See how Needle, 8th Wall, and Reality Composer Pro compare across key features and capabilities for usage on the web and creating XR experiences for designers, developers and teams.
View all platform comparisonsWeb-first runtime integrated with Unity and Blender plugins, complemented by Needle Cloud for optimization and hosting. Needle | A commercial platform specializing in high-quality, markerless WebAR experiences, featuring a cloud editor and advanced tracking capabilities. 8th Wall | ![]() Apple's advanced visual authoring tool integrated with Xcode for creating 3D scenes and spatial computing experiences for Apple platforms (especially visionOS) using RealityKit. Reality Composer Pro | |
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Core Platform & Workflow | |||
Solution Type | 3D Engine Cloud Platform Optimization Tool Web Component Needle Solution Type:
3d-engine, cloud-platform, authoring-tool, optimization-tool, web-component A comprehensive suite including a runtime engine, cloud services for optimization/hosting, authoring via Unity/Blender plugins, and embeddable web component output. | Cloud Platform 3D Engine 8th Wall Solution Type:
cloud-platform, authoring-tool, 3d-engine A comprehensive platform providing AR tracking engine, cloud-based IDE (Cloud Editor, Niantic Studio), hosting, and specialized AR features. | Reality Composer Pro Solution Type:
authoring-tool A visual editor for creating RealityKit scenes, tightly integrated with Xcode for Apple platform development. |
Made for the web | Needle Made for the web:
Yes Built from the ground up for the web, focusing on fast loading, efficient rendering, and cross-platform web deployment. | 8th Wall Made for the web:
Yes Specifically optimized for delivering AR experiences through mobile web browsers. | N/A (Native Apple) Reality Composer Pro Made for the web:
N/A (Native Apple) Optimized exclusively for performance on Apple hardware (iOS, macOS, visionOS). |
Typical Workflows | Unity Editor Blender Editor Code HTML Asset Upload Needle Typical Workflows:
Unity Editor, Blender Editor, Code, HTML, Asset Upload Primary workflow involves using Unity or Blender as the authoring environment, exporting scenes and logic. Custom scripts (TypeScript/JavaScript) extend functionality. | Web Editor Code 8th Wall Typical Workflows:
Web Editor, Code Development occurs in the Cloud Editor or Niantic Studio using JavaScript, HTML, CSS, often integrating with libraries like A-Frame or three.js. | Standalone Editor Reality Composer Pro Typical Workflows:
Standalone Editor Provides a visual interface within Xcode for assembling scenes, materials, and basic behaviors. Complex logic requires Swift code. |
Use with Unity | Needle Use with Unity:
Yes Deep integration with Unity Editor via dedicated plugin, allowing export of scenes, C# scripts (transpiled), materials (Shader Graph), animations, and components. | 8th Wall Use with Unity:
No Focuses on web technologies with a custom editor. | Reality Composer Pro Use with Unity:
No Direct competitor/alternative for native Apple development. |
Use with Blender | Needle Use with Blender:
Yes Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes. | 8th Wall Use with Blender:
No Imports standard 3D asset formats like glTF. | Reality Composer Pro Use with Blender:
No Primarily consumes USDZ format. Assets from Blender need conversion. |
Interactivity Building Blocks | Needle Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements. | 8th Wall Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Provides AR-specific components for common interactions and UI elements in WebAR experiences. | Reality Composer Pro Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Provides components for common AR interactions and behaviors integrated with the broader Apple ecosystem. |
Extensible with Coding | Needle Extensible with Coding:
Yes Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects. | 8th Wall Extensible with Coding:
Yes JavaScript API for creating AR experiences, with integration for Three.js, A-Frame, or Babylon.js. | Reality Composer Pro Extensible with Coding:
Yes Can be extended with Swift programming, but only for Apple platforms. |
Engine Capabilities | |||
Physically-Based Rendering | Needle Physically-Based Rendering:
Yes Supports Physically Based Rendering (PBR), custom shaders (via Unity Shader Graph export), lighting, and post-processing effects. | Limited 8th Wall Physically-Based Rendering:
Limited Rendering quality depends on the capabilities of the integrated engine. The Studio material model does not support all common PBR features. | Reality Composer Pro Physically-Based Rendering:
Yes Leverages RealityKit's USD-based rendering engine optimized for Apple platforms. |
Component System | Needle Component System:
Yes Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components. | 8th Wall Component System:
Yes Depends on the integrated rendering framework (e.g., A-Frame uses ECS). | Reality Composer Pro Component System:
