See how Needle, 8th Wall, and Verge3D 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 | ![]() A commercial toolkit for creating interactive 3D web experiences directly from Blender, 3ds Max, or Maya using visual scripting (Puzzles). Verge3D | |
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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. | 3D Engine Framework Verge3D Solution Type:
3d-engine, authoring-tool, Framework A toolkit comprising a WebGL-based engine and tools for exporting/adding interactivity (Puzzles) from DCC software. |
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. | Verge3D Made for the web:
Yes Generates optimized output suitable for web deployment, mostly for product visualization use cases. |
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. | DCC Integration Visual Scripting Verge3D Typical Workflows:
DCC Integration, Visual Scripting Workflow centers around preparing scenes in Blender, 3ds Max, or Maya, then adding interactivity using the Puzzles visual editor. |
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. | Verge3D Use with Unity:
No Does not integrate with Unity. |
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. | Verge3D Use with Blender:
Yes Offers excellent, tight integration with Blender as a primary authoring tool. |
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. | Verge3D Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Visual Puzzles system provides building blocks for common interactions and behaviors without coding. |
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. | Verge3D Extensible with Coding:
Yes Supports JavaScript programming alongside or instead of the visual Puzzles system. |
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. | Verge3D Physically-Based Rendering:
Yes Leverages three.js features like PBR, aiming to accurately reproduce materials and lighting from the DCC tool. |
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). | Verge3D Component System:
No Logic is primarily driven by attaching Puzzles to objects imported from the DCC scene. |
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. | Limited Verge3D Built-in Networking:
Limited Networking features can be implemented via JavaScript/Puzzles using external services, but not built-in. |
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. | Verge3D Timelines and Sequencing:
No Sequencing can be programmed using Puzzles, but no dedicated sequencing tools. |
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. | Verge3D Animation Controls:
Yes Imports and controls animations created in the host DCC application (Blender, Max, Maya). |
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.). | Verge3D Animated Materials:
No Supports dynamic material changes through Puzzles, but no animation clips for materials. |
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. | Verge3D Audio Playback:
Yes Supports audio playback, including positional audio, controlled via Puzzles. |
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. | Verge3D Video Playback:
Yes Supports video textures controlled via Puzzles. |
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. | Verge3D Physics Integration:
Yes Physics can be enabled and controlled via Puzzles visual scripting. |
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. | Verge3D glTF 3D Support:
Yes Uses glTF as an intermediate format and exports glTF-based web applications. |
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. | Verge3D Custom User Interfaces:
Yes UI can be created using HTML elements manipulated by Puzzles. |
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. | Verge3D Web Component:
Yes Can be embedded into web pages, often via iframe or direct script inclusion. |
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. | Verge3D PWA Support:
Yes Web apps created with Verge3D can be packaged as PWAs. |
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. | Verge3D HTML/CSS Integration:
Yes Puzzles allow interaction with HTML elements, enabling integration with web page UI. |
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. | Verge3D Host Anywhere:
Yes Applications can be hosted on standard static web servers. |
Asset Hosting | Needle Asset Hosting:
Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets. | Verge3D Asset Hosting:
No Requires external hosting for the application files and assets. | |
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. | Verge3D App Hosting:
No Requires external hosting for the application files and assets. |
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. | Medium Verge3D Engine Size:
Medium Based on three.js plus the Verge3D framework and Puzzles runtime. |
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. | Moderate/Fast Verge3D Loading Performance:
Moderate/Fast Aims for good loading performance, depending on scene complexity. |
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 Verge3D Runtime Performance:
High Leverages three.js for efficient WebGL rendering. |
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. | Verge3D Smart Asset Optimization:
No Optimization relies on export from DCC tools. |
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. | Verge3D Mesh and Texture LODs:
No Basic support carried over from authoring tools, but no dynamic LOD system. |
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. | Verge3D VR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports VR experiences via WebXR, controllable with Puzzles. |
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. | Verge3D AR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports AR via WebXR on compatible Android devices. |
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. | Verge3D AR Support (iOS):
Yes Supports AR via WebXR on iOS, including object placement. |
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. | Verge3D AR Support (visionOS):
No No USDZ/QuickLook support. |
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 Verge3D AR Tracking Types:
Surface Supports World Tracking via WebXR. |
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. | Verge3D Official Support Availability:
Yes Support is included with the commercial license. |
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. | Good Verge3D Learning Resources:
Good Offers documentation, tutorials, and example applications. |
License | Commercial Needle License:
Commercial Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available. | Commercial | Commercial Verge3D License:
Commercial Requires purchasing a license (Freelance, Team, Enterprise tiers). |