CAD · head to head
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler vs V-Ray
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
CAD
Photogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler the rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.; V-Ray licences are subscription only with no perpetual option listed for any product
- They diverge on capability: Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, V-Ray covers Ray tracing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler and V-Ray actually diverge.
| Attribute | Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler | V-Ray |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | $29/month |
| Pricing model | quote | subscription |
| Platforms | Windows, Cloud | Windows, MacOS, Linux |
| Founded | Unknown | 1997 |
Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
- Aerial triangulation
- Dense mesh reconstruction
- Point cloud fusion
- Orthophoto and DSM output
- 3D Tiles and 3MX export
- Distributed processing
- Retouching and editing
- Georeferencing and control
Only in V-Ray
- Ray tracing
- Global illumination
- GPU rendering
- CPU rendering
- Materials
- Lighting
- VR output
- Scene intelligence
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
- A highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in OpenRoadsnot V-Ray
- A survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisationnot V-Ray
- An engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessmentnot V-Ray
- A team publishing streamable 3D Tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browsernot V-Ray
V-Ray
- Photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisationnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
- Real time and ray traced rendering inside CAD and 3D applicationsnot Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
- The rename from ContextCapture is more than cosmetic: licensing moved into Bentley's subscription and consumption model, and existing perpetual users should confirm what a renewal converts to before assuming continuity of cost.
- Consumption-based entitlements make the cost of a large reconstruction hard to predict in advance, which is awkward when you are quoting a fixed-price deliverable to a client.
- The desktop engine is Windows only and reconstruction is compute-hungry, so meaningful throughput needs either serious workstation hardware or paid cloud processing.
- Bentley does not publish a plain rate card and pricing varies by region, reseller and existing agreement, so two firms buying the same thing can pay very different amounts.
- Value compounds inside the Bentley ecosystem, and a firm whose design work happens in Autodesk or Esri tools pays for a positioning it will not use while getting the same mesh a cheaper standalone photogrammetry package would produce.
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 $25.30 a month for 1,000
- Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
Pricing, plan by plan
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
On request- iTwin Capture Modeler$undefined/year
- Subscription entitlement through Bentley licensing
- Consumption charged against Bentley Keys on some agreements
- Reality Modeling WorkSuite bundles Modeler with reality data management
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 Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler if
- You need aerial triangulation.
- You work on Windows, Cloud.
- You also want dense mesh reconstruction.
Choose V-Ray if
- You need ray tracing.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want global illumination.
Questions people ask
- Is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or V-Ray better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and V-Ray at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or V-Ray?
- Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler starts at On request and V-Ray at $29/month.
- Does Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler or V-Ray run on more platforms?
- Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler runs on Windows, Cloud. V-Ray runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- What is Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler best used for?
- Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler is most often used for a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads, a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation, an engineering consultancy fusing terrestrial laser scans with drone photography of a bridge for condition assessment, a team publishing streamable 3d tiles of a construction site so stakeholders can view it in a browser. Of those, a highway authority reconstructing a corridor from drone imagery for design work in openroads and a survey firm delivering city-scale textured meshes to a municipal client for planning and visualisation are not what V-Ray is typically brought in for.
- What can Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler do that V-Ray cannot?
- Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler covers Aerial triangulation, Dense mesh reconstruction, Point cloud fusion, Orthophoto and DSM output. V-Ray covers Ray tracing, Global illumination, GPU rendering, CPU rendering.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Is ContextCapture discontinued?
The name is. The product continues as iTwin Capture Modeler within Bentley's iTwin family.
V-Ray: What is included in Chaos software subscriptions?
All Chaos subscriptions include free support, access to a large community of professionals, continuous updates, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Annual subscriptions save 45% versus monthly billing. Use of AI credits voids the refund right.
SourceBentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Does it still support a perpetual licence?
New buyers should expect subscription or consumption-based entitlements. Confirm the exact conversion path if you hold an older perpetual licence.
V-Ray: Does Chaos offer enterprise pricing?
Yes, Chaos provides enterprise pricing plans for teams with more than 10 licenses. Enterprise customers should contact the Chaos sales team directly for custom pricing quotes tailored to their specific needs.
SourceBentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Can it process laser scan data as well as photographs?
Yes. It fuses point clouds with imagery in a single reconstruction.
Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler: Do I need other Bentley software to use it?
No, output formats are usable elsewhere, but the commercial and workflow case is strongest if you already run MicroStation or OpenRoads.
Related pages
More on Bentley iTwin Capture Modeler
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- V-Ray vs Carlson Software
- V-Ray vs ANSYS Fluent
- V-Ray vs MicroSurvey CAD
- V-Ray vs FreeCAD
- V-Ray vs Altium 365
- V-Ray vs CloudCompare
- V-Ray vs KiCad
- V-Ray vs Nomad Sculpt
- V-Ray vs Zoo
- V-Ray vs Enscape
- V-Ray vs Siemens NX
- V-Ray vs Shapr3D
- V-Ray vs Houdini
- V-Ray vs ZBrush
- V-Ray vs Arnold
- V-Ray vs Inventor
- V-Ray vs KeyShot
- V-Ray vs Lumion
- V-Ray vs Redshift
- V-Ray vs Octane Render
- V-Ray vs D5 Render
- V-Ray vs Modo
- V-Ray vs Twinmotion
- V-Ray vs Plasticity
- V-Ray vs 3D-Coat
- V-Ray vs Alibre Design
- V-Ray vs Bambu Studio
- V-Ray vs BricsCAD
- V-Ray vs Mudbox