The Ultimate Render Engine Comparison for Architects

What is the best rendering engine for Architects?
Discover in our Ultimate Render Engine Comparison! We've gathered data and stunning images from various engines to help you make an informed choice.
Here are the engines covered in this video: Vray, Lumion, Twinmotion, Enscape, D5, Unreal Engine, Corona with 3ds Max, and Cycles with Blender.
~
Thanks to everyone who participated in this community project! The images submitted are absolutely incredible and I'm so happy to see this comparison side by side of the same briefing.
Here's everyone who participated, make sure to go check out their work!
Lumion:
Mayck Mattioli - ml3d.eu
D5:
Beltrán Lihn - @_al.render
Ibsa Abdi - @ibs_459
Enscape:
Byron Lopez - @byronilopez
Tristan Sykes - @sykestudios
Twinmotion:
Ewing Danga - @ewing_danga
Vray:
Tony Nascimento - @TN3DStudio
Unreal Engine:
Khaliq Akande - @khaliq.arch
3ds Max and Corona Render:
Mustafa Pratapgadwala - @mustafa.pratapgadwala
Blender Cycles:
Léon Bührer - @leonbuehrer
If you want to be a part of a future community project, be sure to follow us on Instagram @learnupstairs
~
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:17 How this comparison works
0:44 Which engines are included?
1:30 Popularity
1:45 Types of Engine
2:22 Pure ArchViz
2:30 Learning Curve
3:30 Pricing
5:46 Student Version
6:58 Let's take a look at the images!
8:55 User Satisfaction
9:22 Library of Assets
10:44 Compatibility
11:29 PBR Workflow
11:49 Render Elements (Channels)
12:23 Post-production Capabilities
12:48 Parallel Projection (Diagrams)
13:45 Lots of other things to cover
14:15 The Best Engine is...
14:32 Different engines for different scenarios
15:26 Final words to take into account!
~
A platform to learn Architecture Representation and Visualization:
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You can also follow us here:
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Let's talk:
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[@LearnUpstairs]

In case you guys also want to give a try and create your own version of the image, check out this free download here: learnupstairs.gumroad.com/l/lgdqc

[@nikolaiiliev2993]

Unreal Engine 5.3 is the future !

[@luisrckr]

ONE TEACHER TOLD ME THAT : THE BEST SOFTWARE IS THE ONE YOU KNOW HOW TO USE

[@jlec9081]

Which is Paint.

[@luisrckr]

@@jlec9081 If the work goes ahead, go ahead

[@chidi21]

In my humble opinion as someone who uses Cycles, Unreal, Twinmotion, Corona & V-Ray it all depends on how much time I have to work on the project and what the end deliverable is. They are all really good!

[@wolphgans]

I could say the same thing, it depends on what is your PC spec, what result you want, the time you have to do the work

[@avricci]

Exactly, I also work with v-ray, corona, twinmotion and enscape on my daily basis workflow. I used to work only with corona but I had to learn the others because my coworkers used them and sometimes I had to comeback to fix or change things on projects for customers. In my experience I can safely assume that they are all very good if you understand what you're looking for, all having their strenghts and weakenesses when compared with eachother.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Precisely said! If we were having this conversation 4 years ago then it would've been a different idea, but nowadays all engines are very similar in terms of base quality. It will then come down to what you said, how much time you have to to then go for an engine that allows you more advanced controls. PC specs is also a major bottleneck at the moment. But then at the end of the day it's about learning the core skills of archviz and utilizing the tool that most fits your current needs.

[@user-bt4xf5gc5t]

please delete twinmotion from that list ... its childrens play not a professional software

[@dawn5428]

Vray/Corona is amazing

[@RaulScanavino]

D5 Render just saved my final graduation project! I have concluded architecture graduation with maximum score!

[@user-jj3jv1fp8r]

Good job bro

[@JBrotsis1]

I’m in grad school for LA and D5 has been my go to.

[@Sahil-mz2kr]

which laptop do you use

[@RaulScanavino]

@@Sahil-mz2kr dell g15 ryzen 5 5600h rtx 3050 16gb ram

[@user-gv8ym4kk3r]

Congratulations 🎉 I also work in D5 Render and ArchiCAD

[@ShowItBetter]

Wow, so many things to say here, so I'll try to go in order: 1. I love the transparency behind this video man, there are many things each company can learn from this video 2. I applaud this video for having a very south american perspective! It just goes to show the challenges and probably disadvantages of not being in Usa / Europe aka the first world 3. So cool how you included the community in such a complex video, I love the results with Twinmotion, Enscape and Blender. It just goes to show that the artist/architect is much more important than the software. 4. The pricing section of this video is the most revealing. It just makes me want to learn blender and unreal! This is the video many of us have been waiting for, and also a very complicated one to make! Congratulations Oliver!

