See how Needle, Spatial.io, and Adobe Aero 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 web-based platform focused on creating and hosting social 3D environments accessible via web and VR. Spatial.io | ![]() An Adobe Creative Cloud application (iOS app & Desktop beta) for creating interactive mobile AR experiences with a no-code, visual workflow, aimed at designers. Adobe Aero | |
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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 Spatial.io Solution Type:
cloud-platform, authoring-tool A platform for building, hosting, and experiencing shared social 3D spaces ('metaverse'). | Cloud Platform Adobe Aero Solution Type:
authoring-tool, cloud-platform A tool for authoring AR experiences, leveraging Adobe Cloud for asset management and sharing. |
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. | Limited Spatial.io Made for the web:
Limited Designed for accessibility across web browsers and VR, balancing fidelity with performance for social experiences. Load times are relatively high because it builds on Unity's WebGL platform. | Adobe Aero Made for the web:
No Does not run in the web. Experiences are displayed via the Adobe Aero app. |
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 Unity Integration Spatial.io Typical Workflows:
Web Editor, Unity Integration Users build and customize spaces using intuitive, integrated visual tools and templates. | Standalone Editor Adobe Aero Typical Workflows:
Standalone Editor Designed for designers, uses a visual interface on iOS or Desktop (beta) to assemble scenes and add interactivity without coding. |
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. | Spatial.io Use with Unity:
Yes Via Spatial Toolkit, offers SDKs for importing assets or integrating experiences built with Unity. | Adobe Aero Use with Unity:
No Separate ecosystem. |
Use with Blender | Needle Use with Blender:
Yes Integration with Blender via addon, supporting export of scenes, materials, animations, and custom logic nodes. | Spatial.io Use with Blender:
No Imports standard 3D asset formats like glTF. | Adobe Aero Use with Blender:
No Imports assets in standard formats (glTF, FBX) or via Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Substance). |
Interactivity Building Blocks | Needle Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Includes a rich set of components for common interactions, animations, and UI elements. | Spatial.io Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Provides components for social interaction, media sharing, and space customization. | Adobe Aero Interactivity Building Blocks:
Yes Provides a library of behaviors and interactive components for AR experiences without coding. |
Extensible with Coding | Needle Extensible with Coding:
Yes Uses TypeScript with full IDE support in both Unity and standalone projects. | Limited Spatial.io Extensible with Coding:
Limited Primary creation is through no-code tools; Unity SDK allows interpreting a C# subset for more advanced applications. | Adobe Aero Extensible with Coding:
No Uses a no-code trigger and action system for creating interactivity. |
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. | Moderate Spatial.io Physically-Based Rendering:
Moderate Balances visual quality with the need to support many concurrent users and run smoothly on web/VR. | Adobe Aero Physically-Based Rendering:
No Provides good visual quality optimized for mobile AR, but no advanced PBR features. |
Component System | Needle Component System:
Yes Leverages the component-based architecture of Unity/Blender, extended with custom web-specific components. | Spatial.io Component System:
No Uses an internal architecture managed by the platform. | Adobe Aero Component System:
No Uses triggers and actions to create interactive experiences. |
Built-in Networking | Needle Built-in Networking:
Yes Built-in real-time networking for multiplayer and collaborative applications. | Limited Spatial.io Built-in Networking:
Limited Built-in networking for avatar interactions, voice chat, and shared experiences. Not extensible. | Adobe Aero Built-in Networking:
No Designed for single-user AR experiences. |
Timelines and Sequencing | Needle Timelines and Sequencing:
Yes Supports timeline-based sequencing, complex animations, animator state machines, blending, and more. | Limited Spatial.io Timelines and Sequencing:
Limited Basic trigger-based interactions but no comprehensive timeline system in the platform itself. | Adobe Aero Timelines and Sequencing:
No Basic animation capabilities and directable characters, but no complex sequencing system. |
Animation Controls | Needle Animation Controls:
Yes Supports complex animations authored in Unity (Animator, Timeline) or Blender and exports them for the web. | Limited Spatial.io Animation Controls:
Limited Supports avatar animations and basic object animations. | Adobe Aero Animation Controls:
Yes Supports imported animations and allows creating simple animations/movements on a timeline. |
Animated Materials | Needle Animated Materials:
Yes Supports material animations, shader graph, and procedural material effects. | Limited Spatial.io Animated Materials:
Limited Supports animated textures but limited material animation capabilities. | Adobe Aero Animated Materials:
No No support for importing animated materials at this point. |
Audio Playback | Needle Audio Playback:
Yes Supports spatial audio configured via Unity/Blender components. | Spatial.io Audio Playback:
Yes Includes spatial audio for real-time voice communication between avatars. | Adobe Aero Audio Playback:
Yes Supports adding audio to AR experiences. |
Video Playback | Needle Video Playback:
Yes Supports video textures and playback controlled via components. | Spatial.io Video Playback:
Yes Supports screen sharing and embedding media within spaces. | Adobe Aero Video Playback:
Yes Supports importing and playing video files within the AR scene. |
Physics Integration | Needle Physics Integration:
Yes Integrates with physics engines, configured via Unity/Blender components. | Limited Spatial.io Physics Integration:
Limited Handles basic avatar movement and interactions within the platform constraints. | Basic Adobe Aero Physics Integration:
Basic Includes simple physics behaviors like collision triggers. |
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. | Spatial.io glTF 3D Support:
Yes Supports uploading glTF models for use in spaces. | Adobe Aero glTF 3D Support:
Yes Supports importing glTF and GLB files. |
