The short answer
A rendered 360 virtual tour is built from drawings for spaces that do not exist yet; a photographed 360 tour is captured on site with a 360° camera for spaces that already exist. Choose rendered for pre-launch and unbuilt projects, photographed for ready homes, hotels, schools and showrooms.
Rendered vs photographed: the decision table
The rendered vs photographed 360 virtual tour question comes down to one fact: does the space exist today? Everything else in the table follows from it. Both kinds of tour open in the same kind of viewer, so the buyer’s experience is similar. What differs is how the panoramas are made, what you must supply, and what happens when something changes.
| Factor | Rendered 360 tour | Photographed 360 tour |
|---|---|---|
| Built or unbuilt | Unbuilt, from drawings | Built, captured on site |
| Site access | Not needed | Needed for the shoot |
| Inputs | Plans, finishes, furniture references | The ready, cleaned space |
| Updateable | Yes, re-render after design changes | Only by reshooting |
| Realism | Photographic, but shows the design intent | Shows exactly what exists |
| Google Maps | Not applicable | Possible, but not offered by 360 Space |
| Hotspots and plans | Yes | Yes |
| VR headset | Yes | Yes |
What is the difference between a 3D virtual tour and 360 photography?
People search for “3D virtual tour vs 360 photography” because the two names overlap. A 3D virtual tour, in the sense used here, is a tour whose panoramas are rendered from a 3D model. 360 photography captures real rooms with a 360° camera. Both end as a set of linked panoramas that a viewer can look around in, and both can carry floor plans and hotspots.
The difference is the source of the image. A rendered panorama is computed from a model built out of your drawings, so it can show a flat that has no walls yet. A photographed panorama is a record of a room as it stands on the day of the shoot, including everything in it. One shows intent, the other shows fact, and a good tour is labelled so the buyer knows which they are looking at.
We provide both: rendered 360 tours for spaces that are not built yet, and 360° virtual tour photography for real spaces captured on site. The rest of this guide helps you pick between them for a particular asset.
When a rendered tour is the right choice
Choose a rendered tour (3D virtual tour) when the building is not finished, when you want to sell from a sample flat that is not built, or when finishes may still change. It is the only way to let remote buyers walk a flat before construction. See 360° rendered virtual tours.
It also suits spaces that can never be photographed well: a lobby with scaffolding in it, a rooftop amenity that is still a slab, a clubhouse whose interiors have not started. A rendered tour shows these as the design intends them to be.
- Pre-launch projects with no sample flat
- Unit types the developer will not build as sample flats
- Amenities such as a clubhouse, pool deck or podium garden that are under construction
- Any space where the design may still change before handover
When 360 photography is the right choice
Choose 360 photography when the space is ready and buyers want proof of what exists: ready-to-move flats, resale homes, hotels, campuses, showrooms and factories. See 360° virtual tour photography.
Photography earns its keep where trust is the question. A hotel guest wants to see the actual room. A family looking at a school wants to see the actual classroom and playground. A rendered version would answer a different question.
- Ready-to-move flats and resale listings
- Hotel rooms, restaurants and event spaces
- Showrooms and experience centres that are open to visitors
- Schools, colleges and other campuses
- Factories and industrial plants shown to buyers and investors
What you need to supply for each type
The inputs are different, and so is the effort on your side. Rendered tours ask for documents. Photographed tours ask for a ready space and a day of access.
| Rendered 360 tour | Photographed 360 tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Drawings | Plans, elevations and sections as CAD, BIM, SketchUp or PDF | A floor plan to plan the capture route |
| Finishes | Finish schedule and references for each room | Not needed, finishes are already in the room |
| Furniture | Furniture layout and references, or a brief for a furnished look | Furniture already in place |
| The room | Not needed | Clean, lit, doors open, personal items cleared |
| Access | No site visit | A shoot day with someone on site who can open every room |
| Review | Camera positions, then white model, then colour | A review of the edited panoramas and hotspot labels |
| Copy for hotspots | Finish names, unit details, area figures | Room names, features and any notes to show |
Can you combine both?
Yes. Many developers sell pre-launch with a rendered sample flat tour and later add a photographed tour of the finished show flat or amenities. Both open in the same kind of viewer, so buyers notice no difference in how they use them.