[@nadiahposthumus4893]

Hi Steve and Oliver! Thought I'd just let you both know how thankful I am for your courses, most of which I have bought and followed. Thank you for making it very accessible for us from the "Global South" by charging a fair amount. You have no idea how much good you both are bringing to the world through us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. nadiah x

[@kernstorge]

@@nadiahposthumus4893 Yeah! Totally agree!

[@kernstorge]

About the number 2: That's what stayed in my mind throughout the entire video. 2. I applaud this video for having a very south american perspective! It just goes to show the challenges and probably disadvantages of not being in Usa / Europe aka the first world

[@jubo7804]

In my Opinion UE5 is the best rendering software.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks a lot for the kind words, Steven! Your feedback is always so valuable 🙏 I appreciate your pointing these things out on the video, it shows me that my intentions with the video were fulfilled. And about Blender, I know right? It’s been on my list for things to learn for months (if not years haha). It has so much potential, and it still blows my mind that is free 🤯 Thanks again dude! Your support means a ton to me!

[@30by40]

Beautifully done, Oliver!

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thank you so much, Eric!

[@pasupathiprakash5138]

It's just awesome to look at those Cycles renders, because of that hyper realistic look!

[@smelikfedor7798]

it depends on author of work, corona is possible to give the same realistic result

[@boom7836]

⁠@@smelikfedor7798​​⁠​⁠​⁠ I sincerely think that the Corona is already fading into the background in terms of realism, it has been used as the gold standard for a very long time. But now I see such works in Cycles, which I have never seen in Corona. It may be also because of how much more useful and convenient blender in comparison to 3ds, but still

[@hldemi_fishing]

​@@boom7836 the potential of both engines is infinite realism. Its the artists that make the difference.

[@boom7836]

@@hldemi_fishing Sure. I'm just talking about my experience. I've never seen anything like ZORE Studio made in blender done in 3ds max.

[@hldemi_fishing]

@@boom7836 keep looking. Take a look at MIR for the start.

[@massaalbesher2220]

this video , the effort put into it, the data collection process, the infographics , the presentation , and the video subject are all on point ! saying thank you is not enough oliver ! i'm sure this video was much awaited by everyone in the archviz communiy !

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks a ton for the message, Massa! It truly motivates me to keep creating more! And that’s always my goal, to generate value to this community 🙏

[@miroslavskoda8275]

Problem here is comparison has been made by different skill level artists and that made biggest impact. Not the engine. What needed to be done is having exact same scene rendered by all those engines doing minimum changes only to convert materials and assets. Then the comparison would make at least a little bit of sense.

[@mazenezou]

Yeah, I can't believe he compared this render based on different artists, materials and items. It's really annoying, especially after watching half of the video and ending up with unexpected results.

[@blackwarrior4life]

There are plenty of videos on this exact subject

[@gretheconnerth]

Very intelligently set up showing the side-by-side comparisons in simple graphics. Perfect!

[@xanzuls]

I don't do archviz but man this is one the best well put together video about rendering/3d i've seen in a while. great job dude.

[@gabrielfluorite]

Most thorough comparison I've seen, great work guys!

[@SignataDesign]

Thank you Oliver. This is a video that explains as clearly as possible how we approach the selection of rendering software for routine use in architectural work, especially Archviz. very detailed and good presentation. The point of all this is that it is no longer about what rendering software we use but how we use the software. I learn a lot from videos.

[@AshtonAime3D]

I honestly love D5 after using enscape and lumion for years . I made the switch a year ago . If you want to make isometric views in D5, you can make them with and without using the section too. If you start off in perspective mode and reduce field of view to 1, then switch to 2 point perspective mode, you can get isometric views . It will keep all vertical lines parallel

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks for the feedback, Ashton! Yes that’s an almost perfect workaround. And I’ve used in a few times, but it’s not a perfect isometric view. Meaning that if I export line work from 3D to Illustrator, the base render will not line up precisely. But still, that definitely helps while the Orthographic Projection hasn’t been included 😁

[@dopudja111]

why did you do the switch? what was the main reason? we are contemplating on transfering from L to D5.

