Best Lighting Design Software
View:
Compare the Top Lighting Design Software as of June 2025
Sort By:
What is Lighting Design Software?
Lighting design software is software used to create detailed plans and simulations for any type of interior, exterior, landscape or other architectural lighting projects. It allows for the specification, calculation and modeling of various variables such as position, distribution, intensity and control. This software can help to save time and resources when designing complex lighting systems. Compare and read user reviews of the best Lighting Design software currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.
-
1
ReluxDesktop
RELUX Informatik AG
ReluxDesktop is a high-performance, intuitively-operated application for simulating artificial light and daylight. It provides you with rapid and efficient support on all the different aspects of big and small projects, without taking any unnecessary roundabout routes. Simulation of lighting and sensors in real-time! Calculation of absolute values, national and international standards, compatible with CAD and BIM systems, plus a great deal more. The application is available to you free of charge thanks to the support of our partners in the industry. Make ReluxDesktop your day-to-day tool, you'll be surprised how much time you save with it! Add-on for other programs. Useful functions for Autodesk Revit. Add-on for ReluxDesktop. Real tunnel calculation based on the current standards.Starting Price: free of charge -
2
Vectorworks Spotlight
Vectorworks
Whether you work in lighting, scenic, film, event, or exhibit design, Vectorworks is the only solution with the flexibility to support your entire process. Sketch, model, and document your design ideas with precision drafting capabilities and the most flexible 3D modeling engine available, powered by SIEMENS Parasolid. Choose from a huge library of lighting, audio, video, scenic, and rigging manufacturer content, and create light plots and automate paperwork to meet tight deadlines. We offer the most default import/export capabilities available, so you can incorporate design and technical production information from anywhere. Project sharing enables your entire team to work on the same Vectorworks file concurrently. And you can communicate through mobile viewing and sharing with Vectorworks Cloud Services rendering, storage, and file sharing. Add Vision to Spotlight and easily explore changes to your design and wow your clients.Starting Price: $153 -
3
GreenScapes
Landscape Design Imaging Software
GreenScapes is a fast and easy landscape, hardscape, and lighting design program. It is our most extensive program. Create landscape designs in a matter of minutes. Designs are photo-realistic renderings with the landscape, hardscape, and lighting installed. Greenscapes comes with built-in training videos for every command in the program and a tutorial sequence that takes you through a complete design step by step. There are no boring manuals to read. We also have advanced techniques you might want to see. GreenScapes will help you close the deal quickly. Potential clients fall madly in love with being able to see their home as if you completed the project. Let us show you. Our programs are Windows-based but work on a Mac with virtual environments like Parallels/Windows making it easy to switch between macOS and Windows in a single click, giving Mac users the best of both worlds. Create beautiful photo-realistic designs using GreenScapes landscape content.Starting Price: $500 one-time payment -
4
ChalmLite
Chalmit
3D realistic renders, multi-language support, improved CAD layer management and so much more, discover ChalmLite 6.0 today. With simple, user-friendly windows based interfaced packed with new features, ChalmLite 6.0 allows users to create simple or complex lighting designs. Visualize lighting designs in realistically rendered 3D environments. Utilize a comprehensive set of quick estimators for your project and download the results in single-page reports. Enhanced luminaire selection tools for hazardous environments. Reports with links directly to online product resources.Starting Price: Free -
5
HDR Light Studio
Lightmap
The best way to achieve realistic 3D lighting is through the influence of real-world lighting references. In the 3D industry, HDRI lighting is used to aid with replicating real-life lighting scenarios. The HDRI map used highly affects the quality of HDRI lighting. The conventional ways of making your own HDRI maps involve picking up a camera and shooting real-life environments. So, it’s no surprise that many 3D artists settle for off-the-shelf stock HDRI Maps. However, that’s like a photographer using the same lighting setup for a motorcycle and a car shoot – it will never happen. It’s why we believe that 3D artists deserve to handcraft a unique lighting design for every 3D scene. Perfect lighting is achieved by having the right lights in the right place. HDR Light Studio has been engineered to take this literally. It’s why it’s known as the ultimate 3D lighting design tool to easily and quickly create your HDRI maps.Starting Price: $176.22 per year -
6
OptiWin 3D Pro
Glamox
