Best Lighting Design Software with a Free Trial of 2026

Established in 2018 and headquartered in New York, Coohom is a leading global cloud-based, 3D design platform that provides all-in-one software and services to empower designers and businesses to design a professional project in minutes, and get photo-realistic 3D visualizations in seconds. With a presence spanning the United States, China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, Coohom's innovative solutions have garnered the trust of over 10 million customers from 200 countries. With the aim of facilitating the digital transformation of customers in the interior design, furniture & home decor, and Kitchen & Bath industry, Coohom provides a comprehensive suit of software encompassing design, rendering, marketing, production, and construction, helping to streamline their workflows and achieve success. Coohom solutions have been featured in world-renowned publications like Forbes and TechNode, as well as industry-specific magazines including Panels & Furniture Asia, FurnitureToday, HomeAccents, and Kitchen & Bath Business. Furthermore, Coohom is a proud industry partner of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), demonstrating its commitment to the design community.

No matter if your focus is on lighting, scenic, film, event, or exhibit design, Vectorworks stands out as the sole solution that provides the versatility needed to enhance your entire workflow. You can sketch, model, and document your creative concepts with unparalleled precision thanks to advanced drafting features and the most adaptable 3D modeling engine, which is supported by SIEMENS Parasolid technology. With access to a vast library filled with content from lighting, audio, video, scenic, and rigging manufacturers, you'll be able to create detailed light plots and streamline paperwork to adhere to tight schedules. Our platform boasts the most comprehensive import/export functionality, allowing you to seamlessly integrate design and technical production data from various sources. Additionally, project sharing functionality allows your whole team to collaborate on the same Vectorworks file in real-time. You can also utilize Vectorworks Cloud Services for mobile viewing and sharing, which includes rendering, storage, and file sharing capabilities. By incorporating Vision into Spotlight, you can effortlessly assess adjustments to your designs, impressing your clients in the process while ensuring a smooth and efficient design experience. This adaptability makes Vectorworks an essential tool for professionals aiming for excellence in their projects.

To create truly realistic 3D lighting, one must draw inspiration from real-world lighting examples. In the realm of 3D design, HDRI lighting plays a crucial role in mimicking natural lighting conditions. The choice of HDRI map significantly impacts the effectiveness of this lighting technique. Traditionally, the process of crafting your own HDRI maps involves using a camera to capture images of actual environments. This reliance on pre-made stock HDRI maps is common among many 3D artists, yet it limits their creative potential, much like a photographer using a uniform lighting setup for varying subjects such as motorcycles and cars. Each 3D scene deserves a tailored lighting approach, as the essence of perfect lighting lies in positioning the right lights appropriately. HDR Light Studio has been specifically designed to facilitate this process, earning its reputation as the premier tool for 3D lighting design, allowing artists to swiftly and effectively produce their own HDRI maps. By embracing this innovative software, artists can elevate their work and bring a distinctiveness to each project, ensuring that the lighting enhances the overall aesthetic.

ElumTools® stands out as the first and only fully integrated lighting calculation add-in specifically designed for Autodesk® Revit®. This innovative tool allows for precise point-by-point illuminance calculations on any surface or workplane by leveraging existing lighting fixture families and surface geometry within the Revit model. Operating entirely within Revit, ElumTools features its own ribbon toolbar, which facilitates swift access to analytical tools tailored for Revit Rooms, Spaces, Regions, and Views. The calculation process generates an interactive Radiosity-based visualization, enabling designers to conduct immersive walk-throughs that enhance their comprehension of how light interacts with surfaces. User-friendly and straightforward, ElumTools simplifies the process of performing lighting computations regularly. By streamlining the workflow, ElumTools significantly reduces the time and effort previously spent exporting geometry to external software and reconciling results with Revit sheets, thereby enhancing overall productivity. This tool not only boosts efficiency but also empowers designers to create more informed lighting designs.

The Remote Player is particularly appealing for professionals involved in long-term productions, permanent setups, and various fixed environment applications, as it operates as a network-based player that enables centralized control over multiple servers from one location on the network. With its built-in encoder, users can assign Cue Lists to different applications, enhancing flexibility and efficiency. Additionally, integrating an Elgato Stream Deck can further streamline workflows by providing quick access to sources and outputs as required. MediaMaster Pro now includes the innovative Video Mapper Extension, which simplifies the process of projecting video onto surfaces with irregular shapes and across multiple outputs. ArKaos’ control solutions are designed with a core philosophy that aligns video surfaces and screens to function similarly to moving lights. This approach aims to empower lighting designers, programmers, and operators by facilitating the incorporation of video and pixel light sources into their lighting designs through DMX control, without the need for an additional video controller, ultimately making the creative process more intuitive and cohesive. By integrating these technologies, users can achieve a more dynamic and engaging visual experience in their productions.

Integrating Monte Carlo ray tracing, analytical methods, CAD import/export capabilities, and optimization techniques, this system employs a comprehensive macro language to tackle various challenges in illumination design and optical analysis effectively. With TracePro’s intuitive 3D CAD interface, users can build models by either importing lens design or CAD files or by directly generating solid geometries. The software leverages a true solid modeling engine to deliver reliable and consistent models for various applications. Moreover, TracePro features a swift and precise ray tracing engine that accurately traces rays to all surfaces, including imported splines, ensuring that no intersections are overlooked and preventing the occurrence of “leaky” rays. One of the standout features of TracePro is its Analysis Mode, which provides a highly interactive environment for in-depth examination. In this mode, users can evaluate every surface and object both visually and quantitatively, enhancing the overall analytical experience. This blend of capabilities makes TracePro a powerful tool for professionals in the field.

Easily and swiftly design reflector or lens geometries using LucidShape FunGeo, which utilizes innovative algorithms to automatically generate optical shapes tailored to specified illuminance and intensity patterns. This distinctive and practical method allows you to prioritize overall design goals instead of getting bogged down by the complexities of intricate optical elements. By utilizing GPUTrace, you can significantly speed up LucidShape illumination simulations, achieving remarkable enhancements in processing speed. As the pioneering optical simulation software harnessing the power of graphics processing units, LucidShape offers speed improvements that far exceed traditional multithreading methods. Additionally, LucidShape's visualization tool provides a platform to showcase luminance effects when various light sources interact within a model, allowing for a comprehensive depiction of the interplay between system geometry and illumination. This combination of powerful features makes LucidShape an invaluable asset for designers and engineers in the optical field.