A combined tour works when each part is labelled. The unit tour is marked as rendered, the finished lobby is marked as photographed, and a note says which is which. Buyers forgive the difference, but they do not forgive finding out later that a “photo” was a render.
How the choice changes over a project’s life
The right tour is not fixed for the life of a project. As the building progresses, the question “does the space exist?” changes its answer, and the tour can follow it.
| Project stage | What exists | Tour that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch | Drawings only | Rendered tour of unit types and amenities |
| Under construction | A frame and a sample flat | Rendered tour of finished states, photographed tour of the sample flat |
| Near handover | Finished amenities, some ready units | Photographed tour of ready spaces, rendered tour kept for unsold unit types |
| Resale or leasing | Everything built | Photographed tour of each listing |
A worked example: one residential launch, three tours
Take an illustrative apartment launch (a made-up project shape, not a real client). The developer has three unit types, a clubhouse that has not been started and a sample flat that will be ready late in the sales period.
At launch, the developer orders rendered tours of the three unit types and the clubhouse. These come from the drawings and the finish schedule, and buyers can explore them from a link. When the sample flat is ready, the developer adds a photographed tour of it, so buyers can see the finished version of the unit type they have already walked in the render. Later the clubhouse is complete and a photographed tour replaces its rendered one.
At no point does the developer rebuild the tour from scratch. The rendered units stay live for as long as those unit types remain unsold, and the photographed additions slot in beside them. That is the practical meaning of combining both.
Edge cases: when the answer is not obvious
- A partly built space. If the shell is up but the interiors are bare, a photographed tour shows a bare room. A rendered tour of the finished interior is usually what buyers need, with the shell photographed only where it is useful (for views or orientation)
- A show flat that does not match the final spec. A photographed tour records the show flat as it stands, so any difference from the final finishes should be noted in the hotspots
- A space that changes often. Showrooms with rotating displays date quickly as photographed tours, because the only way to update them is to reshoot
- A space with strong daylight changes. A rendered tour can show day and night versions. A photographed tour captures the light of the shoot day
- A very large site. A factory or campus can run to many capture points, while a rendered tour of the same site would depend on how much of it has drawings
- Heritage or occupied buildings. Photographing occupied spaces needs the occupants’ consent and a plan for what is visible in each panorama
What goes wrong when the wrong type is chosen
| What goes wrong | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buyers see bare concrete instead of a flat | A photographed tour was ordered too early | Use a rendered tour until interiors are finished |
| Tour does not match what is built | A rendered tour was left unchanged after design changes | Update the model, re-render the affected rooms and republish |
| Photographed tour shows clutter | The space was not prepared before the shoot | Clear, clean and light the space, then reshoot the affected points |
| Buyers feel misled | Rendered and photographed panoramas were mixed without labels | Label each tour or room as rendered or photographed |
| Tour cannot be updated cheaply | A photographed tour was chosen for a space that keeps changing | Choose a rendered tour for changing spaces, or plan scheduled reshoots |
How hotspots, plans and VR work in both
Hotspots, floor plan navigation and headset viewing are available in both kinds of tour. A hotspot can show a finish name, an area figure or a short note. A floor plan overlay lets the viewer jump between rooms. A tour that opens in a VR headset works the same way as it does on a phone, with the viewer’s head movement replacing the drag.
Interactive elements are worth adding when they answer a buyer’s question. A hotspot that names the flooring in a living room is useful. A page with forty hotspots saying “beautiful” is not.
How 360 Space approaches it
We build rendered tours from drawings and capture photographed tours on site across India, and label every tour as one or the other. A rendered tour starts from your plans, finish schedule and furniture references, moves through camera positions, a white model and colour renders with your sign-off at each stage, and includes 2 revision rounds on consolidated feedback. A photographed tour starts from the floor plan and a prepared space, and is edited and linked into a tour afterwards. Both are delivered as web links and embeds for your website and listings, and both can carry hotspots, floor plan navigation and a VR view. Google Street View publishing is not offered.
Where a project needs both, one studio keeps the labels, the viewer and the look consistent. Start with rendered tours, or if you are weighing a tour against a film, read 3D walkthrough vs 360° virtual tour. To talk through your project, send the drawings or the site details.