Rhino 8 → Blender 4.0+
A live link between Rhino and Blender
Edits made in a Rhino document appear in a connected Blender scene without exporting or re-importing anything.
What syncs
Each row is an independent switch in the Rhino panel. Layers come across as collections either way.
Objects
Meshes. From Breps, extrusions, surfaces, SubDs and native Rhino meshes.
Curves
Blender curve objects. NURBS curves, usable for sweeps, arrays, hair.
Blocks
Collection instances. Real instancing — mesh data stored once per definition.
Materials
Principled BSDF shaders. Plus dedicated glass, metal and emission node setups.
Lights
Blender lights. Created, moved and removed as you edit them.
Named Views
Cameras. Position, orientation and lens.
Text
Text objects. Rhino annotations.
Clipping planes
Plane markers. Position and orientation preserved.
What an edit costs
The plugin does not resend the document when you change one thing.
What you do in Rhino | What goes over the wire |
|---|---|
Move, rotate or scale an object | A transform matrix. No re-tessellation. |
Edit an object's geometry | That object's mesh only |
Change a material | The material definition only |
Edit geometry inside a block definition | That definition; instances are untouched |
Change a named view or a light | A metadata update with no geometry |
Reconnect to an unchanged document | Fingerprint comparison, then nothing |
Reconnect after changing three objects | Those three objects |
Geometry travels as packed float32/int32 buffers under zlib rather than as text. Large documents arrive in chunks with a progress bar in the Blender sidebar.
Cross-platform fingerprints. Object fingerprints are computed from what the file stores — control points, knots, weights, topology — quantised to 1e-6 model units, not from the tessellation. Windows and macOS produce the same value for the same geometry, so syncing one .3dm from either machine stays incremental instead of degrading to a full resend.
Compared with the alternatives
| For each revision | Re-export FBX/OBJ | Blender's .3dm import | Rhino2Blender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeat cost per revision | Full manual round | Full re-import | Only the changed objects |
| Rhino layers | Flattened or partial | Preserved | Collections, nested |
| Blocks | Usually duplicated meshes | Varies | Collection instances |
| Nested blocks | Flattened | Flattened | Rebuilt at any depth |
| Materials + textures | Reassign by hand | Basic | PBR channels + cached textures |
| Per-face materials | Lost | Lost | Material slots |
| Named views | Not carried | Not carried | Cameras |
| Clipping planes | Not carried | Not carried | Carried |
| Your Blender edits | Lost on re-import | Lost on re-import | Preserved |
| Needs both apps open | No | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free | Free | Paid |
At a glance
- Blender
- 4.0 or newer (tested on 4.x and 5.x)
- Rhino
- Rhino 8, Windows and macOS
- Live direction
- Rhino → Blender, continuous
- Reverse direction
- Blender → Rhino, manual button, partial coverage
- Connection
- TCP on 127.0.0.1:9876 by default; port configurable; optional LAN mode
- Licence
- Key required for the Rhino plugin; the Blender add-on needs none
- Interface language
- English, switches to French on a French system locale
Try it free, right now
The trial syncs the first 25 objects of a document and skips the rest, so you can see the live link working on a real model. Meshes, curves, blocks and text each use one of the 25; materials, layers, views and lights come along free. Everything else behaves exactly as the full version.
Buy Rhino2Blender
- Rhino 8 plugin (Windows and macOS) and Blender add-on
- Licence key by email, instantly
- Updates announced in the Rhino panel
US$29.99
Also on SuperhiveBefore you buy
Which versions does it work with?
Blender 4.0 or newer, tested on 4.x and 5.x. Rhino 8 only, on Windows or macOS.
Does it work with Rhino 7?
No. The plugin targets RhinoCommon 8 and will not load in Rhino 7 or earlier. There is no workaround.
Do both applications have to be open at the same time?
Yes. This is a live link between two running programs, not a file converter. If you want a one-time transfer of a finished model, Blender's built-in .3dm import already does that for free.
Is it worth it if my model never changes?
Probably not. The value is in revisions. If you import once and never touch the Rhino file again, the free import routes are enough.
How is this different from exporting an FBX?
An FBX round trip loses your layer structure, duplicates block geometry, arrives with generic material names, and discards everything you had already done in Blender. You redo that work on every revision. Rhino2Blender sends only what changed and leaves your Blender work in place.
Can I try it before buying?
Yes, free and immediately. Install both halves, open the Rhino panel, enter your email address and press Start free trial. You get a key on the spot — no waiting, nothing to sign up for.
The trial syncs the first 25 objects of a document and skips the rest, so you can see the live link working on a real model. Meshes, curves, blocks and text each use one of the 25; materials, layers, views and lights come along free. Everything else behaves exactly as the full version.
When you buy, enter your order code in the same panel and the limit disappears.