Software Alternatives & Startups

AltspaceVR VS ViewForge

Compare AltspaceVR VS ViewForge and see what are their differences

AltspaceVR

Meet people, play interactive games, and attend free live events in VR.

Rating
0 reviews
ViewForge

Year/Make/Model fitment search for Shopify. 8 verticals, Smart Parse, and your data in Shopify metaobjects — not a vendor database. Free tier, Pro at $49.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $19 / Monthly ($19/month Starter 1,000 products, custom templates, CSV import)
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, AltspaceVR seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 12 times since March 2021.

social mentions
12 vs 0
Virtual Reality popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

AltspaceVR
ViewForge
Website altvr.com normalview.pro
Pricing —
Freemium Free trial $19 / Monthly ($19/month Starter 1,000 products, custom templates, CSV import) Official pricing
Platforms —
Shopify
Company — Startup from the United States · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in

About AltspaceVR and ViewForge

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

AltspaceVR
ViewForge

No description of AltspaceVR yet.

ViewForge is a Year Make Model (YMM) parts finder for Shopify. Shoppers pick their vehicle, machine or device from cascading dropdowns and see only the parts that fit. Fitment search works across eight verticals — auto, motorcycle, tractor, marine, power equipment, bicycle, printer and...

Read more about ViewForge

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

AltspaceVR 5 features
ViewForge 9 features
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    AltspaceVR is available on multiple platforms such as Oculus, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, and PC, allowing a wide range of users to access the virtual environment.
  • Social Interaction
    The platform provides robust social features that let users engage with others in a VR setting, enhancing the sense of community through events, meetups, and interactive activities.
  • Customizable Avatars
    Users can create and customize their avatars, providing a personalized experience that enhances the feeling of presence in the virtual space.
  • Event Hosting
    AltspaceVR allows users to host and attend virtual events, which can range from casual meetups to organized conferences, offering a versatile environment for social gathering.
  • Free to Use
    The platform is free to access, making it easily accessible to a broad audience without needing a monetary investment.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Graphics Quality
    Compared to some other VR platforms, AltspaceVR may have less advanced graphics which can affect the visual experience for users seeking high-fidelity environments.
  • Performance Variability
    The performance of AltspaceVR can vary depending on the hardware and internet connection, which might result in lag or connectivity issues for some users.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the interface and controls to have a learning curve, which could initially be daunting and hinder user experience.
  • Limited Content Creation Tools
    While AltspaceVR offers some customization options, it may not have as extensive tools for creating complex virtual environments or content compared to other platforms.
  • Microsoft Account Requirement
    Users need to have a Microsoft account to use AltspaceVR, which might be a barrier for those who do not wish to create additional accounts or share their data with Microsoft.
  • Fitment Information
    Cascading Year/Make/Model fitment search, up to four levels
  • Vertical integration nobody else has
    8 built-in vertical templates, plus custom templates on paid tiers
  • Shopify Metaobjects
    Fitment stored as native Shopify metaobjects — your data survives uninstall
  • Smart Data Processing
    Smart Parse: extract fitment from existing product titles and descriptions, with confidence scoring
  • CSV Import/Export
    CSV import with fuzzy matching and a coverage dashboard
  • ACES / PIES
    ACES / PIES import and NHTSA VIN decoding
  • My Garage
    Saved-vehicle garage, compatibility table, and product-page fit notice
  • Context Aware Fitment Search
    Collection-level fitment assignment
  • No Obligations
    Free tier with no expiry, up to 50 products

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

AltspaceVR 2 videos + Add
ViewForge 1 video + Add

What Is AltspaceVR | Life of Automation

More videos

  • - Why AltspaceVR will FAIL. Virtual Reality Teardown. (Oculus Quest Gameplay)

ViewForge: YMM Search & Filter

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
AltspaceVR
ViewForge
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing AltspaceVR and ViewForge.

What makes your product unique?

