There are more ways than ever to put your art in a virtual 3D gallery — and in 2026, more of them have changed than ever, too. Artsteps no longer lets you edit exhibitions. Spatial closed its creator platform in July. Mozilla Hubs is now something you host yourself.
We compared the main platforms using their own pricing, FAQ, and terms pages, checked on October 6, 2026. Price matters, but we also looked at the question most "best of" lists skip: what happens to your exhibition when you stop paying? For an artist, that decides whether the link you share today still works next year.
Full disclosure: Xibit360 is our product. We've tried to be fair about where other platforms are stronger, and every claim about them comes from their own pages or announcements (and, for Spatial and Hubs, from press coverage of those announcements).
Here's what a pay-once exhibition looks like:
The short version
| Platform | Free to publish? | Pricing model | If you stop paying | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xibit360 | Yes — 1 room, 5 works | Pay once, no subscription | Nothing to stop; open until you close it | Artists who want a beautiful room that stays online |
| Kunstmatrix | No — free plan can't publish | €10–€50+ / month | Exhibitions unpublished | Galleries that also want inventory and invoicing |
| Artsteps | No — editing has ended | Free to view | Existing exhibitions viewable "for now" | Revisiting past exhibitions |
| Metasteps (Artsteps' successor) | No — 14-day trial | €14–€99 / month, plus credits | Spaces unpublished | Education, multiplayer events, VR |
| ArtPlacer | No — 14-day trial | 3D exhibitions from $27 / month | Not stated that exhibitions stay public | Selling: room mockups, AR, website widgets |
| FrameVR | Yes — trial tier, 8 people at once | $10–$200 / month per space | Not stated | Meetings, classes, and live events |
| Mozilla Hubs | Software is free; you host it | ~$38+ / month for a server | Your server, your call | Technical teams who want full control |
| Spatial | — | Enterprise only | Creator hosting ended July 27, 2026 | No longer an option for individuals |
| oncyber | Free templates | Templates sold as NFTs | — | Collectors with a crypto wallet |
Cost over two years
Price lists are hard to compare, so we priced one realistic case: a 20-work solo exhibition kept online for 24 months, on the cheapest plan that can publish it, for each art-focused paid platform and for self-hosted Hubs. (FrameVR's free trial tier would cost $0, but it's built for meetings and allows 8 people at once.)
Total paid (USD) over 24 months for a 20-work exhibition, on monthly billing. Euros converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of October 5, 2026 (€1 = $1.1204). Taxes not included.
| Platform (plan) | After 12 months | After 24 months | After 36 months | Xibit360 is cheaper from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xibit360 (free room + 1 extra room) | $25 | $25 | $25 | — |
| Kunstmatrix Basic (€10 / month) | $134 | $269 | $403 | Month 3 |
| Metasteps Creator (€14 / month) | $188 | $377 | $565 | Month 2 |
| ArtPlacer Plus ($27 / month) | $324 | $648 | $972 | Month 1 |
| Mozilla Hubs, self-hosted (~$38 / month) | $456 | $912 | $1,368 | Month 1 |
Yearly billing lowers the subscription prices by 15–20%, but you pay a year up front — so on every platform above, the first yearly payment already costs more than Xibit360's one-time $25.
Xibit360
Best for: artists who want their work to look its best in a room that stays online without a monthly bill.
- Free plan: one room with 5 works, every frame style, published with a link, no time limit.
- Pricing: one-time purchases — an extra exhibition room (15 works) $25, artwork slots $3, Video Pass $20, themes $8, layouts $5, extra storage $10 per GB (100 MB included free). No subscription.
- Strengths: gallery lighting, frames, and mats set per work; works displayed at up to 1,600 px; captions read aloud as an audio guide; video that plays on the wall; opens in a phone's browser; embeds on your website; a walkthrough video for social media; 11 interface languages; never used to train AI. Group shows are supported, too: an organizer pays once for the run and artists join free.
- Limits: no live multiplayer, avatars, or VR headsets; no room mockups or AR; sales happen through your own shop link (no built-in checkout, and no commission).
Kunstmatrix
Best for: commercial galleries that want 3D exhibitions together with inventory, offers, and invoices.
- Free plan: Starter holds 10 artworks but includes "no public 3D Exhibition."
- Pricing: Basic €10, Regular €25, Professional €50 a month, excluding tax; 20% off yearly.
- Strengths: a long track record (since 2009), template rooms, an AR app, an AI audio guide on paid plans, institutional and education plans.
- Limits: nothing is public on the free plan; exhibitions are unpublished when your booking period ends; interface in English, German, and French.
