VR Training Cost: Factors Affecting the Development Price | Program-Ace

6 min readMay 31, 2022

Virtual reality technology isn’t new, but factors like the global pandemic and automatization issues have made VR the new normal. Hence, farsighted entrepreneurs actively replace real-world corporate processes with virtual ones, including professional training. However, your VR solution should be custom and well-developed to cover your company’s needs fully. So the question arises — how much does VR training development cost?

This article will give you a short-version answer of VR development services cost and additional information for pricing understanding. Now, let’s get straight to the point!

How Much Does Virtual Reality Training Cost?

Primarily, the cost of Virtual Reality training development varies from $40.000 to $180.000, if we speak about a solution of average quality and no specific needs.

However, the price for the more complex projects tends to be up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the same time, training series usually cost millions. Besides, multiple factors form the final cost of development, and you can use this information to reduce your spending on VR training, regardless of your industry’s features.

What Determines the Custom Development Price

Each technical project is more complex than people usually imagine, as they contain the ins and outs that experts can primarily consider. In developing custom software for VR training, 5 components can affect the price, making it higher or lower. So, awareness of these factors can come in handy when planning your VR solution.

The time frame. Depending on business plans, there can be two cases: 1) a company may need a ready-made VR solution in the shortest time; 2) a company is ready to provide specialists with the time required for high-quality development at a normal work pace. Accordingly, more developers and overtime are needed for the first case so that the price will be higher, and vice versa.
Developers’ expertise. Specialists are the key to productive work and flawless results. In case you outsource VR training development to a team of junior developers mainly, your project will be executed for too long, more likely with bugs and errors. This will expand the work scope on editing and fixing, increasing working hours and the final price.
The level of equipment. Complex software development takes plenty of power to perform tasks at a normal work pace. Imagine you want to play a modern game on a 10-years-old computer that doesn’t match the game’s technical requirements. You will be constantly thrown out of the system while your computer repeatedly shuts down. That’s why top-level companies invest in equipment often to deliver projects on time and save money from a budget.
Level of content detailing. Working on VR training, modelers strive to create an immersive environment according to different scenarios. However, realistic high-poly modeling isn’t always the best option for a company due to business goals and resources. So depending on the realism and detailing level a company needs, the price can get higher or lower.
Specific needs. A fully customized software solution with various training scripts and high functionality requires additional time and several more specialists. However, customization makes the cost higher only at the moment but more cost-effective in a long-term perspective as it covers all company’s needs.

VR Training Cost Using Different Platforms

Once you decide to create and adopt a VR training solution, you should determine a platform for development. It’s important to pay special attention to this step, considering technical characteristics, the cost for a set, and additional fees. Thus, you can save a lot of money, especially in the long run.

In choosing the best VR headset for app development, entrepreneurs usually prefer two of the VR market leaders — Oculus and Pico Neo. Since both brands offer different headset models, you may find what you need for your personal and business goals. So you are welcome to explore!

VR training with Oculus

Oculus is one of the most popular VR hardware manufacturer brands created as an independent company but lately was acquired by Facebook Inc. (Meta Platforms). Their headsets provide not only average users with an entertainment experience but also offer complex entrepreneurs solutions.
Hence, different industries choose Oculus app development for virtual reality training because their prices are available, while technical capabilities allow high-level graphics and extended functionality. For example, Hilton uses Oculus headsets to train team members’ hospitality, empathy for guests, and better service providing.

The Oculus for Business solution costs $799/256GB a year, offering security, maintenance, and customer support.
In addition, you will have to pay $180 annually for an Oculus subscription after the first year of usage.
Still, calculations show that the cost of Oculus VR training is $2.18/day for the first year and $0.49/day for each following year.

VR training with Pico Neo

Pico Interactive is another company manufacturing VR equipment, presenting functional lines like Pico Neo that many entrepreneurs find perfect for their needs. In order to use their headsets, you don’t even need a PC, phone, or any wired connection, allowing you to immerse yourself in training anywhere, at any time.
Like Oculus, Pico also offers enterprise management programs, providing its users with customer support, solution customization, etc. However, the company doesn’t sell its products on open markets, focusing on direct partnership with its clients.

Speaking about the prices, one of the latest headset models, Pico G2 4K Enterprise, offers outstanding performance, 4K resolution, and a high level of immersion for just $450. And the best part is you don’t have to pay for a subscription; all you need is a custom app.
Even though the G2 Enterprise covers all the basic needs for VR training, the overall experience of using it can be not so impressive as from Oculus.
In that case, you can choose some more powerful models like Pico Neo 2 ($899) or Pico Nro 3 Pro ($699).

Google Cardboard

Sometimes, it’s unnecessary to go with the latest technologies to have an impressive VR training experience. Hence, Google Cardboard is a perfect fit to learn theory and explore simple training cases.
This headset doesn’t have a fancy design or top-level functionality, consisting of a cardboard frame and 2 average lenses. In order to have a VR training session with this headset, you merely need to activate a mobile app and insert a smartphone into a cardboard box. Thus, users will be able to see through different scenarios and learn interactively.

The main advantage of the Google Cardboard option is its availability since it costs $14.95 and doesn’t have any subscription fees.
However, the headset can’t provide enterprises with security and customer support, not to mention a severe performance level, as any smartphone doesn’t have such capabilities.

How to Build Cost-Effective VR Training Solution

Improving your employees’ professional skills and knowledge will lead you to a new stage, assuring better business results and incomes indeed. However, your training solution should be well-thought-out and flawlessly performed to make a difference. Luckily, the right technical partner can provide you with highly effective VR training software to cater to your specific needs.

Program-Ace has already become a reliable partner to dozens of our clients worldwide. Operating for 30 years, we formed a team of the most proficient specialists with deep expertise in the XR field, software development, testing, modeling, management, and more. So if you need a full-cycle development or dedicated pros to create a custom and cost-effective solution at once, you can rely on our broad experience and resources.

Originally published at https://program-ace.com.