This page is part of our guides for commissioning 3D renders. It ends with a ten-question checklist you can copy and send to every studio on your shortlist, and our own answers to it as a worked example.
Decide what you need before you look
Start by naming the deliverables (exterior stills, interiors, floor plans, animation), their purpose (approval, planning, sales) and your deadline, because studios specialize. A studio that excels at product images may never have read a set of construction drawings. Our list of 3D rendering and animation services shows the deliverable types to choose from.
- List the deliverables. Write down how many views of which type: for example, two exteriors, three interiors and one furnished floor plan.
- State the purpose. A planning or client-approval image must match the drawings exactly; a sales image must also look attractive at billboard or brochure size.
- Set the deadline. Count back from the date you need final files, and leave room for two review rounds.
- Gather your files. Collect the CAD or BIM model, plans, elevations, a finishes schedule and reference photos.
- Name one approver. Decide who on your side signs off each draft, so comments arrive once and in one voice.
Filling in a rendering brief template first makes quotes from different studios comparable.
Check the portfolio in your project type
A portfolio is only evidence if it contains work like yours, and its ordinary project images matter more than its three best hero shots. Every studio puts its strongest images first. Scroll past them and look at the everyday views: a standard bedroom, a rear elevation, a plain office. Those show what a typical order looks like.
- Project type. Look for at least three projects like yours: houses, multifamily, retail, or products.
- Straight verticals. Building edges should stand upright, not lean in, unless the view is deliberately dramatic.
- Believable scale. Doors, chairs and people should match each other in size.
- Light that makes sense. Shadows should fall in one direction from the sun, and lamps should actually light what is near them.
- Consistency. The ordinary images should be close in quality to the hero shots.
Our comparison of the best architectural visualization studios applies these checks to each one by name.
Find out who reads your drawings
Ask whether architects or interior designers check your files, because misread drawings are the main cause of extra revision rounds. A render artist who cannot read a section or a reflected ceiling plan will guess at ceiling heights, window sills and finishes, and you will spend your revision rounds correcting those guesses instead of improving the image.
The type of provider also decides how much checking you will do yourself. Whether to send the project out as 3D modeling freelance work or give it to an agency depends on your volume and how much review time you have.
| Provider | Best for | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | One-off projects and small budgets, when you can review closely | Cover for illness or holidays, capacity for several views at once, and who checks the drawings besides the artist |
| Small studio | Steady work in one project type | Whether the studio works in your project type, and its capacity in busy months |
| Agency | Repeat work, mixed deliverables, tight deadlines | Who handles your project day to day, and whether a qualified person checks every file |
Compare the price per view, not the hourly rate
Ask for a written price per finished view that states what is included, so quotes from different studios can be compared line by line. An hourly rate tells you nothing until you know the hours. A price per view, with the resolution, revision rounds and modeling included, lets you put three quotes side by side.
| Quote item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Price per view | A fixed figure for each finished image, by type |
| Modeling | Whether building the model from your drawings is included or charged separately |
| Revision rounds | How many rounds are included and the price of each extra round |
| Resolution and files | Pixel size and formats, such as 4K JPG and PNG, with a layered PSD if you need one |
| Schedule | Dates for the first draft, each revision round and the final files |
| Rush fee | The surcharge for a faster delivery, as a percentage or a figure |
| Payment terms | How much is paid up front and when the rest is due |
| Usage rights | Whether you may use the images commercially without limits of time or place |
What should a 3D rendering company do for your project?
A good 3D rendering company lets you and your client decide finishes, massing and layout on an image before money is spent on site, and avoid costly changes once building starts. It shows planning boards and review panels the building in its context, so the approval meeting goes on the design and not on a misread drawing. For a developer or builder, it lets buyers and investors see a home or tower that does not exist yet, so units can be marketed and pre-sold off-plan. All of that depends on a team that reads plans, sections and finish schedules correctly the first time, which is why the next questions are about revisions and dates.
Ask how many revision rounds are included
Get the number of included revision rounds and the price of extra rounds in writing before you start. Two rounds is the norm among the studios we surveyed. Ask also what counts as a revision: a change of sofa color is a revision, but moving a wall after the draft is usually a design change and is priced as new work. Agree that definition before the first draft, not after it.
Get the turnaround in writing
A reliable studio gives a dated schedule for the draft, each revision and the final, not just a number of days. The published norm for a first draft of stills is 3 to 7 days and for animation 2 to 4 weeks. Ask what happens if the studio misses a date: some studios offer a discount, others offer no remedy at all. Architecture firms using 3D rendering outsourcing services should also plan their own review days into the schedule, because a two-day wait for internal comments delays the final by two days.