Custom User Interfaces | Needle Custom User Interfaces:
Yes Facilitates creation of UI using standard HTML/CSS and frontend frameworks, integrated with the 3D scene. | Spatial.io Custom User Interfaces:
No Provides the user interface for navigation, communication, and interaction within the platform. | Adobe Aero Custom User Interfaces:
No Custom UI can only be added via 3D objects in the scene. The UI shown to users can't be adjusted. |
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. | Spatial.io Web Component:
No Experiences are accessed through the Spatial platform/website. | Adobe Aero Web Component:
No Experiences are viewed natively via the Aero app or an iOS App Clip. |
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. | Spatial.io PWA Support:
No The platform is web-based. | Adobe Aero PWA Support:
No Focuses on native mobile AR. |
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. | Limited Spatial.io HTML/CSS Integration:
Limited Focus is on the immersive 3D environment within the platform. | Adobe Aero HTML/CSS Integration:
No Operates within the native app environment. |
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. | Spatial.io Host Anywhere:
No Requires Spatial's backend infrastructure for hosting, networking, and persistence. | Adobe Aero Host Anywhere:
No Uses Adobe Creative Cloud for storing assets and sharing experiences. |
Asset Hosting | Needle Asset Hosting:
Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized assets. | Spatial.io Asset Hosting:
Yes Hosts user-uploaded assets and created spaces. | Adobe Aero Asset Hosting:
No Assets and experiences are stored in the user's Creative Cloud storage but can't be directly served from there. |
App Hosting | Needle App Hosting:
Yes Needle Cloud provides managed hosting and CDN delivery for optimized applications. | Required Spatial.io App Hosting:
Required Experiences are hosted on the Spatial platform. | Required Adobe Aero App Hosting:
Required Experiences are viewed through the Aero app or an iOS App Clip. |
Performance & Optimization | |||
Engine Size | Medium Needle Engine Size:
Medium Optimized runtime aims for minimal footprint, size depends on included features. | Large Spatial.io Engine Size:
Large Includes rendering, networking, avatar systems, and platform features. | Large Adobe Aero Engine Size:
Large User installs the Aero app. |
Loading Performance | Excellent Needle Loading Performance:
Excellent Rapid development cycles and fast loading times through optimized runtime and asset handling. | Moderate Spatial.io Loading Performance:
Moderate Loading times depend on the complexity of the space and number of assets. | Moderate Adobe Aero Loading Performance:
Moderate Depends on the complexity of the AR experience. |
Runtime Performance | Excellent Needle Runtime Performance:
Excellent Designed for efficient rendering performance across desktop, mobile, and XR devices. | Moderate Spatial.io Runtime Performance:
Moderate Performance can vary depending on scene complexity, number of concurrent users, and device capabilities. | Good Adobe Aero Runtime Performance:
Good Leverages native ARKit performance on iOS devices. |
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. | Limited Spatial.io Smart Asset Optimization:
Limited Platform performs basic compression on uploaded assets, but no simplification. | Basic Adobe Aero Smart Asset Optimization:
Basic Relies on optimized assets imported from other Adobe tools (like Substance 3D Sampler/Stager) or standard formats. |
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. | Spatial.io Mesh and Texture LODs:
No Platform automatically handles compresses textures, but does not generate mesh or texture LODs for uploaded assets. | Adobe Aero Mesh and Texture LODs:
No No LOD or optimization system; relies on initial asset quality. |
XR Support (AR/VR/Spatial) | |||
VR Support (WebXR) | Needle VR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports VR headsets via the WebXR standard. | Spatial.io VR Support (WebXR):
Yes Strong support for accessing spaces via VR headsets for a more immersive experience. | Adobe Aero VR Support (WebXR):
No Focus is exclusively on mobile AR. |
AR Support (WebXR) | Needle AR Support (WebXR):
Yes Supports markerless WebAR on compatible Android devices via the WebXR standard. | Spatial.io AR Support (WebXR):
No Primary focus is on virtual spaces (Web/VR), not mobile AR. | Adobe Aero AR Support (WebXR):
No Requires native app, or users manually enabling Google Play Instant. Does not use WebXR. |
AR Support (iOS) | Needle AR Support (iOS):
Yes Supports interactive markerless WebAR on iOS devices via WebXR. | Spatial.io AR Support (iOS):
No Not supported. | Adobe Aero AR Support (iOS):
Yes The primary target platform, offering rich AR experiences via native app or App Clip. |
AR Support (visionOS) | Needle AR Support (visionOS):
Yes Explicit support for creating spatial computing experiences deployable on visionOS. | Spatial.io AR Support (visionOS):
No Not supported. | Limited Adobe Aero AR Support (visionOS):
Limited Requires USDZ export and then embedding the USDZ elsewhere. |
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. | N/A Spatial.io AR Tracking Types:
N/A Not an AR-focused platform. | Surface Image Adobe Aero AR Tracking Types:
Surface, Image Leverages ARKit capabilities for various tracking modes. |
Ecosystem & Support | |||
Official Support Availability | Needle Official Support Availability:
Yes Dedicated support available for licensed users. | Spatial.io Official Support Availability:
Yes Support available, particularly for paid/enterprise users. | Adobe Aero Official Support Availability:
Yes Through standard Adobe support channels. |
Learning Resources | Needle Learning Resources:
Yes Extensive documentation, tutorials, live samples, and active community support. | Good Spatial.io Learning Resources:
Good Help center, tutorials, and community resources available for creators. | Excellent Adobe Aero Learning Resources:
Excellent Leverages Adobe's extensive learning resources (Adobe Learn, tutorials, community). |
License | Commercial Needle License:
Commercial Commercial license required for full features and deployment. Free evaluation available. | Commercial Spatial.io License:
Commercial Offers free access with paid tiers for enhanced features, capacity, or customization. | Commercial Adobe Aero License:
Commercial Free to use, but requires an Adobe account and integrates with paid Creative Cloud apps. |