OptiWin 3D Pro is our own lighting calculation program, which we offer free of charge to our customers and partners. The program makes it possible to carry out lighting calculations for comprehensive and complex projects. Correct lighting calculations are important for maritime and oil and gas projects to satisfy norms and requirements and lux levels. Such calculations also make it possible to implement corrective measures at an early stage of a project. OptiWin 3D Pro calculations are provided in the form of well-documented reports. Provides easy and fast lighting calculations using CAD drawings.Starting Price: Free -
7
Light ARchitect
Cooper Lighting Solutions
Make lighting design as mobile as you are with Cooper Lighting Solutions augmented reality app. AR opens the door to design by enabling you to visualize lighting fixtures in any space or environment or setting. Select one or more of our most popular products to help you decide which luminaires are the perfect choice for your project. Customize your experience by adjusting orientations, colors, and shapes. Visualize real-time with a 360-degree view of the fixture from any angle or position. Receive an instant screenshot along with product information. Today’s education campuses require healthy spaces that promote learning, improve student productivity, and enhance the student experience. Lighting and controls solve those needs while also providing significant energy and cost savings.Starting Price: Free -
8
ElumTools
Lighting Analysts
ElumTools® is the first (and only) fully integrated lighting calculation add-in for Autodesk® Revit®. ElumTools is designed to calculate point-by-point illuminance on any workplane or surface utilizing lighting fixture families and surface geometry already present in the Revit model. ElumTools runs completely inside of Revit with its own ribbon toolbar to provide quick access to analysis tools for Revit Rooms, Spaces, Regions and Views. An interactive Radiosity-based visualization is produced by the calculation process providing designers complete walk-through capability to assist in the understanding the interaction of light and surface. ElumTools is easy to learn and even easier to use regularly for your lighting computations. The ElumTools workflow is fast and efficient, saving you countless hours over trying to export geometry to a stand-alone tool, then fussing to integrate the results with your Revit sheets.Starting Price: $94 per user per month -
9
ArKaos MediaMaster
ArKaos
The Remote Player which will be of interest to those working on long term shows, permanent installations and in other fixed environment scenarios Remote Player is a network-based player allowing the control of multiple servers from a single point on the network. The internal encoder means Cue Lists can be allocated to separate applications. Connect your Elgato Stream Deck to that maximizes workflow and direct access to sources and outputs as needed. MediaMaster Pro ships with the new Video Mapper Extension which allows easy mapping of video onto irregularly shaped surfaces and through multiple outputs. The philosophy behind all ArKaos’ control solutions focuses on making video surfaces, screens, etc., work just like moving lights. The goal is to empower lighting designers, programmers and operators and help make the integration of video and pixel light sources seamless with lighting in their visual designs via DMX control and without needing to utilize a separate video controller.Starting Price: €139 per week -
10
Radiance
Radiance
Radiance is intended to aid lighting designers and architects by predicting the light levels and appearance of a space prior to construction. The package includes programs for modeling and translating scene geometry, luminaire data and material properties, all of which are needed as input to the simulation. The lighting simulation itself uses ray tracing techniques to compute radiance values (ie. the quantity of light passing through a specific point in a specific direction), which are typically arranged to form a photographic quality image. The resulting image may be analyzed, displayed and manipulated within the package, and converted to other popular image file formats for export to other packages, facilitating the production of hard copy output. The major portion of the Radiance package, and the part that is of chief interest to users, is the lighting simulation engine that calculates light levels and renders images. -
11
DIALux
DIAL
DIALux is the world's leading software for lighting design and marketing tool for luminaire manufacturers. DIALux is free of charge and available in 25 languages. More than 750,000 professional users worldwide, including engineers, electricians and lighting designers, plan, calculate and visualize light for indoor and outdoor areas with DIALux, using real products from more than 190 renowned luminaire manufacturers. From entire buildings and individual rooms to car parks or street and emergency lighting. Create a unique atmosphere with genuine products from our DIALux members and convince with an individual lighting project. Become a DIALux member now. Increase your brand awareness, expand your reach and generate quality leads by connecting with potential customers during the digital planning process. Benefit from the special advantages of DIALux membership. Plan, calculate and visualize light for indoor and outdoor areas.Starting Price: Free -
