The Archicad rendering engine does the job. Volexi does it in seconds, at a fraction of the setup, with no dedicated machine.
Volexi renders an Archicad 3D view as a photoreal image in 30–60 seconds. Save the 3D view as PNG from Archicad, upload to Volexi, and choose a lighting preset. The Canny-edge pass preserves BIM geometry.
What the numbers say
Inside VolexiArchicad users in the Volexi Mac-first beta cohort saw per-scene rendering cost fall from an average of $8.40 in CineRender compute time to $0.58 per Volexi render — a 93% reduction measured across 207 dwelling and hospitality scenes.
How it works
Three steps from an Archicad 3D window to a Volexi photoreal render.
In Archicad, open the 3D Window with your preferred camera. Use OpenGL or Photorealistic base mode — both work as source input.
File → Save As → PNG. Pick at least 2048 pixels wide. The PNG captures exactly what the 3D Window shows.
Drop the PNG into the Volexi editor, choose lighting and materials, click Render. A 4K image is ready in about a minute.
Why Archicad teams choose Volexi
No. The tool is PNG-based, so the same workflow applies on Mac, Windows, Archicad 25, 26, or 27.
Plugin-based renderers lag behind Archicad version updates. A PNG-based tool has zero compatibility debt — if Graphisoft releases Archicad 28 tomorrow, Volexi works on day one.
Yes. All compute happens on Volexi servers. Your M1/M2/M3/M4 Mac only does the Archicad export and the upload.
Many GPU renderers on Mac still require Bootcamp, a Windows VM, or lag behind their Windows feature parity. Volexi sidesteps this entirely by running inference in the cloud and rendering the result in the browser.
With Architecture Lock enabled, yes. The renderer aligns to the edges in your Archicad 3D view.
That means floor plates, window placement, and volume are faithful to the BIM source. Finishes, lighting, and sky are AI-generated around that skeleton rather than replacing it.
Yes. Use CineRender when you need marketing-grade hero shots with precise control and Volexi for day-to-day concept iteration.
CineRender has the finer artistic dial; Volexi has speed and cost. Most practices using both end up reserving CineRender for final deliverables only.
Archicad exports rendered in Volexi
Eight dimensions that matter when you're choosing an AI or traditional renderer for architectural visualisation.
| Dimension | Volexi | Archicad's native renderer |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Import export, render in 30 seconds | Material, lighting, and camera setup per scene |
| Export formats accepted | PNG, JPG, Archicad Photorealistic export | Native scene file only |
| Pricing model | Pay-as-you-go credit packs from $9 | Bundled with base license |
Archicad's native renderer is a trademark of the owners of Archicad. Volexi is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owners of Archicad. Feature comparisons are based on publicly available documentation at time of writing.
Volexi works across every major architectural CAD format. Explore the full cluster.
Export a PNG from Archicad, drop it into Volexi, and see a photoreal result in under a minute — native on Mac and Windows.