A browser-based virtual office is one your team and your guests open from a link, with nothing to install and no headset. Katmai is browser-based: a photorealistic 3D office where your team is present on live video, opened in the browser on a computer with 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better, at $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests. Most avatar offices also run in the browser. The exceptions matter: Virbela's main app is a download, oVice offers desktop and mobile apps, and Horizon Workrooms needs a Quest headset.
This guide is published by Katmai, which makes virtual office software. Competitor facts come from each vendor's own site in October 2026; check them before you buy.
Why the browser matters
Three groups of people need to get into your office without a project. Your own team, who may not have admin rights on a work laptop. Contractors and agencies, who will not install your tools. Clients and candidates, who will give you one try and no more. A link that opens in the browser clears all three. A download clears one. A headset clears none of them.
Which virtual offices run in the browser
|
Product |
Runs in the browser |
Download |
Headset |
What you see |
|
Katmai |
Yes |
None |
None |
Real people on live video in a photorealistic 3D office |
|
Gather |
Yes, and Gather's apps |
Optional |
None |
Pixel-art avatars on a 2D map |
|
Kumospace |
Yes |
None |
None |
Avatars in a browser space |
|
WorkAdventure |
Yes |
None |
None |
Open-source pixel avatars on a 2D map |
|
Flat.social |
Yes, browser only |
None |
None |
Video and audio on a 2D map |
|
Cosmos Video |
Yes |
None |
None |
Live video tiles on a 2D map |
|
SpatialChat |
Yes, "hop on directly from browser" |
None |
None |
Video bubbles on a 2D map |
|
Virbela |
Virbela Go only |
Main app is a download |
None |
3D avatar campus |
|
oVice |
See oVice's site |
Desktop and mobile apps |
None |
Avatar icons on a 2D floor plan |
|
Horizon Workrooms |
No |
Quest app |
Quest headset |
VR avatars in a meeting room |
Browser-based and 3D
Browser and 3D used to be a trade-off: the 3D products wanted a download or a headset, and the browser products were flat maps. Katmai is the one that is both. It renders a photorealistic 3D office with live video in the browser, which is why it publishes a hardware recommendation of 16GB of RAM and an i7 or better rather than promising to run on anything. A team on ordinary modern laptops is fine; a client on a tablet is not the target.
What to check before you choose
Whether guests get the same browser access as members. Whether the browser version is the full product or a cut-down one, which is the Virbela Go question. Whether the vendor publishes hardware requirements at all. And whether "browser-based" means a flat map, because most of the time it does, and a flat map is not an office.
Getting started in the browser with Katmai
There is nothing to deploy. Getting started is a demo, then a configuration meeting where the Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users. After that, your team opens a link each morning and your clients open a link when they are due. One plan, $25 per user per month, every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests.
FAQ
Is Katmai browser-based?
Yes. Katmai runs in the browser with no download and no headset. Katmai recommends 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better.
Which virtual offices need a download?
Virbela's main app is a download, with Virbela Go as the browser option. oVice offers desktop and mobile apps. Gather has apps alongside its browser version.
Which virtual offices need a VR headset?
Horizon Workrooms runs on Quest headsets. Katmai, Gather, Kumospace, WorkAdventure, Flat.social, Cosmos Video and SpatialChat do not need one.
Can clients join a browser-based virtual office without installing anything?
In Katmai, yes: guests join free by link in the browser. Check each other vendor's guest terms.
Is there a browser-based 3D virtual office?
Katmai: a photorealistic 3D office with real people on live video, in the browser, at $25 per user per month with every feature included.
Related: Katmai vs Virbela · Horizon Workrooms alternatives · How to set up a virtual office · Katmai pricing · Book a Katmai demo