⚡ Corona Renderer at a Glance
| Current Version | Corona 15 — 27 May 2026[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Developer | Chaos (Corona was built by Render Legion in Prague, acquired by Chaos in 2017)[1][2] |
| Pricing | Solo $414/yr; Premium $562.80/yr (USD; monthly plans also available)[1][2] |
| License | Commercial subscription[1][2] |
| Platforms | 3ds Max and Cinema 4D[1][2] |
| File Formats | Chaos Cosmos assets, USD, FBX, OBJ, EXR[1][2] |
| Typical Use | Architectural visualization of interiors and exteriors with minimal technical setup.[1][2] |
| Technical Detail | An archviz-first renderer with smart, low-setup defaults; Chaos Vantage offers a real-time path-traced preview. Corona 15 made the Veras AI ideation tool free with every subscription, added a Glints layer to the Physical Material and lets Gaussian splats bounce global illumination.[1][2] |
History and Background
Corona began in February 2009 as a student project by Ondrej Karlik in Prague. Karlik, Adam Hotovy and Jaroslav Krivanek developed it further as Render Legion, and Corona 1.0 was released on 25 February 2015. Chaos Group acquired Render Legion in August 2017; the team became Chaos Czech, and the renderer was renamed Chaos Corona in 2022.
Sources for this section: en.wikipedia.org, architosh.com (checked 5 November 2026).
Strengths
- The ArchViz-first renderer with the least technical setup, thanks to smart defaults.
- Chaos Vantage provides a real-time ray-traced preview, so setting iteration is immediate.
- Official plug-ins cover 3ds Max and Cinema 4D; a Corona 15 subscription also includes the Veras AI ideation tool.
- Yearly billing costs roughly half of paying month by month.
What You Should Know
- Annual subscription: in euros, Solo is EUR 375 and Premium EUR 490.80 per year.
- Because the focus is physical accuracy, stylized results need extra setup.
- There is no official Blender version; the community-made BCorona add-on bridges Blender and Corona Standalone without Chaos support.
Who Is It For?
Architects, interior designers and visualization studios working under tight deadlines.
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References
The independent sources below were used to verify the version, pricing, license and technical details in this review.
This review belongs to our Popular 3D Modeling Software comparison.
