Lumion

Lumion is a real-time 3D architectural visualization software developed by Act-3D B.V., a privately owned Dutch company, developer of the Quest3D engine, headquartered in Sassenheim, Netherlands.^[1] Primarily used in architecture, landscaping, urban planning and interior design, Lumion allows the creation of high-resolution renders and visualizations. It is available in 180 countries worldwide.^[2][3][4]

Lumion
Developer	Act-3D B.V.
Initial release	2010
Stable release	Lumion Pro 2025
Operating system	Windows
Type	3D visualization
License	Proprietary
Website	lumion.com

History

Act-3D, a company behind Lumion, was founded in 1998 in Leiden, Netherlands.^[5]

In September 2001, the company developed Quest3D, a proprietary 3D engine utilized in the areas of architecture, product design, computer games, training software, and simulation environments.^[6][7]

Act-3D shifted focus to architectural 3D rendering shortly after its inception. The first version of Lumion software was released in December 2010.^[2][8]

In April 2025, Lumion released Lumion Pro 2025, introducing AI-based image upscaling, expanded ray-traced effects such as water and volumetric lighting, a scene inspector, performance controls, and new nature assets created through photogrammetry.^[9][10]

In April of the same year, Lumion released Lumion View, a real-time visualization plugin for SketchUp that allows users to create ray-traced 4K renders directly within the modeling software.^[11][12]

In August 2025, Lumion announced the acquisition of Denmark-based startup Niimblr, which specializes in cloud-based collaboration, and rebranded it as Lumion Cloud. Bringing a visual-first collaboration solution to its ecosystem.^[13] Lumion Cloud enables architectural visualization professionals to upload files with seamless integration to Lumion View and Pro, and collect feedback from team members, clients and stakeholders.^[14]

In October 2025, Lumion released Lumion View for Revit plugin, offering the benefits of Lumion View to Autodesk Revit users.^[15]

Overview

Lumion has Lumion View, Lumion Pro, and Lumion Cloud for commercial use. Lumion View is a lightweight, real-time rendering plugin that integrates with modelling applications (such as SketchUp and Revit) to support early-stage design review and fast visual feedback, while Lumion Pro is the full-featured desktop application that provides the advanced rendering tools and the complete content library for production-grade visualization.^[16] Lumion Studio is offered as a bundled subscription that combines the capabilities of both View and Pro.^[17][18]

Lumion Cloud, a web-based collaboration platform built for architects and designers, is currently free for all users with a Lumion Account.^[19]

Lumion also has two educational licenses for non-commercial use only: Lumion Student and Lumion Faculty. Lumion Student is a free 1-year license designed for students. It can be renewed throughout their studies and is intended for non-commercial use only. Lumion Faculty is a free 3-year license for faculty members representing educational institutions. Lumion Faculty is restricted to use on university computer labs only.^[18]

Features

Lumion offers real-time rendering, allowing users to view changes and updates instantly.^[8]

It also has integration with popular CAD software, such as Revit, SketchUp, AutoCAD, Archicad, and many more. Lumion LiveSync was introduced for the first time in 2018 for Sketchup, enabling real-time model-to-render synchronization.^[20][8][21]

LiveSync feature allows CAD modeling and Lumion rendering integration for simultaneous work in both environments with modifications that are instantly visible within the context of a lifelike landscape, including realistic skies, vegetation, furniture, and other rendered elements.^[20][22]

Lumion’s render engine combines rasterization technology with ray tracing for realistic light behavior and automatically generates realistic indirect lighting, reflections, and shadows.^{[23][24][8][25][26]}

It is compatible with both Nvidia and AMD GPUs.^[27][28] It supports PBR material workflow, utilizing 8 material maps. Renders natural physical properties through the calculation of light conditions and gives control over the material settings.^[29]

System requirements

Lumion's system requirements vary by version, generally recommending a powerful graphics card, sufficient RAM, and a high-speed processor for optimal performance. A benchmark test is available for individual assessment (Lumion benchmarks the user's computer graphics card, graphics memory, CPU, and system memory; if any of these components have a red score, the user may need to upgrade this component for a better Lumion use). System requirements also differ between the products: Lumion View is intended to run on lighter hardware as a plugin, while Lumion Pro requires a more powerful workstation (notably a fast graphics card and increased memory).^[30][31]