The removal of Matterport 3D tours from Zillow in late 2024 was one of the most significant disruptions to the virtual tour industry. Here is the full story of what happened, why it matters, and what alternatives exist.
The Timeline
- 2023: CoStar Group acquires Matterport for approximately $1.6 billion
- 2023-2024: Industry speculation about how the acquisition would affect Matterport's relationships with competing real estate portals
- Late 2024: Zillow removes native Matterport 3D tour integration from its listings
- 2025-2026: Real estate agents and photographers adapt to the new reality
Why Zillow Removed Matterport
The removal was a direct consequence of competitive dynamics in the real estate portal market.
CoStar owns: CoStar (commercial real estate data), LoopNet (commercial listings), Apartments.com, and — crucially — Homes.com, which CoStar is positioning as a direct competitor to Zillow in the residential real estate listing market.
Zillow's reasoning: By continuing to support Matterport integration, Zillow would have been directing user engagement data and virtual tour traffic through a platform owned by its biggest competitor. Every Matterport tour embedded on Zillow would have been hosted on CoStar-controlled infrastructure.
From Zillow's perspective, this was a straightforward competitive decision — stop supporting a technology platform owned by the company trying to take market share from you.
Impact on Real Estate Agents and Photographers
The removal had significant consequences for professionals who had invested in Matterport:
Lost visibility: Matterport tours that previously appeared directly in Zillow listings were no longer embedded. Agents lost a key marketing differentiator on the largest US real estate portal.
Workflow disruption: Many photographers and tour providers had built their business around Matterport-on-Zillow as a core offering. They needed to adapt their value proposition and delivery workflows.
Client confusion: Homeowners who had paid for Matterport tours expecting them to appear on Zillow suddenly found their tours were not visible on the platform.
Alternative tour formats: Zillow shifted toward its own interactive floor plans and video-based tour options, which do not offer the same immersive experience as Matterport's 3D dollhouse view.
What Alternatives Exist for Zillow Listings?
Real estate agents selling on Zillow now have several options for virtual tours:
- Zillow-native tours: Zillow accepts video walkthroughs and 360 photo tours uploaded directly to listings
- Interactive floor plans: Zillow supports interactive floor plans from select providers
- External links: Agents can include a Matterport tour link in the listing description (though it is not natively embedded)
- iGUIDE: Some agents have switched to iGUIDE for its measurement-grade floor plans
- Other platforms: CloudPano, Kuula, and other tour providers that are not CoStar-affiliated
What This Means for the Virtual Tour Industry
The Zillow-Matterport split highlights a growing risk in the virtual tour industry: platform dependency. When your 3D scan data and virtual tours are locked into a single platform, corporate decisions beyond your control can disrupt your business.
This is exactly why THE FUTURE 3D takes a platform-agnostic approach:
- We deliver raw scan data in open formats (E57, OBJ, LAS)
- Matterport tours are one deliverable — not the only one
- Clients retain full ownership of their spatial data
- If Matterport's direction changes further, the underlying scan data remains usable in any compatible software
Should You Still Use Matterport for Real Estate?
Yes, with awareness of the limitations:
- Matterport tours still work on your own website, MLS feeds, and many other real estate platforms
- The technology remains the best visual experience for remote property viewing
- Just do not rely solely on Zillow integration as your distribution strategy
- Consider a platform-agnostic approach that delivers value regardless of which portals support which tour format
Contact THE FUTURE 3D for a free consultation about the right virtual tour strategy for your real estate business.