# Lightwave3D Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Lightwave3D Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other 3D CAD products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/201852/Lightwave3D --- # Lightwave3D Software Review 2026: Features, Reviews, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. 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[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Lightwave3D ## What is Lightwave3D? 3D CAD solution that offers visual effects, motion graphics, architectural visualizations, illumination render engines, and more. ## What is Lightwave3D used for? [3D CAD](https://www.capterra.com/3d-cad-software/) Overall rating Based on 4 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive \- Neutral \- Negative \- Starting price A$995 Per Feature, One Time Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Lightwave3D?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.newtek.com&name=Lightwave3D) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Lightwave3D 3.8 (4) VS. [### 3DPrinterOS](https://www.capterra.com/p/210581/3DPrinterOS/) [4.8 (5)](https://www.capterra.com/p/210581/3DPrinterOS/#reviews) Starting Price A$995 Per Feature, One Time Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.8 (4) Ease Of Use 4.6 (5) Value For Money 4.0 (4) Value For Money 5.0 (4) Customer Service 4.3 (3) Customer Service 4.7 (3) ## Lightwave3D alternatives [KiCad EDA](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) [4.4 (17)](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/10006638/KiCad-EDA/) [Mastercam](https://www.capterra.com/p/230166/MasterCam/) [4.2 (6)](https://www.capterra.com/p/230166/MasterCam/#reviews) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 83% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/230166/MasterCam/) [Slic3r](https://www.capterra.com/p/210452/Slic3r/) [4.3 (15)](https://www.capterra.com/p/210452/Slic3r/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 93% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/210452/Slic3r/) [SketchList 3D](https://www.capterra.com/p/204375/SketchList-3D/) [4.3 (13)](https://www.capterra.com/p/204375/SketchList-3D/reviews/) Starting price $250.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 92% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/204375/SketchList-3D/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Animation 4.3 (3) 66.67% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Ability to insert animations/transitions Collaboration Tools 3.0 (3) 33.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Provides a channel for team members to share media files, communicate, and work together Component Library 3.7 (3) 33.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Database of components and materials used in design templates Data Import/Export 4.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Import and export data to and from software applications For 3D Printing Designed for 3D printing purposes For Architects Intended to be used by architects Lightwave3D 6 features Ability to insert animations/transitions Provides a channel for team members to share media files, communicate, and work together Database of components and materials used in design templates Import and export data to and from software applications Designed for 3D printing purposes Intended to be used by architects Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 3.8 (4) 3.8 Based on 4 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.0 (4) Free Trial Basic A$995.00 Per Feature,One Time Value for money 4.0 (4) 4.0 Based on 4 reviews Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.3 (3) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.3 (3) 4.3 Based on 3 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 3.8 Based on 4 reviews Filter by rating 5(0) 4(3) 3(1) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent SU Sascha U. Freelancer Design ### "My First 3D App " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 October 6, 2022 Full Disclaimer, I haven't used Newtech Lightwave in several years. Lightwave was my first 3D software, and I originally learned to use Lightwave in highschool. The computer lab had a few old floating-licenses around back then. With no interest from students and having been proven too complex to teach as part of the class, the disks had just been gathering dust. The instructor let me borrow one of the dongles to work on a group project and that was my first foray into the world of 3D. Years Later I enrolled in the Digital Arts and New Media course at the local college, where I found they were also using Lightwave. Here I learned 3D skills in a more professional capacity and bought my own license to use at home. Eventually I ended up switching to Blender for a combination of financial reasons and it's better flexibility, but Lightwave still holds a special place in my heart. In terms of Lightwaves strengths, I remember it having a very precise modelling workflow, in retrospect similar to CAD in many ways. This more rigid modelling style isn't as good for freestyle organic modelling, but it was excellent for modelling architecture, robots, death-stars, and the like. I often missed having access to some of the precision tools after I switched to Blender, and It wasn't until I took up CAD modelling years later that