Table of Contents
- VisualStager vs PhotoUp Virtual Staging Services
- Our Results – Which Is Better?
- Work With PhotoUp for Superior Virtual Staging
In terms of virtual staging, two prominent providers stand out among the competition – VisualStager and PhotoUp.
Virtual staging is becoming an integral tool in real estate marketing. Why? Because 85% of staged properties achieve their asking price or exceed it.
VisualStager offers a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to virtual staging through its app. In contrast, PhotoUp is a comprehensive full-service virtual staging provider.
Given these two excellent options, the question arises: Which one should you opt for to get the best virtual staging?
In this article, we’ll answer that question by comparing VisualStager and PhotoUp to determine which is better for your virtual staging needs.
So, let’s get our review underway.
VisualStager vs PhotoUp Virtual Staging Services
VisualStager is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. They provide a DIY virtual staging app for photographers and real estate agents who want to virtually stage listing photos.
The app, which works inside your laptop browser, doesn’t require downloading software and has convenient tools for adding furniture, paintings, rugs, and other decor elements for staging a room.
Real estate sales professionals can use the easy drag-and-drop functionality to add decor or furnishing items to existing property photos quickly.
A key advantage of VisualStager software is that you can access it from anywhere without installing it on your device.
Next is our second virtual staging provider – PhotoUp — a full-service real estate visual marketing provider with a decade-long track record of excellence.
A global company, PhotoUp boasts an outstanding team of top-tier virtual staging editors and designers in the Philippines, complemented by a highly effective customer service unit in the US.
PhotoUp’s talented designers do the virtual staging for you, guaranteeing the best results.
PhotoUp also offers a variety of real estate marketing solutions beyond virtual staging, which include:
- Real estate photo editing
- Virtual house tours
- Single property websites
- Real estate photographer websites
- Floor plans
- Property flyers
- Video editing
- Virtual Assistants
- House portraits
- And more!
Having completed these introductions, it’s time to transition to our comparison. We’re going to evaluate both virtual staging services in terms of the following:
- Creating an account
- Turnaround time
- Pricing plans and options
- Design style options
- And the quality of the virtual staging results
Okay, let’s start our review and comparison!
1. Creating an Account
To start, it’s easy to set up a VisualStager account. Click the Sign-Up button at the top right of their website and fill out the short registration form.
After creating an account, VisualStager allows you to try out its virtual staging tools for free. If you are satisfied with the result, you may pay for a premium version to stage your photos.
Uploading images with VirtualStager was easy and only took a few minutes.
Similarly, PhotoUp offers a rapid and straightforward process for setting up a free account, taking under a minute to complete.
Once your account is active, you can review and purchase necessary services using the drop-down menu labeled “Services” at the upper right corner of the page.
Uploading images is fast and easy – in fact, PhotoUp’s image-loading tool was slightly quicker than VisualStager’s.
Okay, let’s next review both services’ turnaround times.
2. Turnaround Time – VisualStager vs PhotoUp
With VisualStager, being a do-it-yourself virtual staging service, within minutes of completing your design, you’ll receive a high-resolution image for review.
If you are unsatisfied with a design, you can make endless revisions until you’re fully content.
However, there is one drawback. DIY virtual staging is time-consuming.
It takes a while to get used to using VisualStager’s tools. And you’ll likely need to repeat staging the same piece of furniture over and over until it looks acceptable.
Keep this in mind when comparing the speed of the results.
Unlike VirtualStager, PhotoUp does the virtual staging for you. Although there is a brief waiting period for the finished photos, the results are notably better.
PhotoUp offers turnaround times of either 24 or 48 hours, with the quicker time costing only slightly more.
Once the initial staging is completed, PhotoUp sends you low-resolution proofs for your input and approval.
Upon approval, PhotoUp promptly supplies you with high-resolution images of the virtually staged spaces, which takes only a few hours.
Furthermore, PhotoUp extends you two free revisions, ensuring your satisfaction with the final results.
All right, let’s compare pricing plans and available options from both companies.
3. Pricing Plans and Options
VisualStager uses a fee-based payment system, allowing users to pay for its services with credits.
Credits cost less per unit the more you purchase. For example, take a look at the following pricing:
- 10 credits for $15 – each virtually staged photo costs $15
- 50 credits for $59 – each virtually staged photo costs $11.80
- And so on
It costs 10 credits to stage a standard photo. You’ll need to pay 15 credits to stage a 360-degree photo.
One more note. Each of the finished images will contain a watermark. To get rid of it, you’ll need to pay 1 additional credit. Alternatively, you may pay for a monthly subscription plan to do the same.
Our second provider, PhotoUp, also employs a user-friendly credit system for its payment structure.
Here are the credit costs:
- Buy 100 credits for $1.30 each
- Or buy 250 credits for $1.25 each
- And so on
Moreover, PhotoUp currently offers 10 complimentary credits when you use their virtual staging services.
