What Is a 3D Product Configurator? A Plain Guide for Makers and E-shops
6 min read
Most custom products are still sold with photos, a PDF price list and a "contact us" button. A 3D configurator answers the buyer's questions before they ever write to you.
Most custom products are still sold the same way: a few photos, a PDF price list and a "contact us" button. Then the questions start. What would it look like with a black frame? Will two benches fit? How much with the bigger heater? Every answer takes an email, and every email is a chance for the buyer to go quiet.
A 3D configurator answers those questions on the product page, before the buyer ever writes to you.
What is a 3D configurator?
A 3D product configurator is an interactive tool on your website where a buyer changes a product's size, materials, colours and extras, and the 3D model and price update instantly. When they are done, they order or send you a request that already contains the exact configuration.
It is not the same as a 360° viewer or a photo gallery. A viewer shows one finished product from every angle. A configurator lets the buyer build their own version, within the rules you set.
How it works: a sauna example
Take a barrel sauna sold in three lengths with several options. In a configurator, the buyer:
- Picks the length, for example 2.4 m, and the sauna resizes on screen.
- Chooses the wood and the colour of the outer finish.
- Selects an electric or wood-burning heater. Only heaters that suit the chosen size are offered.
- Adds extras such as a glass front, a canopy or lighting, and sees each one in place.
- Watches the price change with every choice.
- Places the sauna in their own garden with AR on their phone.
- Orders or sends a request. You receive the full spec, a picture of the configuration and the price they saw.
The same logic works for hot tubs, garden houses, sofas, kitchens, doors, windows and machinery.
Configurator vs photos vs 360° view vs renders
| Photos | 360° view with AR | Renders | 3D configurator | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer can change options | No | No | No | Yes |
| Shows the buyer's exact version | No | No | Only if you make one | Yes |
| Live price | No | No | No | Yes |
| Real size in the buyer's space (AR) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Request arrives with the full spec | No | No | No | Yes |
| Best for | Simple stock items | Products with few options | Catalogues and ads | Products with many options |
One 3D model, many uses
A configurator is built on a 3D model of your product. Once that model exists, it can also produce:
- catalogue images on white or in a garden scene, even before the first unit is built;
- short videos for social media and ads;
- a 360° view with AR for products that have no options;
- an assembly guide on the phone, opened with a QR code in the box;
- the same configurator on your dealers' websites, with their prices.
That is the idea behind our work: model the product once, then sell with it everywhere.
Who needs a configurator, and who does not
A configurator pays off when:
- the product comes in many combinations of size, wood, colour and extras;
- the price is high enough that buyers hesitate, usually from a few thousand euros up;
- your sales team spends hours answering the same "what would it look like" and "how much with" questions;
- most buyers will never visit your showroom or yard.
You probably do not need one if you sell a single model with no options. A 360° view with AR is cheaper and does that job.
What a good configurator should do
Use this as a checklist when you compare offers:
- Works well on a phone, where many of your visitors arrive.
- Loads the 3D only when the buyer opens it, so your page stays fast.
- Blocks combinations you cannot build, instead of letting buyers request them.
- Shows the price live, or a price range if you quote every order individually.
- Sends the configuration, an image and the buyer's contacts straight to your inbox or CRM.
- Lets the buyer save or share their design.
- Offers AR, so the buyer can check the size at home.
- Lets you change prices and options without a developer.
How it gets on your website
A modern configurator runs in the browser, so the buyer installs nothing. You keep your existing product pages; the configurator opens from a button or sits inside the page. We agree on how it is added to your site case by case.
How much does a 3D configurator cost?
Prices vary a lot. In the Lithuanian Innovation Agency's 2023 call for SME digitisation, product configuration and visualisation projects averaged about €42,000 (Inovacijų agentūra, 2023).
The price depends on four things:
- How many product families go into the configurator. The second family costs less, because the tool itself already exists.
- How many extras need to be shown in 3D. Colours and materials are cheap; unique objects cost more. Not every extra needs 3D: a thermometer or a bucket can simply be a checkbox with a photo.
- How complex the rules are: which options cannot be combined, and how the price is calculated.
- Whether it needs connections to your e-shop, CRM or stock system.
A Trimata configurator, including 3D models of the whole product and its extras, starts from €999 (excluding VAT).
