8th Wall vs BlippBuilder

8th Wall provides tools for building 3D experiences and WebAR for web browsers or self-hosted projects. Its XR Engine includes World Effects, Absolute Scale, Image Targets, Face Effects, and Sky Effects, and is designed to work with A-Frame, Three.js, Babylon.js, and PlayCanvas. 8th Wall Desktop is an XR game engine with a visual editor; downloads are available for Apple Silicon Mac, Intel Mac, and Windows x64. Projects can be deployed and hosted wherever a developer needs. The Free plan costs nothing, with no login required. The engine binary is closed source, cannot be modified or reverse engineered, and is subject to a limited-use license; other listed tools and example projects use MIT licenses. The distributed binary omits Niantic Spatial VPS, Lightship Maps, and Hand Tracking. Native export is coming soon, and export through the retired hosted platform is no longer available. Projects exported before February 28, 2026 can be moved to local or self-hosted use. Hosted projects are scheduled to remain live through February 28, 2027, when hosting is due to be decommissioned.

BlippBuilder is a web-based augmented reality creation tool with a drag-and-drop editor for making experiences with or without coding. It supports surface and marker tracking, along with gyro features, and projects can be previewed in the canvas or on a device using a temporary QR code. Upload formats include JPG, PNG, GIF, MP4, MP3, GLB and glTF. Projects publish to the web and can be shared by QR code or URL; they remain live while the subscription is active. The free Starter plan supports creating, testing and exploring projects, but publishing requires a paid plan. BlippBuilder integrates Sketchfab for browsing and importing free 3D assets; paid Sketchfab models must be downloaded separately and uploaded to the builder. Created content can be experienced on iOS and Android smartphones, desktop, and headsets including Magic Leap 2 and Meta Quest. AR content requires an internet connection. Blippar says it has suspended new subscriptions while upgrading its technology platform architecture.