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CAD · head to head

Arnold vs RealityScan

Arnold logo

Arnold

CAD

Advanced Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RealityScan logo

RealityScan

CAD

The photogrammetry engine formerly called RealityCapture, free below a one million dollar revenue line

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only RealityScan has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; RealityScan the free tier is bounded by company revenue rather than by usage, so a business crossing one million US dollars of turnover acquires a per-seat cost overnight for software its workflow now depends on
  • They diverge on capability: Arnold covers Ray tracing, RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnold and RealityScan actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnold and RealityScan differ
AttributeArnoldRealityScan
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree below a revenue threshold, then per seat per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxWindows
Founded1998Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (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

  • Ray tracing
  • GPU rendering
  • Production shading
  • OSL
  • Denoising
  • Maya
  • 3ds Max
  • Cinema 4D

Only in RealityScan

  • Photogrammetric reconstruction
  • Laser scan fusion
  • Ground control points
  • Texturing and unwrapping
  • Command line interface
  • Unreal Engine path
  • Component alignment control

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arnold

  • Film productionnot RealityScan
  • Animationnot RealityScan
  • VFXnot RealityScan

RealityScan

  • A two-person heritage survey practice under the revenue threshold that can now run professional photogrammetry at no licence costnot Arnold
  • A film or games asset team scanning props and environments at very high image counts where processing speed decides the schedulenot Arnold
  • A survey firm combining terrestrial laser scans with drone photography and needing both aligned in a single reconstructionnot Arnold
  • A construction reality-capture operator producing meshes for Unreal-based client visualisation from the same source imagerynot 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.

RealityScan

  • The free tier is bounded by company revenue rather than by usage, so a business crossing one million US dollars of turnover acquires a per-seat cost overnight for software its workflow now depends on
  • New perpetual licences are no longer sold, so an organisation that deliberately avoided subscription software has no route in; existing perpetual holders keep their version but stop receiving updates unless they accept the current terms
  • It is Windows only and needs an NVIDIA CUDA capable GPU, which excludes macOS studios and makes the real cost of adoption a workstation purchase rather than a licence
  • The rename from RealityCapture to RealityScan in 2025 means tutorials, forum answers and third party pipeline documentation are split across two names and several licensing regimes, and much of it is now wrong about price
  • The interface assumes photogrammetry knowledge; alignment failures, control point placement and reconstruction region setup are not guided, so a team without an experienced operator produces poor models quickly rather than good ones slowly

Pricing, plan by plan

Arnold

$29/month
  • Arnold$360/month
    • Standalone renderer

RealityScan

Free
  • Free tierFree
    • For individuals and companies with annual revenue under 1,000,000 USD
    • Full application, no metered input charges
    • Epic account required
  • RealityScan seat$1250/year
    • Required once annual revenue exceeds 1,000,000 USD
    • Per seat, per year
    • Commercial use without output restrictions
  • Unreal Engine subscription$1850/year
    • Per seat per year
    • Includes RealityScan and Twinmotion
    • For teams that also need Unreal Engine for non-game commercial use

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnold if

  • You need ray tracing.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want gpu rendering.
Arnold review

Choose RealityScan if

  • You need photogrammetric reconstruction.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want laser scan fusion.
RealityScan review

Questions people ask

Is Arnold or RealityScan better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnold starts at $29/month and RealityScan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arnold or RealityScan?
RealityScan has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Arnold and Free for RealityScan.
Does Arnold or RealityScan run on more platforms?
Arnold runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. RealityScan runs on Windows.
Can I use RealityScan for free?
Yes. RealityScan has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Arnold starts at $29/month.
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 RealityScan is typically brought in for.
What can Arnold do that RealityScan cannot?
Arnold covers Ray tracing, GPU rendering, Production shading, OSL. RealityScan covers Photogrammetric reconstruction, Laser scan fusion, Ground control points, Texturing and unwrapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnold: How much does Autodesk Arnold cost?

Autodesk Arnold pricing is not published on the vendor website. Arnold is available through Autodesk subscription plans or standalone licensing. Customers should contact Autodesk directly for pricing quotes.

Source
RealityScan: Is RealityCapture still called that?

No. Epic rebranded it to RealityScan with version 2.0 in 2025. It is the same engine and the same team.

Arnold: Is Arnold free for educational use?

Yes, Autodesk provides free educational licenses for Arnold to students and educators. Educational access allows learning of professional rendering capabilities at no cost.

Source
RealityScan: Who gets it free?

Individuals and companies with annual revenue under one million US dollars. Above that, a seat is 1,250 US dollars per year.

Arnold: What does Arnold render?

Autodesk Arnold is an industry-standard photorealistic rendering engine used for visual effects, animation, and design visualization. It supports GPU and CPU rendering with advanced features for film, television, and product design.

Source
RealityScan: Can I still buy a perpetual licence?

Not for new purchases. Existing perpetual licences remain valid for the version owned, with updates only under the current terms.

RealityScan: Does the free version restrict output?

No output metering or watermarking; the restriction is on who qualifies, based on company revenue, not on what you export.

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