Real estate virtual tour pricing in 2026 ranges from $0 to $500+ per property depending on your approach, the platform you use, and whether you create the tour yourself or hire a professional. This guide gives you the complete, honest breakdown of what things actually cost — so you can budget accurately and calculate whether the investment makes financial sense for your listings.
The Three Ways to Create a Real Estate Virtual Tour
Option 1: DIY with a Smartphone App
Using an AI-powered smartphone app like Travvir, you create the virtual tour yourself using your existing phone. No extra hardware, no photographer fees.
Cost breakdown: App subscription $0–$60/year. No equipment purchase (uses your existing phone). No per-tour fees. Total annual cost for unlimited tours: $0–$60.
Time investment: 20–40 minutes per property including capture, processing, and publishing. This is the only option where your time is the primary cost. For agents with 5+ listings per month, the time investment is roughly 2–3 hours/month — a worthwhile trade-off given the results.
Option 2: Hire a Virtual Tour Photographer
A professional real estate photographer with 360 equipment captures and processes the tour for you. You receive a finished tour hosted on their platform or delivered as files.
Cost breakdown: Standard residential tour (1,500–3,000 sq ft) $150–$350. Luxury property (3,000+ sq ft) $300–$600. Commercial space $400–$1,200 depending on size and complexity. Photographer travel fee (beyond 25 miles) $0.50–$1.00/mile.
What's included: Typically 10–20 scene capture, basic processing, hosting for 6–12 months, and a shareable link. Additional scenes, floor plans, or extended hosting periods cost extra.
Option 3: Dedicated 360 Camera + DIY
Purchase a dedicated 360 camera and create tours yourself with higher-end hardware than a smartphone. Higher upfront cost, lower per-tour cost over time.
Equipment cost: Entry-level (Ricoh Theta SC2) $299. Mid-range (Insta360 X3) $449. Professional (Matterport Pro3) $5,995. Software/hosting: $0–$780/year depending on platform. Break-even vs hiring a photographer: At $200/tour from a photographer, an entry-level camera pays for itself after just 2 tours.
Virtual Tour Platform Pricing in 2026
Travvir
Free tier: Storage-limited but functional for occasional use. Pro plan: $4.99/month (international) / ₹299/month (India). Includes unlimited tours, 8K output, custom embed codes, and analytics. Best value for agents creating tours themselves with their smartphone.
Matterport
Starter: Free — 1 active 3D space only. Pro: $65/month ($780/year) for 25 active spaces. Business: $309/month for unlimited spaces. Enterprise: Custom pricing. Note: You also need compatible hardware — iPhone 12 Pro+ (free) or a Matterport Pro camera ($2,500–$5,995).
iGUIDE
iGUIDE uses a pay-per-tour model through their certified photographer network. Residential tours: $99–$199 per property. Commercial tours: $199–$499. Includes floor plan, 360 virtual tour, and 6 months hosting. No monthly subscription required.
Kuula
Free: 5 public tours. Pro: $16/month. Business: $28/month. Kuula does not include capture — you supply the equirectangular images from a separate 360 camera or app.
Zillow 3D Home
Completely free through the Zillow app. Tours are limited to Zillow's platform — no embed codes, no external sharing, no private access control.
Total Cost Per Listing: Real Numbers
Budget Option: Travvir Free + Smartphone
Per-listing cost: $0. Zero app fees, zero hardware, zero hosting. Trade-off: your time (30–40 minutes/listing) and the storage limit of the free tier.
Standard Option: Travvir Pro (Self-Capture)
Per-listing cost: $0.50–$5 depending on number of listings per month at $60/year. For an agent with 10 listings/month, the per-tour cost is just $0.50. This is the lowest cost professional option available.
Mid-Range Option: Hire a Photographer (Standard Property)
Per-listing cost: $150–$350. Best for agents who don't want to invest their own time in tour creation and have the budget to pass the cost through to their sellers.
