What it does
Redshift is a renderer for supported 3D applications, with interactive previews, materials, lighting, volumes and separate render passes for compositing. One subscription covers its integration plugins, and full Redshift is included with Cinema 4D subscriptions.
Redshift's material tools include Hex Tiling to reduce visible texture repetition and Texture Displacement to add surface geometry. Area, mesh and dome lights provide different light sources. Its interactive preview updates changes to materials, lights, objects and cameras.
AOVs are separate render outputs for later compositing. Available types include the complete beauty image, ambient occlusion, Cryptomatte masks and custom passes. This lets a compositor work with more than one flattened image.
Host and graphics requirements
Supported integrations include Cinema 4D, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Katana and ZBrush, with different operating-system combinations. Current GPU minimums include 8 GB of graphics memory on supported NVIDIA or AMD cards for Windows. Mac support uses Apple M-series or specified AMD hardware. Linux support requires compatible CUDA hardware and a qualifying 64-bit distribution.
Redshift Live has stricter requirements than the general renderer, including an NVIDIA RTX GPU with at least 8 GB on Windows. A GPU that meets ordinary Redshift requirements therefore does not automatically qualify for Live.
A 14-day Maxon trial is available through Maxon App. Activation requires a MyMaxon account. The subscription checkout determines the current charge; a reliable numeric price was not available from the public purchase page.
Strengths
- One subscription covers the available host integration plugins.
- Compositing output includes Cryptomatte and custom passes.
Watch out for
- Host and operating-system support vary by integration.
- Redshift Live needs a narrower set of hardware than the general renderer.
Best for
- 3D artists preparing images for compositing
- Teams working across several supported creation applications
Sources
- Redshift | GPU Rendering Software | Maxon (Oct 28, 2026)
- System Requirements for Maxon Products (Oct 28, 2026)
- Buy Maxon Products (Oct 28, 2026)