ZBrushvs
V-Ray


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software

Industry standard for digital sculpting
As of 30 August 2026, ZBrush's pricing is not published; the vendor quotes on request. ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2. Softwr lists it under CAD. ZBrush is made by Maxon, launched in 1986, available on Windows, macOS, iOS.
Overview
ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing, and painting, revolutionizing the 3D industry with features like Sculptris Pro and Live Boolean.
The honest half
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about ZBrush.
Cross-shopped
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.


V-Ray: Professional 3D rendering software


Enscape: Real-time rendering plugin


FreeCAD: Open-source parametric 3D CAD modeler


KeyShot: Real-time 3D rendering and animation
Capabilities
Digital sculpting
Dynamesh
ZRemesher
PolyPaint
Live Boolean
Sculptris Pro
UV Master
High polygon handling
Maya
Integration with Maya
3ds Max
Integration with 3ds Max
Blender
Integration with Blender
Cinema 4D
Integration with Cinema 4D
Answered, with sources
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Every ZBrush subscription includes ZBrush on desktop, iPad, and Windows on Arm devices with premium features, rendering with Redshift, ZBrush Classroom, and Cineversity training.
SourceYes. Download the Maxon App to start your 14-day free trial. Every trial includes ZBrush and the full Maxon One suite.
SourceZBrush licensing is dual platform, so you can run on desktop and iPad simultaneously or switch between them at any time.
SourceBehind it
Keep looking
Digital sculpting on tablets, bought once, with no account and no subscription
Open source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for ZBrush, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
What people switch to, and what they give up
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
The photogrammetry engine formerly called RealityCapture, free below a one million dollar revenue line
Free below a revenue threshold, then per seat per yearSurvey drafting and COGO on an IntelliCAD engine, sold outright rather than by subscription
One-time purchaseOpen source point cloud comparison and processing maintained largely by one person in their spare time
Open source, no licence feeSurvey and civil design CAD sold as a perpetual licence with optional maintenance
One-time purchasePhotogrammetry engine formerly sold as ContextCapture, now inside Bentley's iTwin line
quoteFinite element simulation built around coupling physics, with add-on modules licensed separately
quoteFree slicer for Bambu Lab 3D printers, funded entirely by hardware sales
Open source, no licence feeCAD and modelling platform for infrastructure design, and the file format the rest of Bentley runs on
Per user per year