12
LightCalc
LightCalc
Let's face it, lighting is difficult to learn and, once learned, cumbersome to perform. Interior designers, architects, kitchen and bath designers want to take control of their lighting plans, but don't always have the necessary technical lighting background, not to mention the time to perform the tedious calculations. LightCalc was created to solve these problems. No longer is it necessary to know any of the math! The program works with information the designer has ready access to; ceiling height, room width and length, counter height, color pallette, etc. Upon entering the above type of information, LightCalc goes to work determining the appropriate footcandle level, fixture spacing, and it will suggest a ceiling layout for your fixtures. Designers will enjoy the point and click method and the visual display of what the light is doing.Starting Price: $39.95 one-time payment -
13
set.a.light 3D
elixxier Software
set a light 3D revolutionizes the way modern photographers and filmmakers plan their setups. It gives creative people the opportunity to express themselves faster, bring their ideas to life and saves them from guessing. From a simple portrait shoot to a complex photo production - it's all possible. Dive into a world full of possibilities and push your projects further. It has never been so easy to achieve breathtaking results. It's for you - for cinematography and photography! We have created a place that solves these problems through the power of community. The community connects all set a light 3D users and helps you to get the best out of your work. One of the most important points in the development have been the models. The avatars look extremely real and harmonize perfectly with the new light calculation.Starting Price: $71 one-time payment -
14
TracePro
Lambda Research Corporation
Combines Monte Carlo ray tracing, analysis, CAD import/export, and optimization methods with a complete and robust macro language to solve a wide variety of problems in illumination design and optical analysis. Using TracePro’s user-friendly, 3D CAD interface you can create TracePro models by importing lens design or CAD files, or by directly creating solid geometry. TracePro uses a true solid modeling engine to ensure consistent and robust models. TracePro’s ray tracing engine is fast and accurate. Exact ray tracing to all surfaces even imported splines ‒ no missed intersections or “leaky” rays. Analysis Mode ray tracing, unique to TracePro, is a very powerful capability that creates an interactive environment. With Analysis Mode you can analyze every surface and object both visually and quantitatively. -
15
LightStanza
LightStanza
LightStanza is trusted and accurate software. Users can now easily and accurately predict light in a variety of applications. Quickly communicate with team members and support with instant messaging embedded in your design. Import or start fresh, drop ies files in, and run your calcs. You can be up and running in minutes. Calc complex geometry without slowing down your computer and keep working. Explore a variety of daylight products including skylights, translucent glazing, dynamic glass, automated shading systems, and more. Highly customizable, point in time, annual metric, daylight factor, energy map, and glare calculations. euse Room and Space tags; plus add your own calc grids for verticals, slopes, stairs, exteriors and other areas. Dynamically choose and send families to LightStanza to cut back or add detail to your model.Starting Price: $900 per design per year -
16
LucidShape
Synopsys
Quickly and easily create reflector or lens geometry with LucidShape FunGeo. It leverages proprietary algorithms that automatically calculate and construct optical geometries based on user-defined illuminance and intensity patterns. This unique, functional approach gives you the freedom to focus on overall design objectives rather than the implementation details of complex optical components. Accelerate LucidShape illumination simulations with GPUTrace and experience a quantum leap in speed. LucidShape is the first optical simulation software to take advantage of graphics processing unit computing to deliver simulation speed increases by orders of magnitude compared to multithreading capabilities. Use LucidShape's visualization module to demonstrate luminance effects when light sources in a model are illuminated and depict all interactions between system geometry and light sources. -
17
AutoLUX
Transoft Solutions
AutoLUX is lighting design software, for creating working drawings of proposed sports field, roadway, and other outdoor spaces. AutoLUX includes a powerful fully featured lighting calculations engine. Light levels are dynamically generated from the photometric data files supplied for your luminaire symbols, with the opportunity to share them along with your drawing. AutoLUX helps you create sports field, roadway and other external lighting designs quickly and easily as luminaires and target points enter the drawing as CAD entities. Save time with the sports shortcut which constructs field outlines of popular sports at the click of a button. The roadway shortcut constructs roadway layouts from a few input numbers – choose from: IESNA, BS5489 or CEN. Restriction free AutoLUX retains the full power of AutoCAD leaving you free to design. AutoLUX plots light levels as numbers on a grid, and also supports colored contours, that are fully customizable. -
