Interior perspective by senorjerome, on Flickr (CC)
I meant to create a concise visual comparison of all available rendering software for SketchUp for quite a while now. To keep things organized I only added one video per software as well as links to the manufacturer’s websites and the current (February 2011) published cost. All prices are in US $ for single-seat licenses, taken from the manufacturers’ websites. Many of these packages are also offered with multi-seat and educational discounts. Because these are not always easy to find, you will have to check them out directly.
The videos are typically made by the manufacturers and either give an overview of the software or where that wasn’t available are illustrative showreels. Feel free to alert me of better videos, other software and updates in the comments.
Here’s the list:
3D Paintbrush
WIN – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $99 full version
Artlantis
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $765 full version (rendering software)
IDX Renditioner
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, free size-limited version, $99.99 full license
Indigo
WIN/MAC/Linux – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $820 full license
IRender nXt
WIN – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $499 full license
Kerkythea
WIN/MAC/Linux – Website – Features – Cost: free
LightUp
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $149 full license
Maxwell
WIN/MAC/Linux – Website – Features (SU plugin) – Cost: free trial, $995 full license
nXtRender
WIN – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $149 full license
This is the low-cost version of IRender nXt. There doesn’t seem to be a YouTube video but there’s a video on their website.
Podium
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $198 full license
Render[in]
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $160 full license
Shaderlight
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $199 full license
Thea
WIN/MAC/Linux – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $214.19 full license + $26.34 for SketchUp exporter (converted from Euros)
Twilight
WIN – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $99 full license
There are more videos on their website.
VRay
WIN/MAC – Website – Features – Cost: free trial, $799 full license