Yes Built on RealityKit's Entity Component System. |
Built-in Networking | Needle Built-in Networking:
Yes Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications. | 8th Wall Built-in Networking:
No Networking needs to be implemented using external libraries or services. | Via Native Frameworks Reality Composer Pro Built-in Networking:
Via Native Frameworks Networking is handled using standard Apple frameworks (e.g., Network.framework). |
Timelines and Sequencing | Needle Timelines and Sequencing:
Yes Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more. | 8th Wall Timelines and Sequencing:
No No built-in timeline or sequencing system, relies on manual animation code or framework features. | Reality Composer Pro Timelines and Sequencing:
Yes Supports timeline-based animation and sequencing through OpenUSD. |
Animation Controls | Needle Animation Controls:
Yes Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web. | 8th Wall Animation Controls:
Yes Animation capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine. | Reality Composer Pro Animation Controls:
Yes Supports creating and controlling animations within RealityKit scenes. |
Animated Materials | Needle Animated Materials:
Yes Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects. | Via Framework 8th Wall Animated Materials:
Via Framework Depends on the underlying framework used (Three.js, A-Frame, etc.). | Reality Composer Pro Animated Materials:
No Material properties can't be animated, but some shader-based animations are possible. |
Audio Playback | Needle Audio Playback:
Yes Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components. | 8th Wall Audio Playback:
Yes Audio capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine. | Reality Composer Pro Audio Playback:
Yes Leverages RealityKit's spatial audio features. |
Video Playback | Needle Video Playback:
Yes Supports video textures and playback controlled via components. | 8th Wall Video Playback:
Yes Supports video textures through integrated rendering engines. | Reality Composer Pro Video Playback:
Yes Supported via RealityKit. |
Physics Integration | Needle Physics Integration:
Yes Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components. | 8th Wall Physics Integration:
Yes Physics capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine. | Reality Composer Pro Physics Integration:
Yes Integrates with RealityKit's physics simulation capabilities. |
glTF 3D Support | Excellent Needle glTF 3D Support:
Excellent Uses glTF as its core runtime format and supports import of various formats (FBX, USD, VRM etc.) which are converted. | 8th Wall glTF 3D Support:
Yes Supports loading glTF assets. | Reality Composer Pro glTF 3D Support:
No Focuses on OpenUSD content; glTF requires manual conversion. |
Custom User Interfaces | Needle Custom User Interfaces:
Yes Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene. | Limited 8th Wall Custom User Interfaces:
Limited UI is typically created using HTML/CSS overlays or the UI system of the chosen rendering engine. | Reality Composer Pro Custom User Interfaces:
Yes Integrates with SwiftUI for creating user interfaces in spatial contexts. |
Web Integration & Deployment | |||
Web Component | Needle Web Component:
Yes Exports projects as standard web components (<needle-engine> tag) for easy embedding into any HTML page or web application. | 8th Wall Web Component:
No Experiences are typically loaded via the 8th Wall JS library. | Reality Composer Pro Web Component:
No Strictly for native Apple platform development. |
PWA Support | Needle PWA Support:
Yes Being web-native, Needle Engine projects can be easily included in Progressive Web Apps for offline capabilities and installation. | 8th Wall PWA Support:
No WebAR experiences created with 8th Wall can be integrated into Progressive Web Apps. | Reality Composer Pro PWA Support:
No Not applicable. |
HTML/CSS Integration | Excellent Needle HTML/CSS Integration:
Excellent Designed to seamlessly integrate with HTML, CSS, and frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte etc.), allowing blending of 2D UI and 3D content. | 8th Wall HTML/CSS Integration:
Yes Allows overlaying HTML/CSS elements for UI. | Reality Composer Pro HTML/CSS Integration:
No Operates entirely within the native Apple ecosystem. |
Host Anywhere | Needle Host Anywhere:
Yes The core runtime can be self-hosted on any static server. Needle Cloud features (optimization, hosting, analytics) require the cloud service. | 8th Wall Host Anywhere:
No Requires the 8th Wall platform for tracking and hosting. | Reality Composer Pro Host Anywhere:
No Tool is part of the Xcode development environment. |
Asset Hosting | Needle Asset Hosting:
Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets. | Reality Composer Pro Asset Hosting:
No Assets are bundled with the application. | |
App Hosting | Needle App Hosting:
Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized applications. | Required 8th Wall App Hosting:
