An 8th Wall alternative for image-based WebAR
8th Wall access ended in February 2026, and hosted projects are on borrowed time. If your use case is "printed image plays video", you don't need another SDK — you need a finished product.
Quick answer
8th Wall closed access to its platform on February 28, 2026, and hosted projects will stop working on February 28, 2027. For image-tracking WebAR that links printed photos to video, Stories AR is a ready alternative: no code, no hosting to manage, flat subscription from $24/month — upload a photo and a video, get a working AR experience with a QR code.
Try WebAR right now — animate this photo
This is a real AR experience made with Stories AR. Open it on your phone and point the camera at the photo — it will come to life.
- 1Open the demo on your phone
- 2Allow camera access
- 3Point at the photo — it comes alive
or scan with your phone camera
Opens in the browser · No app needed
What happened to 8th Wall
Niantic sunset the 8th Wall platform: new access ended on February 28, 2026, and existing hosted experiences will run only until February 28, 2027. Thousands of agencies and creators who built image-tracking campaigns on it now need a new home before their projects go dark.
If your projects were full 3D world-tracking experiences, you'll be evaluating SDKs like Zappar, Blippar or Unity. But if — like most print and marketing campaigns — your AR was "camera sees an image, video plays on top", migrating to another developer platform means rebuilding everything you already had.
Stories AR vs an SDK: the honest comparison
Stories AR is not a general-purpose AR engine. It does one thing extremely well: makes a printed image play a video in the mobile browser. That focus is exactly what makes it a better fit for photo and print use cases:
- No code: upload photo + video in a dashboard — no JavaScript, no 3D pipeline, no build steps.
- No hosting: recognition, streaming and the viewer page are all managed.
- Flat pricing: from $24/month for 20 AR photos — instead of developer-platform pricing.
- Migration is trivial: re-upload your trigger images (see what makes a good trigger) and videos — a campaign moves over in an afternoon.
What you can build on Stories AR
Living photo products for photographers (living photos, albums, magnets), AR business cards, posters and packaging that play video, museum and event print, and photo-lab premium options. White-label plans let agencies run client campaigns under their own brand.
Try the live demo — it's the same experience your end users will get, straight from the browser.
When you still need an SDK
Fair is fair: if you need world tracking, face effects, 3D model placement or custom interactivity, Stories AR won't replace 8th Wall — look at Zappar, Blippar or native ARKit/ARCore. But for the image-to-video slice, which powered a huge share of real 8th Wall campaigns, a focused product is cheaper, faster and doesn't require a developer on retainer.
Frequently asked questions
When exactly does 8th Wall stop working?+
Access to the platform ended February 28, 2026. Hosted experiences continue to run until February 28, 2027, after which they shut down.
Can I migrate my 8th Wall image-tracking projects to Stories AR?+
Yes, if they are image-to-video experiences: re-upload each trigger image and its video in the Stories AR dashboard. There is no code to port.
Does Stories AR support 3D models or face filters?+
No — it is focused on image recognition + video playback. For 3D/face AR, consider a developer SDK.
Is there an API or white-label option?+
Yes, white-label plans are available for agencies and photo labs — the AR viewer runs under your brand.
Make your product spark emotions
Stories AR turns flat photos into living moments people gasp at, film and share. Give your customers that reaction.