Needle vs. React-Three-Fiber

See how Needle and React-Three-Fiber compare across key features and capabilities for usage on the web and creating XR experiences for designers, developers and teams.

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Web-first runtime integrated with Unity and Blender plugins, complemented by Needle Cloud for optimization and hosting.
Needle
A React renderer for three.js, enabling declarative building of 3D scenes using React components and hooks.
React-Three-Fiber
Low-level JavaScript library for creating 3D graphics directly in the browser using WebGL.
three.js
A commercial platform specializing in high-quality, markerless WebAR experiences, featuring a cloud editor and advanced tracking capabilities.
8th Wall
The WebGL export target for the Unity game engine allows deployment of Unity projects to web browsers using WebGL and WASM.
Unity WebGL
Core Platform & Workflow
Solution Type
3D Engine
Cloud Platform
Authoring Tool
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.
3D Engine
React-Three-Fiber
Solution Type: 3d-engine
Acts as a React renderer, mapping React components to underlying three.js objects.
3D Engine
three.js
Solution Type: 3d-engine
A foundational JavaScript library providing tools to draw 3D scenes using WebGL.
Cloud Platform
Authoring Tool
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
Authoring Tool
Unity WebGL
Solution Type: 3d-engine, authoring-tool
Allows exporting projects built with the Unity Editor to run in browsers via WebGL/Wasm.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Made for the web: Yes
Leverages React's performance features and three.js's web focus.
three.js
Made for the web: Yes
A foundational technology designed specifically for creating 3D graphics on the web.
8th Wall
Made for the web: Yes
Specifically optimized for delivering AR experiences through mobile web browsers.
Unity WebGL
Made for the web: No
Unity is a desktop- and mobile-first engine. It has a WebGL export option, but it's not from its core designed for the web. Often requires significant manual optimization for web performance and load times.
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.
React Components
React-Three-Fiber
Typical Workflows: React Components
Development is code-centric, building scenes declaratively using JSX and React components.
Code
three.js
Typical Workflows: Code
Development is code-centric, writing JavaScript to define scenes, materials, and interactions.
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
Code
Unity WebGL
Typical Workflows: Standalone Editor, Code
Projects are developed using the Unity Editor with C# scripting and visual tools.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Use with Unity: No
Not related to Unity workflow.
three.js
Use with Unity: No
No direct integration. Solutions like Needle make integrating with three.js seamless.
8th Wall
Use with Unity: No
Focuses on web technologies with a custom editor.
Unity WebGL
Use with Unity: Yes
This IS the Unity workflow, targeting WebGL output.
Use with Blender
Needle
Use with Blender: Yes
Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes.
React-Three-Fiber
Use with Blender: No
Consumes assets (glTF). The `gltfjsx` tool can auto-generate R3F components from glTF files.
three.js
Use with Blender: No
No direct integration. Assets from Blender must be exported (e.g., as glTF) and loaded.
8th Wall
Use with Blender: No
Imports standard 3D asset formats like glTF.
Unity WebGL
Use with Blender: No
No direct integration; assets are imported in standard formats (FBX, glTF).
Interactivity Building Blocks
Needle
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements.
Limited
React-Three-Fiber
Interactivity Building Blocks: Limited
Core library focuses on React integration; companion library @react-three/drei provides many ready-to-use components and helpers.
Limited
three.js
Interactivity Building Blocks: Limited
Three.js provides some built-in interactive components, for example loaders and camera controls, in the examples folder, but they require additional development to be used.
8th Wall
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Provides AR-specific components for common interactions and UI elements in WebAR experiences.
Unity WebGL
Interactivity Building Blocks: Yes
Full Unity component system available, but WebGL export has limitations with certain features.
Extensible with Coding
Needle
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects.
React-Three-Fiber
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Full scripting via React/JavaScript/TypeScript with hooks-based reactive programming model.
three.js
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses JavaScript or TypeScript for all implementation, giving full control but requiring manual coding.
8th Wall
Extensible with Coding: Yes
JavaScript API for creating AR experiences, with integration for Three.js, A-Frame, or Babylon.js.
Unity WebGL
Extensible with Coding: Yes
Uses C# scripts with IL2CPP compilation to WebAssembly, with some limitations compared to native builds.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Exposes all of three.js's advanced rendering capabilities (PBR, post-processing etc.) declaratively.
three.js
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Supports PBR materials, various shadow types, post-processing effects, and gives fine-grained rendering control.
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.
Unity WebGL
Physically-Based Rendering: Yes
Supports URP and HDRP rendering pipelines, but with significant limitations and performance caveats compared to native platforms.
