What Poly Haven does

Poly Haven operates a curated public 3D asset library offering 2,414+ HDRIs, photoscanned seamless PBR textures, and 3D models released entirely under the CC0 (public domain) license, with no signup, paywall, or attribution requirement. The corpus is hand-crafted using photogrammetry and photoscanning by a small remote team of roughly a dozen artists based primarily in South Africa, with additional contributors in the Netherlands, India, and France. Distribution is multi-channel: direct downloads from polyhaven.com (handling 4.6M monthly users, 1.5M monthly downloads, and 184TB of traffic), a public REST API at api.polyhaven.com for programmatic access, native integrations into Blender via a paid asset-browser add-on and into Unreal Engine 5 via an HDRI Browser plugin sold through Epic Games' Fab marketplace. The company also publishes curated Collections (themed packs such as Namaqualand and Smuggler's Cove) and time-gated Vaults whose release is tied to patron-count milestones.

The business model is community-funded rather than commercially licensed. Patreon subscriptions at $3, $5, and $10 monthly tiers generated the core of last-12-months income of $265,900, supplemented by Blender and Unreal plugin sales, 11 disclosed corporate sponsors (SideFX, Marmoset, BlenderKit, Notch, and others), one-off donations, and a nascent commercial API licensing tier (5% revenue share plus minimum annual fee) targeted at SaaS, plugin, and AI-dataset users. Bulk asset licensing for embedded libraries and AI training datasets is offered as an enterprise pathway. The company is registered as non-profit / privately held with no venture or institutional capital; expenses of $343.3K over the trailing year exceed income, with reserves of roughly $82.5K. Customers span VFX professionals, game developers, architects/designers, hobbyists and students, and — increasingly — AI researchers and engineers using the CC0 corpus as training data. Strategic posture: maximize free distribution, embed deeply into Blender and Unreal workflows, and grow a recurring funding base via Patreon and sponsors rather than per-asset licensing.

Name

Poly Haven

Legal name

Poly Haven

Website

https://polyhaven.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Poly Haven operates a public 3D asset library of 2,400+ CC0-licensed HDRIs, textures, and models for VFX artists, game developers, and AI researchers, distributed free via web, Blender and Unreal plugins, and a public API.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

3D Asset Library

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Marketplaces for Downloadables (Creators/Assets) (CRAFAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes) (EDAFAHAI)

Keywords

• 3D asset library
• HDRI environment maps
• PBR texture materials
• Photoscanned 3D models
• Public domain assets

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Patreon Subscriptions: Monthly recurring revenue from patrons supporting the platform. Tiers at $3, $5, and $10/month. Rewards include early access to assets, Vault access, cloud sync for bulk downloads, sponsor naming on assets, and the Blender Add-on (at $5+). Currently has 3,433 patrons with steady growth over 8+ years of operation.
2. Blender Add-on Sales: One-time purchase option at $69 on Superhive, or included free with $5+/month Patreon subscription. Revenue from software licensing of the Blender integration tool. The add-on will be released for free once Poly Haven reaches 5,000 patrons.
3. Unreal HDRI Browser Sales: Plugin sold for $30 on Fab (Epic Games marketplace) with revenue sharing with Poly Haven. Also available free to Patreon supporters.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Companies pay for brand acknowledgment, logo placement, and deeper collaboration. Sponsors include SideFX, MeshBlend, Dash (Polygonflow), Notch, Marmoset, Architextures, BlenderKit, CG Cookie, Prism Pipeline, Crossplay Games, and i18nexus. Revenue scales with contribution size.
5. One-off Donations: Non-recurring donations from supporters who want to contribute without ongoing commitment. Mentioned as a revenue source in finance reports.
6. API Licensing (Commercial): Commercial usage of the public API requires a custom license with 5% revenue share and minimum annual fee for companies building products, plugins, AI tools, or SaaS workflows on top of Poly Haven's asset data.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Poly Haven operates a public 3D asset library providing over 2,414 HDRIs, textures, and 3D models released under the CC0 (public domain) license, allowing unrestricted commercial and personal use without attribution or royalties. The library is accessible via direct website downloads with no signup required, and is complemented by paid native integrations including a Blender Add-on and an Unreal Engine 5 HDRI Browser plugin, plus a public API for programmatic access and patron-exclusive Vault content.