[@AshtonAime3D]

@@dopudja111 I switched honestly due to the feedback I was hearing from the ArchViz community . I wanted a program that would produce higher quality renderings and also have a bigger library of high quality assets . I checked out the free version of D5 a year ago and was shocked at how high quality their 3D assets were and I kept hearing how fast D5 was adapting their program to the wants of the users . After testing, I realized I could produce higher quality renders at a fraction of the time , plus my computer worked faster than it did in Lumion. The biggest difference from Lumion is seeing your edits in realtime . D5 allows you to edit your materials/lighting and instantly see what you will get in your render . Enscape was similar but it took much more effort to get the look that I wanted. I loved Lumions plant library so I tested out all the programs to make sure I had everything I wanted . Over the last year , I’ve been in contact with D5 staff and they are so fast about responding to issues and requests . If you want to check out some of my D5 work you can follow my Instagram : instagram.com/ashtonaime3d

[@AshtonAime3D]

@@LearnUpstairs I’ve talked to the D5 staff and they said they definitely have it on their list for the next few versions :) so hopefully we will have the accurate isometrics soon

[@user-ds4ts1vo5p]

I have been using d5 render for 5 years, it is very good for me, my customers all over the world are very satisfied

[@TN3DStudio]

The real win here is you making this video and starting a much-needed conversation around this. This is so Well done you've really outdone yourself Bro! I started off with V-ray a long time ago and it's always my go-to engine, but Times have changed and it's not always the most optimal. I've also tried Blender and Fusion 360 on and off so I know how amazing they are. As of late, I have been a big fan of RT engines because of the fast turnaround. If you've worked in an office with high-volume deliverables you know Enscape is a blessing lol. Man, netflix as nothing on Archviz education and you here putting out bangers lol.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks a ton Tony! And I really appreciate your submission for this community project 🙏 RT engines are indeed special and they are closing the gap with other types of engines when it comes to realism. I’m eager to see how they will evolve in the next few years

[@3DArtistree]

Vray with Chaos Vantage in 3ds Max has been my new go to workflow primarily because of it's ability to work with billions of polygons and still render 4K stills in 1.5 minutes. Because Vray and Vantage are cross compatible, you can render all your previz quickly in Vantage, render a handful of hero shots in Vray and then do animation in Vantage. I think the one important thing you failed to mention is the handling of large scenes and higher poly assets, as well as environment tools and scattering for exteriors. The ability to export to a scene viewer is also worth considering.

[@donquijote6030]

Great video! This is a very thorough breakdown of the various available options. Thank you!

[@imaan907]

omg i needed this video. i am an architecture student and for months i tried to figure out which render engine i should use but the amount of engines and videos and opinions overwhelmed me so bad, that i simply cant decide

[@paolosalgo6987]

d5 works for me. we got enscapr at uni didnt quite like the render output. i switched to d5. easy render if u wanna get fancy u can photoshop post prod. i used d5 at work now for rendering.

[@imaan907]

@@paolosalgo6987 tysm!

[@mehradklt5109]

thank you for this video , charts , video editing, and all the aspects you talked about . this video was a wholesome

[@alejandrojimenezrestrepo9377]

You're the best!!! I really think so because I need this type of information, and you give us a lot. I have seen 12 videos in only one day.

[@Lumion3DFrance]

The entire Lumion France team congratulates you on this very interesting comparative analysis of rendering engine technologies for architects. Your enlightened, professional, and unbiased opinion is greatly appreciated😊. All developers of Lumion technology unite their expertise, strength, and innovation to integrate advancements and new features into each version, aiming to offer architects the most comprehensive and high-performing software possible. Regarding students, they are true ambassadors of Lumion technology among the professionals they interact with during their academic journey and the employers they join subsequently.

[@WalterRDK]

ads

[@basavkathuria8001]

The production quality of this video is mind blowing .

[@emm5582]

The editing is ABSOLUTELY amazing 👏 great great video! Well done

[@shahabakhter5493]

The most amazing and helpful I have ever seen in this topic, thank you and we do appreciate your hard and professional work, keep it up

[@cagkangenc]

Incredible video, finally someone that examined the topic in a greater scale, thank you!

[@mustafasarkisla]

This is gold content for us man. Wonderful work. Great explanation. Thank you so much for this. I watched the whole video like I'm watching a movie at the theatre lol.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thank you so much, Mustafa! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😄

[@DeelakaBogahawatte]

Best comparison video so far! Well done Oliver.

[@martinhorvat7982]

Great video. Thanks for all efford you and community put into it. 💯💯

[@nornwork]

Hey Oliver, Here to answer as a small private studio. We both tried D5 and TM and didnt get used to with results. For a short period we have used lumion because of the animation capabilities, but we were not %100 satisfied with the results for interior images, sorry we didnt tried latest one yet. Currently using good old vray. Mostly for the interior projects. Vray+Vantage is our main tool for a while, and ofc Sketchup ✌🏼. I too answer when someone asks to which, it depends on you and the projects.