Component System
Needle
Component System: Yes
Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components.
React-Three-Fiber
Component System: Yes
Inherits React's component model for structuring the 3D scene.
three.js
Component System: No
Does not enforce an ECS architecture, though one can be implemented on top.
8th Wall
Component System: Yes
Depends on the integrated rendering framework (e.g., A-Frame uses ECS).
Unity WebGL
Component System: Yes
Uses Unity's core GameObject-Component architecture.
Built-in Networking
Needle
Built-in Networking: Yes
Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications.
React-Three-Fiber
Built-in Networking: No
Requires external libraries for networking.
three.js
Built-in Networking: No
Networking capabilities must be added using external libraries.
8th Wall
Built-in Networking: No
Networking needs to be implemented using external libraries or services.
Unity WebGL
Built-in Networking: Yes
Supports Unity's networking solutions (Netcode), but web deployment involves specific considerations (e.g., WebSocket transport).
Timelines and Sequencing
Needle
Timelines and Sequencing: Yes
Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more.
React-Three-Fiber
Timelines and Sequencing: No
Not built in. Timeline and sequencing available through libraries like Theatre.js or custom React animation solutions.
three.js
Timelines and Sequencing: No
Basic animation system exists, but no built-in timeline or sequencing system.
8th Wall
Timelines and Sequencing: No
No built-in timeline or sequencing system, relies on manual animation code or framework features.
Unity WebGL
Timelines and Sequencing: Yes
Unity Timeline and Animation systems are supported in WebGL export.
Animation Controls
Needle
Animation Controls: Yes
Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web.
React-Three-Fiber
Animation Controls: Yes
Leverages three.js's animation system, often managed via React state and hooks.
three.js
Animation Controls: Yes
Provides core functionalities for keyframe animation playback and morph targets.
8th Wall
Animation Controls: Yes
Animation capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine.
Unity WebGL
Animation Controls: Yes
Supports Unity's animation systems (Mecanim, Timeline).
Animated Materials
Needle
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects.
React-Three-Fiber
Animated Materials: Yes
Supports animated materials via shader materials and libraries like lamina or through direct Three.js material manipulation.
three.js
Animated Materials: No
Supports material animation through code, but not for imported assets.
Via Framework
8th Wall
Animated Materials: Via Framework
Depends on the underlying framework used (Three.js, A-Frame, etc.).
Unity WebGL
Animated Materials: Yes
Materials are integrated into the animation system.
Audio Playback
Needle
Audio Playback: Yes
Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components.
React-Three-Fiber
Audio Playback: Yes
Utilizes three.js's audio capabilities, accessible through React components.
three.js
Audio Playback: Yes
Includes support for positional audio using the Web Audio API.
8th Wall
Audio Playback: Yes
Audio capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine.
Unity WebGL
Audio Playback: Yes
Includes Unity's built-in audio engine.
Video Playback
Needle
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures and playback controlled via components.
React-Three-Fiber
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures via three.js.
three.js
Video Playback: Yes
Supports using HTML video elements as textures.
8th Wall
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video textures through integrated rendering engines.
Unity WebGL
Video Playback: Yes
Supports video playback via the VideoPlayer component, but performance can be a concern on WebGL.
Physics Integration
Needle
Physics Integration: Yes
Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components.
React-Three-Fiber
Physics Integration: Yes
Integrates physics through companion libraries like @react-three/rapier or @react-three/cannon.
three.js
Physics Integration: No
Requires integration with external physics libraries like Rapier, Cannon.js, or Ammo.js.
8th Wall
Physics Integration: Yes
Physics capabilities depend on the chosen rendering engine.
Unity WebGL
Physics Integration: Yes
Includes Unity's built-in physics engines (PhysX/Box2D).
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.
React-Three-Fiber
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Excellent support via three.js and helper libraries like @react-three/drei and gltfjsx.
three.js
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Provides robust support for loading and interacting with the glTF 2.0 standard, but some extensions like material animations or physics are missing.
8th Wall
glTF 3D Support: Yes
Supports loading glTF assets.
Limited
Unity WebGL
glTF 3D Support: Limited
Requires installing the UnityGLTF package for glTF import/export.
Custom User Interfaces
Needle
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene.
React-Three-Fiber
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Leverages React for UI, allowing easy mixing of HTML/DOM elements with the 3D scene.
three.js
Custom User Interfaces: No
UI creation typically involves integrating with HTML/DOM elements or using external UI libraries, no built-in support in three.js.
