October vs Matterport and Zillow 3D Home: photos, video or a 3D tour?

Photos, a walkthrough video and a 3D tour do different jobs

Photos are the one format every portal shows first, so they come before anything else. A 3D tour is an addition to photos, never a replacement. The real question is what to add on top of the photos: a video, a tour, or both.

What buyers and agents say they use

NAR's 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report asked buyers who used the internet which website features were 'very useful':

• Among buyers' agents in NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Staging, 73% said photos were more or much more important to their clients than other listing features, against 48% for videos and 43% for virtual tours.
• Among sellers' agents in the same survey, the figures were 88% for photos, 47% for videos and 41% for virtual tours.
• Agents in that survey said their buyers expected to view a median of 8 homes in person and 20 virtually.
• Buyers aged 35 to 44 valued virtual tours most (47% rated them very useful); buyers aged 79 to 99 the least (34%).

On price, the evidence for tours is weak. A study of 75,178 homes sold in greater Los Angeles from March 2019 to March 2021, about 22% of them with virtual tours, found that the tours' effect on sale price was insignificant once photo quality and listing descriptions were accounted for. Without those controls the effect was about 1.1% (Harvard Business School Working Knowledge). The authors suggest tours may help most in less sought-after neighborhoods and for smaller firms, by bringing more viewers.

Matterport, Zillow 3D Home and October compared

Matterport's plans changed on October 12, 2026: the Starter and Business plans and the free plan card were removed, and Professional became a ladder from 10 to 200+ active spaces (PricingSaaS). The same capture lists a Pro3 camera bundle with the Professional 50-space plan at $1,995 (struck from $4,495) or $245/month for 24 months. If you hire a Matterport service provider instead, one provider, THE FUTURE 3D, lists $350–$1,000 for a residential tour plus $20 a month to host it (THE FUTURE 3D). More price lists by home size, and what each do-it-yourself route costs, are in our guide to 3D virtual tour cost.

Zillow says in its App Store listing that listings with an interactive floor plan or 3D tour got twice as many views and sold, on average, 10% faster than listings without. The listing doesn't say which period or which listings that covers, so treat it as Zillow's own claim. It also isn't a controlled comparison like the study above.

When a 3D tour is the right choice

• Buyers who can't visit easily, for example relocation or out-of-state buyers, who need to judge the layout before booking a flight.
• Large, unusual or high-end homes, where how rooms connect is part of what you're selling, and the buyer will spend time in the tour.
• You need a floor plan. Buyers rate floor plans very useful more often than tours (57% against 41%). Zillow 3D Home makes an interactive floor plan with a supported 360° camera, and Matterport adds floor plans and dimensions.
• Commercial space, venues and facilities, where a measurable digital twin is useful long after the listing: for planning, insurance or fit-out.
• You list on Zillow and own a supported 360° camera. Zillow 3D Home costs nothing to add, so the only cost is your time on site.

We know this side well. Before October, our team photographed homes, hotels and venues and built 3D tours of them for clients. A tour is worth it when the buyer will use it, and a lot of work to capture when they won't.

When photos and a walkthrough video are enough

• Most mid-market homes and rentals, where buyers decide from the photos whether to book a viewing.
• Speed matters. October's photos and walkthrough usually come back within a few hours, so the listing goes live while the home is ready.
• Nobody has a 3D or 360° camera. October needs an iPhone 12 or newer. The app shows where to stand, keeps the phone level and takes the photos itself.
• You need content for social media and email. A walkthrough video plays in a feed. A 3D tour needs a click and some time.
• Small spaces, such as studios, hotel rooms and restaurants, where a few strong photos and a short video show everything.

October's walkthrough is AI-generated motion (Kling) between each room's finished photos, with smooth camera moves through the room; it is not filmed footage. It isn't an interactive tour: the viewer can't choose where to go, and there is no floor plan or measurement. If you need those, add a 3D tour. See how the walkthrough is made in our guide to walkthrough videos with an iPhone.

Using both

The formats work well together. A common setup for a home that justifies a tour:

1. Capture photos and a walkthrough with October. You get AI-generated photos for every portal and a video for social media, usually within a few hours; check each photo and label it as AI-altered where your MLS requires.
2. If the home is large, or buyers are likely to be remote, add a Zillow 3D Home tour with a supported 360° camera (free, shows on Zillow, Trulia and Redfin), or a Matterport tour if you need it on your own site, in CAD files or for a commercial client.
3. Lead with the photos. Buyers rate photos very useful more than twice as often as virtual tours (83% against 41%), so the cover photo still decides who clicks.

For prices on the photo side, see real estate photography cost and October vs hiring a photographer. For October's own prices, see pricing.

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