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Matterport vs Clear Pano: You Don't Need a $3,995 Camera to Make Virtual Tours
A Matterport Pro3 costs $3,995 before you've paid for a plan. With Clear Pano you make virtual tours with a 360 camera and your phone, scan the floor plan on your iPhone and remove the tripod yourself, from $5 a month.
Matterport is the name most people think of when they hear "virtual tour". It's brilliant at what it does. But use it the way most people picture it, with the Pro3 camera, and you're spending $3,995 on the camera alone, then paying every month on top.
I make virtual tours with a 360 camera and my phone, using Clear Pano. No $3,995 camera, no laptop, no waiting for a model to process, and no blurred patch on the floor. Here's how the two compare, and how much you save.
Full disclosure: I'm the founder of Clear Pano. Every Matterport price here comes from Matterport's own website and help centre, checked on 8 November 2026, in US dollars before tax. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Matterport vs Clear Pano at a glance
| Matterport | Clear Pano | |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Pro3: $3,995, camera only | Any 360 camera, such as the Insta360 X6: $699.99 |
| Plan for 10 live tours | $90 a month, billed yearly | $5 a month |
| Floor plans | $14.99 each, delivered within 48 hours | Included, scanned on your iPhone |
| Floor under the camera | Blurred | Tripod removed in the app |
| Where you build the tour | Uploaded and processed online | On your phone, at the property |
You don't need a $3,995 camera
Matterport's Pro3 costs $3,995 on Matterport's US store for the camera alone. The Performance Kit, with a tripod, a hard case, a backpack and a second battery, is $4,495. And the Pro3 doesn't work with Matterport's free plan, so you need a paid plan as well.
There is a cheaper way in. Matterport's Pro3 Plus Package brings the camera down to $1,995, but it signs you up to the 50-space plan at $245 a month for 24 months. That's $7,875 over two years.
Clear Pano works with any 360 camera: Insta360, Ricoh Theta, DJI, Qoocam. The Insta360 X6 is $699.99 on Insta360's store. Take a 360° photo in each room, save the photos to your phone, and import them into Clear Pano.
To be fair to Matterport, it also lets you capture with some 360 cameras and phones. But you still pay the monthly plan, and the floor plans are still extra.
The plan costs $5 a month, not $90
Matterport's Professional plan starts at $90 a month, billed yearly ($1,080 a year), for 10 active spaces. Pay month to month and it's $108.
Clear Pano is $5 a month for up to 10 published tours, with 10 floor plans included. Your first tour is free forever, with no credit card.
As you grow, the gap gets bigger:
| Live tours | Matterport, billed yearly | Clear Pano |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $90 a month | $5 a month |
| 50 | $245 a month | $10 a month |
| 100 | $430 a month | $15 a month |
A Matterport space is one 3D model, and a big one, with more than 200 scan points, counts as two or more. See every Clear Pano plan on the pricing page.
Floor plans from your iPhone, with no 48-hour wait
With Matterport, a floor plan is an add-on you order once the space has processed. It's $14.99 and arrives within 48 hours, not counting weekends. Need it sooner? It's $19.99 for 24 hours or $39.99 for six. You can't order one on the free plan, and you can't remove the Matterport watermark.
With Clear Pano, your iPhone draws it. On an iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro model, or an iPad Pro (2020 or later), you walk through the property and scan it room by room. When you finish a floor, the app draws the plan in up to a minute. You can edit it, share it as a PDF or picture, and link it to your tour, so viewers can tap a marker on the plan to jump to that room.
Your plan includes as many floor plans as tours, and the free plan includes one. Measurements are approximate with both, so check any that matter. On Android you can open floor plans synced to your account and link them to a tour, but scanning needs an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR.
The floor plan guide shows every step.
No blurred floor under the camera
In Matterport's 360° views, the floor under the camera, where the tripod stood, is blurred. Matterport's help centre calls it nadir blur, and says 360° photos you import skip it, because Matterport doesn't process them at all.