Limited
8th Wall
Custom User Interfaces: Limited
UI is typically created using HTML/CSS overlays or the UI system of the chosen rendering engine.
Unity WebGL
Custom User Interfaces: Yes
Includes Unity UI (UGUI) and UI Toolkit, though these are not specifically optimized for web use cases.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Web Component: No
Builds React applications, not standalone web components.
three.js
Web Component: No
It's a library, not a web component.
8th Wall
Web Component: No
Experiences are typically loaded via the 8th Wall JS library.
Unity WebGL
Web Component: No
Builds are typically embedded using an iframe or custom JavaScript loader, not as a standard web component.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
PWA Support: Yes
Can be used within React-based Progressive Web Apps but provides no specific PWA features itself.
three.js
PWA Support: No
As a JavaScript library, it can be used within Progressive Web Apps but provides no PWA features itself.
8th Wall
PWA Support: No
WebAR experiences created with 8th Wall can be integrated into Progressive Web Apps.
Limited
Unity WebGL
PWA Support: Limited
Can be packaged as a PWA from a template, but requires careful handling of caching and large build sizes.
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.
Excellent
React-Three-Fiber
HTML/CSS Integration: Excellent
Seamlessly blends 3D rendered via three.js with standard HTML/DOM elements managed by React.
three.js
HTML/CSS Integration: Yes
Integrates with standard HTML/JavaScript workflows, allowing rendering into a canvas element.
8th Wall
HTML/CSS Integration: Yes
Allows overlaying HTML/CSS elements for UI.
Difficult
Unity WebGL
HTML/CSS Integration: Difficult
Communication between the Unity Wasm instance and the surrounding HTML page requires specific JavaScript bridging.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Host Anywhere: Yes
Client-side rendering, deployable on static hosting (like any React app).
three.js
Host Anywhere: Yes
Applications can typically be hosted on static web servers.
8th Wall
Host Anywhere: No
Requires the 8th Wall platform for tracking and hosting.
Limited
Unity WebGL
Host Anywhere: Limited
Requires hosting for the large build output files (Wasm, data, JS). Servers need specific configuration (compression, headers, wasm).
Asset Hosting
Needle
Asset Hosting: Yes
Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets.
React-Three-Fiber
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for assets.
three.js
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for 3D models and other assets.
8th Wall
Asset Hosting: Yes
Includes hosting as part of the platform service.
Unity WebGL
Asset Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the build files and any dynamically loaded assets.
App Hosting
Needle
App Hosting: Yes
Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized applications.
React-Three-Fiber
App Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the application files.
three.js
App Hosting: No
Requires external hosting for the application files.
Required
8th Wall
App Hosting: Required
Using the 8th Wall platform requires hosting on 8th Wall's servers.
Limited
Unity WebGL
App Hosting: Limited
Provides the gaming-focussed Unity Play service, which allow for public hosting of embedded iframes, without much control over design or usage.
Performance & Optimization
Engine Size
Medium
Needle
Engine Size: Medium
Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features.
Small
React-Three-Fiber
Engine Size: Small
Adds minimal overhead on top of three.js and React.
Small
three.js
Engine Size: Small
The core library has a relatively small footprint, though application size depends on usage.
Medium
8th Wall
Engine Size: Medium
Includes sophisticated AR tracking libraries.
Large
Unity WebGL
Engine Size: Large
Core engine compiled to Wasm results in a large base download size.
Loading Performance
Excellent
Needle
Loading Performance: Excellent
Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling.
Fast
React-Three-Fiber
Loading Performance: Fast
Benefits from React's ecosystem (code splitting etc.) and depends on three.js and asset loading.
Fast
three.js
Loading Performance: Fast
Core library loads quickly; overall application load time depends heavily on asset sizes and application structure.
Moderate
8th Wall
Loading Performance: Moderate
Loading time depends on experience complexity and network conditions.
Slow
Unity WebGL
Loading Performance: Slow
Often suffers from long initial load times due to large Wasm and data files.
Runtime Performance
Excellent
Needle
Runtime Performance: Excellent
Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices.
High
React-Three-Fiber
Runtime Performance: High
Maintains the performance of three.js.
High
three.js
Runtime Performance: High
Offers high performance potential due to its low-level access, but optimization is the developer's responsibility.
Good
8th Wall
Runtime Performance: Good
Offers robust and performant AR tracking, overall performance also depends on rendering complexity.
Variable
Unity WebGL
Runtime Performance: Variable
Can achieve good performance with heavy optimization, but often less performant than native builds or web-first engines, especially on mobile.
