Unreal Engine alternative
for AR and VR apps.

Unreal is the right tool for cinematic, high-fidelity 3D. ReactVision is the alternative when the product is an app, not a game: TypeScript, an MIT renderer, no 5% royalty, and one API across phones and Quest.

Explore ViroReactExplore Studio
$npm install @reactvision/react-viro

Choose Unreal, or choose ReactVision

This is a fidelity-versus-fit decision. Unreal buys you the highest rendering ceiling in the industry; ReactVision buys you an app your existing team can ship this quarter.

Choose Unreal Engine when

  • →You need film-quality, cinematic rendering
  • →You are simulating large worlds with heavy physics and lighting
  • →You have an existing Unreal Engine team and pipeline

Choose ReactVision when

  • +You are shipping an installable AR or VR product, not a game
  • +Your team is software engineers, not a game studio
  • +You care about binary size and time-to-first-scene
  • +You want no royalty and no engine licence on the renderer
  • +You want phones and Meta Quest from one API

Unreal vs ReactVision, line by line

The differences that matter when the deliverable is an installable AR or VR product. Scroll the table sideways on smaller screens.

CapabilityUnreal EngineReactVision
LanguageC++ and BlueprintsTypeScript / React Native
Renderer licenceSource-available, proprietaryViroReact, MIT, open source
Cost at scale5% royalty above $1M revenueRenderer free forever; optional paid Platform tiers
Mobile app weightLarge engine runtime in the binaryA renderer inside a normal React Native app
Time to first sceneEngine download, project setup, C++ toolchainnpm install and a development build
One codebase for AR and VRSeparate build targets and workflowsOne API across phones and Quest
Visual editorUnreal Editor, desktop installReactVision Studio, in the browser
New platform supportWait for engine supportMaps onto native APIs: ARKit, ARCore, OpenXR
Agent / MCP supportNo official agent toolingOfficial ViroReact MCP server
Ramp-up for a software teamMonths: new engine, C++Days for React Native developers
Where Unreal still wins: cinematic fidelity and large-world simulation. Nothing in this stack will out-render Nanite and Lumen. The question is whether your product needs that, or needs to ship on the phones and headsets your users already own.

What each part of ReactVision does

ViroReact

The open-source native XR renderer. One TypeScript API mapped onto ARKit, ARCore, and OpenXR. MIT licensed, free forever.

Studio

The browser-based visual editor and CMS for XR scenes. Free to sign up.

Platform

Managed Cloud Anchors, Geospatial Anchors, asset hosting, and Environment Testing, accessed with an rvApiKey and rvProjectId.

MCP server

How coding agents use the stack: live ViroReact knowledge plus tools to validate, run, and test scenes.

ViroReact is MIT licensed and free forever. Studio and Platform are managed products: Cloud Anchors, Geospatial Anchors, asset hosting, Environment Testing, and the MCP server. iOS (ARKit), Android (ARCore), and Meta Quest (OpenXR) are supported today. visionOS is in internal preview. Android XR is coming.

Proof it ships

~10,000

npm installs of ViroReact per month

140,000+

npm installs in 2025

3 platforms

iOS, Android, and Meta Quest supported today

Shipped on ViroReact: Looking Glass (geospatial AR heritage storytelling), Pikd (brand AR for Red Bull and Burger King), InkStory (AR image recognition, built solo). The ViroReact MCP server is listed in the Claude Connectors Directory.

Getting started without an engine

From nothing to a native scene in an afternoon. The React Native AR guide has the complete code walkthrough.

01

Install the renderer

npm install @reactvision/react-viro in a React Native or Expo app, or start from the Starter Kit. No engine download, no C++ toolchain.

02

Create a development build

ViroReact uses native ARKit, ARCore, and OpenXR modules, so it cannot run in Expo Go. Build a development client, and test AR on a physical device.

03

Build scenes in code or in Studio

Write scenes as typed React components, let a coding agent write and validate them through the MCP server, or compose them visually in ReactVision Studio in the browser.

04

Ship to phones and Quest

The same API renders AR on iOS and Android and VR on Meta Quest. visionOS is in internal preview and Android XR is coming.

Common questions

Is there a lighter alternative to Unreal Engine for mobile AR?
Yes. ReactVision adds the ViroReact renderer to a normal React Native app instead of bundling a game-engine runtime, so the binary stays app-sized and the toolchain stays npm and TypeScript. Rendering is native through ARKit, ARCore, and OpenXR.
Can I build VR without Unreal Engine?
Yes. ViroReact ships VR on Meta Quest via OpenXR, with stereoscopic rendering, 6DoF tracking, and controller and hand tracking, from the same React Native codebase that runs mobile AR. It is MIT licensed and free; there is no royalty at any revenue.
How does ReactVision pricing compare to Unreal's royalty?
Unreal Engine takes a 5% royalty above $1M in revenue. The ViroReact renderer is MIT licensed with no royalty at any scale. ReactVision charges only for optional managed Platform services: hosted anchors, geospatial infrastructure, asset hosting, Environment Testing, and AI credits, on tiered plans that start free.
When is Unreal Engine still the better choice?
For cinematic fidelity and large-world simulation. If the product is a film-quality experience, a AAA game, or a heavy simulation, Unreal is the right tool and ReactVision is not trying to match it there. ReactVision wins when the product is an installable app built by a software team.
Is there a visual editor, or is it code only?
Both. ReactVision Studio is a browser-based visual editor for AR and VR scenes, so Unreal Editor is not the only visual path. Scenes built in Studio load into a ViroReact app at runtime with the StudioSceneNavigator component, and engineers can keep working in TypeScript alongside.
What happens when a new XR platform launches?
ReactVision maps its one API onto the platform's native runtime rather than waiting for a game engine to add support. That is how Meta Quest support arrived via OpenXR, why visionOS is in internal preview, and how Android XR support is being built.

Related comparisons and guides

Ship the app, skip the engine

Install the MIT-licensed renderer and build in TypeScript, or design scenes visually in Studio and host them on Platform for over-the-air updates.

Add the MCP serverCreate a free Studio account
$npm install @reactvision/react-viro