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AR/VR & Metaverse · head to head

Immersed vs Niantic Lightship

Immersed logo

Immersed

AR/VR & Metaverse

Work from anywhere in VR

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Niantic Lightship logo

Niantic Lightship

AR/VR & Metaverse

Build real-world AR experiences at scale

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Immersed the free Starter Mode is limited to 3 virtual screens; Niantic Lightship platform migration in 2026 requires developers to move projects to new infrastructure
  • They diverge on capability: Immersed covers Virtual monitors, Niantic Lightship covers Visual Positioning System.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Immersed and Niantic Lightship differ
AttributeImmersedNiantic Lightship
PlatformsVr, Quest, PciOS, Android, Unity
Founded20172010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Immersed

  • Virtual monitors
  • Hand tracking
  • Passthrough
  • Collaboration
  • Mac/Windows
  • Video calls
  • Keyboard tracking
  • 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.

Immersed

  • Working with multiple virtual monitors inside a VR or mixed reality headsetnot Niantic Lightship
  • Remote co-working in a shared virtual officenot Niantic Lightship
  • Replacing physical monitors for laptop-based worknot Niantic Lightship

Niantic Lightship

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

Where each one falls short

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

Immersed

  • The free Starter Mode is limited to 3 virtual screens
  • Free screen resolutions are capped at standard sizes up to 1440x900
  • The free tier rotates through only 2 alternating environments each week
  • The free tier's 4 collaborator private rooms and offline mode are both marked as limited time only features
  • Offline mode still requires a Wi-Fi connection at startup
  • Immersed Pro starts at $5.99 per month billed monthly on a pay what you want slider
  • A supported headset such as Apple Vision Pro or Quest 3 must be bought separately

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

Immersed

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 virtual monitors
    • Basic environments
    • Solo work

Niantic Lightship

Free
  • FreeFree
    • ARDK access
    • VPS
    • Semantic segmentation

Which should you pick?

Choose Immersed if

  • You need virtual monitors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Vr, Quest, Pc.
  • You also want hand tracking.
Immersed 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 Immersed or Niantic Lightship better?
Neither clearly leads. Immersed starts at Free and Niantic Lightship at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Immersed or Niantic Lightship?
Immersed starts at Free and Niantic Lightship at Free.
Does Immersed or Niantic Lightship run on more platforms?
Immersed runs on Vr, Quest, Pc. Niantic Lightship runs on iOS, Android, Unity.
Can I use Immersed for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Immersed best used for?
Immersed is most often used for working with multiple virtual monitors inside a vr or mixed reality headset, remote co-working in a shared virtual office, replacing physical monitors for laptop-based work. Of those, working with multiple virtual monitors inside a vr or mixed reality headset and remote co-working in a shared virtual office are not what Niantic Lightship is typically brought in for.
What can Immersed do that Niantic Lightship cannot?
Immersed covers Virtual monitors, Hand tracking, Passthrough, Collaboration. 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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