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Smart Asset Optimization: No
Relies on three.js support for optimized formats (glTF/Draco/Basis).
three.js
Smart Asset Optimization: No
Supports optimized formats like glTF (with Draco compression, KHR texture transforms etc.), but doesn't perform automatic optimization.
8th Wall
Smart Asset Optimization: No
The platform handles some processing, but optimization relies on preparing assets beforehand.
Limited
Unity WebGL
Smart Asset Optimization: Limited
No automatic generation of mesh LODs and other web-specific optimization techniques. Unity provides automatic compression tools: texture compression (ASTC, DXT, ETC).
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.
React-Three-Fiber
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
Inherits Three.js LOD capabilities, requires manual implementation.
three.js
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
Basic support for mesh LODs, no built-in system for texture LODs.
8th Wall
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
Relies on optimization being done before asset upload; no dynamic LOD system.
Unity WebGL
Mesh and Texture LODs: No
While Unity supports LODGroups, there is no automatic simplification or LOD generation.
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial)
VR Support (WebXR)
Needle
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard.
Via libraries
React-Three-Fiber
VR Support (WebXR): Via libraries
Supports VR via three.js's WebXR capabilities, using @react-three/xr.
three.js
VR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports VR experiences through the WebXR API.
8th Wall
VR Support (WebXR): No
Primary focus is WebAR.
Unity WebGL
VR Support (WebXR): No
Unity WebGL does not support WebXR at this point.
AR Support (WebXR)
Needle
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard.
Via libraries
React-Three-Fiber
AR Support (WebXR): Via libraries
Supports AR via three.js's WebXR capabilities, using @react-three/xr.
three.js
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Supports AR experiences on compatible Android devices through the WebXR API.
8th Wall
AR Support (WebXR): Yes
Provides markerless AR for Android, but requires additional camera permissions and uses more CPU and GPU resources.
Unity WebGL
AR Support (WebXR): No
Unity's AR Foundation does not support the WebGL build target.
AR Support (iOS)
Needle
AR Support (iOS): Yes
Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR.
React-Three-Fiber
AR Support (iOS): No
Requires custom code.
Limited
three.js
AR Support (iOS): Limited
Limited support for static assets in QuickLook via USDZExporter.
8th Wall
AR Support (iOS): Yes
Provides markerless AR for iOS, but requires additional camera permissions and uses more CPU and GPU resources.
Unity WebGL
AR Support (iOS): No
Unity's AR Foundation does not support the WebGL build target.
AR Support (visionOS)
Needle
AR Support (visionOS): Yes
Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS.
React-Three-Fiber
AR Support (visionOS): No
Requires custom code.
Limited
three.js
AR Support (visionOS): Limited
Limited support for static assets in QuickLook via USDZExporter.
8th Wall
AR Support (visionOS): No
Focus is on mobile WebAR.
Unity WebGL
AR Support (visionOS): No
Not supported via the WebGL build target. Native visionOS support exists.
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
React-Three-Fiber
AR Tracking Types: Surface
Primarily World Tracking via WebXR.
Surface
three.js
AR Tracking Types: Surface
Primarily supports World Tracking via the WebXR API.
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.
Unity WebGL
AR Tracking Types: No
No built-in AR tracking capabilities in WebGL builds.
Ecosystem & Support
Official Support Availability
Needle
Official Support Availability: Yes
Dedicated support available for licensed users.
React-Three-Fiber
Official Support Availability: No
Community-driven support.
three.js
Official Support Availability: No
Support is primarily community-driven.
8th Wall
Official Support Availability: Yes
Support available through paid plans.
Unity WebGL
Official Support Availability: Yes
Paid support options available with Pro/Enterprise plans.
Learning Resources
Needle
Learning Resources: Yes
Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support.
Excellent
React-Three-Fiber
Learning Resources: Excellent
Extensive examples, helper libraries (@react-three/drei), and community resources.
three.js
Learning Resources: Yes
Vast number of official examples, tutorials, books, and community resources available.
Good
8th Wall
Learning Resources: Good
Offers project library, documentation, and tutorials.
Excellent
Unity WebGL
Learning Resources: Excellent
Abundant learning resources including Unity Learn, tutorials, and community content.
License
Commercial
Needle
License: Commercial
Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available.
Open Source
React-Three-Fiber
License: Open Source
Available under the MIT license.
Open Source
three.js
License: Open Source
Available under the permissive MIT license.
Commercial
8th Wall
License: Commercial
A commercial platform with various pricing tiers.
Commercial
Unity WebGL
License: Commercial
Uses standard Unity licensing (Free, Plus, Pro, Enterprise tiers based on revenue/funding).

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