Lens Studio vs Mattercraft

Lens Studio9.4Visit Mattercraft8.7Visit

Higher score Lens Studio #1 in AR Creation Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Lens Studio

vs

Mattercraft #5 in AR Creation Software 8.7/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Mattercraft

• Lens Studio fits best

  Free, advanced social AR creation

• Mattercraft fits best

  Developers building technically rich WebAR

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Side by side

Feature	Lens Studio 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Mattercraft 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.7
Ranking	#1 in AR Creation Software	#5 in AR Creation Software
Best for	Free, advanced social AR creation	Developers building technically rich WebAR
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$64.99/yr
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Desktop	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS	Web
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Email
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Lens Studio 4/4 · Mattercraft 4/4
Visual editor	✓	✓
Face tracking	✓	✓
Image tracking	✓	✓
World tracking	✓	✓
Specs
Publishing channels	Not checked yet	Web
Project limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free access with visual, scripting, and AI creation tools Supports face, image, surface, world, device, and depth tracking Publishes to Snapchat, Spectacles, and Camera Kit channels	World, face and image tracking with varied target shapes TypeScript, code completion, animation systems and physics WebXR headset support with live preview and device simulation
Cons	Desktop support is limited to Windows and macOS Publishing is closely tied to Snap and Camera Kit ecosystems Advanced projects may require JavaScript, TypeScript, or visual scripting	Commercial use is excluded from the Developer plans Pro pricing is substantially higher than Developer pricing Web publishing limits portability beyond browser-delivered experiences
Our verdict	Lens Studio is Snap’s free AR development platform for creating interactive Lenses and augmented-reality experiences. It is aimed at beginners, advanced developers, creators, and teams building social, mobile, web, and wearable AR. The… Read the review →	Mattercraft is a browser-based 3D development environment from Zappar for creating interactive augmented-reality, WebXR and 3D web experiences. It combines a visual 3D scene editor with code-free behaviors, TypeScript scripting, code… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Lens Studio — where it wins

  • Free access with visual, scripting, and AI creation tools
  • Supports face, image, surface, world, device, and depth tracking
  • Publishes to Snapchat, Spectacles, and Camera Kit channels

  Where it doesn't

  • Desktop support is limited to Windows and macOS
  • Publishing is closely tied to Snap and Camera Kit ecosystems
  • Advanced projects may require JavaScript, TypeScript, or visual scripting

• Mattercraft — where it wins

  • World, face and image tracking with varied target shapes
  • TypeScript, code completion, animation systems and physics
  • WebXR headset support with live preview and device simulation

  Where it doesn't

  • Commercial use is excluded from the Developer plans
  • Pro pricing is substantially higher than Developer pricing
  • Web publishing limits portability beyond browser-delivered experiences

• Lens Studio9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad, free AR toolkit for creators targeting Snapchat, web, mobile, and wearable experiences.

  Visit Lens StudioFull verdict →
• Mattercraft8.7/10 · 14-day trial

  A technically deep WebAR environment with visual editing, TypeScript and WebXR support.

  Visit MattercraftFull verdict →