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The Wild vs Unity AR Foundation

The Wild logo

The Wild

Software

VR collaboration for architecture and design

From
$50/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unity AR Foundation logo

Unity AR Foundation

Software

Unified AR development framework for Unity

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Unity AR Foundation has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: The Wild shared VR/AR design sessions are limited to 8 simultaneous participants; Unity AR Foundation requires platform-specific plugins (ARCore, ARKit) to actually implement AR features
  • They diverge on capability: The Wild covers Design review, Unity AR Foundation covers Plane detection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which The Wild and Unity AR Foundation actually diverge.

Attributes where The Wild and Unity AR Foundation differ
AttributeThe WildUnity AR Foundation
Starting price$50/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsVr, Ar, Pc, QuestiOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor
Founded20162004

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 The Wild

  • Design review
  • BIM integration
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Annotations
  • Revit
  • SketchUp
  • Rhino
  • Unity

Only in Unity AR Foundation

  • Plane detection
  • Image tracking
  • Face tracking
  • Point clouds
  • ARKit
  • ARCore
  • OpenXR
  • Magic Leap

Both cover

  • Ar support

What people use each for

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

The Wild

  • Remote architecture and design team collaboration and design review in VR/AR, now under Autodesk ownershipnot Unity AR Foundation

Unity AR Foundation

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

Where each one falls short

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

The Wild

  • Shared VR/AR design sessions are limited to 8 simultaneous participants

Unity AR Foundation

  • Requires platform-specific plugins (ARCore, ARKit) to actually implement AR features
  • Performance varies significantly by device, with battery drain and heat generation on mobile
  • Emulators cannot accurately test AR experiences due to missing camera and sensor data
  • No WebXR support for browser-based AR experiences
  • Occlusion features show lower performance at 25-40 FPS compared to other features at 40-60 FPS
  • Limited access to latest platform-specific features compared to native ARKit or ARCore

Pricing, plan by plan

The Wild

$50/month
  • Professional$50/month
    • Unlimited projects
    • BIM integration
    • Team features

Unity AR Foundation

Free
  • Included with Unity PersonalFree
    • Free for individuals and small teams with under $200K revenue/funding
    • AR Foundation package included
    • Access to all core AR features
  • Included with Unity Pro$185/month
    • Professional tier licensing
    • AR Foundation package included
    • All core AR features plus Pro-level support

Which should you pick?

Choose The Wild if

  • You need design review.
  • You work on Vr, Ar, Pc, Quest.
  • You also want bim integration.
The Wild review

Choose Unity AR Foundation if

  • You need plane detection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor.
  • You also want image tracking.
Unity AR Foundation review

Questions people ask

Is The Wild or Unity AR Foundation better?
Neither clearly leads. The Wild starts at $50/month and Unity AR Foundation at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, The Wild or Unity AR Foundation?
Unity AR Foundation has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/month for The Wild and Free for Unity AR Foundation.
Does The Wild or Unity AR Foundation run on more platforms?
The Wild runs on Vr, Ar, Pc, Quest. Unity AR Foundation runs on iOS, Android, visionOS, HoloLens 2, Meta Quest, Unity Editor.
Can I use Unity AR Foundation for free?
Yes. Unity AR Foundation has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. The Wild starts at $50/month.
What is The Wild best used for?
The Wild is most often used for remote architecture and design team collaboration and design review in vr/ar, now under autodesk ownership. Of those, remote architecture and design team collaboration and design review in vr/ar, now under autodesk ownership is not what Unity AR Foundation is typically brought in for.
What can The Wild do that Unity AR Foundation cannot?
The Wild covers Design review, BIM integration, Real-time collaboration, Annotations. Unity AR Foundation covers Plane detection, Image tracking, Face tracking, Point clouds. Both handle Ar support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Unity AR Foundation: Is Unity AR Foundation free?

Yes, AR Foundation is free and included with Unity. It is a package within the Unity engine, though you need a Unity license (available free for personal use with under $200K revenue).

Source
Unity AR Foundation: What platforms does AR Foundation support?

AR Foundation supports iOS (via ARKit), Android (via ARCore), visionOS, HoloLens 2 (via OpenXR), and Meta Quest (via OpenXR). Testing in the Unity Editor is available through XR Simulation.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Do I need additional plugins to use AR Foundation?

Yes. AR Foundation is an abstraction layer and requires platform-specific plugins: ARCore XR Plugin for Android and ARKit XR Plugin for iOS. These plugins implement actual AR features using native SDKs.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Can I test AR experiences in the Unity Editor?

AR Foundation supports XR Simulation in the Editor for early testing, but accurate AR testing requires real devices because emulators cannot replicate camera and sensor data accurately.

Source
Unity AR Foundation: Does AR Foundation support web-based AR?

No, AR Foundation does not support WebXR. Unity has stated there are no current plans to add WebXR support to AR Foundation. Web AR requires alternative solutions like 8th Wall.

Source
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