Blender is among the best 3D creation software available today. It is a powerful tool whether your workflow focuses on modeling, animation (whether 3D or 2D animation), sculpting, rendering, or even all of them. As perhaps the only free program of its type and quality, it is extremely popular among creatives. If you're new to Blender and need a solid foundation before diving into exports, our Complete Guide to Blender 3D for Beginners will help you get started with the basics.

If you create 3D art or animation, rendering is the final stage in the process where all the lighting, shadows, effects, materials, etc. are processed in full. It applies the finishing touches and makes your model or animation look as nice as you planned for it to be. A render engine is in charge of this and Blender comes with Cycles and Eevee built-in.

However, there are other render engines that you can explore for better quality, faster speed, or simply to fit a more specific workflow (and all workflows can get faster with shortcuts and hotkeys). Let’s do a Blender render engines comparison and see how they can each come in useful.

1. Cycles (Built-in)

One of the best render engines for Blender is built into it from the start. Cycles is the more photorealistic option, utilizing a method called path tracing for its rendering, which replicates the behavior of light in the real world.

Cycles is great because you’ll get the best-looking results when you use it. Lights, reflections, and shadows will look as realistic as possible, which makes it a stellar choice when you’re trying to render a complex scene with multiple light sources and a lot of detail.

However, the obvious downside is that with that much realism and render quality, Cycles requires a lot of power. Sure, you can render using Cycles on a relatively weak system, but it’ll take ages. The more powerful your hardware, the faster the render.

If you’re working on architectural visualizations, realistic product design, or a CGI model intended for a live-action production, Cycles’ photorealism will serve best.

2. Eevee (Built-in)

Eevee is also built into Blender, and instead of using path tracing, it uses a technique called rasterization. Eevee prioritizes speed over quality, which makes it better for situations where immediate rendered responses are needed.

Eevee is great for its fast render times and it is also best when you’re trying to use Blender on a lower-end computer as it is not as demanding. However, the trade-off is that how it processes lighting is a lot more simplistic, so don’t expect the same quality as Cycles.

If you’re working on a project that absolutely requires speed like video game assets or interactive visualizations, Eevee is the choice. However, it can also be utilized stylistically for a more cartoony look. You can learn more about using Eevee here.

3. OctaneRender

If you like what Cycles brings to the table with path tracing, OctaneRender is a great third-party alternative to Cycles with similarly high-quality results. However, the big difference is that it is GPU-accelerated, unlike Cycles.

What this means is that with a good GPU in your system, render times are pretty quick even for complex scenes, without compromising on the quality. However, unlike Cycles, you have to pay a licensing fee to use OctaneRender, which will be a major barrier for many people.

If you need the high-quality rendering demanded of photorealistic visual effects or industry-grade animation, but you also want to prioritize processing speed, OctaneRender will be a major addition to your workflow.

You need to know what a Bump Map is first to utilize it's capabilities. Learn about all Blender 3D terms in our Blender 3D Glossary.

4. LuxCoreRender

Similar to options like OctaneRender and Cycles, LuxCoreRender is a physically-based render engine. However, it uses a hybrid system of both path tracing and another method known as Metropolis Light Transport. This combination allows it to provide a mix of speed and accuracy.

First off, LuxCoreRender is great because it is free and open-source, so not only do you not have to pay anything, but if you have the expertise, you can customize it as appropriate. Being physically based means that lighting in this engine is made to behave like it does in the real world, for great results. However, LuxCoreRender does have a steeper learning curve than other options and you’ll tend to need relatively more powerful hardware.

If you use Blender to create scientific simulations, LuxCoreRender is a good choice due to its real-world accurate renderings of fluids, particles, and so on. However, it still comes in handy for architectural and product design, where realism is key.

5. V-Ray

If you’re looking for the kind of render engine that is used in professional studios in television and animation, look no further than V-Ray, which is basically the go-to for industry-grade rendering.

V-Ray is great for obvious reasons. You get extremely photorealistic and detailed renders, a render engine that integrates with all of the most popular 3D creation suites, and it has plenty of advanced features and tools to use. When it comes to the actual work, it doesn’t fall short.

However, V-Ray, unsurprisingly, will take quite a toll on your computer’s hardware, so you’re going to need to work with a powerful rig, especially when trying to render complex scenes using it. Otherwise, it could take a long time, though the right tips can speed up your workflow. It is also a paid app, which is another barrier to entry.

At the end of the day though, if you’re working with commercial or industry-grade animations, visualizations, or models, V-Ray is easily one of the most accepted choices that you can embrace.

6. Redshift

Redshift is a good alternative to Eevee, but arguably even better. It is a biased engine, which means that it merely approximates the behavior of light instead of precisely calculating it for increased speed, and it is also GPU-accelerated, for even more speed.

You can guess where Redshift excels, and that’s if you want a render engine that works super quickly. You might end up surprised at how fast it can process complex scenes. And even at that, the actual rendered output is still pretty accurate, so you can grab your 3D cursor in Blender and know your renders won’t take ages..

If you’re looking for precision and accuracy, it’s not the right choice, however, as it trades realism for speed. You will also need to make sure that you have a relatively powerful GPU to advantage of this engine.

Redshift is great in fields like motion graphics and advertising, where photorealism isn’t necessary, but speed is a major perk.

7. Arnold

Autodesk Arnold is similar to V-Ray in how industry-accepted it is. It has been used to great effect for many Hollywood films and animations as its quality and reliability are very well established.

Arnold is great when you need a fully-featured, high-quality, and very powerful render engine for your scenes. However, as you might have guessed, it’s going to cost you a whole lot of money in licensing. It is also CPU-based, so speed isn’t its strong suit.

If you’re working on a film or animation project that’s meant for the big stage, you certainly can’t go wrong with Arnold. You need reliable rendering each time in such situations and it won’t disappoint there.

Do you know what the Camera is in the Blender 3D world? See our Blender 3D Glossary to learn all the Blender 3D terminology.

Conclusion

There are plenty of top Blender rendering plugins that you can turn toward. Some, like Redshift and Eevee, prioritize speed and efficiency; while others like Arnold, V-Ray, and Cycles, aim to provide you with high levels of quality and realism. 

Which one is best for you depends on your needs, so experiment with different render engines to find the best for you. And here’s a tip: with Vagon’s cloud computers, you don’t need to worry about whether your PC can or can’t handle the more computationally demanding render engines. Our Vagon cloud computing solutions have more than enough power for your needs so you can dodge the common issues Blender users face.

You can also check out our GPU Guide for tips to use GPU, along with speed up and acceleration tips for Blender 3D.

FAQs:

1. Why is Blender 3D so popular?

   • Blender 3D is a 3D creation suite that offers a wide range of features for 3D modeling, animation, sculpting, rendering, video editing, and even game development. It is also entirely free to use and open-source, which makes it a popular choice.

2. What are the built-in render engines in Blender?

   • Blender 3D has two built-in render engines. They are Cycles and Eevee. You can use third-party render engines, however.

3. What is the difference between Cycles vs Eevee for Blender?

   • Cycles is a render engine that uses path tracing, which is more computationally demanding but provides more realistic results. Eevee is a render engine that utilizes rasterization for less accurate but much faster results.

4. How can I improve the speed of my Blender rendering?

   • You can improve your Blender rendering performance by upgrading your computer’s CPU and GPU, reducing the resolution of the final render, optimizing geometry in the scene, using more efficient textures, and enabling GPU rendering.

5. How can I learn more about Blender and rendering?

   • There are plenty of videos covering rendering in Blender that you can access for free on YouTube. However, you can also search Blender’s official documentation for more information.