[@qupixspatialconcepts224]

Great comparison! 😊 We switched entirely to D5 render and Affinity Suite. Price wise a great combination!

[@AMZZZMA]

wise choice

[@DesignItGreen]

Unbelievable work! Thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge 🔥

[@georges_roland_k95]

one of the most useful video i ve seen this year about this topic. Thank you so much for the great work!

[@_Breakdown]

Thanks for doing this wonderful comparison! Much appreciated - - _very_ thorough + useful. 😊👍👍 Lumion - - 7:49 - - 7:53 Twinmotion - - 8:12 - - 8:14

[@RobertWilkanowskiArchitect]

I use Archicad on a Mac and just started learning Enscape. So far I like it better than TM. I really like how the live view synchronizes immediately with the Archicad view window so you can see and adjust lighting, material settings, etc. in real-time. It’s also great that Archicad light objects and materials dovetail with Enscape.

[@DanielStineNow]

Thanks for the great comparison, really well done!

[@ryanvanevery7552]

In 🇨🇦 Twin motions is free with the purchase of Revit, which you can use as a plugin or stand alone which allows import models from Sketchup and Rhino. Now that twin motion has integrated lumen it’s a no brainer. Great videos!!!

[@chriscontreraibuki5095]

Tremendo video Oliver! Realmente sos una inspiración para el mundo de la arquitectura.

[@rayanguillemguerrero1092]

As a student, it depends of the time I have. For a quick and good render twinmotion, but if i have the time to spend blender, it could be the futur for archviz

[@MelosAzemi]

Amazing video Oliver! It's easy to guess what I would choose from this list, but non the less very good comparison :)

[@architeklab]

Such an amazing video Oliver, when I was in Architectural School I jumped into 3DMAx, such a massive mistake because the learning curve and the specs my machine had at that time were too high. As an Architect for me, time is the most important asset for any solo practice, so when I first found Twinmotion, It made my work flow easy and faster, quite intuitive and with decent results, not as a professional Archviz person but to convince my clients to give it a go to a project, in a quite amazing manner. I have try Enscape and D5, but still found better results with TM. Anyway, No matter what tool you use the most important think is to mastered otherwise it will affect your work flow. Saludos, excelente video.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Wow appreciate your sharing your perspective on this! You’re right, time is a vital asset, and for most people it should be one of the top things to look at when choosing a rendering engine

[@Cal.lm96]

No doubt, cycles looks phenomenal !!

[@TheBaquajean]

I think here the exterior scene looked the best out of all of them, but let's be serious, we all know how crazy good Corona and Vray are when it comes to the archviz, they the had potential to end up on the top of the list aesthetics wise, I'm surprised how mediocre they looked

[@user-qx8ig3rm2o]

I created a heavy exterior scene in 3ds max vray and was unable to make renders due to lack of PC power. I switched to blender and it renders this scene without any problems with the same quality as vray, corona, plus it is more convenient to work in blender. Corona requires a powerful processor, vray requires a lot of vram, in blender 8GB of vram is enough for me, but in vray it was not enough, and 3ds max froze.

[@tarettime9392]

@@user-qx8ig3rm2othat’s very interesting my experience with both vray 3ds max and blender is the exact opposite. One of the biggest criticisms I have of blender is how poorly it handles geometry dense scenes especially compared to 3ds max. It also can’t do microdisplacement near as well as vray without absolutely murdering vram.

[@antonvoloshin9833]

@@user-qx8ig3rm2o IMO the problem is on 3ds side, it's a really crappy software.

[@xanzuls]

@@TheBaquajean vray is pretty good, 3ds max is old and slow and bloated.

[@aneilwright9591]

great review , I have used all most all, and I love Vray for the quality, twinmotion for the price and videos. I would most like spend more time in Unreal and Cycles in 2024 though. Blender is just too good to ignore.

[@farouqstray1411]

Underrated Channel, I mean, you have to appreciate the amazing production of the video! And he has done it alone!! 👏

[@arquitectosconstr]

The comparison you made in this video is amazing!

[@Merazzi]

So good to see a depth comparison! But at the same time, when we go depth, we start to be unfair in a lot of aspects. When we got different artist doing the same visual, for sure as you said the skills are different and it impacts directly in the quality, one of the most important aspects. To make it more equal, We should select juniors/middleweights/seniors doing the same visuals for each render engine. Well... ignoring this important fact of quality, all the video was great. Thanks to putting a hard work on that!