ViewForge's answer:

Three things. (1) Data ownership: ViewForge writes fitment as Shopify metaobjects native to your store — most competitors store fitment in their own database. (2) 8 verticals out of the box: auto, motorcycle, tractor, marine, power equipment, bicycle, printer, electronics — most competitors are automotive-only. (3) Smart Parse: extract fitment automatically from your existing product titles and descriptions instead of re-typing everything.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

ViewForge's answer:

Data ownership. Fitment lives in your Shopify metaobjects, so uninstalling does not take your compatibility data with it. Convermax, EasySearch and PartFinder all keep it in their own databases, and getting it back depends on their export tooling on the day you cancel.

Cost at the low end. The search widget, the compatibility table on the product page and the saved-vehicle garage are all on the free tier, up to 50 products, with no expiry. EasySearch puts the table and the garage behind its $75/month Premium plan. Convermax starts at $250/month.

Automotive and non-automotive coverage. Eight built-in templates, and fully custom templates from $19/month, for catalogs that do not decompose into Year/Make/Model at all.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

ViewForge's answer:

Shopify merchants whose customers need to know whether a part fits before they will buy it — and who do not have an engineer on staff to build that themselves.

Concretely: auto and truck parts retailers, powersports and motorcycle dealers, tractor and agricultural parts sellers, marine and outboard suppliers, small-engine and power equipment stores, bicycle and e-bike component shops, printer supply merchants, and electronics accessory sellers.

Catalog sizes run from a few dozen products on the free tier up into the tens of thousands; it is running in production on a catalog of roughly 40,000 SKUs. The common thread is not the industry — it is that "does this fit my thing" is the question deciding the sale.

What's the story behind your product?

ViewForge's answer:

ViewForge came out of agency work. Normal View was building for a parts retailer running roughly 12,000 SKUs who needed fitment search, and every app we evaluated stored the merchant's compatibility data in the vendor's own database.

That is a strange trade when you look at it directly. Fitment data is genuinely expensive to produce — it is weeks of work — and the merchant would not own the result. It would belong to whichever app happened to be installed that year.

Shopify metaobjects made a different answer possible: write fitment as native structured data inside the merchant's own store. The theme reads it, the Storefront API queries it, Admin GraphQL exports it, and it is still there after an uninstall. That decision is what the rest of the app is built around.

Everything else came from real catalogs rather than a roadmap. Eight verticals exist because a tractor catalog is not Year/Make/Model. Smart Parse exists because that retailer had already written fitment into 12,000 product titles, and nobody was ever going to retype them.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

ViewForge's answer:

  • TypeScript
  • Shopify metaobjects, as the fitment data store
  • Shopify theme app extensions for the storefront components: fitment search, saved-vehicle garage, compatibility table, product-page fit notice
  • Shopify Storefront API, for querying fitment from the theme
  • Shopify Admin GraphQL API, for writing and exporting fitment records
  • NHTSA vehicle database, for VIN decoding
  • ACES and PIES XML parsing, for automotive catalog import

User comments

Share your experience with using AltspaceVR and ViewForge. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

AltspaceVR no reviews yet
ViewForge no reviews yet
  • The Best Social Apps in VR
    www.xrtoday.com · Jan 2022

    AltspaceVR is a social VR platform launched in 2025 that was eventually acquired by Microsoft in 2017. Microsoft uses several elements of AltspaceVR for its enterprise collaboration technology, Mesh.

  • Top Ten Virtual Worlds for Adults
    www.streamscheme.com · Nov 2021

    Altspace is a virtual world where you are able to set up events, host meetups, or give a class. You can attend concerts, watch improv comedy, and even go to VR church. There are hundreds of events you can choose from...

We have no reviews of ViewForge yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

AltspaceVR 12 mentions
ViewForge 0 mentions
  • Virtual Reality Meeting Inquiry
    I'd heard about one, but it looks like they shut down a couple months ago: https://altvr.com/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • R.I.P. AltspaceVR I will miss you
    I know a lot of you probably do not care that AltspaceVR is going away in March but I will miss it dearly. Sauce : https://altvr.com/ I was on the platform at the very beginning using an opendive 3D printed DIY headset my phone and... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Microsoft is shutting down its metaverse
    For those who are unaware of the Microsoft metaverse, it is called AltSpace (altvr.com) and it was pretty much one of the most successful VR metaverses around until Microsoft bought it in 2017. Source: over 3 years ago

View more

Tracking ViewForge since Aug 2026.

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When comparing AltspaceVR and ViewForge, you can also consider the following products.