360° Virtual Tours in Kiel: Cost, Process and Where to Use Them

A car repair shop in Gaarden, a physiotherapy practice in Wik, a hair salon on the eastern shore: anyone searching online for a trade or service business wants to know what it looks like before they show up. A 360° virtual tour shows that interactively, directly on the Google Business Profile or your own website, without a customer having to call or drop by first. This guide explains what a 360° tour delivers, how it differs from video and a 3D scan, what it costs in Kiel and what to watch for regarding data protection.

What a 360° virtual tour is — and what it is not

A 360° virtual tour consists of several panoramic photos linked into an interactive experience: visitors click through from room to room themselves, using a mouse, finger or on-screen arrow, turn around on the spot and set their own pace. That sets it apart from two similar but different formats:

• Video: linear, a camera move dictated by the filmmaker. Viewers see what was filmed, in the order it was cut — they control nothing themselves.
• Matterport 3D scan: a model measured with laser or depth sensors, producing an exact floor plan and dimensions, mostly used for real estate marketing. The technology is more involved and correspondingly more expensive than a pure panorama tour.

Our 360° tour relies on high-resolution panoramic photography rather than laser scanning: the Insta360 X5 captures 72-megapixel panoramas in 8K with HDR exposure at every capture point, shot from a tripod for clean transitions. The result is a fully interactive tour without exact measurements. For most businesses, that is the more practical and affordable solution compared to a 3D scan.

How many capture points does your business need?

The rule of thumb: one capture point per room. Large, open spaces (a workshop hall or a gym, for instance) get two to three points so the far ends stay visible. As a rough guide:

• Hair salon or small practice: reception, one or two treatment rooms, waiting area — usually 4 to 6 points.
• Car repair shop: workshop hall (2–3 points), customer reception, office, possibly a waiting area — usually 6 to 10 points.
• Medical practice with several treatment rooms: 8 to 15 points depending on layout.
• Restaurant: dining room (1–2 points depending on size), bar or counter, possibly a terrace — usually 5 to 9 points.

When in doubt: better one point too many than a room a prospective customer never gets to see. An extra capture point can still be added easily during the shoot itself.

What a 360° virtual tour costs in Kiel

At PixAgentur you pay a one-off fee, plus statutory VAT, depending on the number of capture points:

For comparison: a market survey of German providers in July 2026 found a median of around €300 for 5, €550 for 10 and €900 for 20 panoramas. PixAgentur deliberately sits 10 to 15 percent below that. One difference that often shows up in practice: many providers charge extra for the Google upload, typically around €49. At PixAgentur it is included: the walkable tour runs on your website, and the individual panoramas are additionally published to your Google Business Profile. How Google displays them there is Google\'s decision.

Add-ons at a glance

• Additional capture point: €39
• Info point (clickable extra information within the tour): €25
• Retouching per capture point: €59
• Express processing within 48 hours: €79
• Tour hosting: €9 per month or €99 per year — free for PixAgentur hosting clients
• Annual refresh (a new shoot after a refit, new fixtures etc.): €149 per year

Travel within Kiel and a 30-kilometre radius (which covers Eckernförde, Plön, Preetz, Laboe, Gettorf and Bordesholm, among others) is included. Beyond that we charge €0.35 per kilometre, one way.

The shoot: process, duration and do you need to close?

We plan around 10 to 15 minutes per capture point for setup, exposure bracketing and review. A small salon with 5 points is done in about an hour; a workshop with 10 points takes a good half-day. Closing is generally not necessary: we work from a tripod with HDR exposure, so customer traffic can usually just be worked around. For quieter shots, it helps to schedule a session outside peak hours or a short window without visitors, for example before opening.

Data protection: people and number plates

Recognisable people and legible number plates in panoramas are a data protection matter best solved during the shoot itself, for example by having staff step out of frame briefly or moving vehicles beforehand. Where that is not possible, we retouch faces and number plates afterwards for €59 per affected capture point.

How the tour gets onto your Google Business Profile

Google allows virtual tours to be uploaded directly into the photo section of a Business Profile. Technically this is not a simple drag-and-drop, it requires the right format and the correct upload path. At PixAgentur we handle this for you: the finished tour is embedded directly into your Google Business Profile at no extra charge. With many other providers, this step appears as a separate line on the invoice.

Where else you can use the tour

• On your own website: embedded on the homepage or a dedicated "tour" page.
• In social media posts: as a link in your bio, a story or a post.
• Via QR code: on signage, business cards or menus — straight to the tour.
• For holiday rentals: alongside your booking platform listing, to set more realistic expectations before enquiries come in.
• In recruiting: giving applicants a first impression of the workplace before the interview.

Add-on: aerial drone footage

For businesses with an outdoor area, a yard entrance or a distinctive building, the tour can be extended with aerial footage: €139 for a short set, €279 for an extended scope and €449 for a comprehensive package with multiple perspectives. We fly a first-generation DJI Mini, an aircraft under 250 grams, which places it in subcategory A1 of the EU drone regulation, where overflying individual uninvolved people is permitted, though not crowds of people. We operate with the EU competency certificate A1/A3, operator registration (e-ID) with the Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) and drone liability insurance.

360° virtual tours for businesses in Kiel — how we work

PixAgentur captures your business in Kiel and the surrounding area in 8K panoramas with the Insta360 X5, links the shots into an interactive tour and embeds it directly into your Google Business Profile, included in the price. You will find all packages, add-ons and examples on the 360° virtual tour page, or tell us directly what you need.