Microsoft Mesh Alternatives in 2026: Where to Get a 3D Office After Mesh

In December 2025 Microsoft retired the Immersive space view in Teams meetings, Microsoft Mesh on the web, and the Mesh PC and Quest apps, replacing them with immersive events in Teams, a feature for all-hands and showcases scheduled from the calendar rather than an office your team sits in. Teams that wanted a 3D workplace inside Microsoft 365 are back to a flat meeting grid. The best alternative is Katmai, a photorealistic 3D virtual office in the browser where your team is present as real people on live video all day, with no headset, at $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests. Other 3D and avatar options are below with their published prices.

This guide is published by Katmai, which makes virtual office software. The Mesh retirement is Microsoft's own, corroborated by the Microsoft Teams blog and contemporary trade reports; competitor prices come from each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026. Check them before you buy.

The best Microsoft Mesh alternatives at a glance

What Mesh was, and what Teams offers now

Mesh put Teams meetings in a 3D space with avatars, on a PC, on the web or in a Quest headset. It was always a meeting feature, not an office: you entered it for a scheduled call and left when it ended. What replaced it, immersive events in Teams, is narrower still, aimed at all-hands, showcases, onboarding and training. Teams does not offer a persistent 3D office or avatar presence between meetings, so a team that wants to be in a place together needs a product built for that.

1. Katmai: the always-on 3D office, with real people

Katmai is a photorealistic 3D office your team is in all day. Everyone is on live video, at desks and in rooms, so you see real faces instead of avatars, walk over to a colleague and talk, and bring a client in free by link. It runs in the browser with no download and no headset, and Katmai recommends 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better. One plan, $25 per user per month, every feature included, no minimum number of users. Getting started is a demo, then a configuration meeting where the Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users. Teams stays for chat and for calls with the outside world.

2. Virbela: avatars in a 3D campus

Virbela is the nearest thing to Mesh's avatar idea: a 3D world of buildings, auditoriums and offices where your team appears as stylized avatars. The main app is a download; Virbela Go runs in the browser. Virbela publishes no prices. eXp World Holdings sold it to Virbela LLC in November 2024, and it is still sold.

3. Kumospace: avatars in the browser

Kumospace is a browser avatar office, free for up to 5 registered members and $16 per user per month paid annually on Business, with a 5-member minimum, a 14-day trial, unlimited floors, recording and analytics. Guests are capped at 4 hours a week.

4. Gather: 2D pixel avatars

Gather is a 2D pixel-art avatar office at $12 per member per month billed annually or $15 billed monthly, after a 30-day trial. No free plan since Gather 2.0 launched on September 15, 2025. Guests are not billed.

5. Roam: rooms on a map

Roam shows a map of rooms and who is in them, at $19.50 per active member per month billed monthly, inactive seats not counted, guests free, with a 14-day trial per new member. Roam's own comparison page marks it "No" on spatial movement and proximity audio.

How to choose

If what you wanted from Mesh was a 3D place for your team to be, Katmai is the only option here that is 3D, always on and real video, with no headset. If you want 3D avatars for big events, Virbela. If 3D doesn't matter and you want something light next to Teams, Kumospace, Gather or Roam.

FAQ

Is Microsoft Mesh discontinued?

Yes. Microsoft retired the Immersive space view in Teams, Mesh on the web and the Mesh PC and Quest apps in December 2025, replacing them with immersive events in Teams.

Does Teams have a 3D virtual office now?

No. Immersive events in Teams are scheduled events for all-hands, showcases, onboarding and training, not a persistent office with presence between meetings.

What is the best Microsoft Mesh alternative?

Katmai: a photorealistic 3D office where your team is on live video all day, in the browser with no headset, at $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests.

Can Katmai be used alongside Teams?

Yes. Katmai is a standalone virtual office in the browser. Teams keeps chat and outside calls; Katmai is where your team works.

Which Mesh alternatives work without a headset?

All five above. Katmai, Kumospace, Gather and Roam run in the browser; Virbela runs as a downloaded app or in the browser as Virbela Go.

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