with $395 subscription price tag, it is a bit steep. However there are a lot of settings to the most minute details to make your rendering look realistic.
Hi Simon,
I appreciate your compiling and presenting this table! I have yet to take the plunge into rendering my models, and am interested in your evaluation of SU Podium. I see that some others responding in this thread disagree that Twinmotion has the high learning curve you assign.
Do you (or others here) have any more specifics comparing SU Podium to Twinmotion? If anyone has used both, what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for any insights!
Absolutely love your work 
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Podium is a “traditional” rendering engine, based, I understand, on the Kerkythea core. Twinmotion is roughly comparable to Enscape, a “realtime” rendering system based on a “game engine”. Traditional rendering engines require more setup for a somewhat higher quality than the game engines, while the game engines require minimal setup, especially for exterior views.
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Thank-you sir.
Thanks for the response Anssi,
By “more setup”, do you mean more prep. work within SketchUp, in terms of shadows, materials, or? And, how would you characterize the learning curve between Twinmotion and Podium?
Thanks!
I’m afraid I can’t offer more insight as I still haven’t taken the plunge into any renderer. My table was based on a best assessment with very limited experience (you have to start somewhere!). It was intended to provoke debate so that my assumptions could be tested.
In the absence of a detailed review by a respected body that has had sufficient experience of all render software, we are likely to get a limited overview since such software is quite pricey and very few people are going to want to invest the money or learning time in more than one package. So if I come across a fanboy of a particular one, I appreciate that it may just be that they like what they know.
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I’ve used SU Podium on and off for a few years, but can’t claim to be a master at it. I’ve seen others get much better results with it than I’ve ever done, but you can see the few examples I posted in my own thread with interiors here and here, plus exteriors here and what the “setup” was in SU to get sky, open water horizon and trees to reflect in the windows is shown here. The grass could be way better. I think Podium has a Make Fur feature for that, or Skatter certainly. I just didn’t get there.
I’ve only looked at Twin Motion. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t do window reflections unless you specifically ask for it, and you have to select the portion of your model to do that for?
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Thanks Simon,
Maybe only someone like Justin at SU Essentials can really afford to buy multiple different rendering packages and review/compare them …
For the rest of us, it’s “love the one you’re with”, or maybe stay in the dating app, looking for (rendering) love?
Thanks RTCool,
Informative examples, very helpful! I’m going to read the whole thread “Some Cool Examples of my Own”, nice work!
I’m sorry, but I can’t answer your question about Twinmotion, no experience (yet)!
More of an open question to anyone else out there with experience to talk about.
Most rendering programs provide some sort of trial so you can try them before you buy. Obviously it helps to have a bit of rendering knowledge before you do that so you know what you’re looking at
Generally, I think traditional renderers need more tweaking with materials, lights and settings.
I have only used the version of Twinmotion that was free (worked with SU2018 or 2019, if I remember right). It was fairly easy to play with and it had fun atmospheric effects and the like:
I have not personally used Podium. I understand that it is somewhat simpler to use than, for example, V-Ray.
Sorry mate but I will correct you. 
It of course handles reflections in windows (and everything else), you just need to set reflection probes as its game engine based (unreal engine)