[@sirdiff1]

At 10:34 there's an error. Twin motion is basically Unreal under the hood, and the Quixel Megascans library is natively available inside both engines, not just twinmotion

[@RadIguanas]

True. Honestly, Unreal Engine 5+ is the future. Lumen + Nanite geometry system, on top of undisputed Quixel Megascans library = The best workflow You can learn on Twinmotion and progress to Unreal Engine, or cross operate on both per your needs. Both offer Quixel's Asset library for FREE

[@jamesepicmamba]

Yes and twinmotion is basically a dumbed-down version of unreal with a friendly interface for beginners. I love it!

[@anwarpalliyalil2193]

also Available for Blender by Quixel Bridge Add-on 😊😊

[@RadIguanas]

​@@anwarpalliyalil2193 hmm, for Blender also? I thought Quixel was free only for Unreal Engine and Twinmotion. I am aware of Quixel Bridge and Mixer, but aren't those payable in other programs?

[@sirdiff1]

@@anwarpalliyalil2193 via plugin is not native though, and you technically are not allowed to use those asset for free outside of UE.

[@fermin6167]

Que buen video Oliver. Siempre aportando mucha información. Saludos!

[@danmate28]

Great job rounding up the engines here. One point to probably note is the system requirements to run a lot of these engines. Most students would find it hard if not impossible to get an average PC to run a lot of these. Another point to note that a lot of practices work on very quick turnaround times meaning RT engines are the only solution. I mostly use Lumion but due to it's high cost I am looking at switching to something like D5. Twinmotion at the moment still struggles with vegetation in my opinion.

[@Studio39DesignStudio]

Wow, this was insanely dope and well detailed. Love it.

[@michaeljohnson4731]

I would love to see another video comparing the video rendering capabilities of all these softwares. It's a service growing in demand and has many challenges that each software is handling differently. Excellent work with this video 🔥

[@AgeOfTheJoshua]

This video is a work of art, I love the graph-animations and the soundeffects are such a great touch. Wow. Keep it up man. How long did this took to make?

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks a lot tor the comment! Appreciate you noticing this 😁 It took way longer than I expected haha from the initial data gathering and scripting months ago to then maybe 2 full weeks of recording and editing. I had other projects in between that didn’t allow me to finish this video earlier

[@edsonoliveira8751]

Not a supporter, but a thing to put into perspective, a lot of users and I mean A LOT of users especially in underdeveloped countries use the cracked versions of theses programs, and money gets out of the equation when choosing which one to use. Amazing video as always Oliver❤

[@LearnUpstairs]

Oh that is totally right! The way I see for companies to fight this back is work with Price Parity (and do it right!). It doesn’t make sense at all to charge someone from the US the same as someone from South America for example. And even within SA there are so many economic differences. For the size of these companies it can’t be that challenging to implement a solution like this 🤷 And I’m sure it would be much mote profitable possibly even almost ending piracy. Just like it has happened with many games on Steam. Thanks a bunch for the support, Edson! 🙏

[@abhiramrao2]

Really a great work sir! Seriously one of the best stats and review over to the community! As you have mentioned, I personally think, unreal and blender have a cutting edge and at the end most of it really doesn't matter if we have the instinct to get through. You defined it beautifully in the video, Thanks again❤.

[@happycookieasa2849]

Just bought an RTX 3080 GPU and was seriously thinking of migrating from TM to D5. Thank you so much for your analysis, I believe it will be the right choice for me. Also, we need to note that D5 has an extremely capable developing team that listens to its community. They continuously grow and they do it fast.

[@user-bt4xf5gc5t]

they grow like everyone else really. From what im seeing. and the interiors are the same as twinmotion or lumion = trash

[@vmafarah9473]

@@user-bt4xf5gc5t lumion 2023 is good in interiors, older version is trash.

[@happycookieasa2849]

For the past year, I have been rendering interiors with TM pathtrace with extremely good results. I used to work with Vray (rhino) and the results I get now are almost the same. Time is the main factor here, there is no point in sparing the time if you are mainly designing and you are not exclusively a visualizer. In my opinion, D5 is the fastest growing, and I plan to fully migrate there. Now I know that a scene can look like a videogame sometimes with little to no realism, but honestly, when you apply the basic DSLR rules you would using Vray or corona, then it becomes almost as good. It all depends on the skills and the pc specs of course. So calling them "trash" when they are being praised by a huge percentage of the community, just makes you ignorant.@@user-bt4xf5gc5t

[@LearnUpstairs]

