With any custom learning and development project, it’s going to be challenging to give a set price for custom 360º virtual reality (VR) training content. When you want a customized 360º VR training program, it can cost from $40,000 to $75,000 or more.
Our team is asked every day, “How much does custom 360º virtual reality training cost?” and it’s not easy to give just one answer.
Many factors can affect the price of custom virtual reality (VR) training, from the instructional design of the content and the level of interactions to the number of headsets.
*Cost ranges are general estimates; each training program is unique, and costs can vary. Please seek a professional quote for more specific and reliable costs.
This article will review the cost range of custom 360º virtual reality training and break down factors that affect the cost of 360° virtual reality training.
What Is 360° Virtual Reality Training?
Virtual reality (VR) training creates an artificial environment in which the user is fully immersed in an experience. Through a VR headset, desktop, or mobile device, learners enter a virtual world created with video or through a fully simulated environment.
360° VR uses 3DoF (Degrees of Freedom) and is well-suited for seated or stationary environments, as the position of your learners’ viewpoint is fixed. Learners can interact with the environment via gaze control or a laser pointer controller.
From new employee onboarding to soft skills training, custom 360° VR training is a great option for organizations looking to give their employees a first-person, fixed perspective for completing interactions with real-life people.
Ultimately, 3DoF is better suited for static environments where only choice selection is needed, not physical interactions.
What Are The Benefits Of Custom 360° Virtual Reality?
While organizations may choose an off-the-shelf VR training solution, custom 360° VR training comes with the following unique benefits:
- Ideal for soft skills training (e.g. communication, empathy, work ethic, etc.)
- Provides learners with a safe learning environment from a fixed, first-person perspective
- Doesn’t affect real-life equipment, employees, or customers
- Scalable training that can be easily managed, tracked, and assigned with an extended reality system (XRS)
- In general, 360° VR training will be less costly than a full VR training program
How Much Does 360º Virtual Reality Training Cost?
When an organization wants to try 360º virtual reality training for the first time, we recommend a pilot program. It’s a great way to get started with 360º VR training with a relatively low investment. A 360º virtual reality training pilot program typically costs between $40,000 – $60,000 or more.
This pilot program is a great way to get started because you can:
- Learn about the process of developing your VR content
- Test to see if the technology is received well by your learners
- Figure out if your learning objectives can be met with VR technology
- See if the VR training is scalable for your business needs
When we build pilots, we build them as though they’re part of a full program. That way we’ve already got a usable starting point to build from if a full program gains support. When you are ready to move past your pilot program or jump into your custom 360º virtual reality training program design, you can expect to pay, on average, between $40,000 – $75,000 or more.
Cost Factors That Affect The Price Of Custom 360° Virtual Reality Training
Instructional Design and Programming
Instructional design is usually the first step for developing your VR training content. This pre-production work usually involves:
- Outlining your learning objectives
- Developing scripts
- Mapping VR interactions
- Identifying key metrics
With a strategy in place, the creation of 360º VR typically begins with filming. After the filming is completed, it’s time for post-production programming to make your footage interactive. With 360º VR, you will be able to look around you at the setting, watch the footage, and use your handsets to answer questions.
Depending on the level of the instructional designer and programmer expertise, it can cost between $200 and $300 an hour to design and program 360º VR content. The level of user activity, number of interactions, types of interactions, and the virtual setting all affect the number of hours needed.
For example, training with interactions that are limited to just two answers to choose from (and thus two possible learning paths for learners to choose) may not take as long to develop as training that includes interactions with three or more possible answers and paths.
Read More: How To Create Original VR Content: Everything You Need To Know
Production and Travel
Unlike full VR, 360º VR consists of a 360º video that is filmed and edited with specialized equipment. When you are creating a 360º VR training, the video production, actors, travel, and other costs to film on location can cost between $8,000 and $12,000 or more a day — with most production taking only one or two days.
This price can vary if you are flexible about the filming location and actors used for the training. We like to work with our clients to film everything we’ll need in one trip to help save on costs, even if it’s footage for a future training project.
Virtual Reality Headsets
With VR content, you need a way to watch and interact with the VR material. This means that you will need to invest in VR headsets for your program. The great thing about using headsets is that you can sanitize and share headsets, move them from location to location, and use them for multiple VR training programs.
You can expect to pay your vendor the cost of the headset ($750 – $1,400 or more) plus a setup and shipping fee ($150 – $200 per headset). Working with a vendor will help you get a better deal and ensure that your headsets work properly on arrival.
Popular VR headsets and their enterprise cost include:
- Oculus (Meta) Quest 2 – $799
- Pico Neo 3 – $699
- VIVE Focus 3 – $1300
For an even cheaper option, organizations have the option of using cardboard headsets as a scalable, inexpensive alternative to introductory 360º VR training. These headsets cost between $7.00 – $12.00, can be fully branded, and used with your employees’ smartphone.
Extended Reality System
If you have VR content within your training program, you will want a way to manage the content, which means you’ll need an Extended Reality System (XRS). Similar to an LMS, an XRS will help you manage, deploy, track, and measure your virtual reality training results.
With any management system, your price will depend on your number of licenses, in this case, one license per headset. You can expect to pay between $20 – $30 monthly per license plus a potential baseline fee for an XRS portal. Keep in mind that with software subscriptions like an XRS, the economies of scale mean that the more headsets you have on the system, the less you pay per headset.
Is It Worth the Cost?
So, there you have it — the average cost for custom 360º virtual reality training ranges from $40,000 to $75,000 or more.
It’s important to remember that based on your vendor, content, and scale, these prices will vary. Looking to kick off a discussion about a potential custom 360° VR training at your organization? Reach out to an expert on our team or book a VR demo today!
*Cost ranges are general estimates; each training program is unique, and costs can vary. Please seek a professional quote for more specific and reliable costs.
