Virtual staging: The best apps for 2025 + mind-blowing AI picks

Is virtual staging finally ready for its close-up? We think it is. The days of AI-staged photos that look more like Salvador Dali paintings than comfy living rooms or HGTV-ready kitchens are long gone. The images today’s virtual staging companies can create using AI are shockingly realistic and, dare we say it, stylish. AI can create virtually staged images to match any trendy interior design style you can dream up for a small fraction of the price of traditional virtual staging.

To help you find that killer virtual staging app to let your creativity run wild, we’ve reviewed dozens of contenders to find the best bang for your buck. Our top picks range from AI home staging apps that cost mere pennies per image to high-end virtual staging companies that offer bespoke services — including Matterport virtual staging.

Our team of agents, brokers and marketing pros thoroughly tested each app to vet their image quality, features, ease of use and pricing. You can see the results in our test images below.  So, without further ado, here are our top six picks for 2025:

Our virtual staging testing protocol 

To provide you with a fairer and more accurate assessment of how each virtual staging company performs on basic staging tasks, we uploaded the same picture of a furnished living room to each one. Once uploaded, we used the available tools in each app to remove the furniture from the photo and virtually stage it using the “luxury” decor setting or its nearest equivalent.

Our results in the article are the first rendering they produced — we did not revise, photoshop or edit them in any way, even when the app offered free revisions. Since AI image generation can be unpredictable, your results will vary! Take advantage of the free trial for the apps on our list to test them yourself before purchasing.

Frequently Asked Questions: Virtual staging, demystified

Will virtual staging help me sell my listing faster?

Yes! Data from the National Association of Realtors (PDF) shows that 81% of buyers think home staging helps them visualize living in the home. The same report revealed that 72% of listing agents believe virtual staging was at least somewhat important for helping them sell their listings. Virtual staging helps buyers imagine what actually living in your listing would look and feel like. As any good marketer knows, getting prospective clients to dream is the first step in successful marketing.

Is AI virtual staging good enough for my listing?

The short answer? Yes. After years of waiting (patiently) for AI technology to be consistent enough to generate staged images reliably, it is. Whether or not you agree will depend on the listing you need to stage virtually and the budget you can access. If you have a luxury listing, spending the extra few hundred dollars on human virtual stagers from a company like RoOomy will have an excellent ROI. Quality is king in luxury real estate marketing. This is not the place to save a few bucks!

What is the cheapest virtual staging app? Are there any free virtual staging apps?

Collov AI is the most affordable virtual staging app that produces professional-quality images suitable for real estate marketing. Collov’s pricing is as low as 23 cents per photo, far cheaper than rival virtual staging apps such as Virtual Staging AI. There are cheaper DIY apps, but we do not recommend them for real estate agents due to their low image quality. You worked hard to get your listing. Presenting it in the best possible light is an integral part of your fiduciary duty to your client!

You can get free virtual staging from Collov AI, Virtual Staging AI and REimagineHome. The drawback is that these free, virtually-staged images will have a watermark.

What are some creative use cases for virtual staging?

Virtual staging has many creative use cases. While it is primarily used by listing agents to market properties, virtual staging can also assist buyer’s agents in helping clients visualize living in homes they are considering. For example, if your client wants a home office, you can virtually stage a second bedroom of a two-bedroom listing as a home office. Or, you can stage a home with traditional decor to look more modern or vice versa. The possibilities for creative real estate marketing are endless!

Methodology: How we picked the best AI virtual staging apps

Vetted by HousingWire’s expert real estate agents, brokers and coaches offer in-the-trenches insights into the latest technology and business strategies for real estate professionals. Since 2006, HousingWire has been the go-to resource that provides the full picture of the U.S. housing market for housing professionals.

To find the best virtual staging apps, we analyze dozens of products and platforms, run them through rigorous testing, view product demos, read countless customer reviews and consult with agents and brokers we know. We also apply our combined experience as licensed real estate agents, brokers and brokerage marketers (we have about 50 years between us on the editorial team!).

We do all of this with the reader in mind, analyzing each tool to give you, beloved reader, a clear, concise breakdown of its features, benefits, pricing, ease of use, return on investment, value for money, client support and appropriateness for your career stage. We hope our hard work saves you a lot of clicking around the internet to find the right tools for your business!

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