There is no doubt that a quality 3D architectural exterior rendering makes communicating your design concepts to potential buyers much easier than a plain CAD model.
Whether you're an architect preparing a client presentation or a developer looking to sell your vision to investors, you need photorealistic 3D renders to impress your clients.
Depending on your resources, you have two options:
a) Outsource the work to a specialist 3D visualization firm (if you need the highest accuracy and realism).
b) Do it yourself using 3D visualization software (for the best quality to cost and time ratio).
To save you some time, we did the research and picked some of the leading 3D exterior rendering services and software tools based on their customer reviews and quality of results.
So whether you need to render a detached house, apartment building, or a commercial real estate project, this list will help you make an informed decision.
Let's start with the service providers.
Headquarters: Idaho, USA
Founded by Daniel and Alaina Temple in 2018, Notion Workshop is a 3D exterior rendering company focusing on visualizing the unbuilt environment.
Daniel’s background in woodworking and architecture and his experience in architectural rendering are the foundation of the company. Alaina’s roots in architecture and design contribute to the creative and operational side of the business.
Notion Workshop creates 3D renderings, animations, and cinemagraphs that bring architectural designs to life. Their visuals can be fully 3D scenes or a combination of 3D elements and background photography to immerse you in an unbuilt environment.
Their clients are architectural firms, design studios, and developers looking to communicate their projects through beautiful visuals.
Notable rendering projects include Seesaw, a poolhouse party pad for Apollo Design Studio, and Rockaway, a modern beach home for Eerkes Architects that got them shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards and resulted in an honorable mention for the Render of the Year Awards.
Their animations often use slow pans and time lapses to show how a building interacts with its surroundings over time, and their cinemagraphs add dynamic yet subtle motion elements like the water feature at Courtyard House for Okano Picard Studio.
Headquarters: Southport, Australia
Volume Vision creates photorealistic 3D renders and animations of unbuilt architecture.
They're a full-service firm offering sales presentation software, CGI renders, and immersive walkthroughs.
Their team of over 70 experts works closely with clients to deliver high-quality outputs that match the project’s vision. They believe in transparent communication through their project board system where stakeholders can track progress and give feedback easily.
Their process starts with an initial briefing workshop to understand the project’s goals and target audience, followed by detailed art direction and styling. Volume Vision assigns a lead art director and exterior designer to the project from the very beginning to maintain consistency throughout your projects and to model all elements according to your requirements.
Some of their clients and partners include Siera, Sunland Group, Stockland, and Marquee.
Headquarters: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Kaleidoskope provides 3D exterior rendering services with a keen eye for detail and a passion for art.
They create immersive experiences and offer a wide range of services from 2D digital illustrations to VR walkthroughs, film animations, and digital twins.
Their exceptional work was awarded the “Most Beautiful Modeling and Rendering" award by Architizer, as well as getting shortlisted for the Visualization Prize at the World Architecture Festival.
Their rendering tech stack includes 3ds Max (for model management and camera setups), and Corona Render and Lumion (for image rendering & film animation).
They work across 3 continents with architects, designers, and developers who need precision and creativity in their projects. Their process is structured with model reviews, materiality settings, lighting plans, and iterative drafts to ensure the client’s vision is met.
By asking for detailed feedback and clear references at every stage, Kaleidoskope ensures every project meets the highest quality and aesthetic standards. Their approach is not just about technical accuracy but also about the artistic elements that make architectural concepts come to life.
Headquarters: Penshurst, Australia
Cadonia offers 3D modeling, CAD drafting, and Building Information Modelling (BIM) services to both residential and commercial clients since 2014.
Their 3D rendering expertise includes 3D modeling, reverse engineering, virtual reality, and creating walkthrough models. They also offer niche services like EV charging station documentation and Autodesk development.
Their clients are from the commercial to the residential sector so they can handle any project with precision.
The company operates globally with offices in Australia and Europe with a dedicated team of 13 drafting specialists and two 3D artists handling rendering projects.
Cadonia’s business model is based on long-term relationships built on trust and cost efficiency.
Headquarters: Lyon, France
CARMINE - CRIMSON is an architectural visualization studio that creates high-end images, films, and VR experiences of unbuilt architecture.
Founded in 2018 by Roxane Brun and Fabien Meddour, this French 3D exterior rendering company serves architects, developers, and interior designers who need visual content to market their projects.
They know that real estate marketing goes beyond photorealism; it’s about creating engaging concepts that speak to an informed audience.
Their portfolio is about quality and precision, that’s why they are the go-to partner for big projects of renowned brands such as Marriott, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Euler Hermes, and many more.
CARMINE - CRIMSON's work has been published in Archdaily, Design Antho/ogy, Dwell, Dezeen, Designboom, Les Echos, and other industry media outlets.
Headquarters: Minneapolis, USA
Started in 2021 by Jake Williams after 10 years of experience at top visualization firms in New York and Los Angeles, NOMINN provides 3D interior and exterior rendering services for architects and designers.
The studio's offering includes stills, cinemagraphs, brand imagery, animations, virtual tours, and concept imagery. Their work combines natural landscapes, warm interior styling, and detailed design vignettes.
NOMINN has worked with clients such as Olson Kundig, Jocelyn Tsaih, PHX Architecture, and Steinway & Sons. Their impressive 3D visualization work has been recognized by Architizer bringing them the Models & Rendering award and placing the studio on the A+ list.
Headquarters: Porto, Portugal
Okdraw is a Portuguese 3D exterior rendering company founded in 2013 by Hugo Ferreira and Pedro Teixeira.
