KeyShot releases KeyShot 2026.2
KeyShot has released KeyShot Studio 2026.2, the latest version of the renderer.
The update adds support for GPU rendering on Apple Silicon GPUs, introduces integrated cloud-based rendering service KeyShot Cloud, and changes KeyShot Studio’s price structure.
An intuitive ray tracing renderer for visualization and portfolio work
KeyShot Studio is a standalone CPU and GPU-based ray tracing renderer with integration plugins for a range of popular DCC and CAD applications.
It is intended to enable non-specialist artists to create photorealistic renders of imported 3D models, and also includes simple technical animation capabilities.
Although it was used by entertainment artists to create portfolio renders, having previously been the de facto third-party renderer for ZBrush, its key market is now product visualization.
KeyShot Studio 2026.2: support for Apple GPU rendering
KeyShot added support for GPU rendering on AMD GPUs to the previously NVIDIA-only KeyShot Studio last year, and KeyShot Studio 2026.2 extends its hardware support still further.
The software can now take advantage of the GPUs in Apple Silicon processors for rendering, resulting in a maximum speed increase of “30-50x” relative to the CPU on M5 processors.
GPU rendering is supported on M1 and newer chips, although the M3 generation – which introduced support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing – and above give better performance.
In KeyShot 2026.2, Apple Silicon support is still officially in beta.
Workflow and performance improvements
Other changes include support for Node Groups in the material graph, making it possible to turn sections of the graph into reusable components with custom inputs and outputs.
The animation toolset gets workflow improvements including the ability to scroll the timeline with the mouse wheel.
glTF/GLB compression has been improved, making models exported in the format “around 2-3x smaller”.
KeyShot Cloud: a new credit-based cloud rendering service
Outside the core software, KeyShot Studio also now comes with own integrated cloud rendering service, KeyShot Cloud.
Like Chaos Cloud for V-Ray and Corona, or Arnold’s experimental new Flow Render service, it enables users to launch render jobs in the cloud from inside the software.
Pricing is credit-based and charged per-render. It supports both CPU and GPU rendering.
New pricing: network rendering now only for Business and Enterprise subscribers
Since the release of KeyShot 2026.1, KeyShot has changed its pricing structure, introducing new Business and Enterprise subscriptions.
The cost of the existing Professional subscription remains unchanged, at $1,299/year, but it is no longer possible to use the Network Rendering add-on with it.
If you need local network rendering, you now have to take out a Business subscription, which is $300/year more expensive, in addition to paying the cost of the add-on.
Price and system requirements
KeyShot 2026.2 is available for Windows 10+, Windows Server 2019+ and macOS 11.7+.
Integration plugins are available for a range of DCC and CAD tools, including 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Maya and SketchUp.
The software is available rental-only. Subscriptions start at $1,299/year.
Read an overview of the new features in KeyShot Studio 2026.2 on Luxion’s blog
Read a full list of new features in KeyShot 2026.2 in the online release notes
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