Indigo Renderer
Indigo Renderer is a rendering application that simulates light physics to produce photorealistic images from 3D scenes and models.
What Indigo Renderer is
Indigo Renderer is a rendering application that simulates light physics to produce photorealistic images from 3D scenes and models. It renders on CPUs or multiple GPUs through OpenCL on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Indigo uses spectral light calculations rather than RGB for its light transport, and includes a physical camera model, physically based materials, depth of field, and subsurface scattering. Ray-traced and OpenGL previews allow real-time adjustment of materials and camera settings. Rendering can be distributed across multiple machines with the Network Manager. Official integrations include Revit, SketchUp, Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya, and 3ds Max. A free version is limited to 0.7 megapixels, adds an Indigo logo, excludes commercial use, and has forum-only support. A trial can be unlocked to the full version with a licence. The paid Indigo Renderer licence costs €595, paid once.
Good
- CPU and multi-GPU OpenCL rendering
- Spectral light transport calculations
- Real-time material and camera previews
- Network rendering across machines
- Integrates with major 3D tools
Watch out
- Free version limited to 0.7 megapixels
- Free images include an Indigo logo
- Free version excludes commercial use
- Paid licence costs 595.00 EUR once
Who it suits
Indigo Renderer suits 3D artists and visualization users on Windows, macOS, or Linux who need CPU, GPU, or network rendering. Its integrations support users of the listed 3D applications.
Verdict
Indigo Renderer offers physically based rendering, spectral calculations, previews, and distributed workloads across three desktop platforms. The free edition has strict output and usage limits, while the full licence is a one-time purchase.
Plans and prices
From Indigo Renderer's own pricing page, checked 3 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Indigo Renderer | €595, paid once | Flagship product; includes section planes, orthographic and spherical cameras, invisible-to-camera objects, shadow-catcher material, light layers, IES lighting, network rendering and EXR output |
The facts
Each one read from Indigo Renderer's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Camera and materials
- Features include a physical camera model, physically based materials, depth of field and subsurface scattering.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The FAQ lists official support for Revit, SketchUp, Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya and 3ds Max.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Interactive editing
- Users can adjust materials and camera settings in real time with ray-traced and OpenGL previews.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Network rendering
- Indigo supports rendering across multiple machines and includes a Network Manager to distribute render node resources.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Orders
- The maker says Glare Technologies UK Limited handles orders and payments.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Rendering
- The renderer supports CPU and multi-GPU rendering using OpenCL on Windows, macOS and Linux.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Spectral rendering
- Indigo uses spectral light computations rather than RGB throughout its light transport calculations.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker provides support by email and asks users to include their Indigo and exporter versions and computer details when possible.checked 3 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Indigo is an unbiased renderer that simulates the physics of light to create photorealistic images from 3D scenes and models.checked 3 Oct 2026
The company
- Company
- Glare Technologies Limited is a privately held New Zealand company that develops and supports Indigo Renderer and was founded in 2008.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2008checked 28 Sep 2026
Money
- Free version limits
- The free version is limited to 0.7 megapixels, adds an Indigo logo, cannot be used commercially and has no support beyond the forums.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Trial
- The FAQ says users can download a trial and unlock the full version by purchasing a licence; it does not state a trial duration.checked 3 Oct 2026
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