Further, PhotoUp’s pricing for virtual staging is outlined below:
- Single Set: 20 Credits per image
- Double Set: 30 Credits per image
A set’s size is determined based on the quantity of design elements and furniture, as well as the number of frames required for the given room or space.
Moving forward, let’s proceed with a comparison of the available design style options for virtual staging.
Fast & Affordable
Virtual Staging Service
Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.
4. Design Style Options
VisualStager features a design catalog with over 4,000 pieces of furniture and decor items to stage your photos virtually.
You’ll be able to find furnishing for a variety of rooms and spaces, including the following:
- Children rooms
- Backyard and patio
- Dining areas
- Kitchens
- Living and family rooms
- And more!
Unfortunately, VisualStager’s catalog isn’t that well organized, so you tend to spend a bit of time searching for matching pieces.
Yes, they have a catalog search feature, allowing you to search by the name of a furniture piece, style, or category. Unfortunately, it continually gave inconsistent results.
One positive feature to call out is that you can add a piece of furniture or an element of decor to your favorites to use later, saving you search time.
In contrast, PhotoUp offers a professional design library containing 11 decor style options and 18 room types. Also, you have 21 design accessories to choose from.
PhotoUp’s 11 interior design styles include:
- Mid-Century Modern
- Scandinavian
- Coastal
- Farmhouse
- Modern
- American
- Industrial
- Hamptons
- Luxury
- Southwestern
- And Commercial
Additionally, PhotoUp’s gallery images are much clearer than VisualStagers, allowing you to browse and select items more efficiently and in less time.
So far, so good. We’re almost done with our comparison. Last, let’s look at the quality of the virtual staging results and compare them.
5. Quality of Results
Regarding the quality of the virtual staging results, we need to call out a few issues before we start.
First, VisualStager is a DIY service, while PhotoUp puts professional designers to work for you. With that said, the quality of the results is, therefore, somewhat predictable.
Here’s an overview of VisualStager’s virtual staging results:
- Poor to acceptable quality
- Many of the images don’t look realistic
- Angles, shadowing, sizing, and perspective are off
- What you save in terms of time ends up costing you in terms of quality
PhotoUp’s virtual staging samples stood out impressively. Additionally, several other observations are worth noting, including:
- The virtually staged photographs showed a high level of realism
- Each image features captivating and beautifully decorated spaces and rooms that command attention
- Moreover, the flexibility to incorporate your branding and other contact information into every photo adds a personalized touch
Now, It’s finally time to summarize the results of our comparison of these two virtual staging providers.
Our Results – Which Is Better?
To summarize, both companies offer user-friendly experiences and deliver reliable virtual staging solutions. However, it’s important to highlight significant differences between the two.
VisualStager’s virtual staging provides these notable advantages:
- User-friendly interface
- Affordable pricing
- Fast turnaround time
- Acceptable quality results
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting a few drawbacks associated with VisualStager:
- The DIY service can be somewhat challenging to use well
- Their design catalog was a bit tricky to use
- Their software is focused on virtual staging, so they don’t offer any other real estate marketing services
Despite these limitations, VisualStager is suitable for those seeking swift and acceptable virtual staging solutions.
In contrast, PhotoUp delivers several distinct benefits, including:
- Exceptional quality in virtual staging results
- An easier-to-use style library compared to VisualStager
- Prompt turnaround times that effectively support listing marketing needs
The difference in virtual staging quality offered by PhotoUp is noticeable and significant. Even considering the slightly higher cost, opting for a professional service like PhotoUp is well worth it.
For these reasons, when reviewing our findings, we conclude that PhotoUp is the better choice for virtual staging.
Fast & Affordable
Virtual Staging Service
Interiors. Landscapes. Commercial. Virtually transform any space.
Work With PhotoUp for Superior Virtual Staging
PhotoUp’s team of skilled virtual stagers takes charge of the design and editing to provide exceptional listing photos.
And to show you how easy it is to work with PhotoUp, take a look at this brief virtual staging demo:
PhotoUp Virtual Staging Demo
Our comprehensive virtual staging services include the following:
- Transform vacant rooms by selecting from hundreds of professionally curated furnishings
- Make needed virtual repairs and remodeling
- Enhance decor elements and make stylish replacements
- Conduct decluttering and depersonalization of spaces
- Substitute bland skies, green lawns, and enhance landscapes
- And much more!
Further, PhotoUp boasts extensive furnishings and decor choices tailored to various room types and popular design tastes. Please take a moment and explore the furnishings in our professional design library.
Lastly, PhotoUp is a comprehensive real estate marketing company, presenting a range of highly effective marketing solutions:
- Real estate photo editing
- Virtual house tours
- Single property websites
- Real estate photographer websites
- Floor plans
- Property flyers
- Video editing
- Virtual Assistants
- House portraits
- And more!
So, having read this review, you owe it to yourself to take the next step!
Sign up for a free PhotoUp account and let our virtual staging services impress your clients and sell your listings faster and for higher prices.
We hope you benefited from this VisualStager vs PhotoUp virtual staging comparison. Also, before you go, you may want to check out the following related resources:
