Architectural Rendering Cost Calculator — Outsourced vs In-House
What a year of renders actually costs you — and what the alternatives cost.
Free · no sign-up · nothing uploaded — the maths runs in your browser.
Cost per year
96 images × $450 each
96 images × 4 h × $60/h
$29/month, 33 Ultra renders included
Read this as three different products, not three prices for the same thing. A studio gives you a physically accurate, art-directed final image. In-house gives you full control and eats the time. AI gives you a convincing image in under a minute with no scene setup — which is what most of these 96 images actually need to be.
Why this matters
Most practices know what one outsourced render costs and have never multiplied it by a year. The number is usually larger than expected, and it is almost never on anyone's budget line because it arrives project by project as a disbursement.
This adds it up three ways: what you pay an external studio, what the same work costs in your own time at your charge-out rate, and what an AI tool costs for the same volume. It is deliberately blunt about where AI does and does not replace the other two.
No email required and nothing is stored. The reason competitors gate this behind a form is that the number is a sales argument — but a calculator you have to pay for with your address is a calculator nobody trusts.
Worth knowing
- —AI does not replace a final, physically accurate deliverable — it replaces the early passes you would otherwise pay for or skip
- —The in-house column is usually the one that surprises people: render setup time is real time, billed or not
- —Revisions are where outsourced cost escalates; count them honestly or the comparison is meaningless
Frequently asked
How much does an architectural render cost?+
Outsourced still images commonly run from a few hundred to a couple of thousand US dollars each depending on complexity, detail and turnaround, with revisions charged separately. Prices vary widely by studio and region, so use your own quoted figure in the calculator rather than any published average.
Is AI rendering actually cheaper?+
Per image, substantially — but they are not the same product. AI gives you a convincing image in under a minute with no scene setup; a rendering studio gives you a physically accurate, art-directed final deliverable. Most practices that use both use AI for options and early client work, and pay for CGI when the image is the deliverable.
What about doing renders in-house?+
The software is often already paid for, so the cost hides in time: material setup, lighting, test frames and the machine tied up while it renders. Multiply that by your charge-out rate and it frequently exceeds what an external studio quoted — which is the calculation this tool is really for.
Does Archome have a free tier?+
Yes. Every account gets 100 free credits to start with no card, which covers about three Ultra-quality renders — enough to judge output on your own project before deciding anything.
Keep going
Archome AI turns a photo, sketch or CAD viewport into a photorealistic render in about 30 seconds. Every account gets 100 free credits to start with no card — start free or read the guide for architects.