Zillow 3D Home Tour vs Matterport: Which 3D Tour Should You Order?
Agents ask us this almost every week. Both tools let a buyer "walk through" a home from their phone. Both are offered on every Weston Media shoot. But they are different products with different strengths, and the right choice depends on the listing and where your buyers come from.
Here is a plain comparison.
What is a Zillow 3D Home tour?
Zillow 3D Home is Zillow's own virtual tour platform. The photographer captures 360-degree panoramas in each room, and Zillow stitches them into a tour where buyers click from room to room.
Key points:
Tours live on Zillow and Trulia and show up directly in the listing
Listings with a 3D Home tour get a visible "3D Tour" badge in Zillow search results
Zillow Showcase listings require 3D Home tours and interactive floor plans
Tours can be embedded on your website or shared by link
Capture is fast, which keeps the appointment short
Zillow 3D Home is the right fit when visibility on Zillow matters most. Given how many Grand Strand buyers start their search on Zillow, that is most listings.
What is Matterport?
Matterport is a dedicated 3D scanning platform. The camera captures depth data as well as images, which produces a true 3D model of the home. Buyers can walk through, view a "dollhouse" cutaway of the whole structure and look at a floor plan view.
Key points:
Produces a true 3D model, not just linked panoramas
Dollhouse and floor plan views give buyers a sense of the full layout at once
Measurement tools let buyers check whether furniture will fit
Works on any platform: MLS, your website, social, email
Can generate a 2D floor plan from the scan
Capture takes longer, especially in large homes
Matterport is the right fit for luxury listings, unusual floor plans and homes marketed to out-of-area buyers who need to understand the space before they travel.
Side-by-side comparison
Buyer experience. Zillow 3D Home: click through panoramas, room to room. Simple and familiar. Matterport: walk freely through a 3D model. More immersive, slightly steeper learning curve.
Where it shows up. Zillow 3D Home: Zillow, Trulia, embed anywhere. Matterport: MLS, your website, embed anywhere. Not integrated into Zillow search badges.
Floor plans. Zillow 3D Home: interactive floor plan included with the tour. Matterport: dollhouse view plus optional schematic 2D floor plan.
Capture time. Zillow 3D Home: shorter. Matterport: longer, especially above 3,000 square feet.
Best for. Zillow 3D Home: standard listings, Zillow Showcase, condos, fast turnarounds. Matterport: luxury homes, complex layouts, relocation buyers, new construction models.
Which one should Grand Strand agents choose?
Choose Zillow 3D Home when:
You are listing on Zillow Showcase
The property is a condo or a standard single-family home
You want the 3D badge in Zillow search results
Speed and budget are priorities
This covers most listings in Carolina Forest, Market Common, Surfside Beach and the condo towers in North Myrtle Beach.
Choose Matterport when:
The home is large or has an unusual layout
The listing is luxury, such as Grande Dunes, DeBordieu or Prince Creek
Many of your buyers are out of state and shopping remotely
You want a floor plan generated from the same scan
The home is a builder model that will be shown for months
Choose both when:
The listing is high-value and you want maximum exposure
The seller has asked for everything
You are competing for a listing and want to show the strongest possible marketing plan
Weston Media's Everything bundle includes a 3D tour, and both platforms can be added to any shoot. Order both on the same appointment and we capture them in one visit.
A note on Zillow Showcase
Zillow Showcase listings get a larger, more prominent placement in Zillow search results, and they require a 3D Home tour with an interactive floor plan. Weston Media's Zillow Showcase bundle starts at $300 and includes everything Zillow requires for Showcase eligibility. If your brokerage has Showcase access, this is the fastest way to use it.
3D tours and out-of-area buyers
The Grand Strand pulls buyers from the Northeast, the Midwest and Canada. Many of them make an offer after one trip, or without a trip at all. A 3D tour gives them confidence that the home is what the photos show. Agents tell us that listings with a 3D tour get fewer wasted showings because buyers have already ruled themselves in or out.
Pair a 3D tour with a walkthrough video and a floor plan and you have a complete remote showing package.
Prepping for a 3D tour
3D tours capture every angle of every room, so there is nowhere to hide clutter. Follow the Getting Ready Guide closely. Pay extra attention to:
Closets, since buyers will open them in the tour
Garage and utility spaces if they are included
Mirrors, which will reflect the camera and need to be clean
Doors, which should be open so the tour flows room to room
Book a 3D tour
Zillow 3D Home, Matterport or both. Captured in one visit, delivered fast.
Call 843-396-3609 or email hello@weston-media.com.
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