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Glue vs Niantic Lightship

Glue logo

Glue

Software

VR collaboration platform for enterprise teams

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Niantic Lightship logo

Niantic Lightship

Software

Build real-world AR experiences at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Niantic Lightship has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Glue glue has been acquired, and the pricing page carries a Glue Has Been Acquired notice; Niantic Lightship platform migration in 2026 requires developers to move projects to new infrastructure
  • They diverge on capability: Glue covers VR meetings, Niantic Lightship covers Visual Positioning System.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Glue and Niantic Lightship actually diverge.

Attributes where Glue and Niantic Lightship differ
AttributeGlueNiantic Lightship
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsVr, Pc, QuestiOS, Android, Unity
Founded20172010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Glue

  • VR meetings
  • Realistic avatars
  • Spatial tools
  • 3D visualization
  • Microsoft 365
  • Slack
  • Enterprise SSO
  • Vr support

Only in Niantic Lightship

  • Visual Positioning System
  • Semantic segmentation
  • Meshing
  • Multiplayer
  • Unity
  • 8th Wall
  • Niantic games
  • Ar support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Glue

  • Virtual reality team collaboration spaces for distributed teamsnot Niantic Lightship
  • Immersive training and workshops in shared 3D environmentsnot Niantic Lightship
  • Reviewing 3D content together in VRnot Niantic Lightship

Niantic Lightship

  • VR Gamingnot Glue
  • AR Marketingnot Glue
  • Virtual Trainingnot Glue
  • 3D Visualizationnot Glue
  • Immersive Experiencesnot Glue

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Glue

  • Glue has been acquired, and the pricing page carries a Glue Has Been Acquired notice
  • The free tier is limited to 10 team members, 10 team spaces, 30 minutes of session time per session and 2GB of team file storage
  • Professional is EUR 50 per user per month billed yearly and EUR 60 per user per month billed monthly
  • Single sign on, service level agreement, priority support and premium onboarding are Enterprise only
  • Branded and custom team spaces and custom hosting options are Enterprise only
  • Browser only sessions are an Enterprise feature
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and requires contacting sales

Niantic Lightship

  • Platform migration in 2026 requires developers to move projects to new infrastructure
  • VPS (Visual Positioning) requires online connectivity unlike ARKit/ARCore
  • Smaller developer community compared to Apple ARKit and Google ARCore
  • Location-based features limit use cases compared to device-only AR systems
  • Less mature ecosystem of third-party tools and assets compared to Unity AR Foundation

Pricing, plan by plan

Glue

$25/month
  • Team$25/month
    • VR meetings
    • Collaboration tools
    • 3D content

Niantic Lightship

Free
  • FreeFree
    • ARDK access
    • VPS
    • Semantic segmentation

Which should you pick?

Choose Glue if

  • You need vr meetings.
  • You work on Vr, Pc, Quest.
  • You also want realistic avatars.
Glue review

Choose Niantic Lightship if

  • You need visual positioning system.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Unity.
  • You also want semantic segmentation.
Niantic Lightship review

Questions people ask

Is Glue or Niantic Lightship better?
Neither clearly leads. Glue starts at $25/month and Niantic Lightship at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Glue or Niantic Lightship?
Niantic Lightship has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Glue and Free for Niantic Lightship.
Does Glue or Niantic Lightship run on more platforms?
Glue runs on Vr, Pc, Quest. Niantic Lightship runs on iOS, Android, Unity.
Can I use Niantic Lightship for free?
Yes. Niantic Lightship has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Glue starts at $25/month.
What is Glue best used for?
Glue is most often used for virtual reality team collaboration spaces for distributed teams, immersive training and workshops in shared 3d environments, reviewing 3d content together in vr. Of those, virtual reality team collaboration spaces for distributed teams and immersive training and workshops in shared 3d environments are not what Niantic Lightship is typically brought in for.
What can Glue do that Niantic Lightship cannot?
Glue covers VR meetings, Realistic avatars, Spatial tools, 3D visualization. Niantic Lightship covers Visual Positioning System, Semantic segmentation, Meshing, Multiplayer.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Niantic Lightship: What does Niantic Lightship provide for AR developers?

Niantic Lightship includes tools for visual positioning (VPS) for real-world location-based AR, depth sensing, occlusion, mesh generation, semantic segmentation, and shared multiplayer AR experiences across Unity, Swift, and Kotlin.

Source
Niantic Lightship: What is the Niantic Spatial Platform transition in 2026?

Lightship.dev is being decommissioned as of February 27, 2026. Projects must migrate to scaniverse.nianticspatial.com starting February 20, 2026.

Source
Niantic Lightship: Does Niantic provide maps for developers?

Yes. Lightship Maps for Unity allows developers to utilize the same base maps that Niantic uses for its own games like Pokemon Go, enabling real-world mapping integration.

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