AR Build Atlas

Orientation

The whole landscape for building AR, mapped in one place

Browser WebAR is one path into augmented reality, and it is the one this atlas leans on for working examples. It sits alongside no-code creator platforms, native and game-engine builds, headset paths, and a handful of tracking approaches that cut across all of them. Each comparison table below ends in a "used in" column: where a real shipped project already uses that option, or "not yet used" where it is still just mapped territory.

    Find the right option

    Search by keyword, or narrow by cost, distribution, offline capability, and vibecoding fit. This searches every option across all five categories at once; picking a result jumps straight to that row on its category page.

    Five categories

    01 WebAR Runs in a phone browser at a URL. No install, no app store. Three.js, Babylon.js, PlayCanvas, model-viewer, A-Frame plus MindAR, WebXR, 8th Wall. 02 No-code / creator platforms Visual editors for fast social filters, plus a smaller artist and gallery category. Meta Spark, Lens Studio, Adobe Aero, Zapworks, Niantic Studio, Artivive, EyeJack. 03 Native and engine Full game engines and platform SDKs. Unity, Unreal, ARKit and RealityKit, ARCore, Lightship ARDK, OpenXR, Snapdragon Spaces. 04 Tracking approaches The technique underneath any of the above: marker, object, markerless SLAM, face, hand, body, GPS, LiDAR, cloud anchors. 05 Hardware and headsets What the work runs on: handheld phone, Quest passthrough, Vision Pro, Android XR, Magic Leap 2, HoloLens, smart glasses.

    A rough decision guide

    • Want a URL you can share or a QR code you can print, zero install, and full control of the code: WebAR. This is the path Claude Code fits best, since it is plain HTML, JS, and a few libraries with no proprietary editor in the loop.
    • Want a fast effect distributed on an existing social platform, and do not need to own the pipeline: a no-code creator platform matched to that platform (Lens Studio for Snapchat, Meta Spark for Instagram and Facebook, if it is still open to public creators, worth checking).
    • Want console-grade 3D, physics, or multiplayer, and app store distribution is fine: native or engine. This is where vibecoding stops being the whole story: the editor (Unity, Unreal, Xcode) does real work that a text-only coding agent cannot do for you.
    • Want hands-free, room-scale, or a multi-hour gallery install where visitors do not hold a phone: a headset path, usually paired with a native or engine build.
    • Not sure yet what tracking the idea needs: start on the tracking page. It cuts across every category above and usually narrows the choice fastest.

    Glossary

    WebXR Device API
    The browser's own API for immersive AR and VR sessions. Support is uneven: strong on Chrome for Android, absent from iOS Safari as of this writing.
    SLAM
    Simultaneous localization and mapping. The technique a phone or headset uses to build a live 3D map of a room and track its own position inside it, with no printed marker needed.
    Markerless tracking
    Any tracking that anchors content to the real world without a printed image or object, usually via SLAM and plane detection.
    Cloud anchors
    A 3D anchor point saved to a server so multiple devices can see the same virtual object fixed to the same real-world spot, at the same time or later.
    LiDAR
    A dedicated depth sensor on some phones and tablets (Pro-model iPhones and iPads) that measures real-world geometry directly, instead of inferring it from the camera image alone. Gives more accurate occlusion and instant plane detection than camera-only SLAM.
    Semantic segmentation
    Labeling regions of a camera image by what they are (sky, ground, a building, a person), rather than just their raw pixels. Used by more spatially aware AR SDKs to let content react differently to different kinds of surface.
    OpenXR
    An open, cross-platform standard for VR/AR APIs, meant to let one codebase target multiple headsets and runtimes without separate vendor-specific code for each one.
    Vibecoding fit
    Shorthand used across this atlas for how much of a path can be built by describing intent to a coding agent versus how much requires manual work inside a proprietary visual editor.
    A note on currency. Platform names, pricing, and ownership in this space change often (Niantic's AR platform business, for one example, has been restructured more than once). Treat every table here as a starting map, not a live price sheet, and verify details before committing real time or budget.