Frequently Asked Questions

Rhino License pricing is shown on our Rhino product page. You'll also find all current Rhino license costs on the webstore if you're interested in an online purchase: https://www.rhinowebstore.com/

Do you need Rhino to use Grasshopper? Yes, you do. In fact, you could say Grasshopper is part of Rhino as it is a standard part of a Rhino installation, so if you own Rhino, you also own Grasshopper. There is no separate fee / cost for Grasshopper. Grasshopper like Rhino itself is supplied as a Perpetual License meaning it is purchased not rented.

An Educational license is non-transferable meaning it cannot be re-sold or used by anyone other than the owner, a Commercial license can be shared across a team so access to the license is more flexible. Those are the only differences between Educational and Commercial Rhino Licenses. There are no functional differences. Both Commercial & Educational Licences of Rhino are Perpetual i.e. they never expire. Find out more about Rhino software.

There is a Free 90-Day Evaluation License. Evaluation Licenses are Full Rhino Evaluation Licenses, they will save for 90 x Days, after that time they will still run but will not Save.

No, the free 90-day evaluation license can not be extended or paused. The 90-day count starts from the day the evaluaton was downloaded and there is no way to alter this. Find out more about the Free 90-day Rhino Evaluation license.

Very! Use an email address that you have long term access to and keep a note of your details.

Popular industries where you’ll see (the NURBS modelling software) Rhino widely used include, Architecture & Engineering, Product & Furniture Design, Jewellery Design, Film & TV – Set & Prop Design & Marine Design, plus many others. 

With the correct approach Rhino isn’t difficult to Learn. You could compare Rhino in complexity with other professional software tools such as AutoCAD or Photoshop for instance, so if you’ve experienced either of those popular tools then learning Rhino is a similar degree of challenge.

Some people do pick up Rhino quicker than others though, we find this is largely driven by previous experience of CAD generally and individual aptitudes to these types of subjects.

Many who use Rhino are self-taught and this approach can work well, joining a class will simply speed things up and help make sure you develop good habits based on best practise modelling methods, you then also receive a recognized industry Certificate. Whether you are self taught or decide to attend classes, be prepared to practise, be patient with yourself and move onto more complex challenges over time.

There is no fixed timetable for Rhino version releases, but historically we've seen new versions ship every 3 or more years.

Yes, we can help. We offer a Rhino modelling service and can help put you in touch with the right person to help you with your project. Contact us to find out more.

It's a website source for Apps for Rhino and Grasshopper - food4rhino.com is a great source of information related to Plugins for Rhino & Grasshopper, it also contains links to various useful items for Rhino users such as Materials, Textures and more. You can search by Categories including Rhino version plus Industry categories, so what Plugins are available for Jewellers, Marine Designers or Footwear, for example.

We’ve helped many SketchUp users add Rhino to their toolset. In terms of the SketchUp ‘Push-Pull’ modelling metaphor then Rhino has equivalent tools (which have been greatly enhanced in Rhino 8) so you should be able to get productive quickly with Rhino using familiar tools to create the planar geometry that SketchUp is well suited for. However, Rhino is a more complex piece of software and it has a longer learning curve as it is capable of creating and evaluating (for example) analytical or freeform curved geometry and maintaining production tolerances with these type of complex forms. To go beyond the basics of simple planar geometry in Rhino you may find formal training invaluable - but to get started and see if Rhino is for you then please take a look at these free Rhino for SketchUp users videos on our Blog page.

Robert McNeel & Associates whose HQ is in Seattle, an employee-owned company. Founded in 1980. Rhino v1 shipped in October 1998, Grasshopper shipped in March 2008.

It’s important, with the right GPU (Graphics Card) you can expect smooth manipulations of complex models without lagging or jerkiness. Also, Rhino v8 has its own built in Renderer called Cycles plus a Raytraced real-time working view option, both Cycles (faster output) & the Raytraced viewport (faster & smoother operation) can be greatly improved with the correct choice of Graphic Card. If you'd like information on which hardware we recommend for using with Rhino (Mac or Windows) see our Rhino hardware support page.

Yes, what you require is a Rhino v7 legacy license and you can request one here with the developer: https://www.rhino3d.com/access-rhino-7

You are able to request access to legacy licenses of both Rhino v7 and Rhino v6. To get to v6 from v8 you will first need to request the v7 and then use those details to request the v6. See here on the developers website:  https://www.rhino3d.com/download/

Yes, you can back save files to any version. Go to File > save as... and choose the version you want to save as from the drop down menu.