If you are a freelance photographer thinking about adding virtual tours to your services, or you are considering starting your own virtual tour company, one of the first questions you will probably ask is:
How much should I charge for a virtual tour?
There is no single price that works for every photographer or virtual tour company. Your pricing needs to account for the size of the property, the equipment and software you use, photographer costs, processing, hosting, travel, and the value you provide to the client.
At Momentum 360, we have spent years developing our own pricing structure for virtual tours and property marketing. After photographing hundreds of properties and businesses, we have learned that the right pricing model is about more than simply putting a number on a virtual tour.
It is about creating a structure that works for the customer while also allowing your business to remain profitable and scale.
How Much Does a Virtual Tour Cost?
The cost of a virtual tour can vary significantly depending on the property and the services included.
At Momentum 360, our pricing model has historically used a $300 starting fee plus $0.10 per square foot for a Matterport virtual tour.
For example, using that pricing structure:
2,000 square foot property
$300 starting fee
+ $200 for 2,000 square feet
= $500 total
This is an example of the pricing structure discussed in our video and should not be treated as a universal market rate. Different companies may price their services differently depending on equipment, location, production costs, deliverables, and the level of service provided.
The important lesson is to understand your costs before deciding what to charge.
Why Have a Starting Fee?
You might wonder why a virtual tour company would charge a starting fee and then add a square footage charge on top.
The answer comes down to the costs involved in producing a professional virtual tour.
There are expenses before you even consider the size of the property.
You may need to pay the photographer, travel to the location, operate professional scanning equipment, process the project, upload the tour, host the finished experience, and handle post-production.
A very small property can still require much of the same basic production process as a larger property.
That’s why having a minimum or starting fee can help protect your margins.
At Momentum 360, maintaining a healthy margin has always been an important part of our pricing strategy. In the original pricing model discussed in the video, the goal was to maintain approximately a 50 percent margin after photographer and production costs.
That doesn’t mean every company needs to use exactly the same margin.
It means you need to know your numbers.
Don’t Price Your Virtual Tours Based Only on Square Footage
One of the biggest mistakes a new virtual tour business can make is looking only at square footage.
Imagine charging $0.10 per square foot with no minimum.
A 1,000 square foot property would generate only $100.
After paying the photographer, processing the project, hosting the tour, traveling to the property, and covering other expenses, there may not be enough left to make the project worthwhile.
Square footage is useful for determining the scope of a project, but it shouldn’t necessarily be the only factor determining your price.
Your pricing should account for the entire production process.
Should You Use À La Carte Pricing or Packages?
When you’re first starting out, one of the most flexible approaches is an à la carte pricing model.
The concept is simple.
Instead of forcing every customer into one package, you allow them to choose the individual services they actually need.
For example, a real estate agent might want:
• A 3D virtual tour
• Professional photography
• A property video
• Drone photography
• Aerial video
Another client might only want the virtual tour.
With an à la carte structure, you can quote each service individually and create a solution around the client’s needs.
This gives you flexibility while you’re learning what your customers actually want.
Why À La Carte Pricing Can Be Useful for a New Business
When you’re starting a virtual tour company, you probably don’t know exactly what every customer will ask for.
One client may want photography.
Another may ask for drone footage.
Another may want a Matterport tour.
Someone else may want everything.
If you only sell one fixed package, you could lose a potential customer simply because the package doesn’t match what they need.
An à la carte model gives you room to customize the project.
For example:
Virtual Tour: $X
Photography: $X
Video: $X
Drone Photography: $X
You can then create a customized quote based on the client’s requirements.
This is particularly useful while you’re still figuring out your market and refining your service offering.
When Should You Move to Packages?
As your business grows, packages can become much easier to sell and manage.
Instead of having a customer decide between dozens of individual services, you can create a few clear options.
For example:
Essential Property Package
3D virtual tour
Professional photography
Premium Property Package
3D virtual tour
Professional photography
Property video
Complete Property Marketing Package
3D virtual tour
Professional photography
Property video
Drone photography
The exact services and pricing will depend on your business.
The goal is to make the buying decision easier.
Packages also make it easier for your sales team to communicate pricing and can help you standardize your production process as you grow.
How to Build a Profitable Virtual Tour Pricing Model
Before choosing your price, calculate what it actually costs you to complete a project.
Consider:
Photographer Cost
If someone else is shooting the property for you, their compensation needs to be included in your pricing.