With Clear Pano you get the floor back. Point at the tripod legs, tap Remove, paint over them, and they disappear. The same tool removes a reflection of the camera in a mirror. If you'd rather show your logo there, turn on Nadir in your brand settings and it goes at the bottom of every photo.
Leave the bulky kit at home
The Pro3 is a big piece of kit. Matterport's Performance Kit comes with a hard case and a backpack to carry it in, and you also need a phone or iPad running the Matterport Capture app.
With Clear Pano you carry a 360 camera that fits in a jacket pocket, a light tripod, and the phone that's already in your pocket. The same phone scans the floor plan.
Quicker from start to finish
By Matterport's own figures, each Pro3 scan takes about 30 seconds, and a typical 2,000 sq ft (185 m²) home needs 50 to 75 scans: about 25 to 38 minutes of scanning. Then you upload it, and most spaces finish processing within eight hours. Then the floor plan takes up to 48 hours.
With Clear Pano, you take a 360° photo in each room. Once the photos are on your phone, you can build the tour in about 15 minutes, publish it and share the link before you leave. The floor plan is drawn on your phone as you go.
| Matterport | Clear Pano | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture a typical home | 50 to 75 scans, about 25 to 38 minutes | A 360° photo in each room |
| Get the tour | Most spaces process within 8 hours | Build it on your phone in about 15 minutes |
| Get the floor plan | Within 48 hours, or pay more for 24 or 6 | Drawn on your iPhone as you scan |
The step-by-step tutorial shows the whole process.
What you save in year one
Here's the first year for 10 live tours, each with a floor plan:
| Year one | Matterport | Clear Pano |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | $3,995 (Pro3) | $699.99 (Insta360 X6) |
| Plan | $1,080 ($90 a month, billed yearly) | $60 ($5 a month) |
| 10 floor plans | $149.90 ($14.99 each) | Included |
| Total | $5,224.90 | $759.99 |
That's $4,464.91 saved in the first year. After that, the plans alone are $1,020 a year apart, plus $14.99 for every Matterport floor plan.
You need a phone and a tripod either way. Clear Pano's floor plan scanning needs an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR.
When Matterport is still the better choice
Matterport makes a 3D model of a space, not just a tour. If your clients want a dollhouse view, measurements they can take anywhere in the tour, or technical files like E57 and BIM for construction and insurance, that's what Matterport is built for, and Clear Pano isn't. A Clear Pano tour is 360° photos linked room to room, with the floor plan alongside.
For the wider picture, here are seven virtual tour tools compared.
The verdict
If you make virtual tours for real estate agents, holiday lets, hotels or local businesses, you don't need a $3,995 camera and a $90 plan. A 360 camera, your iPhone and Clear Pano do the tour and the floor plan for $5 a month, with no blurred floor and no waiting. And your first tour is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is Clear Pano a Matterport alternative?
For 360° virtual tours and floor plans, yes. You build the tour on your phone with any 360 camera, scan the floor plan on an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR, and pay from $5 a month. If you need a 3D dollhouse view or measurements inside the tour, Matterport is still the one to use.
Do I need a Matterport camera to make a virtual tour?
No. Clear Pano works with any 360 camera, such as an Insta360, a Ricoh Theta or a DJI camera. Matterport itself also supports some 360 cameras and phones, but you still pay its monthly plan and buy floor plans separately.
How much does Matterport cost?
On 8 November 2026, Matterport's Pro3 camera was $3,995, its Professional plan started at $90 a month billed yearly for 10 active spaces, and schematic floor plans were $14.99 each. Clear Pano starts at $5 a month, and your first tour is free.
Can I make a floor plan with my iPhone?
Yes. In the Clear Pano app on an iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro model, or an iPad Pro (2020 or later), you scan the property room by room and the app draws the floor plan. You can edit it, share it as a PDF or picture and link it to your tour.
Why is the floor blurred in Matterport tours?
Matterport blurs the spot under the camera, where the tripod stood, in the 360° views it processes. With Clear Pano you remove the tripod legs in the app, so the floor looks like the rest of the floor, or you can put your logo there instead.
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