- Read more: Kunstmatrix pricing and alternatives
Artsteps
Status: Artsteps was one of the best-known free 3D exhibition builders, especially for classroom projects. Today its app says "Editing spaces is no longer supported on Artsteps," and new exhibitions are made on Metasteps, its paid successor. Existing exhibitions remain viewable "for now," according to its FAQ.
- Image quality: Artsteps' FAQ says uploaded images are downscaled to a maximum of 768 × 512 pixels.
- Read more: Artsteps alternative: where artists can show their work next
Metasteps (Artsteps' successor)
Best for: classrooms, multiplayer events, and VR.
- Free plan: none — a 14-day trial with no card.
- Pricing: Creator €14, Creator Pro €29, Business €99 a month; publishing also uses credits.
- Strengths: a flexible 3D editor with 60+ templates and AI room generation, multiplayer and VR, education integrations.
- Limits: spaces are unpublished when the paid period ends; images display at 768 px for most works; Metasteps says mobile browsers are "not recommended."
- Read more: Is Metasteps free?
ArtPlacer
Best for: artists and galleries focused on selling — room mockups, "view on your wall" AR, and website widgets.
- Free plan: none — a 14-day trial.
- Pricing: artist plans $9, $16, and $27 a month; Virtual Exhibitions start with Plus at $27 ($23 billed yearly).
- Strengths: excellent mockup and AR tools, Buy and Inquire buttons, a CRM, 11 preset 3D galleries.
- Limits: 3D exhibitions need the Plus plan or higher, and ArtPlacer doesn't say they stay public after you cancel; video works open as YouTube or Vimeo links rather than playing in the room.
- Read more: ArtPlacer pricing and alternatives
FrameVR
Best for: meetings, classes, and live events in a shared 3D space.
- Free plan: a trial tier with no time limit, up to 8 people at once and up to 3 trial spaces per account.
- Pricing: $10, $50, or $200 a month, per space.
- Strengths: works on desktop, phone, and VR headsets; AI-generated environments; you can upload your own 3D model.
- Limits: built for collaboration rather than exhibitions; three video uploads of 50 MB each; your own logo only on the $200 plan.
Mozilla Hubs (Hubs Community Edition)
Best for: technical teams who want a fully controllable, open-source multiplayer space.
- Status: Mozilla's service ended on May 31, 2024. The Hubs Foundation continues the code.
- Pricing: the software is free; hosting is about $38 a month minimum, plus setup on the command line.
- Read more: Mozilla Hubs alternatives for art exhibitions
Spatial
Status: Spatial ended its Free and Pro creator platform on July 27, 2026, and said uploaded files would be permanently deleted. Only Enterprise and Education remain.
oncyber
Best for: NFT collectors who want to display wallet-held works.
- Eight free gallery templates; others sold as NFTs. Works are pulled from a crypto wallet.
- Its v2 site now describes an "Autonomous World Engine" for on-chain mini games, "Coming Soon", and its FAQ link no longer loads — worth checking before you build something long-term.
How to choose
Ask three questions:
- Do I need live multiplayer or VR? If yes, look at Metasteps, FrameVR, or self-hosted Hubs.
- Am I mainly selling through mockups and widgets? ArtPlacer is built for that.
- Do I want my work to look its best in a room that stays online? That's what Xibit360 is for — and you can publish your first room free today.
Whatever you choose, read the platform's own answer to "what happens when I stop paying?" before you build. It's the difference between an exhibition and a rental.
FAQ
What is the best free virtual gallery platform? Among the platforms we compared, Xibit360 and FrameVR let you publish for free without a time limit (oncyber also has free templates, but it requires a crypto wallet and NFTs). Xibit360's free room holds 5 works and is built for exhibitions; FrameVR's free tier allows up to 8 people at once and is built for meetings and events. Kunstmatrix's free plan can't publish, Artsteps no longer lets you create or edit exhibitions, and Metasteps and ArtPlacer offer trials only.
Is there a virtual gallery without a monthly subscription? Yes. Xibit360 has no subscription: you publish a free room, and larger shows are one-time purchases — $25 for a 20-work exhibition.
What happened to Artsteps? Artsteps no longer supports editing spaces; its makers direct new exhibitions to Metasteps, which is subscription-only. Existing Artsteps exhibitions can still be viewed.
What happened to Spatial and Mozilla Hubs? Spatial ended creator hosting on July 27, 2026. Mozilla ended Hubs on May 31, 2024; it lives on as a self-hosted open-source project.
Start free
Walk through the demo gallery, then create your free room and publish it today.
Every price and quote in this guide was checked on October 6, 2026, on each platform's own pages or announcements. Plans change — check each platform's site for current terms.