Totally! The fact that D5 listens actively to the community is amazing! They constantly push out updates with what the feedbacks were saying. And they’re evolving fast! Hopefully they continue on this track. The new 2.6 version that just came out seems interesting, it has a UV Randomizer which is something I’ve always wanted. But be prepared to fry that new graphics card haha D5 is heavy, maybe even heavier than Lumion

[@cheeese2504]

@@user-bt4xf5gc5t not really, the technology that software uses is up there, how it turns out depends on your ability and mastery of the tool. And if you’ve paid a little bit of attention to their updates, you’ll know the dev is different, pace is different, future also seems different for them

[@ugurdurmus6252]

what a brilliant comparison and analysis, great video

[@thanglaiba3148]

i was used all of this, i recomend you use D5 for arch, int, lumion for urban planing + landscape

[@j_gero9656]

Very specific and informative. Congrats!!

[@bartbliek469]

Thanks for making such an informative comparison! one small correction: unreal engine and blender both allow for quixel megascans integration through bridge

[@LearnUpstairs]

Oh thanks for pointing that out! It’s still not a native library but this sure changes things a bit 😁

[@richardconway6425]

@@LearnUpstairs The quixel megascans asset library was made free to ALL unreal Engine users, some years ago, when Epic bought quixel. Free for everyone, including hobbyists, solo developers. Considering that the unreal Engine is also completely free to use, that's pretty amazing. You only have to pay epic a bit of money if your business revenue goes over $1 million/year. Even then, it's still really reasonable. Last time I checked it was 5% of revenue. Quixel Bridge is pretty slick, and allows very easy access to the whole megascans library of materials and assets. It's about as seamless an integration as you could reasonably expect, for something that is not actually integrated into the unreal Engine. Unreal Engine users also get to use the 3rd component of Quixel's trinity - Mixer. It's a materials tool, a bit like the Adobe substance 3d tool set which includes painter. If you want to connect to the Quixel megascans asset library from blender via bridge, I'm pretty sure you have to pay a recurring licence, it's not free. It's only free for unreal Engine users. Cycles is very good, and Blender's addon ecosystem is superb, and mostly inexpensive. Blender Guru did a render engine comparison fairly recently, and came to the conclusion, that for archviz, Corona was the best, but by a fairly fine margin. He reckoned it was especially good at handling caustics, for water and glass. But, the really interesting thing, for me, as a Blender user, is that cycles was very close behind. That's very exciting considering that blender and cycles are free, and corona is very expensive. Admittedly, to use cycles effectively, you do have to know how to use blender, because cycles is not a stand alone render engine, but I found that once I had learnt the basics of blender, using cycles is quite straightforward. It works just as you would expect. The real challenge, is, as always, everything else, like particularly getting your lighting set up right. I liked your video, very well thought out and presented. 🚀

[@AnuragTulasi]

Insantly gained a sub & like for the content quality & precise data visualization.

[@Rulza]

I transitioned our whole office to D5 very early and bought the lifetime pro plan for a very low fee back when they were just starting out. Never looked back. The rate at which they’re pushing out content and updates is insane.

[@LearnUpstairs]

What a deal! I didn’t know they once had a lifetime pro plan. And indeed they have so many updates throughout the year and each one with major changes. But what makes it better is that they’re taking the community feedback very seriously! Appreciate sharing your input, Rulza!

[@qupixspatialconcepts224]

We did as well! And we switched to Affinity Suite….

[@HanaTNT]

True! Their new update is insane!!!!! 🔥

[@timanderson7015]

Fantastic, well edited video with great info!

[@JosephKim]

Thank you so much for this video! I have switched many times in the past (I still do use multiple), but I feel Enscape is my jam at this moment.

[@damien.digital]

Really great video Oliver! I can definitely say that it would have taken you few hours of work to do that video for sure 😄 I recently published the same type of content, in a PDF file, and it took me several days 😅

[@nicreationssolutions9229]

Just here to say thank you. So much was evidently put in the production of this video. I speak on behalf of the industry when I say Thank you Sir.

[@arkiteasy]

Very well done Oliver :) I tried most of them but have to say that as a daily Revit user I prefer Revit + Enscape for quick things, while our most used workflow is Revit > 3D Max + Corona

[@enessaka1906]

Hello Oliver, the video is really nice and successful. The main thing I'm stuck on is that the friend who prepared Corona could not render correctly due to his lack of knowledge and experience. Corona is a valuable rendering engine that produces very high quality work and is used by top-tier visualization agencies. Next time, please do these works with artists who are experienced in their fields. Thanks very much for the video. ☺

[@KONTHEWAY]

Great representation !! Thank you its really helpful

[@yarosh9490]

thank you! that's very useful comparison

[@user-tg1mw4tu5u]

It's true it's a personal choice, I am fun of Blender with cycle, I think it could be much more realistic by the amount of time you work in the image. Is there a way I can render your two examples in a blender to compare them. Great content

[@JonasQGarces]

Amazing video editing skills!

