3D walkthrough vs 360° tour
Built from a plan, or filmed in a room?
The short answer
Selling something that is not built yet? You need a 3D walkthrough: it is modelled from the floor plan, so there is nothing to film. Selling a home that already exists? A 360° tour shot with a camera is quicker and cheaper, and the right choice.
People often ask whether the walkthrough on this site was made with a 360 camera. It was not. A 360° virtual tour (Matterport and similar) captures a space that already exists, from fixed camera points. A 3D walkthrough is a model of the building, made from the plans, that you walk through freely in the browser. They solve different problems.
Side by side
| 3D walkthrough | 360° tour (camera) | 360° renders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needs the building to exist | No, built from the floor plan | Yes, a finished and furnished space | No, rendered from a 3D model |
| How you move | Walk freely, or follow a guided tour room by room | Jump between fixed camera points | Jump between fixed rendered points |
| Changing finishes or furniture | Swap materials in the model | Restage and shoot again | Render each panorama again |
| What you see | The design as it will be, in path-traced light | The space exactly as it is today | The design as it will be, per viewpoint |
| Opens on | Any browser, phone or desktop, no app | Any browser | Any browser |
| Reuse | The same model makes the renders, a film and an AR model | Photos of the space | Stills from the panoramas |
| Best for | Off-plan sales, pre-sales, new developments | Resale and rentals of existing homes | Off-plan projects on a tighter budget |
Needs the building to exist
- 3D walkthrough
- No, built from the floor plan
- 360° tour (camera)
- Yes, a finished and furnished space
- 360° renders
- No, rendered from a 3D model
How you move
- 3D walkthrough
- Walk freely, or follow a guided tour room by room
- 360° tour (camera)
- Jump between fixed camera points
- 360° renders
- Jump between fixed rendered points
Changing finishes or furniture
- 3D walkthrough
- Swap materials in the model
- 360° tour (camera)
- Restage and shoot again
- 360° renders
- Render each panorama again
What you see
- 3D walkthrough
- The design as it will be, in path-traced light
- 360° tour (camera)
- The space exactly as it is today
- 360° renders
- The design as it will be, per viewpoint
Opens on
- 3D walkthrough
- Any browser, phone or desktop, no app
- 360° tour (camera)
- Any browser
- 360° renders
- Any browser
Reuse
- 3D walkthrough
- The same model makes the renders, a film and an AR model
- 360° tour (camera)
- Photos of the space
- 360° renders
- Stills from the panoramas
Best for
- 3D walkthrough
- Off-plan sales, pre-sales, new developments
- 360° tour (camera)
- Resale and rentals of existing homes
- 360° renders
- Off-plan projects on a tighter budget
Which one to choose
A new development, sold on plan
A 3D walkthrough. Buyers walk their own unit type months or years before handover, and the model is reused for every phase and every render.
An existing home for sale or rent
A 360° tour shot on site. It shows the real rooms in an afternoon, and nothing needs to be modelled. I do not make these: a local photographer does it well.
Off-plan, but only a few views
360° renders from the model can be enough: buyers look around from fixed spots in the key rooms. A full walkthrough adds free movement and a guided tour.
Questions
Was the walkthrough on this site made with a 360 camera?
No. Nothing was filmed or scanned. The apartment was modelled in Blender from its floor plan, textured, lit with path tracing and then made walkable in the browser.
Can a 3D walkthrough be made before construction starts?
Yes, that is what it is for. A floor plan, sections and the finish choices are enough to start. A grey block-out comes first, so the layout is agreed before any light or material.
Is a 3D walkthrough more expensive than a 360° tour?
It is more work than shooting an existing space, because the building is modelled first. A walkthrough is a fixed €2,000, and the same model also produces the renders.
Can buyers change the finishes in a walkthrough?
The model can hold several finish options, so a sales team can show the oak and the concrete floor in the same apartment. That is not possible with a tour shot in a finished room.
Renders and walkthroughs in your city
Updated 18 October 2026