Banuba alternative

Genlook vs. Banuba

Banuba runs live AR try-on for makeup, glasses and hair color, priced from $319 a month. Genlook generates try-ons from the product photos you already have, clothing included, and starts free. Here is how the two compare.

Thibault Mathian

Written by Thibault Mathian, founder of Genlook. Genlook makes one of the two products compared here. Competitor facts were last checked on October 7, 2026 against their public listings and docs, linked in Sources.

Different catalogs, different tools.

Banuba is beauty-first AR from a long-time AR engine vendor. Genlook is generative try-on built around fashion catalogs. Which one fits depends on what you sell.

Banuba

Built for beauty AR

  • Real-time AR mirror for makeup, glasses and hair color
  • Rendering tuned across skin tones
  • No clothing or apparel try-on at all
  • Paid plans start at $319/mo; the free tier only works on development stores
  • Each SKU needs digitizing in the admin panel before try-on works

Genlook

Built around fashion catalogs

  • Free plan that runs on live stores
  • Clothing at the core, plus glasses, lenses, jewelry, hats and wigs
  • Works from your existing photos, no per-SKU digitization
  • Email capture and funnel analytics built in

Where each app stands.

Checked against both App Store listings on the date above.

Genlook
Banuba

Pricing

Free plan, paid from $19.99/mo

From $319/mo, free tier for dev stores only

Clothing try-on

Core of the product

Not supported

Try-on method

Generative AI from an uploaded photo

Live AR camera overlay

Product setup

Your existing product photos

Per-SKU digitization in the admin panel

Categories

Clothing, glasses, lenses, hats, wigs, jewelry

Makeup, glasses, hair color

Languages

50+ languages, auto-detected

English, per its listing

Lead capture

Built in, configurable triggers

Not listed

Track record

5.0 stars (40 reviews), Built for Shopify

4.0 stars (5 reviews), Built for Shopify

The part you can't compare on paper.

Four generations from the Genlook engine on real product photos.

Where the two overlap, and where they don't

Banuba has built face-tracking AR for years and packages it as a Shopify app: the makeup mirror runs in real time, its listing describes rendering for all skin tones, and glasses and hair color are tried on a live camera feed. If your store sells cosmetics, that is exactly the machinery you want, and Genlook does not compete there.

The trade-offs are scale and scope. Banuba's plans start at $319 per month with 10,000 try-ons included, a price point aimed at high-traffic beauty brands, and the free tier only runs on development stores. Every SKU needs digitizing in the admin panel before shoppers can try it. And there is no clothing try-on at all: the engine tracks faces, not bodies.

How Genlook handles it

Genlook starts from the opposite end. The engine generates a still image of the shopper wearing the product from an uploaded photo, which is what makes garments work: drape, fit and length render naturally without any 3D pipeline. The same approach covers glasses, colored lenses, hats, wigs and jewelry from the photos already in your catalog, and the free plan runs on a live store.

If you sell makeup, Banuba is the purpose-built choice. If you sell clothing, or you want try-on across a mixed fashion catalog without digitizing every SKU, that is the lane Genlook is built for.

What Genlook is tuned for.

Your photos as they are

No digitization step, no 3D assets. The engine renders products from the photos already in your catalog.

Add-to-cart

The widget flow ends at the cart. Each step is A/B tested against add-to-cart rate.

Every shopper's language

The widget detects each shopper's language and renders in it, with more than 50 languages covered. No setup.

Email capture

The email ask appears during the try-on. You choose when it triggers and what it says.

From Banuba to Genlook, step by step.

  1. 1

    Install Genlook

    From the Shopify App Store. The free plan needs no card and runs on your live store.

  2. 2

    Swap the app embeds

    In the theme editor, turn Banuba's embed off and Genlook's on. No code changes.

  3. 3

    Check the funnel

    Try-ons, captured emails and add-to-cart events report from the first session.

Monthly plans with try-ons included

Start on the Free plan, no card needed. Extra try-ons on paid plans are billed individually.

Free

$0

10 try-ons / month

No card needed

Start free
  • Customizable try-on widget

Starter

$19.99/month

100 try-ons / month

+ $0.17 per extra try-on

Get started
  • Analytics Dashboard
  • Customers Email Collection
  • Standard Support

Growth

Most popular

$29/month

250 try-ons / month

+ $0.12 per extra try-on

Get started
  • Advanced Analytics
  • Customers Email Collection
  • Standard Support

Pro

$99/month

1,000 try-ons / month

+ $0.10 per extra try-on

Get started
  • Advanced Analytics
  • Customers Email Collection
  • Remove genlook branding
  • VIP Support

Used by 900+ fashion stores

Karl Lagerfeld
Fashion's Park
Sanaulla International
Monastery
Aspiga
Saltrock
Como 1907
Kelly Felder
ESSENTIA
G2000
GQSize
Daly Dress
Al Karim Fabrics
Gabos London
Bo-Star
Anthony's
CĖNC
SARA ELEMARY

Questions, answered.

Does Banuba support clothing try-on?

No. Banuba's Shopify app covers makeup, glasses and hair color through live AR face tracking. It does not render garments. Clothing try-on is the core of what Genlook does.

Can Genlook do makeup like Banuba?

No. Genlook does not render makeup. It covers clothing first, plus glasses, colored contact lenses, hats, wigs and jewelry, all generated from photos rather than a live camera feed.

Why is Banuba so much more expensive?

Banuba's plans are sized for volume: the $319 per month Basic plan includes 10,000 monthly try-ons, scaling to $1,599 for 70,000. There is a 14-day trial, but the free tier only works on development stores. Genlook starts with a free plan on live stores and paid plans from $19.99 per month.

Do I need to digitize my products for Genlook?

No. Genlook works with your standard 2D product photography, with no per-SKU setup in an admin panel. Enable a product and the try-on button is live.

Will the widget slow my product pages?

No. Genlook loads after your page renders and adds nothing to your theme code, so your Core Web Vitals stay where they are.

Learn more

Sources

  1. Banuba TINT on the Shopify App Store: plans, categories, languages, rating
  2. Genlook on the Shopify App Store: plans, rating, Built for Shopify badge

Checked on October 7, 2026. Plans and features change; if something here is out of date, write to hello@genlook.app and we will correct it.

Try it on your own products.

Install Genlook free on your Shopify store and compare it with your current setup on a theme preview.