Product overview

Poly Haven is a curated public 3D asset library providing HDRIs, textures, and 3D models released under CC0 license. The core offering consists of 2414+ free assets (1050 HDRIs, 843 textures, 521 3D models) accessible via direct download without registration. The platform is complemented by paid tools: a Blender Add-on ($69 or Patreon) that integrates assets into Blender's asset browser with features like auto texture scale and displacement setup, and an Unreal HDRI Browser plugin ($30 or Patreon) for UE5 with live previews and native editor integration. Premium patron-exclusive content is locked in Vaults (Wood Works, Beach, Moon, Fabric, Studio) until funding goals are reached. A public API enables programmatic access to all assets for non-commercial and academic use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HDRIs High Dynamic Range Image environment maps at 16K+ resolution for realistic lighting in 3D rendering. Includes 1,050+ HDRIs across outdoor, skies, indoor, studio, sunrise/sunset, night, nature, and urban categories. All HDRIs are unclipped with full dynamic range, using a linear workflow without tonemapping, suitable for AAA production work.
• Textures Photoscanned seamless PBR materials at 8K+ resolution for photorealistic 3D rendering. Includes 843+ textures across aerial, terrain, floor, brick, wood, plaster/concrete, fabric, metal, roofing, and rock categories. Each texture ships with complete PBR map sets including diffuse/albedo, roughness, metalness, displacement, and normal maps.
• 3D Models Hyperreal 3D models for visual effects and next-generation video games. Includes 521+ models across props, furniture, decorative, industrial, appliances, nature, weapons, electronics, tools, and lighting categories. Models are released under CC0 license with no restrictions.
• Blender Add-on Paid Blender add-on integrating all Poly Haven assets directly into Blender's asset browser for drag-and-drop HDRIs, materials, and 3D models. Features organized catalogs, resolution switching (1K default up to 8K+), auto texture scale, and one-click displacement setup. Available for $69 one-time purchase on Superhive or included with $5+/month Patreon subscription.
• Unreal HDRI Browser Plugin for Unreal Engine 5 (versions 5.3-5.7) providing native HDRI browser with live previews, one-click downloads, editor-native UI, fast search via tags and categories, configurable resolution, and HDRI Backdrop integration. Available for $30 on Fab (Epic Games marketplace) with revenue share to Poly Haven, or free to Patreon supporters.
• Collections Curated themed asset packs combining HDRIs, textures, and 3D models into cohesive environments. Includes Project Lighthouse, Lunar Landscape, Namaqualand, A Verdant Trail, The Hidden Alley, Pine Forest, The Shed, and The Smuggler's Cove. Many collections include downloadable Blender and Unreal Engine scene files.
• Vaults Patron-exclusive asset collections temporarily locked until funding goals (patron count targets) are reached. Active vaults include Wood Works (55 wood textures), Beach/Saltwater Skies (70 HDRIs), Moon, Fabric, and Studio. All assets are released to the public under CC0 once the goal is met.
• Public API REST API at api.polyhaven.com providing programmatic access to all assets, metadata, tags, categories, authors, dimensions, download URLs, hashes, file sizes, and dependencies. Free for non-commercial projects and academic research. Commercial usage requires a custom license with 5% revenue share and a minimum annual fee for companies building products, plugins, AI tools, or SaaS workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free unlimited use of 2,414+ assets with no royalty or attribution requirements
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• i18nexuscoreTechnology or IntegrationTranslation service partner powering Poly Haven's internationalization. i18nexus provides automated translation using Google Translate with manual review workflow. Critical for reaching non-English speaking users globally.
• SuperhivecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarketplace distributor for Poly Haven's Blender Add-on. Sells the add-on for $69 one-time purchase with Poly Haven receiving the revenue.
• Fab (Epic Games)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarketplace distributor for Poly Haven's Unreal HDRI Browser. Sells the plugin for $30 with revenue sharing agreement with Poly Haven.
• Blender FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoly Haven credits Blender as the basis of all their work and inspiration. The Blender Add-on integrates deeply with Blender's asset browser. Poly Haven also contributes to the Blender ecosystem through free assets and community support.
• Community ContributorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsset contributors who donate work to Poly Haven, code contributors on GitHub, translators helping localize the site, and patrons providing financial support. Critical to the platform's operation and growth.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kitbash3D: Kitbash3D produces premium curated 3D asset kits for movies and games, targeting the same AAA VFX and game studio customer base as Poly Haven but with a high-priced commercial model and kits rather than individual textures/HDRIs.
• TurboSquid: TurboSquid (owned by Shutterstock) is a long-standing 3D model marketplace for VFX, games, and architecture. It targets the same buyer base as Poly Haven's models product but operates a paid marketplace model rather than free CC0 distribution.
• Sketchfab: Sketchfab is a platform for publishing, finding, and buying 3D models, with native viewer and download capabilities. It overlaps with Poly Haven on the model distribution side and serves the same creator/buyer community, with deeper social/sharing features.
• AmbientCG: AmbientCG offers free PBR textures under CC0, similar in license model and asset type (seamless photogrammetry textures) to Poly Haven. It is a direct competitor in the free CC0 texture space, though with less HDRI/model coverage and no Patreon model.
• CGTrader: CGTrader is a 3D model marketplace where individual creators sell assets. It overlaps with Poly Haven's models category, serving the same game/VFX buyer base but with a paid-creator marketplace model rather than a community-funded library.
• Textures.com: Textures.com hosts one of the largest online libraries of PBR textures and stock images for 3D artists. It competes directly with Poly Haven's texture offering through a freemium/subscription model targeting VFX and game artists.
• Polyhaven (note: HDRI Haven predecessor): HDRI Haven, Texture Haven, and 3D Model Haven were the three predecessor platforms that merged into Poly Haven. As historical direct competitors, they illustrate the consolidation Poly Haven itself executed and represent the closest possible comp in origin and content focus.
• BlenderKit: BlenderKit is an asset marketplace and Blender add-on offering models, materials, and HDRIs. It directly competes with Poly Haven as a Blender-native asset library and is also listed as a corporate sponsor, making it both peer and partner.

Broad incumbents

• Quixel Megascans: Quixel provides photorealistic 3D scans (textures, models, HDRIs) used across VFX and game development. Now owned by Epic Games and integrated into Unreal Engine, it is the largest commercial competitor to Poly Haven in the high-quality photogrammetry space, serving the same AAA and game studio customers.
• Adobe Substance 3D Assets: Adobe Substance 3D Assets provides a large library of PBR materials, models, and HDRIs integrated with the Substance toolchain. As a major incumbent, it competes in the same professional texture/HDRI space with commercial pricing, bundled into Creative Cloud subscriptions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Poly-Haven
• Xx.com/polyhaven
• Facebookfacebook.com/polyhaven
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poly-haven

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Poly Haven