Required Using the 8th Wall platform requires hosting on 8th Wall's servers. | Reality Composer Pro App Hosting:
No Not a hosting platform; used for creating applications. |
Performance & Optimization | |||
Engine Size | Medium Needle Engine Size:
Medium Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features. | Medium 8th Wall Engine Size:
Medium Includes sophisticated AR tracking libraries. | N/A (OS Framework) Reality Composer Pro Engine Size:
N/A (OS Framework) RealityKit is part of the operating system. |
Loading Performance | Excellent Needle Loading Performance:
Excellent Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling. | Moderate 8th Wall Loading Performance:
Moderate Loading time depends on experience complexity and network conditions. | Fast Reality Composer Pro Loading Performance:
Fast Benefits from native code and tight OS integration. |
Runtime Performance | Excellent Needle Runtime Performance:
Excellent Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices. | Good 8th Wall Runtime Performance:
Good Offers robust and performant AR tracking, overall performance also depends on rendering complexity. | High Reality Composer Pro Runtime Performance:
High Optimized for high performance on Apple silicon. |
Smart Asset Optimization | Excellent Needle Smart Asset Optimization:
Excellent Needle Cloud provides significant automated optimization: LOD generation, mesh optimization, extensive texture compression (Basis Universal, WebP, JPG, PNG) and resizing options. | 8th Wall Smart Asset Optimization:
No The platform handles some processing, but optimization relies on preparing assets beforehand. | Reality Composer Pro Smart Asset Optimization:
Yes Works with the optimized USDZ format. Includes Object Capture (photogrammetry) for model creation. |
Mesh and Texture LODs | Excellent Needle Mesh and Texture LODs:
Excellent Supports automatic mesh simplification, level-of-detail generation and automatic texture compression with multiple quality levels. | 8th Wall Mesh and Texture LODs:
No Relies on optimization being done before asset upload; no dynamic LOD system. | Reality Composer Pro Mesh and Texture LODs:
No No automatic LOD management or simplification. |
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial) | |||
VR Support (WebXR) | Needle VR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard. | 8th Wall VR Support (WebXR):
No Primary focus is WebAR. | Reality Composer Pro VR Support (WebXR):
No Not supported. |
AR Support (WebXR) | Needle AR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard. | 8th Wall AR Support (WebXR):
Yes Provides markerless AR for Android, but requires additional camera permissions and uses more CPU and GPU resources. | Reality Composer Pro AR Support (WebXR):
No Not supported. |
AR Support (iOS) | Needle AR Support (iOS):
Yes Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR. | 8th Wall AR Support (iOS):
Yes Provides markerless AR for iOS, but requires additional camera permissions and uses more CPU and GPU resources. | Reality Composer Pro AR Support (iOS):
Yes Creates content for ARKit/RealityKit apps on iOS/iPadOS. |
AR Support (visionOS) | Needle AR Support (visionOS):
Yes Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS. | 8th Wall AR Support (visionOS):
No Focus is on mobile WebAR. | Reality Composer Pro AR Support (visionOS):
Yes A primary tool for developing spatial computing experiences for visionOS. |
AR Tracking Types | Surface Image Needle AR Tracking Types:
Surface, Image Supports World Tracking via the WebXR standard on compatible devices. Image tracking is supported on iOS AR but requires a device-specific flag for Android AR. | Surface Image Face VPS 8th Wall AR Tracking Types:
Surface, Image, Face, VPS Offers a comprehensive suite of advanced AR tracking capabilities, including location-based VPS. | Surface Face Object Reality Composer Pro AR Tracking Types:
Surface, Face, Object Leverages the full capabilities of ARKit (World, Image, Face, Body, Object, Location Anchors, etc.). |
Ecosystem & Support | |||
Official Support Availability | Needle Official Support Availability:
Yes Dedicated support available for licensed users. | 8th Wall Official Support Availability:
Yes Support available through paid plans. | Reality Composer Pro Official Support Availability:
No Community support available through the Apple Developer Program. |
Learning Resources | Needle Learning Resources:
Yes Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support. | Good 8th Wall Learning Resources:
Good Offers project library, documentation, and tutorials. | Excellent Reality Composer Pro Learning Resources:
Excellent Extensive resources including official documentation, WWDC session videos, tutorials, and sample code. |
License | Commercial Needle License:
Commercial Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available. | Commercial | Free Reality Composer Pro License:
Free Included free as part of Apple's developer tools. |