3D & CAD · head to head
ZBrush vs V-Ray
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ZBrush subscription model required; no perpetual licence option available; V-Ray licences are subscription only with no perpetual option listed for any product
- They diverge on capability: ZBrush covers Digital sculpting, V-Ray covers Ray tracing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ZBrush and V-Ray actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 ZBrush
- Digital sculpting
- Dynamesh
- ZRemesher
- PolyPaint
- Live Boolean
- Sculptris Pro
- UV Master
- High polygon handling
Only in V-Ray
- Ray tracing
- Global illumination
- GPU rendering
- CPU rendering
- Materials
- Lighting
- VR output
- Scene intelligence
Both cover
- Maya
- 3ds Max
- Blender
- Cinema 4D
- License management
- Windows support
- MacOS support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ZBrush
- Digital character and creature sculptingnot V-Ray
- High-polygon organic form designnot V-Ray
- Texture painting and PolyPaint worknot V-Ray
- Game asset creation and 3D modellingnot V-Ray
V-Ray
- Photorealistic rendering for architecture and product visualisationnot ZBrush
- Real time and ray traced rendering inside CAD and 3D applicationsnot ZBrush
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ZBrush
- Subscription model required; no perpetual licence option available
- iPad version requires separate subscription to ZBrush for iPad
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
ZBrush
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the ZBrush review.
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 ZBrush if
- You need digital sculpting.
- You work on Windows, macOS, iPadOS.
- You also want dynamesh.
Choose V-Ray if
- You need ray tracing.
- You work on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- You also want global illumination.
Questions people ask
- Is ZBrush or V-Ray better?
- Neither clearly leads. ZBrush 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, ZBrush or V-Ray?
- ZBrush starts at On request and V-Ray at $29/month.
- Does ZBrush or V-Ray run on more platforms?
- ZBrush runs on Windows, macOS, iPadOS. V-Ray runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux.
- What is ZBrush best used for?
- ZBrush is most often used for digital character and creature sculpting, high-polygon organic form design, texture painting and polypaint work, game asset creation and 3d modelling. Of those, digital character and creature sculpting and high-polygon organic form design are not what V-Ray is typically brought in for.
- What can ZBrush do that V-Ray cannot?
- ZBrush covers Digital sculpting, Dynamesh, ZRemesher, PolyPaint. V-Ray covers Ray tracing, Global illumination, GPU rendering, CPU rendering. Both handle Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D.
Related pages
Other head to heads
- ZBrush vs Enscape
- ZBrush vs FreeCAD
- ZBrush vs KeyShot
- ZBrush vs Lumion
- ZBrush vs Houdini
- ZBrush vs Arnold
- ZBrush vs Inventor
- ZBrush vs Mudbox
- ZBrush vs Corona Renderer
- ZBrush vs D5 Render
- ZBrush vs Twinmotion
- ZBrush vs LightWave 3D
- ZBrush vs OpenSCAD
- ZBrush vs PrusaSlicer
- ZBrush vs Siemens NX
- ZBrush vs 3D-Coat
- ZBrush 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 Arnold
- 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 3D-Coat
- V-Ray vs Alibre Design