Matterport or a bespoke 360° tour: which does your business need?
By Charles Mansfield-Osborne ·
If you have looked into virtual tours, you have almost certainly come across Matterport, the best-known 3D scanning platform. It is often the first thing people mean when they say “virtual tour”. It is a good tool, and for some jobs it is exactly right. But it is not the only way to make a tour, and for many businesses it isn’t the best one. Here is how the two approaches compare.
How they are made
A 3D scan uses a camera that captures images and depth as it is moved around the space. Software stitches the scans into a 3D model with the familiar “dollhouse” view and measurements, and the tour is hosted on the platform.
A bespoke 360° tour is made from high-resolution panoramic photographs, each blended from several exposures (HDR). The photographer chooses each viewpoint, and the tour is then designed: how people move through it, what they can click on, what they hear, and how it looks.
Side by side
| 3D scan (e.g. Matterport) | Bespoke HDR 360° tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Image quality | Good, limited by the scanning camera | High resolution, HDR, bright windows and dark corners both hold detail |
| Dollhouse view and measurements | Yes | No (floor plans and maps instead) |
| Branding | Platform’s interface | Your logo, colours and design |
| Interactivity | Tags and links | Video, sound, narration, booking forms, games, hidden content |
| Hosting | Ongoing platform subscription | Included for a year, then optional; you can keep the files |
| Works outdoors and in low light | Limited | Yes |
| Look and feel | Similar everywhere | Designed around your space |
When a 3D scan makes sense
- You need measurements or a dollhouse model, for example for facilities management or construction.
- You are scanning lots of similar spaces quickly and cost per space matters most.
- You are happy for the tour to live on the platform and pay for it while you use it.
When a bespoke tour makes sense
- The look of the place is what sells it: hotels, pubs, wedding venues, restaurants, salons and shops.
- You have a story to tell: theatres, museums, heritage sites, charities and attractions. Our tour of Punchdrunk’s Temple Studios ran to over 1,000 panoramas, lit like the show, and no scan could have held that atmosphere.
- The space is outdoors, very large, or dark.
- You want to own it, without a subscription keeping it online.
- You want people to do something inside the tour: book a room, watch a video, download a menu or find hidden details.
A note on search
A tour hidden inside a platform viewer does little for your website’s visibility. We build each tour with a proper, search-friendly page and structured data, and can publish the scenes to Google Maps, so the tour helps people find you as well as impressing them once they have.
Still not sure?
Tell us about your space and what you want the tour to do. If a scan would suit you better, we will say so. See our bespoke tour packages or get in touch.