 each.

Matterport also charges extra for various features of its virtual tours. One example is hotspots. Depending on the details of the hotspot, each one ranges from $25 to $79 per hotspot. 

There are other add-on costs, ranging from $19.00 for floor plans to $2,000 for specialized commercial virtual tours.

So, now you see why real estate sales professionals are looking for affordable Matterport alternatives.

Fortunately, PhotoUp has no hidden or special additional costs for using their virtual tours. For example, look at the following:

• PhotoUp’s virtual tour pricing is straightforward and easy to understand
• This one is huge – there is no special, expensive camera needed
• Tour add-ons are highly affordable

And as we said in the previous section, PhotoUp’s Starter plan costs $39 per month for 5 active virtual tours and 5 single property websites. And the Pro plan costs $99.00 per month for up to 50 virtual tours and 50 single property websites at any given time with unlimited hosting.

Now, price is important, but so is quality. So let’s compare the quality of the virtual tours offered by Matterport and the alternative tours offered by PhotoUp.

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3. Tour Quality – Matterport vs PhotoUp’s Alternative Virtual Tours

After examining samples of virtual tours, it’s clear that both companies do excellent work and offer attractive and realistic virtual tours.

And both companies offer the same virtual tour features, including hotspots, custom branding options, and the ability to add floor plans and other special features. 

In fact, it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between the quality of PhotoUp’s alternative to virtual tours compared to Matterport’s. 

Here, look for yourself at sample virtual tours from each provider.

Matterport Virtual Tour Example

PhotoUp Virtual Tour Example

3. Turnaround Time

In terms of turnaround times, the two companies significantly differ concerning how long it takes to get your finished virtual tour. 

For example, Matterport’s turnaround time depends on many variables: 

• First, you’ll need their special 3D camera, or you’ll need to order one
• Then you upload your video and images
• Matterport then takes about 24 – 48 hours to create the virtual tour and 3D model

In contrast, PhotoUp’s virtual tour turnaround times are faster:

• Easily upload your images and video from any 3D camera
• Your virtual tour will be ready in around 5 minutes
• Tour add-ons and other features that can be added in 24 hours or less

Okay, our comparison is nearly complete. All that’s left to do is analyze our results.

4. Our Results – PhotoUp – The Affordable Alternative to Matterport

Both Matterport and PhotoUp offer excellent services. In fact, it’s hard to tell the difference between the quality of their virtual tours. 

However, one significant difference between the two companies is the price. For example, look at the following:

• A basic Matterport virtual tour can cost close to $4,000 once you add up the expense of the camera, equipment, and tour features
• PhotoUp offers 50 virtual tours for $99 a month

Again, consider the following differences:

• PhotoUp is a considerably less expensive alternative to Matterport, charging much less for the same or similar services
• You don’t need to buy an expensive camera
• Finally, PhotoUp also has the advantage in terms of production turnaround time, getting you finished, hi-res virtual tours a day or two faster than Matterport

The bottom line? Why pay more for the same quality and service? PhotoUp’s virtual tours are an easy and affordable alternative to Matterport’s.

It's Time To Level-Up Your

Real Estate Marketing

Capture more leads with virtual tours and single property websites.

Join PhotoUp Learn More

Get Outstanding, Affordable Virtual Tours With PhotoUp

Why not start using this powerful alternative to Matterport now?

PhotoUp can create a professional and compelling virtual tour in as little as 5 minutes. And we make using virtual tours as easy as possible:

You can add other tour features, such as floor plans or 3D virtual stagings, to your orders.

By now, you understand the many benefits of using virtual tours, including better buyer experiences, happier sellers, and faster sales at higher prices.

So, do yourself a favor. Take the first step toward quicker and better sales today. 

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account, and we’ll help you take your real estate marketing to the next level.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post, PhotoUp, virtual tours: the more affordable Matterport alternative. And while you’re here, check out these other free resources:

• How to Create a Free Apartment 3D Virtual Tour
• How to Create a Home Walkthrough Video (Quickest Way)
• Virtual Staging for Real Estate Listings (6 Best Providers)
• Is Virtual Staging Legal? Learn How to Disclose Virtual Staging
• 10 Benefits of Virtual Staging For Estate Agents