Ask for a test or a draft
Order one paid test view from your own files before you commit a whole project, because it shows how the studio reads your drawings, how it communicates and how good its first draft is. Most studios sell single views, so a test costs the price of one image. Treat any 3D rendering vendor that refuses a single-view order or a sample of its first-draft quality as a risk.
Judge the test on three points: whether the geometry matches your drawings without being told twice, whether questions came before guesses, and whether the revision was delivered on the date given.
Check the business is real
Look for a verifiable business address, a clear account of who does the work, reviews on independent sites and a contract with an NDA option. A low price from a business you cannot trace leaves you nowhere to turn if files are late or the images are reused elsewhere.
- Confirm the address and company details. Check that the address and business email on the website match the invoice and the contract.
- Ask who does the work. The answer should name roles and qualifications, such as architects or interior designers, and say whether any work is subcontracted.
- Read independent reviews. Look at review sites and professional networks, not only testimonials on the studio's own site.
- Ask for the contract. It should state the price, schedule, revision rounds, usage rights and refund terms.
- Ask about an NDA. Unreleased projects need one, and a serious studio signs it as a matter of routine.
Our team and business details are on our About us page.
Can ChatGPT or AI do architectural renderings instead?
AI tools, ChatGPT included, can generate concept images quickly, but they do not reliably hold your dimensions, specified products or exact materials, so they cannot yet replace a studio for approval or marketing images. An AI image of a living room is a plausible room, not your room. For early mood images and option studies it is fast and cheap. What AI for architectural rendering can do today is tested in our software guide.
Can AI do 3D rendering?
AI can speed up parts of rendering, such as denoising, upscaling and restyling a model, but a photoreal image of a specific design still needs a 3D model of it. Ask any studio how it uses AI, and make sure the final image is calculated from a model of your design.
The checklist: questions to ask a 3D rendering company
Copy the ten questions below and send them to each shortlisted studio, so their answers line up side by side. The table is plain text: select it and paste it into an email or a spreadsheet, adding one column per studio.
| Number | Question to ask | A good answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can you show three projects like mine, including everyday views and not only hero shots? | Links to several projects of your type |
| 2 | Who checks my drawings, and what are their qualifications? | Architects or interior designers, named by role |
| 3 | What is your written price per finished view, and what does it include? | A fixed price per view covering modeling, rendering and post-production |
| 4 | How many revision rounds are included, and what does an extra round cost? | At least two rounds, with a stated price for more |
| 5 | What are the dates for the first draft, each revision round and the final files? | A dated schedule in writing |
| 6 | What happens if you miss a delivery date? | A stated remedy, such as a discount |
| 7 | Which file formats do you accept? | Your native files, such as RVT, SKP, 3DM or DWG, plus PDF drawings |
| 8 | What resolution and file types do you deliver? | At least 4K stills, with the formats you need |
| 9 | What usage rights do I get, and will you sign an NDA? | Full commercial use with no time or place limit, and an NDA on request |
| 10 | What are your payment and refund terms? | Clear terms in writing, including a refund if work has not started |
How we answer the checklist
Each checklist question is answered here for 3DRenderingAgency, with links to the evidence. Use it as a model of the detail to expect from any studio, including our own 3D rendering agency.
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Projects like mine | The images in our 3D rendering portfolio are concept work our team made. Ask us for examples in your project type. |
| 2. Who checks drawings | A team trained in architecture and interior design, working remotely, reads every file. |
| 3. Price per view | A fixed quote within 12 hours of receiving files, covering modeling, rendering and post-production at the level the brief describes. Our 3D rendering cost per view is published in full. |
| 4. Revision rounds | Two rounds included. Because the drawings are read right the first time, the rounds go on refining the image, not on correcting misreadings. |
| 5. Dates | First draft of stills in 3 to 5 business days, animation in 2 to 3 weeks. Rush delivery in 48 hours, subject to capacity. |
| 6. Missed dates | If we miss an agreed delivery date by more than two business days, we take money off that order; the remedy is written into every quote. |
| 7. Files accepted | RVT, SKP, 3DM, MAX, DWG, DXF and PLN; IFC, OBJ, FBX and STEP; PDF drawings, sketches and photos. |
| 8. Delivered | Stills in 4K as JPG and PNG, layered PSD on request; animation as 1080p or 4K MP4. |
| 9. Rights and NDA | Full commercial use, with no time or place limit. We may show the work in our portfolio unless you ask us not to or an NDA says otherwise. |
| 10. Payment and refunds | Payment terms are stated in the fixed quote before you approve it. Full refund if work has not started. |