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Interested in using a virtual staging media service to help market and sell your listings? But not sure which company to choose? 

Virtual staging turns photos of dull or empty spaces into images of attractive, perfectly designed rooms that will inspire buyers, leading to more and higher offers.

To help you decide, we’ve looked at two popular services, Virtual Staging House Media vs PhotoUp – and compared them to see which is the better option.

Virtual Staging House Media vs PhotoUp

VSH Media homepage

Virtual Staging House Media (VSH Media) is located in Chicago, Illinois.

In business since 2014, they offer a wide range of real estate visual marketing services including photo editing, virtual staging (both residential and commercial spaces), as well as property websites, floor plans, and fliers. 

PhotoUp: The Best Real Estate Photo Editing Service

PhotoUp, founded in 2012, is a global real estate marketing company offering a full range of virtual staging services (commercial and residential).

They also offer:

The company employs virtual staging editors and designers in the Philippines, plus a dedicated customer service team in the US.

That said, we’re going to compare both companies in terms of the following:

  • Account creation & pricing
  • Design and style options
  • Turnaround time
  • And image quality

Now, let’s get our comparison underway.

1. Account Creation & Pricing

To use VSH Media’s services, you need to first create a free account. 

VSH Media signup page

Then, through the account, the agent or photographer can upload photos and select among design options and other services.

Their pricing, per photo, runs as follows:

  • Virtual Staging — $24 to $27 per image
  • Furniture Replacement — $32.00 per image
  • Virtual Landscaping – $14.50 per image
  • Plus, they offer unlimited revisions

However, their website doesn’t mention anything about discounts for bulk orders, which would be beneficial if you need a lot of editing. 

PhotoUp also offers free account set-up, which was a simple and straightforward process.

PhotoUp create a new account page

They use a credit system to make payments and offer discounts for bulk buying of credits. And their standard plans are:

  • $1.15 per credit for subscription clients
  • $1.50 per credit for on-demand, pay-as-you-go clients

Virtual staging prices with PhotoUp are as follows:

  • Single set – 20 credits/$20 per photo
  • Double set – 30 credits/$30 per photo

A set is determined by the number of design pieces and furniture as well as how many frames a single room or space requires. 

Additionally, PhotoUp offers unlimited revisions for their photo editing and virtual staging. 

Up next, we examine both companies’ design and style options.

Fast & Affordable

Virtual Staging Service

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

2. Design and Style Options

VSH Media has a range of 8 design and style options, including:

  • Contemporary
  • Modern
  • Scandinavian
  • Urban
  • Hamptons
  • Transitional
  • Traditional
  • And Farmhouse
VSH Media virtual staging styles

If you’re unsure of which design style will work best, their team of editors will select it for you. 

PhotoUp offers a professional design library featuring 11 decor style options and 18 room types.  Additionally, there are 21 design accessories to choose from. 

PhotoUp’s 11 design styles include:

PhotoUp virtual staging library

We’re halfway through. Now, let’s take a look at production and turnaround times.

3. Turnaround Time

In terms of the turnaround times, both companies aim to deliver an agent or photographer finished, virtually staged photos as soon as possible. 

VSH Media offers same-day virtual staging for $27 per photo, and 30-hour service for $24 per image.  

When you order virtual home staging from PhotoUp, you can expect low-resolution proofs back for your approval within 24 hours. Once approved, they provide high-resolution images within just a few hours.

Lastly, let’s compare the image quality of both companies. 

4. Image Quality

Looking through the sample images, both VSH Media and PhotoUp provide hi-resolution examples of their virtual staging work. 

Here you can compare virtual staging results from both providers:

VSM Media Virtual Staging

PhotoUp Virtual Staging

And looking through those images, it’s evident that both companies do excellent work and have talented, photo editing and virtual staging teams.  

But if you look closely, PhotoUp’s virtual staging has an advantage, with its images being extremely realistic, crisp, and more eye-catching.

PhotoUp also offers custom branding with the agent’s name and contact information on each image. VSH Media’s website doesn’t mention whether they offer this as an option.  

Fast & Affordable

Virtual Staging Service

Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.

VSH Media Virtual Staging vs PhotoUp: Which Is Better?

With our comparison now complete, let’s review our results to see which company is the better option.

To start, VSH Media and PhotoUp offer many of the same virtual staging features and services. And both sites are easy to use and create an account with.

Additionally, both companies offer similar turnaround times, delivering proofs for approval within 24 hours and the final photos shortly after. 

The quality of the images is also similar, but PhotoUp’s work is somewhat better.

So, in terms of our results, there are many similarities. However, there are four differences:

  • The range of selection of design styles 
  • The price 
  • Image quality
  • And the range of services

VSH Media offers 8 design themes, while PhotoUp offers 10 virtual staging styles, giving you more flexibility and options. You can also choose between lots of furniture and decor accessories.

Although PhotoUp charges $1 more per virtually staged photo, the quality of the images makes up for that and gives PhotoUp the edge. And the fact that they offer discounts for bulk orders evens this out.

One final observation, PhotoUp also offers a broader range of marketing services than VSH Media – including property portraits, video tour editing, custom websites, and real estate virtual assistants

Therefore, weighing our findings all together — we think PhotoUp is the better option.

Start Virtual Staging With PhotoUp Today

PhotoUp’s easy-to-use virtual staging services make any space or room look its best — these include:

  • Staging vacant rooms with your selection from among hundreds of design-styled furnishings
  • Decor updates and replacements
  • Object removal, decluttering, and depersonalizing rooms
  • Repairs and remodeling editing sky replacement and lawn greening
  • And much more!

Sign up for a free account with PhotoUp, and start using virtually staged images that’ll prompt higher offers for your listings and impress your clients.

In summary, this post compared Virtual Staging House Media vs PhotoUp to see which is the better service. And based on our findings, we conclude that PhotoUp is the better choice.

We hope this post helps you decide where to go for virtual staging services. If you found this post valuable, you’ll also want to check out the following, related resources:

Gregory Gronbacher

Real Estate Sales Agent / Professional Blogger

Gregory is a real estate sales agent and a state-certified instructor of real estate licensing and law. Originally from New York City, he's called Grand Rapids, Michigan home since 1995.

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