Is Metasteps Free? Metasteps Pricing (2026), What Happens When You Stop Paying — and a Pay-Once Alternative

If you used to build exhibitions on Artsteps, you've probably been sent to Metasteps. Artsteps no longer lets you edit spaces — its app now says "Editing spaces is no longer supported on Artsteps" and points you to the new platform. So the questions people search for most are simple: Is Metasteps free? What does it cost? And is there a cheaper way to keep an exhibition online?

Short answers, as of October 6, 2026:

• Metasteps is not free. There is a 14-day free trial (no card required), then publishing needs a paid plan.
• Plans start at €14 a month (Creator: 1 space, 200 MB). Creator Pro is €29 and Business is €99 a month.
• If you stop paying, your space goes offline. Metasteps' FAQ says published spaces "are automatically unpublished and kept as drafts."

This guide walks through the pricing in detail, then shows month by month when a pay-once virtual gallery like Xibit360 becomes the cheaper choice.

Want to see what a pay-once room looks like first? Walk through one right here:

▶ Walk through

Metasteps pricing in 2026

Metasteps is subscription-only. These are the plans on its pricing page (prices in euros; the page does not say whether VAT is included):

One detail is easy to miss: credits are a second meter. Metasteps spends credits "when you publish a space" — for example, 150–400 for a premade space, 25 for a guided "story path", 5 for an audio file. Monthly credits don't roll over. If you run out, top-ups cost €15 for 150 credits up to €119 for 1,500, and top-up credits are forfeited if your subscription ends.

Is there a free Metasteps plan?

No. Metasteps' FAQ says: "When the trial ends, you can still view published spaces for free, but creating, editing, and publishing require a paid plan."

The trial itself is generous — 14 days on any plan, no card required, one trial per account — but it is a trial, not a free tier. That's the key difference from the old Artsteps, which many teachers and artists used without paying at all.

What happens to your exhibition when you stop paying?

This is the question that matters most for an artist, because an exhibition is something you want people to find months or years later.

On Metasteps, when the paid period ends, your published spaces are unpublished and kept as drafts for up to six months. Any link you shared, and any embed on your website, stops showing the space.

Moving from Artsteps to Metasteps

Metasteps offers to migrate existing Artsteps exhibitions — but its migration page says this is "included with all annual plans." On a monthly plan, you rebuild the space yourself.

How your work will look

Metasteps' FAQ explains that images are displayed at a maximum of 768 pixels on the longest side for works under 1.7 m diagonally (1,280 px for larger works); pop-up views can show the original. For a painting or a photograph, 768 px on a wall is soft when a visitor walks up close. The FAQ also says using Metasteps "via a mobile web browser is not recommended" and points phone visitors to its app.

Xibit360 shows works at up to 1,600 px on the long edge, under gallery lighting, and the same room opens in a phone's browser from one link, with nothing to install. We showed the difference side by side in our Artsteps alternative guide.

Cost over time: when does pay-once become cheaper?

Here's the comparison most pricing pages don't make for you. Take a typical solo show of 20 works, kept online.

• On Xibit360, that's the free room (5 works) plus one extra exhibition room (15 works) — two rooms you can link together — for $25, paid once. Nothing renews.
• On Metasteps, the smallest plan that can publish is Creator at €14 a month, or €140 a year.

We converted euros to dollars at the European Central Bank reference rate of October 5, 2026 (€1 = $1.1204). Taxes are not included on either side.

Total paid (USD) over the first 24 months of keeping a 20-work exhibition online. Horizontal axis: months. The ring marks the month Xibit360 becomes the cheaper option.

The break-even point is month 2. From the second month on, Xibit360 costs less than Metasteps' monthly plan — and on the yearly plan it's cheaper from day one. After three years on monthly billing, the gap is more than $500. Every month after that is another €14 you keep.

Side by side

Metasteps does things Xibit360 doesn't: multiplayer events, a VR headset app, AI-generated rooms, and uploading your own 3D architecture. If you need a shared space for a class or a live event, it's a capable tool. If what you need is a beautiful, lasting room for your own work, the subscription and the credits are paying for features you may never use.

What you get on Xibit360

• A free room you can publish today — 5 works, every frame style, no time limit, no card.
• Pay once to grow. An extra exhibition room (15 works) is $25; single artwork slots are $3; the Video Pass for video works is $20. Themes are $8, layouts $5, and extra storage $10 per GB (100 MB is included free — plenty for images). Nothing renews.
• Gallery-grade presentation. Lighting, frames, mats, and soft shadows set per work; works displayed at up to 1,600 px.
• A narrated tour. Write a caption and it's read aloud in a natural voice — no recording, no credits.
• Share it anywhere. One link for phone and desktop, an embed for your website, a short walkthrough video for social media, and a printable catalogue.
• Your work stays yours. It is never used to train AI.

For a broader look at paying once versus monthly, see virtual galleries without a subscription, or compare every major platform in our guide to the best virtual gallery platforms.

FAQ

Is Metasteps free? No. Metasteps has a 14-day free trial with no card required. After the trial, creating, editing, and publishing spaces requires a paid plan starting at €14 a month.

Is Artsteps still free? Existing Artsteps exhibitions can still be viewed, but Artsteps no longer supports editing spaces. New exhibitions are made on Metasteps, which is paid.

How much does Metasteps cost? Creator is €14 a month (€140 a year), Creator Pro €29 (€290 a year), and Business €99 (€990 a year). Education and Enterprise are priced on request. Publishing also uses credits.

What happens to my Metasteps space if I cancel? It is unpublished and kept as a draft for up to six months. Shared links and embeds stop showing it.

Is there a free alternative to Metasteps for artists? Xibit360 has a free plan that can publish a room of 5 works with no time limit. Larger shows are one-time purchases — a 20-work exhibition is $25, once.

Try it with your own work

Walk through the demo gallery, then create your free room and publish it today. You'll only pay if you decide to add more — and you'll only pay once.

Prices and quotes were checked on Metasteps' own pricing, FAQ, migration, and refund pages on October 6, 2026. Plans can change; check Metasteps' site for current terms.