[@lnkFox]

Que qualidade!!! Parabéns pelo trabalho, seu vídeo junto com o vídeo do blender guru se tornam uma aula completa! Parabéns mais uma vez pelo vídeo!!!

[@ys4448]

I am a former Lumion, V-ray & TwinMotion user, I switched to Blender in 2020, a more powerful and versatile software. Since it is free, I bought some add-ons that provide a lot of assets, vegetation, materials, etc and there are plenty of free add-ons which in some cases are enough to work with. Now I am learning the Unreal engine due to its interactive capabilities and the ability to import blender scenes. PS: all the render engines are great and have their pros and cons, in my opinion, it is only a matter of preference. (I use these engines for architectural visualization)

[@vmafarah9473]

r u an architect ? how fast can you produce results when comparing to twinmotion.

[@ys4448]

@@vmafarah9473 Yes I am an Architect, Twinmotion workflow is a bit faster than Blender, especially at the start, but now I feel way more comfortable using Blender over any other rendering software due to the excessive use of Blender

[@philtherock9579]

Just a reminder, unreal does have an asset library. Just like twinmotion, it can access megascans right from the engine!

[@rubenliniker7515]

yeah, twinmotion is basically a mod for unreal...

[@mioszwojtyga5100]

yeah and for blender you have quixel bridge with all megascans assets as well@@rubenliniker7515

[@antonvoloshin9833]

You can export this assets to literally any app using Bridge...

[@philtherock9579]

@@antonvoloshin9833 so can you download any texture and import it into your software of choice. Im saying it is RIGHT into unreal and you just gotta press ADD and boom it's ready to use

[@gerarbendfeldt]

@@rubenliniker7515 I could say twinmotion is basically built in unreal is a less powerful, more UX/UI friendly, beginner version of unreal

[@Nykr]

Well done video! I enjoyed it alot. THANK YOU!

[@joshigudala]

blender cycles is best for me as i am starting my career not just because its free, the software constantly gets updated there a whole community trying to make it better and encourage new users to learn.If you're skilled enough u can make a whole movie in it. In my opinion learning blender is complex yet so simple, in fews steps you can get a great render.🙂

[@thaethirilynn172]

I used to use only Lumion but after my laptop keep crashing, my friend suggested me to use D5 render and now i'm gonna use it from now on. The quality is surprisingly great and with free 3 day Pro version, you can add a lot.

[@nikovaltteri8860]

Megascans is free when used with unreal engine (epic owns quixel) also there is a built in plugin for the quixel bridge so it is basically a built in asset library

[@rathinavelramamoorthy3684]

Great study and detailed presentation, professional !

[@luisanglas470]

very good comparison and very fair, I love your edition, how do you make the letters move like that? What Premire or Davinci tools did you use?

[@Erazmataz]

Thankyou for the video and all of the comments from all of you using the different solutions in your everyday-practice or as a student. I would like to add that the Corona Render from Chaos also support Cinema4D on Windows & macOS and that the Cycles renderengine is INCLUDED in Rhino 7/8 on both Windows and macOS.

[@dmitriypetukhov1877]

Stunning video! It's made so high level of production - filmed and motinog graphice.

[@brunobordini7696]

Finalmente um vídeo completo sobre os melhores renderizadores! Oliver! O Unreal também tem a mesma biblioteca da Quixel! É a mesma que a do Twinmotion!

[@semir_ramic]

Great video and very deep, maybe some info on VR options and previews would also be helpful

[@gabrielgonzalez7006]

The work made it for this video is insane. Congrats to all the people involded!

[@StanleyCL]

Interested to watch this video because I'm planning to learn one of these three blender, UE, and corona... Turns out this is hands down the most comprehensive render engine comparison 👏🏼. I don't mind the hours long more detailed comparison actually 😂😂😂

[@victortrying]

I still insist on an iterative design workflow with Corona, due to my experience with it and extensive library gathered over the years. It is slower, but overall it’s worth it. Especially considering the final quality, which I’m confident sets my work apart from many others. The next step, though, is Unreal!

