Best AR SDK Software: 8 Tools Compared

ARKit is the native framework for augmented reality on iOS and iPadOS, and it costs nothing to use as a developer framework. It provides motion tracking, plane detection, image tracking, face tracking, and scene understanding, and it works with RealityKit for rendering 3D content. Developers build with Xcode and Swift, and they can add LiDAR based depth on supported iPhone Pro and iPad Pro models.

• The main limit is platform scope.
• ARKit does not run on Android, so a team that wants both stores must build a second version or add a cross platform layer on top.
• Some features also need newer hardware.
• Choose ARKit when the audience is mainly on Apple devices.

Visit Apple ARKit →

ARCore is the native framework for augmented reality on Android, and it costs nothing to use as a developer framework. It provides motion tracking, environmental understanding, and light estimation, and it supports Augmented Images, Instant Placement, and Depth API on supported devices. Developers can use it with Android Studio and Kotlin or Java, or through Unity, and Cloud Anchors let more than one user see the same virtual object in the same place.

• The Geospatial API adds another option for outdoor work, because it can anchor content to a real world location using Google Maps data.
• That is useful for tours, navigation, and location based games, but it needs an internet connection.
• ARCore does not run on iOS, and not every Android phone supports every feature, so testing across devices matters.
• Choose ARCore when the audience is mainly on Android.

Visit Google ARCore →

Unity AR Foundation lets developers write AR code once in Unity and deploy it to iOS through ARKit and to Android through ARCore. It covers plane detection, image tracking, face tracking, raycasting, and anchors, and it works with the Unity editor, prefabs, and the Asset Store. Unity Personal is free for teams with revenue or funding up to $200,000 in the prior 12 months.

• The cost changes with scale.
• Once revenue or funding passes $200,000, Unity Pro is required at $210 per seat per month, or $2,310 per seat per year, and Enterprise becomes mandato
• Apple Vision Pro builds also need a higher plan.
• Choose AR Foundation when one team must ship the same AR features on iOS and Android.

Visit Unity AR Foundation →

Vuforia Engine is the PTC SDK for marker based and model based AR, and it is strongest where AR must lock onto real equipment. The free Basic plan supports image targets, multi targets, cylinder targets, VuMarks, ground plane, and cloud image recognition up to 1,000 image targets and 1,000 recos per month. Model Targets can track a physical object from CAD data, and Area Targets can track a whole room or factory floor.

• The trade-off is cost and access.
• Model Targets and Area Targets can be developed on the Basic plan, but publishing an app that uses them needs Premium, and the Premium and Enterprise
• The Basic plan also limits Model Target creation to 20 and Area Target creation to 20.
• Choose Vuforia when the work involves machines, maintenance, assembly guidance, or large indoor spaces.

Visit Vuforia Engine →

8th Wall is now free and open source, after all subscriptions ended on 28 February 2026 when the hosted platform was retired. The XR Engine supports world effects, absolute scale, image targets, face effects, and sky effects, and it works with A-Frame, Three.js, Babylon.js, and PlayCanvas. The open source components are free to use, including for commercial projects, under a limited use licence.

• There is no login needed.
• The change also removes services that many teams relied on.
• The hosted platform, user logins, Cloud Editor, and XR Studio are gone, and project export is no longer available through the retired hosted service.
• Teams must host the built project themselves, and the distributed engine binary does not include Niantic Spatial VPS, Lightship Maps, or Hand Tracking

Visit 8th Wall →

EasyAR Sense is a cross platform AR SDK that supports motion tracking, image tracking, 3D object tracking, and spatial mapping on Android, iOS, Unity, and web targets. The Personal Edition is free for independent developers, but it is not for commercial use. The Professional Edition costs $39 per month, is commercially available, and removes the watermark.

• The Classic Edition costs $1,399 as a one time licence key charge for lifetime use.
• The limits that force an upgrade are clear.
• Personal Edition use of a custom camera is limited to 100 seconds per run, and the same limit applies to Unity AR Foundation support.
• Cloud recognition is a separate service, with plans from $89 per month for 500 API calls per day, and EasyAR Mega cloud plans start at $299 per month.

Visit EasyAR Sense →

Zapworks is the Zappar toolkit for building WebAR without a full native build. The Developer plan costs $12.99 per month and gives access to all tools and SDKs, with unlimited projects and unlimited views for non-commercial use, a 25MB maximum project size, 250 AI credits per month, and 5 target images per project. A 14 day trial gives access to the full suite, including Designer, Studio, Mattercraft, and the Universal AR SDKs.

• Commercial use needs Pro, which costs $315 per month and allows 12,000 views per year, a 50MB maximum project size, and 10 target images per project,
• Companies with revenue or funding greater than $10 million in the last 12 months must take the Enterprise plan.
• The Developer plan also has a fair use policy of 50,000 non-commercial views.
• Choose Zapworks when a designer or small agency needs to ship a WebAR campaign fast.

Visit Zapworks →

Niantic Spatial SDK, formerly Lightship, is the kit for AR that stays in one real place. Its Visual Positioning System, or VPS, lets an app localise a phone with centimetre level accuracy at a mapped location, so virtual objects can persist for later visitors. The SDK also covers depth, occlusion, meshing, semantic segmentation, and shared AR sessions in Unity, Swift, and Kotlin.

• Pricing now runs through Scaniverse plans.
• The Free plan costs $0 per month and gives 20,000 credits per month, enough for about 10 minutes of mobile capture or about 1,500 VPS queries, with 5
• Plus costs $20 per month with 40,000 credits, and Pro costs $50 per month with 105,000 credits and commercial rights, including resale.
• Choose Niantic Spatial when the experience must anchor content to a specific street, building, or venue.

Visit Niantic Spatial SDK →