V-Ray

Photorealistic CPU/GPU rendering plugin for architectural visualization

Photorealistic 3D rendering engine and plugin from Chaos, used inside Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, and Blender. Provides CPU/GPU hybrid ray tracing, cloud rendering through Chaos Cloud, and a physically based material system for architectural presentation renders and animations.

Market Leader

Founded Not publicly specified on the pages reviewed · Not publicly specified on the pages reviewed

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WHY IT EXISTS

Why This Tool Exists

The Problem

Architects and visualization teams need photorealistic renderings for client presentations and design review, but exporting geometry to a standalone renderer breaks the modeling workflow and slows iteration.

The Solution

V-Ray installs as a plugin inside the modeling application (Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, or Blender) and renders the live scene using CPU/GPU ray tracing, with an option to offload rendering to Chaos Cloud.

USAGE

How You Use It

Delivery Method

Plugin (Native)Desktop ApplicationCloud Rendering

Integrations

Autodesk RevitSketchUpRhinoAutodesk 3ds MaxCinema 4DBlenderChaos Cloud

Disciplines

Architecture, Interior Design

Workflows

Visualization & Presentation

Project Phases

Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation

Project Types

Commercial, Residential, Hospitality, Institutional

TRANSPARENCY

Data Transparency

Exactly what this tool uses and how

Input

What it needs

Required:3D CAD/BIM model

Optional:Custom materials, HDRI environments, Camera/animation paths

Formats:RVT (Revit), SKP (SketchUp), 3DM (Rhino), 3ds Max scene files

Output

What you get

Format:Rendered still images and animations, produced locally or via Chaos Cloud

Fields:Photorealistic rendered images, Animation exports, Cloud-rendered batch output

Algorithm

How it works

Model:Proprietary CPU/GPU hybrid ray-tracing rendering engine

Accuracy:Not publicly benchmarked with a numeric accuracy metric on the pages reviewed

Privacy

How your data is protected

Retention:Not publicly specified on the pages reviewed

Training:Not publicly specified on the pages reviewed

Compliance:Not publicly specified on the pages reviewed

API

Integration

Endpoint:Not publicly specified as a REST API on the pages reviewed

Method:Plugin/SDK integration within host application

USE CASES

Use Cases

·Client presentation renderings from a live Revit, SketchUp, or Rhino model
·Interactive viewport feedback during design iteration
·Cloud-offloaded batch rendering for final-quality output

PRICING

Pricing

Free

30-day free trial across supported host applications (chaos.com/vray/free-trial); billing starts automatically at trial end unless canceled

Pro

V-Ray Solo: €39.50/month or €474/year (named-user); V-Ray Premium: €119/month or €706.80/year (floating/team)

Enterprise

V-Ray Collection: €213/month or €1,138.80/year, adds real-time Vantage rendering and expanded asset library

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Research Sources & Data QualityLast verified: 2026-08-24

Data Sources (9)

Verified Data (6)

Host application integrations (Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Blender), CPU/GPU hybrid rendering and Chaos Cloud offload capability, V-Ray for Revit materials and rendering documentation exists and covers conversion of Revit materials, V-Ray for SketchUp Viewport Render (VPR) and Chaos Cloud rendering integration, 30-day free trial with auto-conversion to paid subscription, EUR pricing for Solo/Premium/Collection tiers on the official buy-online page

Not Found (6)

USD pricing (only EUR confirmed from the official buy-online page), Year founded / company founding date for the V-Ray product line, Customer base or named-firm adoption figures, Numeric rendering accuracy or performance benchmark, Data retention, model-training, and data-location privacy details, Whether the affiliate/referral program pays a publicly stated commission rate for V-Ray specifically (research-requests.json marks this as 'approved-link-issued' via the Chaos/Cello portal, matching the existing Enscape relationship, but no public commission amount was found for V-Ray on the pages reviewed)

Our Commitment: We only include verified data from official sources. If information isn't publicly available, we mark it as "Not publicly specified" rather than guessing.

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