Equipment
Professional 3D cameras, 360 cameras, tripods, computers, and other equipment represent a business investment.
Software and Hosting
Virtual tour platforms and cloud services can create ongoing costs.
Processing and Editing
Your time has value. Don’t forget the hours spent processing, editing, checking, and delivering a project.
Travel
If you’re traveling outside your normal service area, consider mileage, travel time, parking, and other expenses.
Sales and Administration
Scheduling, communicating with clients, creating quotes, invoicing, and managing revisions all take time.
Once you understand these costs, you can work backward to determine the minimum price you need to charge.
What Makes a Professional Virtual Tour Worth More?
You will always find someone offering virtual tours for less.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you should compete on price.
The real question is:
What are you providing that the cheaper option isn’t?
At Momentum 360, our approach has always been about combining virtual tours with a broader property marketing strategy.
A professional 3D tour isn’t simply a camera placed inside a property.
It is part of a larger presentation of the property.
Our Real Estate 3D Virtual Tours help potential buyers explore properties interactively, understand the layout, and experience the space before visiting in person.
That can be particularly valuable for real estate agents, brokers, property managers, investors, and businesses marketing physical spaces.
Virtual Tours Can Be More Than a Real Estate Service
Although real estate is one of the biggest applications for 3D virtual tours, it isn’t the only one.
Virtual tours can be used for:
• Residential properties
• Commercial real estate
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Retail stores
• Gyms
• Healthcare facilities
• Event venues
• Schools
• Offices
• Showrooms
• Treatment centers
A virtual tour for a property can help potential buyers, renters, or visitors understand a space before they physically arrive.
For businesses, the same concept can help customers become familiar with their environment before walking through the door.
Why Local Experience Matters
Pricing also depends on where you operate.
A virtual tour photographer working in Philadelphia may have a completely different cost structure from someone working in a smaller market.
Travel distances, property types, competition, labor costs, and demand can all affect your pricing.
Momentum 360 started in Philadelphia and has since expanded beyond the local market. That experience has helped us understand an important part of scaling a virtual tour business: you need a pricing system that works locally but can also be repeated across different markets.
If you are building a business in Philadelphia, for example, don’t automatically copy a photographer’s pricing from another city.
Study your local market, calculate your costs, and then build a model that allows you to deliver consistent quality profitably.
How to Scale a Virtual Tour Company
When you’re working as a solo photographer, your pricing can be relatively simple.
You shoot the property.
You process the tour.
You send it to the customer.
As your business grows, however, the model changes.
You may eventually have multiple photographers, salespeople, editors, account managers, and customers across different locations.
At that point, consistency becomes extremely important.
You need:
• Standardized pricing
• Clear service packages
• Consistent production processes
• Photographer compensation guidelines
• Defined turnaround times
• Reliable quality control
• A system for scheduling and project management
This is where a virtual tour company becomes more than just a photography business.
You are building a repeatable service business.
Our virtual tour company services are built around that broader approach, combining immersive tours with professional visual marketing and other digital solutions.
A Simple Pricing Formula to Start With
If you’re just getting started, don’t overcomplicate your pricing.
Start by determining:
Your production cost + your desired profit margin = your minimum viable price
Then consider whether square footage, travel, property type, or additional services should affect the final quote.
You can start with an à la carte model and eventually introduce packages once you understand which services customers purchase most often.
The important thing is to avoid setting a price simply because another photographer charges that amount.
Your business has its own costs.
Your market has its own conditions.
And your service may provide a completely different level of value.
Final Thoughts
So, how much should you charge for a virtual tour?
There isn’t one universal answer.
The pricing structure discussed in our original video was $300 plus $0.10 per square foot for a Matterport virtual tour. That model was designed around our own production costs, desired margins, and the level of service we provided.
If you’re starting your own virtual tour company, use that as an example rather than a rule.
Understand your costs.
Know your market.
Start with flexible à la carte services.
Then, as you grow, build packages that make it easier for customers to buy and easier for your business to scale.
Most importantly, don’t compete only on price.
A professional virtual tour is part of a property’s overall marketing strategy. When you combine high-quality 3D tours with photography, video, aerial imagery, and smart marketing, you can create a much more valuable service for your clients.
If you’re a real estate professional, property owner, or business looking to create an immersive experience for your customers, Momentum 360 can help you determine which virtual tour solution makes sense for your property. Contact our team to discuss your project and get a customized recommendation.
