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CAD · head to head

V-Ray vs JMP

V-Ray logo

V-Ray

CAD

Professional 3D rendering software

From
$29/month
Rated
-
JMP logo

JMP

Machine Learning

Desktop statistical and design of experiments software from a SAS subsidiary

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only JMP 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; JMP it is a desktop application holding the working table in memory, so a data set that outgrows the workstation has no in-place upgrade path, only a move to a different tool and a different skill set.
  • They diverge on capability: V-Ray covers Ray tracing, JMP covers Custom design of experiments.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which V-Ray and JMP actually diverge.

Attributes where V-Ray and JMP differ
AttributeV-RayJMP
Starting price$29/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacOS, LinuxMac, Windows
CategoryCADMachine Learning
Founded19971976

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 JMP

  • Custom design of experiments
  • Linked interactive graphics
  • Analysis platforms
  • Quality and process tools
  • Graph Builder
  • JSL scripting
  • Scoring code export
  • Predictive modelling in JMP Pro

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 JMP
  • Real time and ray traced rendering inside CAD and 3D applicationsnot JMP

JMP

  • Planning a physical experiment where each run is expensive, and the question is which twelve runs to perform rather than how to model data you already havenot V-Ray
  • Process capability and control chart work in a manufacturing quality function that has to produce evidence for a customer or regulatornot V-Ray
  • Exploratory analysis by an engineer or scientist who will not write code but needs more than a spreadsheetnot V-Ray
  • Semiconductor, chemical and pharmaceutical development groups where JMP is already the shared language for reporting resultsnot 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

JMP

  • It is a desktop application holding the working table in memory, so a data set that outgrows the workstation has no in-place upgrade path, only a move to a different tool and a different skill set.
  • There is no Linux build and no server edition for running analyses, so JMP cannot sit in a scheduled pipeline the way an R or Python script can, and recurring reports depend on a named person running them on a laptop.
  • The predictive modelling capability most buyers mean when they call this machine learning software is in JMP Pro, a separate and more expensive licence, so the base product's price is not the price of the thing being evaluated.
  • JSL is proprietary to JMP, so the scripts, add-ins and automation a group accumulates over a decade do not port anywhere and become sunk cost the moment anyone questions the renewal.
  • Deployment ends at exported scoring code with no registry, monitoring or retraining, so a model that runs in production is maintained by another team in another language and steadily diverges from the version the analyst still has open.

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

JMP

Free
  • TrialFree
    • 30-day trial
    • Full features
  • JMP$1785/year
    • Core JMP
    • Standard features

Which should you pick?

Choose V-Ray if

  • You need ray tracing.
  • You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
  • You also want global illumination.

Choose JMP if

  • You need custom design of experiments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Mac, Windows.
  • You also want linked interactive graphics.

Questions people ask

Is V-Ray or JMP better?
Neither clearly leads. V-Ray starts at $29/month and JMP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, V-Ray or JMP?
JMP has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for V-Ray and Free for JMP.
Does V-Ray or JMP run on more platforms?
V-Ray runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux. JMP runs on Mac, Windows.
Can I use JMP for free?
Yes. JMP 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 JMP is typically brought in for.
What can V-Ray do that JMP cannot?
V-Ray covers Ray tracing, Global illumination, GPU rendering, CPU rendering. JMP covers Custom design of experiments, Linked interactive graphics, Analysis platforms, Quality and process tools.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Source
JMP: Is JMP the same thing as SAS?

No. JMP is a separate desktop product from a SAS subsidiary, with its own interface, its own scripting language and its own licence. Knowing SAS does not transfer to it beyond the statistics.

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.

Source
JMP: Do I need JMP Pro?

If you want cross validation, penalised regression, boosted trees or neural networks, yes. The base edition covers classical statistics, graphics and design of experiments well and stops short of predictive modelling.

JMP: Does it run on Linux?

No. Windows and macOS only, as an installed application.

JMP: Can I put a JMP model into production?

Only by exporting the scoring formula as SQL, C, Python or similar and running it in another system. JMP itself does not serve, monitor or retrain models.

JMP: Who actually uses it?

Process and quality engineers, and scientists in R&D, particularly in semiconductor, chemicals, pharmaceutical and medical device work. It is not usually chosen by data engineering or platform teams.

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