Still renders: $800–$3,000 per view
A single photoreal exterior or interior view from an experienced studio lands between $800 and $3,000 in 2026. The spread is mostly about context: a clean 3D environment sits at the low end, full photographic integration with drone plates and dense entourage at the top.
Volume changes the math. The expensive part — modeling, materials, lighting — happens once. A second angle of the same scene typically costs 40–60% of the first, which is why launch sets of five views quote far below five singles.
Animation: $3,500–$12,000 per finished minute
Architectural film prices by the finished minute, not by working days. A 60–90 second launch film with graded lighting, people and sound design typically quotes $6,000–$15,000 all-in. Masterplan flyovers with phased storytelling sit higher; simple camera moves through an existing still scene sit lower.
If the studio already built your still scene, an animation upgrade should cost meaningfully less — you are paying for cinematography and rendering time, not a rebuild. Ask explicitly; not every vendor passes that saving on.
Tours and interactive: where the model becomes a salesperson
Streamed virtual tours of unbuilt units start around $6,000 for a typology set. Full interactive configurators — unit selection, finish switching, live availability in the browser — start around $15,000 and scale with unit count and data integrations.
The comparison that matters is not against a render order but against a physical sales gallery. A show-suite fit-out runs six to seven figures and exists in one city. The interactive version works on every buyer’s phone, everywhere, from teaser day.
What actually moves the price
Four levers explain most quote differences: input quality (clean CAD/BIM vs PDF scans that require remodeling), context (photographic integration vs clean 3D), revision structure (fixed rounds vs open-ended), and deadline (rush lanes carry 25–50% premiums).
Geography matters less than it used to. Remote-first studios quote worldwide rates; what you are really buying is direction quality and reliability, not a city address.
Where budgets leak
The classic leak is fragmenting one project across vendors — stills here, film there, tour somewhere else. Each vendor rebuilds the scene, and you pay for the same modeling three times. One scene feeding every deliverable is the single biggest saving available in 2026.
The second leak is unscoped revisions. A vague brief plus hourly billing is how a $5,000 order becomes $9,000. Insist on fixed-fee quotes with named revision rounds — good studios offer this by default.
Comparing studios: what the price sheet won't tell you
Shortlists for 3D architectural visualization services usually compare day rates — and day rates are the least predictive number on the sheet. When you evaluate architectural visualization firms, ask instead: who directs the work, how many revision rounds are in the fixed fee, and does the studio own a reusable scene or bill you to rebuild it per deliverable?
The market splits into three tiers. Freelancers are cheapest per image and riskiest per deadline. Large architectural visualization companies and traditional architectural rendering companies offer capacity but relay you through account managers. Boutique 3D architectural visualisation companies — including this one — sell a named directing lead and a scene that compounds across the campaign. Price the outcome, not the render.
A practical filter when comparing 3D architectural rendering companies: request the same test brief from each. A 3D architectural rendering company confident in its pipeline will show you scene structure, not just beauty frames — and an architectural 3D visualization company worth hiring will ask about your sales funnel before quoting. The strongest 3D visualisation company on your list is the one whose questions sound like a marketer's, because in visualisation 3D architecture is only half the job; the other half is conversion.