How to Make Blender Render Faster with 6 Time-Saving Tricks


by Render Pool

January 31, 2025

One of the most challenging issues you can face when rendering with Blender is saving time. You might have your lighting, textures, and models set up perfectly, but hitting that render button can sometimes feel like hitting pause on your productivity. Hours later, you’re still waiting for your final image or animation. Every 3D designer has been there, and it can be incredibly frustrating.

Thankfully, there are ways to speed up your Blender renders without sacrificing quality. In this guide, we’ll explore tips and tricks to make your rendering process faster and more efficient.

Choose the Right Render Engine

This one’s pretty important. Blender offers different render engines, and the one you choose can greatly impact your render times.

  • Cycles: Known for its ability to produce photorealistic results, Cycles is Blender’s go-to engine for high-quality renders. However, this comes at the cost of speed. If your project demands realistic lighting and detail — and you have the time or hardware to support longer rendering times — Cycles is a solid choice.
  • Eevee: For faster renders, especially when photorealism isn’t the priority, Eevee is the better option. This real-time render engine provides excellent results for previews of animations without the long wait times of Cycles.

When deciding on the render engine, consider the needs of your project. Use Cycles for realism and Eevee for speed.

Reduce Sample Counts

In Blender, the more samples you use, the better your final render will look. The number of samples determines how many times Blender calculates light in your scene to achieve a clean image. While higher sample counts lead to better quality, they also increase render times.

To strike a balance:

  • Lower the sample count for faster renders.
  • Use test renders at lower sample counts to fine-tune your scene before committing to a high-quality render.

Use Denoising

Blender’s built-in denoising tools are a lifesaver when you lower the sample count. Denoising smooths out the grainy noise in your render, allowing you to achieve a clean result without needing high sample counts.

  • Cycles: Enable the denoising option in the Render Layers tab.
  • Compositor: For more control, use the Denoising node in the Compositor.

This feature is handy when working under tight deadlines.

Simplify Your Scene

One of the best ways to dramatically reduce render times is to simplify your scene.

  • Optimize Geometry: Use lower-poly models for background elements or objects that aren’t in focus. The Decimate modifier is excellent for reducing geometry without losing too much detail.
  • Simplify Materials: Avoid overly complex materials like multiple layers of reflections or subsurface scattering.
  • Hide Unnecessary Objects: If an object isn’t visible in the final render, hide it or exclude it from rendering altogether.

Optimize Lighting

Lighting can make or break a scene, but it’s also one of the main contributors to longer render times. To optimize your lighting setup:

  • Minimize Light Sources: Fewer lights means fewer calculations. Use a smaller number of well-placed lights instead of flooding your scene with multiple sources.
  • Use HDRIs: High Dynamic Range Images (HDRIs) provide realistic lighting with minimal effort. They are especially effective as a primary light source and often render faster than complex light setups.
  • Adjust Shadows: Lower shadow resolution or use softer shadows to speed up rendering.

Use a Render Farm

If you’ve tried all these tips and you’re still facing long render times, it might be time to consider outsourcing the work. Render farms allow you to offload the rendering process to powerful cloud servers, freeing up your computer for other tasks.

Benefits of render farms include:

  • Faster completion times for large projects, like animations.
  • No need to invest in expensive hardware.
  • The ability to render complex scenes without tying up your machine.

Render farms are also highly scalable, meaning you can choose the level of processing power you need based on your project’s requirements. Whether you’re working on a small animation or a feature-length project, you can adjust the resources to match your deadline and budget. Additionally, many render farms offer user-friendly interfaces, making it easy to upload files, monitor progress, and download finished renders.

Simplify Rendering in Blender with Render Pool

Outsourcing rendering tasks can be a game-changer for Blender users who are facing long render times or complex projects. Render Pool is designed to simplify the process, offering a seamless blend of speed, compatibility with Blender, and affordability. Whether you’re working on small animations or intricate scenes, Render Pool ensures a hassle-free experience tailored to meet the needs of Blender enthusiasts and professionals alike.

  • Accelerated Rendering Speeds: Blender users can dramatically reduce their rendering times with Render Pool, which leverages over 1,000 high-performance servers. Whether you’re rendering a single frame or a complex animation, the platform’s ability to deliver speeds up to 20 times faster ensures you can meet project deadlines without delays.
  • Compatibility with Industry Standards: Render Pool is optimized for Blender users by supporting its key render engines, Cycles and Eevee, alongside other popular options. Furthermore, the platform ensures compatibility across all major operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Flexible Pricing Options: Render Pool offers a pricing structure that fits both hobbyists and professionals in the Blender community. The pay-as-you-go model starts at just $0.03 per GPU minute, while the Unlimited Plan caters to high-volume rendering needs with access to up to 12 parallel nodes.
  • Straightforward Setup and Automation: Getting started with Render Pool is simple for Blender creators. Just upload your .blend files — no complicated configurations are necessary. For professionals managing repetitive or large-scale tasks, the platform’s API and client application streamline workflows, enabling automated rendering for ongoing projects.
  • Transparent Usage and Risk-Free Trial: Render Pool gives users complete control over their budget with clear cost estimates based on project specifications. Plus, new users receive $20 in trial credits, with no credit card required, making it easy to explore the platform risk-free.

Speed Up Blender Rendering

From utilizing a render farm to optimizing internal settings, there are various ways to speed up rendering without sacrificing quality. Ready to experience faster Blender renders for your next project? Try Render Pool today and see how it can transform your rendering process. With its powerful performance, seamless Blender integration, and flexible pricing plans, Render Pool is the perfect choice for creators seeking to meet deadlines while maintaining high-quality outputs. Get started with your risk-free trial and make your next Blender project faster and more efficient!