LightWave 3D vs Rhino 3D
LightWave 3D
lightwave3d.comRhino 3D
rhino3d.comSide by side
| Figure | LightWave 3D | Rhino 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £450/mo | $95/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 10 | 14 |
| Spec score · 3D modeling software | 8.6 (#29) | 9.5 (#1) |
| Documentation | Documentation includes online 2025 and 2020 manuals plus a downloadable 3,600-plus-page 2020 manual PDF. | McNeel provides online and offline Rhino help, context-sensitive command help, learning materials and a dedicated developer documentation site. |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Headquarters | England, UK | The company lists its Seattle, Washington office at 146 N Canal Street, Suite 320. |
| Rating on Capterra | 3.8 out of 5 from 4 reviews | 4.6 out of 5 from 92 reviews for Rhino 7. |
| Rating on G2 | 3.9 out of 5 from 29 reviews | 4.4 out of 5 from 192 reviews. |
| Support | The documentation directs users to support, bug-report and feature-request email addresses and community forums. | Support resources include forums, telephone, email, live chat, tutorials, training classes and community sites, with support included in purchase price. |
| What it does | LightWave 3D is desktop graphics software for 3D modelling, animation and visual effects used in film, television, games, print and visualisation. | Rhino is a 3D CAD application for creating, editing, analyzing, documenting, rendering, animating and translating NURBS, SubD, point-cloud and mesh geometry. |
Plans
LightWave 3D
- New LightWave 2025 Licence£795 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2024 users£450 a month
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade - LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550 a month
- 30-day trialFree
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2024 users£450, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2025£450, paid once
- LightWave 2025 Upgrade — LightWave 2023 or earlier users£550, paid once
- LightWave 2026 upgrade from 2024 or earlier£550, paid once
- LightWave 2025 licence£795, paid once
- New LightWave 2026 licence£795, paid once
Rhino 3D
- Commercial — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$995 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 10 concurrent users$9,950 a month
- Commercial — Rhino 8, 50 concurrent users$49,750 a month
- Commercial upgrade — Rhino 8 single concurrent user$595 a month
- Student or faculty — Rhino 8 single user$195 a month
- Student or faculty upgrade — Rhino 8 single user$95 a month
- School — Rhino 8, 30-user lab$975 a month
- EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 EvaluationFree
- Rhino 8 Educational Single User$195, paid once
In their own words
LightWave 3D
LightWave 3D has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Rhino 3D
Rhino 3D is desktop software for Windows and macOS with listed capabilities for parametric modeling, animation, rendering, and 3D print export. The commercial Rhino 8 single concurrent-user license is listed at $995 a month, billed as a permanent license that does not expire. Licenses for 10 and 50 concurrent users are listed at $9,950 a month and $49,750 a month, respectively, also as permanent licenses. Student or faculty and school options are listed, with educational-status or school-licensing requirements. Commercial and student or faculty upgrade options are available, though evaluation versions cannot be upgraded. A free evaluation license costs nothing and lasts 90 days; saving and plugins stop working after that period. The listing describes Rhino 3D as paid while also indicating a free plan and free trial. Its maker is listed as founded in 1980 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA.