Speckle and Rhino.Inside.Revit both bring powerful interoperability between Rhino and Revit, each tailored to boost different aspects of the design workflow in the AEC industry. While they bridge the gap between Rhino and Revit, they cater to different aspects of the design process.
What is Rhino.Inside.Revit?
Rhino.Inside.Revit is a technology developed by McNeel that allows Rhino and Grasshopper to run inside Autodesk Revit.
Loading Rhino directly into Revit’s memory provides access to both software APIs through Grasshopper’s scripting components.
It enables users to leverage the powerful Rhino 3D software capabilities and Grasshopper’s parametric design tool within Revit's BIM environment.
Since its beta launch in 2019, RIR has gained traction among professionals who bridge detailed geometric modeling with building information modeling (BIM).
What is Speckle?
Speckle is a data hub that allows you to easily connect, collaborate and automate repetitive tasks in the AEC industry.
Unlike traditional file-based workflows, Speckle enables near-real-time data exchange across multiple applications, leveraging secure cloud infrastructure for enhanced scalability and accessibility.
Speckle connects with over 25 applications. That's why Speckle allows users to share data smoothly between different design and modeling tools. Users do not need extensive knowledge to use Speckle.
Its easy-to-use interfaces and online viewer make it easy for team members with different technical backgrounds to access project data and leverage Speckle as their computational design solution.
Feature comparison
General Technical Comparison Speckle vs Rhino.Inside Revit
| Criteria | Speckle | RIR |
|---|---|---|
| Revit Geometry extracted as | Mesh | Brep |
| System Family Support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Component Family Support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Freeform Element | ✅ | ✅ |
| Creating Family Types | ✅ | ✅ |
| Creating Parameters | ❌ | ✅ |
| 2D Elements | ❌ | ✅ |
| Tightly Integrated | ❌ | ✅ |
General Comparison Speckle vs Rhino.Inside Revit
| Criteria | Speckle | RIR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 🎉 Free * | 🎉 Free * |
| Connectivity with Other AEC Apps | ✅ 20+ apps | ❌ * |
| Grasshopper skills not needed | ✅ | ❌ |
| No need for skills in both apps | ✅ | ❌ |
| No need for multiple apps to be installed | ✅ | ❌ |
| License Requirements | ✅ Separate for each app | ❌ Rhino+Revit needed |
| User-Friendly Interface | ✅ | ❌ |
| Multiplayer | ✅ | ❌ |
| Version History | ✅ | ❌ |
| Real-Time Collaboration | ✅ | ❌ |
| Scalability | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cloud-Based | ✅ | ❌ |
| Installation requirements | No admin rights required | Admin rights required |
| Community Support | ✅ | ✅ |
| Open-Source | ✅ Apache 2.0 | ✅ MIT License |
Speckle vs Rhino.Inside.Revit: Feature Breakdown
Revit Geometry Extracted as
Speckle: Extracts Revit geometry as meshes, maintaining materials intact. Brep support is on the roadmap.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Extracts geometries as Breps. Breps are much easier to work with in Rhino.
System Family Support
Both: Support the creation of system family elements like Floors, Ceilings, Walls, etc.
Component Family Support
Speckle: Supports placing and creating component families (Blocks are converted into Component Families).
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Supports placing and creating component families.
FreeForm Element
People often use FreeForm elements within the family environment. You can create them as Solids or Voids and assign materials or parameters to them.
Speckle: Generates geometry as DirectShape by default. Freeform elements can only be created via the Speckle Grasshopper connector.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Converts any Brep geometry into a Freeform, which can be added to a family document.
Creating Family Types
Speckle: Creates new types when converting a block from another application into Revit families. Block names become the names of both the family and the type. Other workflows for creating new types are not supported.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: New family types can be created by duplicating existing types and modifying parameter values.
Creating Parameters
Speckle: Does not currently support the creation of new parameters.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Users can create various parameters such as Project and Shared parameters etc.
2D Elements
Speckle: Only deals with 3D elements, grids and some text elements.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Supports all sorts of annotations, such as dimensions, tags, and detail lines.
Tightly Integrated
Speckle: Uses the Revit API to interact with Revit elements but lacks the scripting capabilities RIR provides. This is a compromise to make the Speckle solution more user-friendly.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Direct access to Revit API, and customisable according to user needs with scripting components.
Price
Speckle: Speckle is free to use; you can try it out right now! The application from which data is published or loaded requires licenses.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: RIR is also free and can be downloaded from here. Requires active licenses for both Rhino and Revit on the same machine.
Connectivity with Other AEC Apps
Speckle: Speckle integrates with apps like Revit, Archicad, SketchUp, Tekla and many more.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Even though sample implementations are available for AutoCAD and Unity, Rhino.Inside.Revit is the only one developed and maintained by McNeel.
User Proficiency and Interface
Speckle: Speckle does not require Grasshopper knowledge, making it accessible to a much broader range of users.
If you want its functionality, you can exploit knowledge only for Speckle’s Grasshopper connector!
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Proficiency in Rhino, Grasshopper, and Revit is necessary. The Grasshopper-based interface can be complex for less experienced users.
Requires multiple apps to be installed
Speckle: Users only need the app relevant to their task, facilitating asynchronous collaboration across different devices.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Rhino and Revit must be installed on the same device.
Multiplayer
Speckle: Supports multiplayer collaboration, allowing team members to collaborate across different applications.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Designed for single-user workflows, limiting collaborative potential.
Version History
Speckle: Tracks data versions, enabling users to revert to previous states as needed.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Does not keep a history of data versions or actions.
Real-Time Collaboration
Speckle: Facilitates real-time collaboration across teams and disciplines.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Collaboration is confined to within the same application environment.
Installation Requirements
Speckle: Does not require admin rights for installation.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Requires admin rights for installation.
Community Support
Speckle: Users benefit from a vibrant and knowledgeable Speckle community, extensive documentation, and active support from the development team.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Supported by Rhino’s active forums, which provide attentive support and ensure you’ll be well-asisted.
Open-Source
Speckle: Open-source and licensed under Apache 2.0.
Rhino.Inside.Revit: Also open-source, licensed under the MIT license.
Speckle or Rhino.Inside.Revit?
Your choice of tool should be driven by your project requirements and skillset since Speckle and Rhino.Inside.Revit each offer unique advantages.
Speckle is ideal for users who are not proficient in Grasshopper. It's compatible with various applications and offers real-time collaboration features. Additionally, it has a user-friendly interface. It also supports robust version tracking and leverages cloud infrastructure for scalable data management.
Integrating Speckle alongside Rhino.Inside.Revit allows you to harness broad connectivity and deep Revit integration.
::: tip
Speckle challenges the "single source of truth" (SSOT) idea by promoting a decentralised approach that supports diverse, multiuser workflows. This flexibility allows specialists to maintain authorship and collaborate more effectively based on their roles and responsibilities. For a deeper dive into this concept, see our article Rethinking the One Truth Fallacy.
:::
In conclusion, both Rhino.Inside.Revit and Speckle should be in a designer's arsenal since each has specific strengths.
Speckle is the right choice for projects needing easy connections between different apps, real-time collaboration, and user-friendly data management tools.
Subscribe to our newsletter below if you'd like to receive more AEC tools comparisons like this:
