Elevation Rendering Software, Cost, and Examples (2025 Update)

Turning architectural elevations into 3D renderings helps bring your design concepts to life and allows clients to better understand your vision early in the ideation process.

Knowing exactly what their finished building or interior space will look like makes communication much smoother and the feedback process more efficient.

In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about architecture elevation rendering. From the most cost and time-efficient visualization methods and tools, the average cost and time needed, to example elevation renderings.

Let's dive in.

Best elevation rendering software

There are two main approaches to elevation rendering (and rendering any architectural and interior designs in general):

1. Using AI rendering software. This is the most time and cost-efficient method of turning elevations into photorealistic 3D visualizations. It usually takes just a couple of seconds per elevation. An extra benefit of the AI-assisted approach is that you don't need any 3D modeling experience, as most AI-based tools are very straightforward to use.
2. Using physically-based rendering software. Going this route requires much more time and effort, expensive GPUs, and 3D visualization skills. If your firm already has a rendering specialist on board, it may be the right choice though.

Let's have a look at what the architecture elevation rendering process looks like across different software tools.

MyArchitectAI

MyArchitectAI is a leading AI elevation rendering software loved by architects and home builders for its impressive speed (10 seconds per render) and high level of realism.

Here's how to turn your elevation drawing (exterior and interior) into a 3D render using MyArchitectAI.

1. Sign up for a free account (no installs needed).

2. Upload your facade 2D drawing in JPG or PNG format.

3. Select the "style transfer" engine and upload a reference image of the style you'd like to apply to your design.

4. Adjust the "style strength" slider. Higher values will make your render look closer to the reference image. Geometry will be unchanged.

5/ Press the "generate" button.

MyArchitectAI's AI-powered engine will handle all the lighting and texturing for you automatically, converting your 2D elevation into a photorealistic rendering in about 10 seconds.

To make changes to your visualization, click the "edit" button.

Here, you can quickly edit your rendered elevation using words, e.g. "turn it into a winter scene":

‍

SketchUp

While SketchUp itself is a 3D modeling tool and doesn't have native rendering features, you can use its AI-powered Diffusion extension to visualize your 2D facade drawings.

We wrote a detailed guide on how to render in SketchUp using two different methods and recommend it as a starting point for users new to this topic.

Here's a video version of how rendering elevations work in SketchUp Diffusion, SketchUp's AI rendering plugin:

‍

You can also use MyArchitectAI to render your SketchUp designs with an even higher accuracy and realism.

‍

Photoshop

While elevation rendering in Photoshop takes more time and effort compared to AI-powered tools, it's not rocket science.

With photoshop, you can create both conceptual and photorealistic elevation renders.

Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial on how it works:

‍

Revit

While rendering in Revit is quite limited, you can still use it to create some very basic visualizations.

Use this guide for step-by-step instructions on how to turn your facade drawings from 2D to 3D using Revit:

‍

Lumion

If your rendering software of choice is Lumion, here's how you can use it to render elevations:

‍

Enscape

This tutorial will show you how to render elevations in Enscape:

‍

How much does elevation rendering cost?

The price varies quite a lot depending on the method you choose.

While you can affordably render your elevation designs yourself using Photoshop or one of the mentioned AI-powered tools, outsourcing the process to a specialist 3D rendering firm will set you back at least $250 per image.

How long does elevation rendering take?

Similar to the cost, delivery time also depends on the rendering method. Here are the timeframe estimates, from quickest to slowest:

1. Rendering elevations using AI-powered software: 10-20 seconds per scene
2. Rendering elevations with Photoshop: hours per scene
3. Outsourcing to a specialist rendering firm: 3-7 days per scene

Elevation rendering examples

Here are some example elevation renders created using MyArchitectAI.

Front elevation rendering of a Pennsylvanian residential house:

Rendered elevation drawing of a Madrid-based office building:

AI architectural render of a boutique hotel in Austrian Alps:

Closing thoughts

Ultimately, the approach you decide to go with depends on your needs and budget.

If you need pixel-perfect elevation renderings for a high-value project, then using physically-based rendering software or outsourcing the project to a specialist visualization firm will make more sense.

If rendering elevations is meant to be a tool to speed up the conceptualization process, choosing AI-powered software like MyArchitectAI is the right choice.

Happy rendering!

‍