Premium Option: Matterport Pro (Professional Camera)
Per-listing cost: $65–$130 ($780/year subscription ÷ 6–12 listings/month) plus hardware amortisation. At its best, this works out to approximately $100/listing for high-volume agents. For low-volume agents (1–2 listings/month), the effective per-listing cost balloons to $325–$650.
What Factors Affect Virtual Tour Pricing?
Property Size
Larger properties require more scene captures, longer shooting time, and more processing. Professional photographers typically charge $20–$50 extra per 500 sq ft above a base threshold. DIY apps don't have size-based pricing — you simply shoot more scenes.
Number of Scenes
A standard residential virtual tour includes 8–15 scenes (one per room plus exterior). Each additional scene beyond a base package costs $15–$30 from professional photographers. Consider which rooms are most important to buyers — living room, kitchen, master bedroom, master bathroom, and exterior typically drive the most engagement.
Hosting Duration
Many professional photography services include only 6 months of hosting. After that, you pay $10–$30/month for continued hosting, or the tour link goes dead. Platform-based subscriptions (Travvir, Matterport, Kuula) keep tours live as long as your subscription is active. Always clarify hosting terms before hiring a photographer.
Add-On Features
Floor plans: $50–$150 extra from photographers; included in iGUIDE's per-tour price. Aerial/drone footage integration: $100–$300 extra. Custom branding: Included in most paid platform subscriptions; typically $25–$75 extra from photographer services. Analytics/viewer tracking: Included in platform subscriptions; rarely available from per-tour photographer services.
ROI: Does the Cost Make Sense?
The Business Case for Virtual Tours
Virtual tours consistently demonstrate strong ROI in real estate: Properties with virtual tours sell 31% faster on average. Listings with tours receive 403% more inquiries from online portals. Sellers are 4.5× more likely to choose an agent who offers virtual tours over one who doesn't. Tours reduce unnecessary in-person showings by filtering out unqualified buyers early.
Simple ROI Calculation
Consider a $400,000 property with a 3% buyer-side commission ($12,000). If a virtual tour helps you win the listing over a competing agent, and the tour cost $200, the ROI is 5,900%. Even if you're paying $350/listing for a professional photographer, winning just one additional listing per year from offering virtual tours generates an ROI exceeding 3,300%.
Cost Per Lead Comparison
Traditional listing marketing (professional photos only): approximately $8–$15 per qualified lead. Listing with virtual tour: approximately $2–$5 per qualified lead due to higher engagement rates. Virtual tours don't just add cost — they reduce your overall marketing cost per deal closed.
Who Should Pay for Virtual Tours?
Agent vs Seller: The Standard Debate
Agent pays: Positions virtual tours as part of your listing service, differentiating you from competitors. The cost ($60–$350/listing) is a marketing investment in winning and retaining clients. Common among agents who use tours to win listings against competing agents.
Seller pays: Many agents include professional photography and virtual tour costs in the listing package they charge to sellers. At $150–$350, this is a minor expense relative to commission and property value. Sellers understand the benefit and are typically willing to pay when shown the data on faster sales and higher offers.
DIY model: If you're creating tours yourself with an app like Travvir at $60/year for unlimited tours, the cost is negligible — include it as standard in every listing with no seller charge.
Conclusion: Real Estate Virtual Tour Cost Summary
DIY smartphone approach: $0–$60/year total, unlimited listings, 30–40 minutes of your time per property. Best value by far for agents who want to control their costs and workflow.
Hire a photographer: $150–$600 per property. Best for agents who value their time more than cost savings, or who need premium-quality tours for luxury listings.
Dedicated 360 camera + subscription: $300–$6,000 upfront, $0–$780/year ongoing. Best for high-volume agents and brokerages who want maximum quality and in-house control.
Whatever your budget, the data is clear: the cost of not offering virtual tours — in listings lost to more tech-forward competitors and properties that sit longer on market — is almost always higher than the cost of implementing them.
