Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Raytracer with both C++ and CUDA back ends

C++ raytracer that supports custom models. Supports running the calculations on the CPU using C++11 threads or in the GPU via CUDA. - maxilevi/raytracer

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Raytracer with both C++ and CUDA back ends launched in 2021; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1
Physically-Based GPU Pathtracer with Mitsuba XML Support▲63
GPU Raytracer from scratch in C++/CUDA. Contribute to jan-van-bergen/GPU-Raytracer development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
2
I wrote a C++ ray tracer from scratch without AI▲155
C++ Path Tracer from scratch with zero third-party libraries. - themartiano/luz
Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
3
CUDA Pathtracer with Lots of Features▲10
GPU Raytracer from scratch in C++/CUDA. Contribute to jan-van-bergen/GPU-Raytracer development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
A physically-based GPU ray tracer written in Julia▲198
We ported pbrt-v4 to Julia and built it into a Makie backend. Any Makie plot can now be rendered with physically-based path tracing. Julia compiles user-defined physics directly into GPU kernels, so anyone can extend the ray tracer with new materials and media - a black hole with gravitational lensing is ~200 lines of Julia. Runs on AMD, NVIDIA, and CPU via KernelAbstractions.jl, with Metal coming soon. Demo scenes: github.com/SimonDanisch/RayDemo
Feb 2026 · makie.org · its alternatives →
5
HipScript – Run CUDA in the browser with WebAssembly and WebGPU▲309
CUDA is NVIDIA's language for GPU programming, allowing you to mix write CPU and GPU code in C++ in one file. By chaining a few projects that compile CUDA to OpenCL, then Vulkan, then WebGPU, you can experiment with this GPGPU language on any hardware.
2025 · hipscript.lights0123.com · its alternatives →
6
I've made a Monte-Carlo raytracer for glTF scenes in WebGPU▲131
This is a GPU "software" raytracer (i.e. using manual ray-scene intersections and not RTX) written using the WebGPU API that renders glTF scenes. It supports many materials, textures, material & normal mapping, and heavily relies on multiple importance sampling to speed up convergence.
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
7
VSC – An open source 3D Rendering Engine in C++▲101
Been making this rasterizer engine in C++ for the past few months, now also adding ray-tracing functionality to the system. Simply load a model or generate a mesh, add some lights, and render.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
8
GPT-2 implemented using graphics shaders▲228
Back in the old days, people used to do general-purpose GPU programming by using shaders like GLSL. This is what inspired NVIDIA (and other companies) to eventually create CUDA (and friends). This is an implementation of GPT-2 using WebGL and shaders. Enjoy!
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
9
An easy-to-use ray-tracer written from scratch in C++▲18
A ray-tracer with a simple scene description language for easily generating beautiful images. - diegomacario/Super-Sunshine
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
10AR
A raytracer to shade topographic maps in R▲198
2018 · tylermw.com · its alternatives →
11
I built a tensor library from scratch in C++/CUDA▲119
Hi HN, Over the past few months, I've been building `dsc`, a tensor library from scratch in C++/CUDA. My main focus has been on getting the basics right, prioritizing a clean API, simplicity, and clear observability for running small LLMs locally. The key features are: - C++ core with CUDA support written from scratch. - A familiar, PyTorch-like Python API. - Runs real models: it's complete enough to load a model like Qwen from HuggingFace and run inference on both CUDA and CPU with a single line change[1]. - Simple, built-in observability for both Python and C++. Next on the roadmap is…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
12
a Rust ray tracer that runs on any GPU – even in the browser▲95
I’ve been experimenting with Rust lately and wanted a project that would help me explore some of its lower-level and performance-oriented features. Inspired by Sebastian Lague’s videos, I decided to implement my own ray tracer from scratch. The initial goal was just to render a simple 3D scene in the browser at a reasonable frame rate. It evolved into a small renderer that can: • Run locally or on the web using wgpu and WebAssembly • Perform mesh rendering with a Bounding Volume Hierarchy (BVH) for acceleration • Simulate both direct and indirect illumination for photorealistic results • Be…
Nov 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
A Pure SQL Raytracer▲26
Everyone writes a Raytracer eventually. This is mine. - chunky/sqlraytracer
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
14
Attaching to a virtual GPU over TCP▲344
We developed a tool to trick your computer into thinking it’s attached to a GPU which actually sits across a network. This allows you to switch the number or type of GPUs you’re using with a single command.
2024 · thundercompute.com · its alternatives →
15
WoolyAI Acceleration Service▲100
Hi HN, We’re a small team of OS, virtualization, and ML engineers, and after three years of development, we’re thrilled to launch the beta of our CUDA abstraction layer! We decouple the Kernel Shader execution from applications that use CUDA into a Wooly Abstraction layer. In this abstraction layer, we compile these to a new binary, and Shaders are compiled into a Wooly Instruction Set. At runtime, Kernel Shader launch events initiate a transfer of Shader over the network from a CPU host to a GPU host, where they are recompiled. Their execution is managed by Wooly Server software to achieve…
2025 · woolyai.com · its alternatives →
16
Using C++23 <stacktrace> to get proper crash logs in C++ programs▲103
A simple way to output stack traces when a program crashes in C++, using the new C++23 <stacktrace> header - TylerGlaiel/Crashlogs
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
17
Monte Carlo ray tracer in Rust▲168
Monte Carlo ray tracer developed using Rust. Contribute to Dalamar42/rayt development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
18
RayThis▲178
Generate pretty code snippets right out of VSCode
2021 · marketplace.visualstudio.com · its alternatives →
19VA
Vector - A High-Level Programming Language for GPU Computing▲142
2013 · zhehaomao.com · its alternatives →
20
RightNow CLI▲121
I locked in for 18 hours and built Claude Code for CUDA. It is completely open source! It writes CUDA kernels, debugs memory issues, and optimizes for your specific GPU. It is a fully agentic AI with tool calling built specifically for the CUDA toolkit This is the CLI version of RightNow AI code editor, our GPU-native code editor with a built-in emulator, visual profiling, and remote GPU access. The CLI is open source, lightweight, and fast. It is designed for anyone who wants AI help with CUDA without setup I used Python because it is the most common language, so anyone can build on top of…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
21
Janus – Go binary that runs GGUF models via Vulkan on AMD/Intel/Nvidia▲106
Janus is a API router for AI models written in Go and has a Vulkan Model runner - Vibra-Ingenn/Janus
22d ago · github.com · its alternatives →
22
Cuq – Formal Verification of Rust GPU Kernels▲94
A pipeline that translates Rust GPU code into formal Coq models, as a foundation for memory model proofs - neelsomani/vericuda
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Hook – a simple graphical C/C++ runtime editor▲73
While helping one of my students create and iterate on a game in C using raylib, I realized there was quite a lot of time spent on experimenting with level design and colors, how the player moves, gravity, etc. and a lot of time was wasted making a change, exiting the game, recompiling, running the game, deciding his change wasn't right, and going through the whole cycle over and over. I could tell it was demotivating, and this process was creating a barrier that prevented him from experimenting to his heart's content. I started this project to solve this problem by giving a simple gui to a…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
24PO
PlaidML, open source deep learning for any GPU▲52
Our company Vertex.AI has been working on this for a while but this is the first public release. We're starting with using PlaidML to bring OpenCL support to Keras and more frameworks, platforms, etc are coming. Yes, this means you can use use your AMD GPU for deep learning dev. Sorry, no Mac or Windows support yet although the brave can try building from source (it should work). http://vertex.ai/blog/announcing-plaidml https://github.com/plaidml/plaidml
2017 · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →