Matterport vs Street View: Which Is Right for You?
One question decides it: are customers choosing on feel, or on layout?
Comparisons and Buying Guides · 8 August 2026 · 2 min read
Written by the Biztour team - Google Trusted Photographers since 2013.
This decision usually comes down to one question: are your customers choosing you on atmosphere and feel, or on layout, scale and measurements? Get that answer right and the format choice mostly makes itself.
Most businesses only genuinely need one of the two, not both, so it's worth being honest about which question actually applies to your customers before booking either.
- Google Street View: discovered on Maps and Search, no hosting fee, wins on atmosphere and reach
- Matterport: dollhouse view, measurements, floor plans, wins on layout and space-planning decisions
- Businesses selling a feeling (restaurants, gyms, venues) usually want Google
- Businesses selling square footage (offices, property, industrial) usually want Matterport
If customers are choosing on feel
A restaurant, gym, salon or venue is rarely chosen on precise measurements, it's chosen on whether the space feels right. Google virtual tours are discovered directly on Google Maps and Search, exactly where that kind of customer is already looking, with no ongoing hosting fee at all. For this category of business, this is almost always the right starting point.
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If customers are choosing on layout
An office letting, a property, an industrial or commercial space is chosen partly, sometimes mostly, on whether the layout genuinely works: floor plate shape, natural light, whether a specific fit-out fits. Matterport's dollhouse view, floor plan and measurement tool answer that directly, in a way a standard Google tour can't. This is the format for the decision that hinges on square footage and layout.
When it's genuinely both
Some businesses, larger hotels, mixed-use venues, do end up wanting both: a Google tour for discovery and atmosphere, a Matterport tour for the serious follow-up once someone's genuinely interested and needs to check layout or capacity. It's not the default for most businesses, but it's a real, reasonable combination where the decision genuinely has both dimensions.
Questions people ask
Can I start with one and add the other later?
Yes, there's no requirement to book both at once. Many businesses start with a Google tour and add Matterport later if a specific need, a letting, a property listing, arises.
Which one costs less?
Google virtual tours start from £525 with no hosting fee. Matterport starts from £550 with £60 a year hosting. The bigger cost difference over time is the hosting, not the initial shoot.
Does Matterport also appear on Google Maps?
Matterport tours can be linked from your Business Profile, but they don't natively embed into Maps and Search the way a Google virtual tour does, that direct-discovery advantage is specific to the Google format.
More on comparisons and buying guides
- DIY Virtual Tour vs Professional Photographer
- How to Choose a Virtual Tour Company
- Is a Virtual Tour Worth It for a Small Business?
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