PlayCanvas
Open-source 3D engine for creating web-based games and interactive experiences
- Also known as
- playcanvas
Available worldwide
What is PlayCanvas?
PlayCanvas is an open-source WebGL and WebGPU 3D engine that enables developers to create interactive games, product configurators, and AR/VR experiences for web browsers. It provides a visual editor, code SDK support, and multiple development approaches including React and Web Components.
PlayCanvas pricing
Plans, per-tier features and add-ons, dated and linked to live pricing. Pricing changes often; always verify at source before you rely on it.
Free and open source
Free Tier
Free- Unlimited public projects
- Free hosting
- Full engine access
What PlayCanvas does
The capabilities that matter for ar vr development, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- World tracking slam
- -
- Plane image detection
- -
- Face body tracking
- -
- Hand eye tracking
- -
- Spatial mapping occlusion
- -
- Persistent cloud anchors vps
- -
- Openxr conformant
- -
- Webxr support
- ✓
- Engine type
- Full game engine
- Authoring model
- Full editor
- Open source
- ✓
- Multiplayer shared ar
- -
- Pricing model
- Open source
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- Web
- Cloud / SaaS
- Self-hosted
Integrations (2)
Independently observed- 8th Wall
- Zappar
PlayCanvas FAQ
Common questions about PlayCanvas, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is PlayCanvas?
A free, open-source 3D game engine for web browsers that combines visual editing with code-based development, supporting both WebGPU and WebGL2 standards and providing integrated AR/VR capabilities through WebXR. It is indexed under AR VR Development.
Source: https://playcanvas.com
Is PlayCanvas free to use?
PlayCanvas is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://playcanvas.com
What platforms does PlayCanvas support?
We have confirmed browser-based access to PlayCanvas. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.
Source: https://playcanvas.com
Can PlayCanvas be self-hosted?
Yes. PlayCanvas can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://playcanvas.com
What security certifications does PlayCanvas have?
We have independently confirmed GDPR for PlayCanvas. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as PlayCanvas not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.
Source: https://playcanvas.com/privacy
Where is PlayCanvas available?
PlayCanvas is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Source: https://playcanvas.com/plans
PlayCanvas alternatives
Other ar vr development we track, ranked by the same independent score.
Compare PlayCanvas
Side by side against other ar vr development, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for PlayCanvas, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | 46 | 0.08 | 3.8 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 14 | 0.05 | 0.7 | ✓ |
| Stars | 0 | 0.03 | 0.0 | - |
| Dependent projects | 0 | 0.08 | 0.0 | - |
| Development activity | 0 | 0.12 | 0.0 | - |
| Release cadence | 0 | 0.07 | 0.0 | - |
| Security posture | 5 | 0.09 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.17 | 0.0 | - |
| Security score | 0 | 0.05 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.08 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 6 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 64% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Engine type: full_game_engine · Open source: Yes · Pricing model: open_source · Webxr support: Yes · Authoring model: full_editor | mediumsource · 2026-09-23 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | mediumsource · 2026-09-23 · 60% |
Market
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | HqCountry: GB · PrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: … | highsource · 2026-08-18 · 75% |
Pricing
Security
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Gdpr | Yes | highsource · 2026-08-18 · 75% |
Is PlayCanvas the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank PlayCanvas against the rest of the ar vr development we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Is this your product?
This profile was built from public sources without asking you. You can take the badge below and use it anywhere, and you can claim the profile to correct anything we got wrong. Both are free, and neither moves PlayCanvas up or down: nobody can buy rank here, including you.
Take the badge
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Verify you control the domain, then point us at the pages that state the facts about PlayCanvas and add your own description and media. Free, and it does not change the score.
- Correct anything wrong, with evidence
- Point our crawler at the pages that matter
- Write your own description and add media
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