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The difference in one sentence
A 360 tour is a series of panoramic photos taken from fixed points: viewers look around from each point and jump to the next. A reconstructed 3D tour is the room rebuilt in three dimensions: viewers move freely through it, wherever they like.
What a 360 tour is
You set a 360 camera on a tripod at different spots in the property, usually in the middle of each room and in the doorways between them. Each shot is a spherical photo: from that spot you can see everything around, above and below. Software then links the points so viewers can move from one to the next.
What it does well:
- Every point is a real photo. From where the camera stood, the image is very faithful, with no holes or blotches.
- It connects the whole property. One tour can cover the entire home, room by room.
- It is familiar. Many buyers and renters have seen one and know how to use it.
Where it falls short:
- There is nothing between points. Viewers jump: they can't stand where the camera never was or see the room from another angle.
- It takes gear and time. A 360 camera, a tripod and a visit dedicated to the shots, or hiring someone to do them.
What a reconstructed 3D tour is
It starts from an ordinary video: you walk through the room filming with your phone, and software works out, frame by frame, where the camera was looking. From that it rebuilds the room in 3D, with its real light and textures. Hausplat uses a technique called Gaussian splatting.
What it does well:
- Viewers walk freely. They step up to the window, look back from the door, glance down at the floor. The sense of space is much closer to being there.
- Your phone is enough. One to three minutes of video per room, no extra gear.
- Videos come from the same tour. Since the room is in 3D, you can fly a virtual camera through it and export social videos without going back to the property.
Where it falls short:
- Whatever wasn't filmed is empty. If a corner never made it into the video, it looks blurry or has a hole in the tour.
- Mirrors and glass. Reflections are simplified and can look odd.
- Something may be left floating. Loose blotches in the air, which you delete with an editor like the Hausplat studio.
- One video per room. In Hausplat, each room is its own tour with its own link; rooms aren't stitched into a whole-home walkthrough.
Side by side
| 360 tour | 3D tour from video | |
|---|---|---|
| To make it | 360 camera and tripod | Your phone |
| Time on site | One shot per point, room by room | One to three minutes of video per room |
| How people explore | Jumping from one fixed point to the next | Walking freely through the room |
| Fidelity | Very high from each point | Very high on what was filmed, weak on what wasn't |
| Whole property together | Yes, in one walkthrough | One tour per room |
| Social videos | Made separately | Come from the same tour |
When each one makes sense
A 360 tour makes sense if you need the whole home in a single walkthrough, if you already own the gear or work with someone who does, or if the property has lots of small rooms where moving around with a phone is awkward.
A 3D tour makes sense if you want a tour on every listing without gear or production visits, if what sells the property is the feel of a few spaces (a big living room, a terrace, an open kitchen), or if you also want videos for social media.
They aren't mutually exclusive: you can combine them, with a 360 tour for the whole home and a 3D tour of the rooms that sell it.
What about a plain video?
A walkthrough video is still useful, especially on social media. But viewers only see what you chose to show, at the pace you filmed it. A tour, 360 or 3D, lets them look at what matters to them: the condition of a wall, how the light comes in, whether their sofa will fit. Property videos for social media explains how to get those videos out of the same 3D tour.
How to try it without buying gear
The simplest way to compare is to test with a room you know well. With Hausplat your first tour is free: you film following the recording guide, upload it, and about an hour later you have a link to walk through it.