AR/VR & Metaverse · head to head
ARCore vs ARKit
ARCore
AR/VR & Metaverse
Google's platform for building AR experiences
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ARCore aRCore limited to Android 7.0+, excluding older Android devices; ARKit iOS-only platform, not available for Android or other operating systems
- They diverge on capability: ARCore covers Motion tracking, ARKit covers World tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ARCore and ARKit actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (AR/VR & Metaverse).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in ARCore
- Motion tracking
- Environmental understanding
- Light estimation
- Depth API
- Unity
- Unreal
- Android Studio
- Android support
Only in ARKit
- World tracking
- Face tracking
- Body tracking
- LiDAR support
- RealityKit
- Reality Composer
- SceneKit
- Ipados support
Both cover
- Ar support
- Ios support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ARCore
- VR Gaming
- AR Marketing
- Virtual Training
- 3D Visualization
- Immersive Experiences
ARKit
- VR Gaming
- AR Marketing
- Virtual Training
- 3D Visualization
- Immersive Experiences
Both are used for vr gaming, ar marketing, virtual training, 3d visualization, immersive experiences, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ARCore
- ARCore limited to Android 7.0+, excluding older Android devices
- Requires integration with game engines or frameworks for most applications
- Cloud anchors rely on internet connectivity for shared AR experiences
- Performance varies significantly across different Android device capabilities
ARKit
- iOS-only platform, not available for Android or other operating systems
- Location-based AR accuracy limited to 3-5 meters, insufficient for precise applications
- Cannot handle very fast motion capture
- Accuracy varies with lighting conditions and surface characteristics
- Requires iOS 11 or later and specific device hardware
Pricing, plan by plan
ARCore
Free- FreeFree
- Full SDK
- Cloud Anchors
- Geospatial API
ARKit
Free- FreeFree
- Full SDK
- Documentation
- Sample code
Which should you pick?
Choose ARCore if
- You need motion tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Android, iOS, Web.
- You also want environmental understanding.
Choose ARKit if
- You need world tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS.
- You also want face tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is ARCore or ARKit better?
- Neither clearly leads. ARCore starts at Free and ARKit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ARCore or ARKit?
- ARCore starts at Free and ARKit at Free.
- Does ARCore or ARKit run on more platforms?
- ARCore runs on Android, iOS, Web. ARKit runs on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS.
- Can I use ARCore for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is ARCore best used for?
- ARCore is most often used for vr gaming, ar marketing, virtual training, 3d visualization.
- What can ARCore do that ARKit cannot?
- ARCore covers Motion tracking, Environmental understanding, Light estimation, Depth API. ARKit covers World tracking, Face tracking, Body tracking, LiDAR support. Both handle Ar support, Ios support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
ARCore: What platforms does ARCore support?
ARCore supports Android 7.0 (Nougat) and later on qualified Android phones. SDKs are also available for iOS, Unity, Unreal Engine, and Web (WebXR).
SourceARKit: Is ARKit free to use?
Yes, ARKit is free to use. It is included in Apple's iOS SDK and requires only Xcode and a Mac to start building AR apps. There are no licensing fees or subscription costs.
SourceARCore: What are the three core capabilities of ARCore?
ARCore provides motion tracking to monitor device position, environmental understanding to detect surfaces like floors and walls, and light estimation to analyze surrounding lighting conditions.
SourceARKit: What iOS devices support ARKit?
ARKit is supported on iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro models, and the latest iPad models. It requires iOS 11 or later. Apple Vision Pro also supports ARKit with enhanced capabilities through visionOS.
SourceARCore: Can developers build shared AR experiences with ARCore?
Yes, ARCore supports cloud anchors enabling multiple users to see the same virtual objects in the real world, enabling shared AR experiences.
SourceARKit: Can ARKit work offline?
ARKit can function offline for tracking and scene understanding since these operations run locally on the device. However, multiplayer AR features and cloud-based object detection require internet connectivity.
SourceARCore: What programming languages does ARCore support?
ARCore supports Kotlin and Java for Android, C through Android NDK, and provides APIs for Unity, Unreal Engine, iOS, and Web platforms.
SourceARKit: Does ARKit integrate with game engines?
Yes, ARKit integrates with Unity through the Unity ARKit Plugin and with Unreal Engine. Developers can also use it with Metal, SceneKit, and Apple's RealityKit framework.
SourceARKit: What are ARKit's limitations with location-based AR?
ARKit's location-based positioning has accuracy limitations. Image-based positioning is primarily useful in urban areas, and beacon-based navigation provides accuracy of 3-5 meters, which is insufficient for precise AR applications requiring 1-meter accuracy or better.
Source