3D & CAD · head to head
V-Ray vs CryEngine
CryEngine
Game Development
Build worlds, break limits. Professional game development engine.
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only CryEngine has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: V-Ray licences are subscription only with no perpetual option listed for any product; CryEngine a royalty of 5% of Gross Receipts is payable to Crytek on every game built with CRYENGINE
- They diverge on capability: V-Ray covers Ray tracing, CryEngine covers Advanced graphics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which V-Ray and CryEngine actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
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 V-Ray
- Ray tracing
- Global illumination
- GPU rendering
- CPU rendering
- Materials
- Lighting
- VR output
- Scene intelligence
Only in CryEngine
- Advanced graphics
- Physics engine
- AI system
- Animation tools
- Flow Graph visual scripting
- C++ and Lua support
- Entity component system
- Sandbox editor
Both cover
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
V-Ray
- Photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisationnot CryEngine
- Real time and ray traced rendering inside CAD and 3D applicationsnot CryEngine
CryEngine
- Building photorealistic first person and open world games with real time global illuminationnot V-Ray
- Developing with full engine source code accessnot V-Ray
- Sandbox based level design with what you see is what you get exportnot V-Ray
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
CryEngine
- A royalty of 5% of Gross Receipts is payable to Crytek on every game built with CRYENGINE
- Royalties are waived only on the first USD 5,000.00 of Gross Receipts per year per game
- Royalties are calculated at source on gross receipts before any publisher or platform deductions, so a developer receiving 70% of USD 100,000 still owes USD 4,750
- Military projects, gambling, simulation, science, architecture and serious games are excluded from the standard licence and are not covered as Games
- The licence forbids combining CRYENGINE with code from other game engine providers
- Supported platforms are limited to those Crytek announces at its sole discretion, listed in the agreement as Windows, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- Support is only provided against payment of a separate Support Fee that Crytek may change at its sole discretion
- Crytek may modify the licence agreement at any time, with the only remedy for disagreement being to stop using CRYENGINE
Pricing, plan by plan
V-Ray
$29/month- V-Ray Solo$60/month
- 1 workstation
- 5 render nodes
- V-Ray Premium$80/month
- Multiple apps
- Cloud credits
CryEngine
Free- FreeFree
- Full engine access
- Source code
- Asset library
Which should you pick?
Choose V-Ray if
- You need ray tracing.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want global illumination.
Choose CryEngine if
- You need advanced graphics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Playstation, Xbox, Linux.
- You also want physics engine.
Questions people ask
- Is V-Ray or CryEngine better?
- Neither clearly leads. V-Ray starts at $29/month and CryEngine at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, V-Ray or CryEngine?
- CryEngine has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for V-Ray and Free for CryEngine.
- Does V-Ray or CryEngine run on more platforms?
- V-Ray runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. CryEngine runs on Windows, Playstation, Xbox, Linux.
- Can I use CryEngine for free?
- Yes. CryEngine has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. V-Ray starts at $29/month.
- What is V-Ray best used for?
- V-Ray is most often used for photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisation, real time and ray traced rendering inside cad and 3d applications. Of those, photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisation and real time and ray traced rendering inside cad and 3d applications are not what CryEngine is typically brought in for.
- What can V-Ray do that CryEngine cannot?
- V-Ray covers Ray tracing, Global illumination, GPU rendering, CPU rendering. CryEngine covers Advanced graphics, Physics engine, AI system, Animation tools. Both handle Windows support.
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