18
Visual Lighting
Acuity Brands
The Visual programs are comprehensive lighting software designed for industry professionals. The desktop applications, Visual Lighting and Visual Controls, increase your productivity and accuracy with an intuitive software to automate your design process. Visual Lighting is an intuitive software tool to develop a lighting design for interior and exterior spaces. This powerful modeling software combines lighting and energy calculation tools to create lighting designs and provides comprehensive intelligence and analysis for advanced lighting projects. Visual Controls is a comprehensive design software for creating lighting controls design for a space. The software is easy to use and provides product recommendations, assists with product placement, and automates the design process. -
19
My Design
Hunter
Snap a picture of any landscape and turn on Night Mode to create a professional nighttime lighting rendering with My Design. Leverage this free tool to simplify the lighting design process, impress your customers, and close sales faster. All you need is a free account, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a professional lighting designer. Be a hero to your clients with detailed, visually stunning design proposals all stored in the cloud. My Design is easy to use, it simplifies the design process by combining the power of My List with real images of your project site. The simple controls available in Night Mode let you illustrate the nighttime lighting experience, including the direction and intensity of each fixture. Simply take pictures of the location and import them into the tool, then drag and drop lighting products over each image and area of the property. -
20
Rayfront
schorsch.com
Rayfront is a platform-independent toolkit that provides a graphical user interface to the lighting simulation software Radiance. It can be operated as an extension to Autocad or Intellicad, together with the 3Dsolar building modeller, or as a standalone program. Radiance is the industry standard raytracing engine for physically correct lighting simulations (see comparisons). While Radiance can be downloaded for free from LBNL, only a toolbox such as Rayfront enables people like you and me to use it effectively on desktop computers and in your local network. You can also use Rayfront together with many other CAD and modelling programs, as it reads all DXF files, and translators for a large number of other data formats are included. Just select the free or commercial geometry modeler of your preference, and there will be a way to use it's output data with Rayfront. -
21
LITESTAR 4D Litecalc
OxyTech Srl
LITESTAR 4D Litecalc is the lighting design module including the following functions: 2D and 3D design and management of the indoor areas, outdoor areas (large areas and areas for sports), roads and tunnels, management of materials with the definition of characteristics such as reflectance, transparency, specularity and roughness and the possibility of adding textures to surfaces, management of the results of the calculation with visualization of the various parameters, of isolevel curves (isolux or isoluminance) and of pseudo colors diagrams, visualization by means of the rendering and ray-tracing module of photographic quality and printing of project data, results of calculations as well as of graphic visualizations and renderings. -
22
AGi32
Revalize
AGi32 is first and foremost, a calculation tool for accurate photometric predictions: A technical tool that can compute illuminance in any situation, assist in luminaire placement and aiming, and validate adherence to any number of lighting criterion. However, there is so much more that can be done to enhance the understanding of photometric results. Visualization is extremely important to comprehend changes in luminance for different materials and surface properties and predict the effect of various luminaire designs in real-world, light and surface interaction. With the ability to see results clearly for an entire project, AGi32 becomes a mock-up substitute that can save time and money by creating a virtual model of a proposed design. It can reveal characteristics and effects that would be hard to detect in anything short of the completed installation. -
23
Revalize
Revalize
At Revalize we empower businesses to better design, model, develop and sell – driving greater outcomes across the entire value chain. No matter how volatile the landscape, Revalize provides a more efficient route from idea to cash. Our best-in-class CAD, PLM, and CPQ solutions – underpinned by a global support team – give you a single partner for increasing speed-to-market, reducing cost, and streamlining complexity. Wherever your business journey starts, greater outcomes start with Revalize.
- Previous
- You're on page 1
- Next