Matterport is the industry standard for high-end 360 tours. But their iPhone app tells a different story. We tested both on the same 3-bed property.
| houseVirtual | MatterportiPhone app | |
|---|---|---|
| Scan time (3-bed property) | ~10 min | ~45 min |
| Viewpoints needed | 8 | 18+ |
| Equipment | iPhone | iPhone (or £5,000–£10,000 camera) |
| Setup required | None | WiFi + calibration |
| Floor plan | Included | £15–54 extra per plan |
| Floor plan add-ons | Colour + furniture included | +£9 furniture, +£4.50 colour |
| Real-time guidance | Yes — precision to ~2cm | No — failures reported after capture |
| Phone overheating | No issues | Warned to close app and restart |
| Failed scans | Know during capture | Find out after — redo required |
| Monthly cost (100 spaces) | Low | £280/mo |
Matterport only tells you a scan failed after you’ve completed it. No live correction, no prevention — just wasted time and forced redos.
You can’t just do 1–2 per room. Matterport recommends a scan every 3 steps. For a 3-bed, that’s 18+ viewpoints minimum vs our 8.
During our real-world test, the Matterport app warned the phone was getting too warm, slowed performance, and eventually asked us to close the app entirely.
You have to hold the phone in the exact same position while rotating your body. If it’s not precise enough, the scan fails — but you only find out after.
Matterport needs WiFi connectivity before you can start. Not always available on-site.
Each floor plan is £15–54 depending on turnaround time. Add £9 for furniture, £4.50 for colour. For 10 properties a month, that’s £200–540 just in floor plans.
Matterport's phone app trades accuracy for speed on each viewpoint — but then fails silently and forces redos, meaning the total time is 4–5x longer. houseVirtual spends more time guiding each viewpoint upfront, but every scan counts first time.
Try houseVirtual