[@richardconway6425]

Just a couple of questions Victor: 1. Do you render mainly stills or animation? 2. What kind of quality level, eg resolution and frame rate 3. What kind of compute resources do you have? Can you render corona on gpu? Do you use cloud rendering at all? Just curious, thanks.

[@victortrying]

@@richardconway6425 Hey, Richard! It is mostly stills. I have rendered a couple of animations in Unreal over the last year, but feel like I’m not quite there with it yet. It took me a while to notice you don’t always need to render 4K images to get a nice result, especially if you’re not doing prints. Many images are rendered at 2.5K at most! I wouldn’t recommend Corona for animations, at least not for architecture. I have a Ryzen 9 CPU, which isn’t out of this world, but helpful considering Corona is CPU only. There’s no GPU rendering at all. There is the option of render farms, which tend to integrate seamlessly with the software, considering it’s been for many years and industry standard

[@ihsanDogancil]

very, very useful work, you are great. thank you Oliver.

[@sergiostockfleth823]

Great video, you pretty much covered it all🤯🤩 Rhino3D with D5R for pretty much everything I do as an architect and 3D Artist.

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks, Sergio! That's indeed a great combination 🙌

[@darynabordyug]

Hi Sergio! Do you also use this combination for interior design? Would really love to know that :)

[@sergiostockfleth823]

@@darynabordyug Yes, as a matter of fact I use it for everything. Interiors, exteriors, furniture and product visualizations as well as pack shots. The great thing about Rhino3D is that D5R reads the file format natively so there is no reason to make any kind of conversion. So if you are a Rhino user, there is no reason to use other software before you import your models in D5R 👍😊

[@Loubardeur]

I would really like to see a comparison with an animated project/video, like which renderer is the fastest with the best results

[@anggaraprima]

This video is very high quality, research based and presented really well!

[@petera4813]

Excellent analysis. Just what we needed. Answered everything in depth! D5 is excellent for us for now but have to upgrade PC soon. Question:What editing softwares are you using for your vids?

[@LearnUpstairs]

Thanks!!! I used Premiere and After Effects from Adobe

[@Mranshumansinghr]

Great Topic. Loved it. Blender and Cycles is the future. But I was a Vray 3dsMax user for 15 years. Vray and Corona have a vast library.

[@Gusseq81]

Very complete analysis! I personally go for Twinmotion but I was a fan of Vray in the past. Thanks for sharing this content. I am currently considering to give a chance to Unreal

[@architectpiperr4918]

Like you said... choosing rendering softwares depends on the purpose and goal...I generally use D5 ..but still use lumion for some project types

[@dicva]

I am using twinmotion since 2018 and it is very helpful 👍

[@grigorescustelian6012]

:)) I like that you placed Cycles (Blender) in the more difficult to learn with greater rezult category, glad that someone understands it's not Lumion. But I find it quite easy to learn actually.

[@ArchAhmadWaheed]

Nice (quick) Comparison 👏

[@JoaoCrespo-vv8ch]

amazing review!! great job

[@jamesepicmamba]

I don't think you give Twinmotion enough credit as it is a one-time payment, now has sketchfab assets, and does include PBR editing through changing translucency, texture mapping, metallic properties and more. I really think Twinmotion has an incredible, versatile rendering engine for how easy it is to use. I also think D5 is coming up as a close second as both engines really listen to their community and try to update requested features. P.S. I am definitively biased towards Twinmotion but it really is a great program!

[@nasavideoupdates]

Blender is, in my view, the greatest. I am aware that most people haven't used it or mastered it yet, but I can assure you that it is quite sophisticated and helpful for architectural visualization. What's even more amazing is that it gets better with each update, which happens roughly every three months.

[@AndrejsSokolovs]

And THE MOST amazing part is that it is absolutely FREE but I have a bias

[@flashgames1273]

It's still a pain in the ass to use. It has terrible optimization for larges scene with a ton of particles and vegetations. V-ray proxies are absolutely destroying it.

[@MrChronn22]

@@flashgames1273finally someone really knows what’s talking about! Blender is a big pain for nowadays

[@nanabeniako]

​@@flashgames1273 I understand your frustration as a new user or beginner in using blender for archviz. It may seem terrible. But guess what, with geometry nodes, blender handles much larger scenes with ease and much more efficient than Max. For proxies, you can look at instances and viewport display types for something similar.

[@shvm-dwg]

I agree that blender is too good when it comes to archviz but for architecture students, i think, for getting some satisfied quality renders ,it asks for more amount of time on learning and also since self exploration is not an option on such a high-end soft, fetching courses for specific and yet struggling in on some details is what makes it too complex to learn unless your entire profession is into archviz or any 3d works.