A VR and augmented reality company is a company that uses augmented and virtual reality technologies to create personal and immersive experiences. Its AR and VR integration into various platforms, designs, and mediums helps businesses increase web traffic, boost conversions, and improve employee satisfaction. 

AR and VR companies design, implement, and maintain cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality technologies to create interactive, personalized, and engaging experiences.  

For example, by utilizing visual, auditory, and sensory components, an AR and VR company can improve the physical world, highlight a product's features, and increase customer engagement.  

The core services of AR and VR companies are: 

• Concept development
• Market research 
• Strategy 
• Prototype design 
• 2D and 3D design and development 
• Sound design 
• AR/VR experience design 
• AR/VR development 
• Hardware-level development 
• QA testing 
• Branding 
• Support and maintenance

AR and virtual reality developers typically charge between $25 and $150 per hour. This rate depends on the agency's stature, size, and location. For example, Eastern Europe-based developers may charge as low as $14 per hour, whereas some North America-based developers may ask for as high as $270 per hour. 

Alternatively, AR and virtual reality companies may offer a fixed cost for the entire project. This typically falls between $1,000 and $200,000. That said, the more complex the project is, the more you can expect to pay. 

The usual costs per project type are as follows: 

• 360 and 3D interactive videos: $10,000 per minute filmed plus post-production 
• Non-gaming standalone environment VR application with minimal interaction design: $50,000 to $70,000 
• CG-based interactive application with multiplayer VR scenarios: $150,000 to $200,000 
• Marker-based AR: $1,000 to $2,000 for simple 2D images and $5,000 to $10,000 per 3D-modelled object interaction and UI 
• Room Scale AR: $40,000 to $50,000 per room, depending on the number of objects 
• Plane Projection / Gyroscopic AR: $15,000 to $20,000 per 3D object, depending on interaction complexity 
• Full-scale wearable AR: $50,000 to $100,000

You should hire a virtual reality company because it has advanced technical skills, relevant expertise and experience to create intuitive VR technology products. 

These complex systems require a strategic approach and technical expertise, meaning not everyone can create them. You need dedicated professionals to hit all of your business growth goals. And with over 65 million VR users and 110 million AR users in the US in 2023, your brand should take advantage. 

Other reasons to hire a virtual reality company are: 

• Reducing VR development risks 
• Expediting development for timely delivery 
• Tailoring solutions for your specific brand 
• Prioritizing customer-focused content 
• Creating an interactive user experience  
• Personalizing content to your audience’s particular needs  
• Influencing consumers’ buying decisions 
• Cutting costs on hiring and training in-house staff 
• Maintaining constant internal communication through effective channels 
• Assisting with overall business operations 
• Maximizing vendor support 
• Promoting your brand to a wider audience 
• Establishing your credibility in a competitive field 

For instance, leading driver training simulators provider, VDI, partnered with virtual reality company, CXR.Agency, to enhance its projects. The agency’s services enabled VDI to bypass three to nine months of onboarding processes, saving time and expenses associated with recruiting and training.

Follow these steps in selecting the right AR and VR company for your project: 

1. Identify the scope and purpose of your AR and VR project, its platform and target audience, specifications, and features. 
2. Research potential partners through industry recommendations, referrals, and online. 
3. Go through their reviews. This will shed some light on their previous work and their ability to not only meet deadlines but meet them successfully. 
4. Perform portfolio and case study analysis. Find out whether the potential augmented reality companies have already served clients in your niche or worked on similar projects. 
5. Shortlist up to five companies based on experience and expertise, technical capabilities, and technology stack specific to your domain or business vertical. 
6. Communicate your intent to work with them and request proof of concept (POC) to gauge their understanding of your project. 
7. Receive and schedule meetings with the shortlisted candidates for in-depth discussion. 
8. Assess their knowledge of VR software development kits (SDKs), application programming interface (APIs), UI/UX, Extended Reality, cloud service platforms, testing frameworks, and device and content interaction. 
9. Ensure they have advanced computer vision, desktop, web, or mobile programming, 3D modeling, and 3D animation skills. 
10. Check if they have well-established product development, release, and maintenance processes. 
11. Find out how potential VR & augmented reality companies create their strategies before developing specific products and solutions. Make sure they can adapt their templates, methodology, and best practices to your project. 
12. See if they provide training, adoption, and analytics support. 
13. Compare pricing, contract terms and conditions, confidentiality and intellectual property agreements. 
14. Evaluate company culture, responsiveness, transparency, collaboration, and project management. This will help establish a meaningful relationship that will bring better results and benefit your business in the long term. 
15. Finalize your decision and build a successful partnership. 

We can help you find your ideal AR and VR agency partner for free. Visit our Marketplace and tell us about your project specifics. Based on your submitted details, we'll pick two to five agencies and introduce them to you.

Ask these questions when hiring an AR and VR agency:

1. What will be your strategy and process for designing and building a VR application that captures and represents our brand? 
2. How will you implement emerging trends? 
3. What's your approach to market research? How do you plan to collect information about my brand and audiences? 
4. How have you learned from past mistakes and grown to be an industry-leading augmented reality technology company today? 
5. What goals will this VR software help us achieve? How will we reach these goals? 
6. What problems will this VR design solve, and how? 
7. What metrics will you use to guarantee we're on track with our goals? 
8. Who will oversee and work on this project? 
9. How do we ensure the VR application will be well-received by the public and internal employees? 
10. How can we promote our virtual reality project to the public? 
11. Will you conduct QA testing? 
12. Do you offer post-launch support? 
13. How will you maintain VR performance? 
14. How long after launch will you continue to monitor our designs?

The best locations to hire top AR & virtual reality developers for high-quality project results include several tech hubs with access to seasoned professionals. They are as follows:

• US
• Los Angeles
• Chicago
• New York City
• Orlando
• San Jose
• Seattle
• Boston
• San Francisco
• Miami
• Houston
• Dallas
• Sheridan
• Austin

The best AR and VR companies in the U.S. are:

• CXR 
  • 5-star rating with 22 reviews on DesignRush 
  • Top clients: HBO Max, Harvard MedTech, Montblanc, Douglas Elliman 
• Kanda Software 
  • 4.8-star rating with 14 reviews on DesignRush; 4.7-star rating with 7 reviews on Google 
  • Top clients: OneSky, Rue La La, Lionbridge, Havas Media 
• Admios 
  • 4.8-star rating with 4 reviews on DesignRush; 5-star rating with 8 reviews on Google 
  • Top clients: Converse, Salesforce, CouchSurfing, Collective Health 
• Clay 
  • 5-star rating with 21 reviews on DesignRush; 4.9-star rating with 34 reviews on Google 
  • Top clients: Coca-Cola, Facebook, Amazon, Uber 
• Diffco 
  • 5-star rating with 20 reviews on DesignRush; 5-star rating with 20 reviews on Google 
  • Top clients: International Business Times, Food Rocket, FlashGrid, Instreamatic 

Read more about these companies above and check out the rest of the directory. Personalize your search with the filter functionality and sort agencies based on location, reviews, fees, team size, and more.