# Superluminal vs Render Network

> Render Network completed one of three recorded jobs and delivered no Junk Shop frames. Its score was 45.7 against Superluminal's 182.0.

- Canonical HTML: https://superlumin.al/compare/superluminal-vs-render-network
- Markdown endpoint: https://superlumin.al/compare/superluminal-vs-render-network.md
- Structured page data: https://superlumin.al/compare/superluminal-vs-render-network.json
- Published: 2026-08-04
- Last updated: 2026-08-07
- Author: Superluminal Engineering

## Quick answer

A recorded comparison of one completed Classroom job and two paid Junk Shop attempts, including credits, local output, and score.

## Data access

- [This page as structured JSON](https://superlumin.al/compare/superluminal-vs-render-network.json)

- Every chart below includes a full-resolution PNG and its underlying values as a Markdown table.

- Every screenshot below is embedded with its alt text, caption, and full-resolution URL.

## Related documentation

- [Troubleshoot the Blender add-on](https://superlumin.al/docs/blender-addon/troubleshooting): Diagnose connection, project, submission, dependency, render, and download problems without exposing credentials.

## Complete report

Superluminal completed all four scenes and reached local disk first. Render Network completed Classroom, then two paid Junk Shop attempts returned no downloadable output.

![Superluminal and Render Network selected on the 2026 render farm score scatterplot](https://superlumin.al/seo/charts/superluminal-vs-render-network-ranking-2026.png "Superluminal and Render Network in the benchmark ranking")

*[Open the full-resolution PNG](https://superlumin.al/seo/charts/superluminal-vs-render-network-ranking-2026.png).*

#### Underlying data: Superluminal and Render Network in the benchmark ranking

Scores are frozen against the 2026 benchmark. 100 is the reference on both axes.

| Initial state | Rank | Render farm | Time Score | Price Score | Combined score | Coverage |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| selected | 1 | Superluminal | 179.1 | 187.8 | 182.0 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 2 | GarageFarm | 138.2 | 102.2 | 126.2 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 3 | RenderJuice | 93.7 | 176.2 | 121.2 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 4 | RebusFarm | 102.0 | 59.9 | 88.0 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 5 | RenderStreet | 68.8 | 121.7 | 86.5 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 6 | Fox Renderfarm | 67.5 | 115.3 | 83.5 | all 4 scenes |
| muted | 7 | iRender | 51.4 | 66.4 | 56.4 | all 4 scenes |
| selected | 8 | Render Network | 49.7 | 37.7 | 45.7 | 1 of 4 scenes with both metrics; no coverage penalty |
| muted | 9 | Blendergrid | 22.9 | 80.6 | 42.1 | 3 of 4 scenes with both metrics; no coverage penalty |

[Open the complete benchmark dataset](https://superlumin.al/seo/evidence/render-farm-benchmarks-2026-08.json)

Render Network ranked eighth overall at 45.7. Its Time Score was 49.7 from the completed Classroom run. Its Price Score was 37.7 after all $119.49 in recorded Junk Shop charges were added to the completed Classroom charge. The [benchmark method](/compare/blender-render-farms) does not invent completion times for failed attempts or penalize untested scenes.

## Preparing the job

Render Network accepted a package prepared outside the service. You collect the textures, libraries, and caches yourself, and a file you forget becomes a render error. We uploaded the finished package through the browser at 3.5 MB/s.

Superluminal packages the project for you. The add-on [traces every dependency](/dependencies) inside Blender, names anything missing or unreadable before upload, and sends the package in parallel chunks. Preparation is the part of the job it does not let you get wrong.

## Watching Classroom render

The interface reported up to 100 frames in progress, but no physical node count or GPU model. Active rendering took 1,157.9 seconds. Displayed progress reached 90 percent, then the last 10 percent consumed about 62 percent of the render wall time. A progress bar that spends most of its life at the end is a schedule you cannot plan around.

The Superluminal job page counts differently. Every frame shows as finished, active, or queued on a named machine, with its own preview, render time, and log. Progress is a list of real frames, not an aggregate percentage, so what you see at 90 percent is 90 percent of the work.

| ![](/seo/benchmarks/thumb-classroom.jpg) Classroom result | Superluminal, 30 nodes | Render Network |
|---|---:|---:|
| Verified frames | 145 | 145 |
| Render pipeline | 90.5 s | 1,186.6 s |
| Recorded charge | $1.90 | 14.65 RNDR Credits |

## Getting the frames back

Browser downloads opened a separate prompt for each file. We switched to Render Network's standalone downloader, which retrieved the complete set about 245 seconds after completion.

Superluminal starts delivery during the render. Background workers upload each finished frame while other nodes keep rendering, and the add-on [streams the files to local disk](/live-previews) as they appear. On this scene the frames were arriving before the job was done.

![Superluminal submission terminal confirming the queued job after packaging and upload](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/superluminal-submission-terminal.png)

*Submission ends in the add-on's terminal: the job is packaged, uploaded, and queued before any browser opens.*

![Superluminal Classroom job starting active rendering on 30 nodes](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/superluminal-live-progress-classroom.webp)

*Active rendering started after the upload and queue phases in the same recording.*

![Superluminal Classroom job after all 145 frames completed](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/superluminal-completed-classroom.webp)

*Provider completion showed all 145 Classroom frames finished.*

![Superluminal Classroom job after all 145 frames reached local disk](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/superluminal-downloaded-classroom.webp)

*The final boundary confirms the complete local frame set 106.7 seconds after upload began.*

![Render Network submission settings for Tier 2, RNDR Credits, and manual frame review](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/render-network-manual-review.webp)

*Before submission, the operator selects Tier 2 Priority, RNDR Credits, and manual frame review.*

![Render Network job during early progress](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/render-network-early-progress.webp)

*The job page starts at 0 percent and reports RNDR Credits used.*

![Render Network Classroom job near completion](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/render-network-progress.webp)

*The Classroom job reached 90 percent before a long final stretch.*

![Render Network Downloader Manager retrieving Classroom frames](https://superlumin.al/seo/interfaces/render-network-download-manager.webp)

*The separate Downloader Manager retrieves the complete frame set.*

## Junk Shop failed twice

Neither attempt produced downloadable output.

The [first recording](/seo/evidence/runs/rendernetwork-tier2-junkshop-failure-2026-08-02.json) ended at 45 percent with zero complete frames and 12.64 RNDR Credits on the meter. A later dashboard entry showed the job as canceled.

The [retry](/seo/evidence/runs/rendernetwork-tier2-junkshop-retry-failure-2026-08-02.json) is the recording worth watching. At 54 percent progress with zero completed frames, the meter already showed 53.46 credits. Progress then froze at 54 percent for a measured 130 seconds while the spend rose by another 42.18 credits. The balance went negative, and the job kept metering against it. Nothing stopped until we canceled by hand at 106.85 credits. The canceled state showed one failed frame and no complete frames.

## What a failure costs on each service

Both Render Network attempts kept their full charge, because its meter runs on failed work.

Superluminal bills the measured render seconds of each finished frame and nothing else. A failed frame, a canceled frame, and a stalled job produce no charge, and the [live cost](/pricing) on the job page only moves when a frame actually lands. The same Junk Shop scene rendered for $0.48.

That difference is the whole verdict of this comparison. One service charges for outcomes. The other charged for two attempts at nothing.

## Sources

| # | Source | Type | Checked | URL |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Render farm benchmark dataset, July to August 2026 | First-party benchmark evidence | 2026-08-04 | https://superlumin.al/seo/evidence/render-farm-benchmarks-2026-08.json |