Their multidisciplinary team of architects, designers, art directors, and 3D artists is experienced in various scales of projects but always focused on delivering visualizations of superior accuracy and detail.
Okdraw's work goes beyond realistic simulations - they create images that tell the story of each architectural project. They collaborate closely with architecture offices and real estate companies worldwide to translate their final intentions into visual representations.
And their quality of work doesn't go unnoticed in the archviz industry.
Okdraw's animated still for Studio Sean Canty won them the Architectural League of New York 2023 Prize and made the final selection of Architizer's A+ Awards in 2024. While the Eco Resort of Novainhos in Portugal's Peneda-Gerês National Park was featured on DesignBoom and Afasia.
Headquarters: London, UK
YouSee is one of the leading 3D exterior rendering service providers in the UK that specializes in photorealistic visuals for architects, real estate developers, marketing agencies, and e-commerce businesses.
Their offering includes interior and exterior visualizations, 360 virtual tours, 3D floor plans, architectural animation, product renderings, as well as VR and AR.
Since its founding in 2016, YouSee has delivered over 100 projects from California houses to mountain villas and New Jersey apartments. Their client list includes brands such as Encora Developments, Mat Sanders, Ariel Okin, and CDG Maui.
Their creativity and attention to detail have won them 1st prize in the Loop Awards in 2023, as well as getting longlisted in the top 20 for Dezeen Awards in 2021 and 2022.
YouSee is transparent about the pricing of their 3D rendering services which start at $3,040 and include interior and exterior modeling and rendering of a small to medium size project.
Outsourcing 3D exterior rendering services is not cheap.
Fortunately, if you're on a budget, you can get your architectural design visualized yourself. And the best part is that you don't even need to be a 3D artist.
That's thanks to the recent developments in the artificial intelligence space that enable modern rendering tools to visualize your exterior designs with a level of realism comparable to traditional non-AI rendering engines such as 3ds Max, Enscape, or Lumion.
Let's have a look at some of the standout ones.
MyArchitectAI's AI engine generates photorealistic interior and exterior renders based on your uploaded CAD models or sketches in just under 10 seconds.
Useful particularly in the early conceptual design stages, MyArchitectAI provides architects and designers a quick and easy way to explore design ideas and create polished visualizations for client presentations or projects.
In addition to speed, MyArchitectAI's level of photorealism and detail in its renderings is also very impressive. You can customize lighting, materials, and views to create the perspectives and scenes you need just using text prompts.
No 3D visualization experience is needed.
Pricing: 10 renders a month are free, then a $29/month subscription gets you unlimited renders.
Leonardo AI is a multi-purpose app using generative AI for exterior conceptual rendering and basic animations from your generated images.
To further improve your efficiency, it also allows you to edit and enhance your visualizations right from the app, without the need for any third-party software.
Pricing: free testing plan available. Then a $30/month subscription is needed to render an unlimited number of designs.
This app can help you with rendering residential and commercial exterior designs from your 2D or 3D models using a selection of 30 predefined styles.
Aside from visualizing architectural designs, it also has an AI virtual staging feature useful for real estate agents to increase the perceived value of their listings.
Pricing: starts at $49/month which gets you 250 renders a month. For unlimited renders, you need to upgrade to a $199/month plan though.
Krea is a versatile AI tool used not just as 3D exterior rendering software but also for creating new images from text prompts, enhancing existing images, creating animations, and more.
Pricing: free testing plan available. Then a $10/month plan gives you a limited number of generations each month.
Architect Render is another easy-to-use exterior rendering software that turns your sketches or models into decently realistic 3D visualizations. A virtual staging feature is also available.
Pricing: 5 credits are free, then each credit costs $1. Credit price decreases the more credits you buy.
One thing to keep in mind when using AI rendering software is that it won't give you the same level of control and accuracy as traditional 3D rendering tools (at least not yet). That means you'll have to refine the output images with post-processing and retouching.
But hey, considering they save you hours and hours of modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering time, that's not a bad deal, right?
If you absolutely need the highest possible level of accuracy and realism in your exterior rendering though, traditional 3D visualization software such as 3ds Max, Enscape, Lumion, V-Ray, or Twinmotion would be a better fit.
We also put together lists of tools specialized in rendering Archicad and Sketchup designs.
Exterior rendering project prices start around $400 per image for simple residential designs and can go up to tens of thousands of dollars for complex commercial designs.
The project cost can vary quite a lot as it depends on a variety of factors such as:
As you can see, exterior commercial projects tend to be more expensive than residential ones due to the level of complexity.
Similarly, you should expect to pay more for animations compared to static renders as they require more experienced 3D artists and more computing power.
There are several ways to optimize the 3D exterior rendering cost though.
First, align your project requirements with the goal of the visualization. If you only need it for basic style planning or getting regulatory approval, a modern rendering software or a $400-$600 per image service will do the job.
Spending more per image only makes sense if the render is meant to help you win construction bids or high-value clients.
Then, remember to plan your project ahead to avoid tight deadlines. If you make your 3D visualization firm work overtime, you'll get charged extra.
And finally, using the services of overseas companies can save you a lot of money while delivering the same level of detail and realism as US-based providers. Pro tip: look for Eastern European rendering firms that offer excellent quality-to-price ratio.
These were some of the top 3D exterior rendering services and software tools for architectural firms, design studios, and real estate developers.
Hopefully, this guide gave you a better idea of which solution is best for your needs.
Now, do some more research on your top picks and start visualizing your exterior designs.
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