I managed to fill that spot in my workflow again. Pros Lightwave was my first 3D software, in college I found it, though complex, to be easy to get into. Lightwave's modelling style and workflow are more similar to CAD in many ways, with precise tools requiring numerical input. This makes it a great choice for artists wanting to focus on things like architectural modelling and traditional hard surface modelling. Cons Sometimes the UI can be a bit cumbersome, and Lightwave can be a bit slow to adopt common features present in other 3D applications. For example, there was a long stretch of time where lightwave had very limited simulation features and a rather dated renderer with limited support for render passes. Alternatives considered [Blender](https://www.capterra.com/p/167519/Blender/) Reasons for choosing Lightwave3D At the time blender was very limited and had a poor UI. I did end up switching to it years later, but during college I chose Lightwave as that is what the class was teaching. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AU Anonymous User Interactive Experiences Architect Information Technology and Services ### "Lagging in updates and community diminishing" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 September 25, 2022 What I most like of my experience is modeling in it. It's pretty fast for many classic workflows and for low-poly styles. You can create prototypes easily and generate imagery that will impress without much effort. For animation, the setups feel a little clunky in comparison to other pieces of software, but with a little more effort, you can obtain splendid results. It is a piece of software that has evolved since the last century, and it sometimes shows its old roots. Pros The best piece is the render and illumination pipeline that brings great visual results for NPR or PR. It is a great piece of software that has been in use for many years in several industries and is part of an essential toolset for many artists. It is worth its pricing if you are getting direct benefits from its use Cons It has been lagging features and updates in comparison to others pieces of software. It has disappointed many of its users and some negative comments can be easily found on their forums. Its parent company seems to be more focused on video pipelines and it seems, for periods of time, as if they forget about this piece of software. It's latest update is tagged with 2020 on its name, for example. For personal use it could be quite expensive. Alternatives considered [Maya](https://www.capterra.com/p/267926/Maya/) [Blender](https://www.capterra.com/p/167519/Blender/) Reasons for choosing Lightwave3D We have been working with this product since the 90's. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Nathan M. Sr. 3D Animation & Multimedia/AV Developer Oil & Energy ### "Seems like the Lightwave is dimming." 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 November 4, 2021 Pros For years I was infatuated with the ease of use, and the work style of this program. It's easy to be modeler, texturer, rigger, animator and renderer all in one. Cons After years of staying faithful to this once beloved program there suddenly were no jobs using it, the industry fell out of love with it, and moved to other programs like 3DS Max, and Cinema4D that have become the industry standard and honestly I have to admit the features offered in other programs have made Lightwave seem like more of a light splash. Reasons for choosing Lightwave3D Ease of use, cost, and it was what I was trained on in my courses in college. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Nabin P. CEO Computer Software ### "Easy and light 3D software for independent artists " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 September 16, 2021 Lightwave3D is among the leading modeling, animation, and rendering software with its own native experience. A must-try 3D software for any artist who wishes to deliver a different set of visual experience. Pros Lightwave3D offers realistic modeling, animation, and rendering features that are easy to learn and use. It comes with features like global illumination, fiber shaders, volumetric tools, tone mapping, and an innovative motion system. I like the speed of its native rendering engine, node-based shading, and sets of new improvements in every new release. Because of its affordability, simplicity, and speed of production, it's suitable for any artist who wishes to produce commercial-grade 3d models and animation on the breeze. Cons Lightwave3D has limited 3rd party rendering support, it does not support popular rendering engines such as vRay and Keyshot. Modeling and laying it out has to be done on separate windows making workflow slower. Not suitable for photorealistic rendering. Switched from [Houdini](https://www.capterra.com/p/210535/Houdini/) [KeyShot](https://www.capterra.com/p/173819/KeyShot/) [Zbrush](https://www.capterra.com/p/210456/Zbrush/) We switched to Lightwave3D from other 3D software for the new feel in models, textures, lights, and motion. Alternatives considered [Houdini](https://www.capterra.com/p/210535/Houdini/) [KeyShot](https://www.capterra.com/p/173819/KeyShot/) Reasons for choosing Lightwave3D We choose Lightwave3D over other alternatives to try its native textures, lights, and motion effects. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)