3D & CAD · head to head
Arnold vs V-Ray
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Arnold the Internet Archive's capture of Autodesk's Arnold overview page on 30 December 2022 stated a subscription can be installed on up to 3 computers or devices, though only the named user may run it on one machine at a time, and includes access to the 3 previous major versions.; V-Ray licences are subscription only with no perpetual option listed for any product
- They diverge on capability: Arnold covers Production shading, V-Ray covers Global illumination.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Arnold and V-Ray actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux), user rating (Not yet rated), category (3D & CAD).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Arnold
- Production shading
- OSL
- Denoising
- Houdini
- Katana
Only in V-Ray
- Global illumination
- CPU rendering
- Materials
- Lighting
- VR output
- Scene intelligence
- SketchUp
- Rhino
Both cover
- Ray tracing
- GPU rendering
- Maya
- 3ds Max
- Cinema 4D
- License management
- Windows support
- MacOS support
- Linux support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Arnold
- Film productionnot V-Ray
- Animationnot V-Ray
- VFXnot V-Ray
V-Ray
- Photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisationnot Arnold
- Real time and ray traced rendering inside CAD and 3D applicationsnot Arnold
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Arnold
- The Internet Archive's capture of Autodesk's Arnold overview page on 30 December 2022 stated a subscription can be installed on up to 3 computers or devices, though only the named user may run it on one machine at a time, and includes access to the 3 previous major versions.
V-Ray
- Licences are subscription only with no perpetual option listed for any product
- Subscription terms renew automatically
- Cloud rendering runs on separately purchased credits, with the Pro tier at $25.30 a month for 1,000
- Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
Pricing, plan by plan
Arnold
$29/month- Arnold$360/month
- Standalone renderer
V-Ray
$29/month- V-Ray Solo$60/month
- 1 workstation
- 5 render nodes
- V-Ray Premium$80/month
- Multiple apps
- Cloud credits
Which should you pick?
Choose Arnold if
- You need production shading.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want osl.
Choose V-Ray if
- You need global illumination.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want cpu rendering.
Questions people ask
- Is Arnold or V-Ray better?
- Neither clearly leads. Arnold starts at $29/month and V-Ray at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Arnold or V-Ray?
- Arnold starts at $29/month and V-Ray at $29/month.
- Does Arnold or V-Ray run on more platforms?
- Both run on Windows, MacOS, Linux, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Arnold best used for?
- Arnold is most often used for film production, animation, vfx. Of those, film production and animation are not what V-Ray is typically brought in for.
- What can Arnold do that V-Ray cannot?
- Arnold covers Production shading, OSL, Denoising, Houdini. V-Ray covers Global illumination, CPU rendering, Materials, Lighting. Both handle Ray tracing, GPU rendering, Maya, 3ds Max.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- Arnold vs Enscape
- Arnold vs FreeCAD
- Arnold vs KeyShot
- Arnold vs Lumion
- Arnold vs Houdini
- Arnold vs Inventor
- Arnold vs Mudbox
- Arnold vs Corona Renderer
- Arnold vs D5 Render
- Arnold vs Twinmotion
- Arnold vs LightWave 3D
- Arnold vs OpenSCAD
- Arnold vs PrusaSlicer
- Arnold vs Siemens NX
- Arnold vs ZBrush
- Arnold vs 3D-Coat
- Arnold vs Alibre Design
- V-Ray vs Enscape
- V-Ray vs FreeCAD
- V-Ray vs KeyShot
- V-Ray vs Lumion
- V-Ray vs Houdini
- V-Ray vs Inventor
- V-Ray vs Mudbox
- V-Ray vs Corona Renderer
- V-Ray vs D5 Render
- V-Ray vs Twinmotion
- V-Ray vs LightWave 3D
- V-Ray vs OpenSCAD
- V-Ray vs PrusaSlicer
- V-Ray vs Siemens NX
- V-Ray vs ZBrush
- V-Ray vs 3D-Coat
- V-Ray vs Alibre Design