Keyshot is simpler and more intuitive compared to Octane. That being said, Octane is far less expensive and can take advantage of a GPU making it more versatile.
Although both have their pros and cons, Octane is far less expensive and it allows for more control over the geometry within a scene with better lighting and camera controls.
KeyShot can do some really amazing things as far as product renderings. You can turn simple 3D models into realistic images in a very short amount of time. I wish there were a way to manipulate the geometry once imported into KeyShot. The software allows this user to move geometry but not change its shape or form.
I have been able to import an environment and create realistic lighting rather quickly by using the power of GPU rendering. Paired with its ability to create instances of geometry, it makes it easy to render a megacity environment in half the time. One issue with this is the clutter that can be made with connecting nodes.
Keyshot has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to use for quick renderings.
Through Keyshot's viewport, you can see real-time changes when replacing or adding textures to a 3D model.
The new Keyshot 8 comes with volumetric features such as fog that can add depth to your image making process without having to manually do it later in another program.
Octane uses GPU rendering so it takes advantage of the video card.
It gives you a good selection of options to tweak and refine your model rendering.
It can use 3D instances so it doesn't overuse computer resources.
There are plugins that can be incorporated into other 3D packages for rendering.
Octane is particularly inexpensive compared to other 3D render packages.
You are able to copy certain sections of nodes in order to create different iterations of the same environment or model. For example, changing the lighting or camera features.
Honestly, I've only needed customer support a couple of times. One time was a question about licensing which their customer service explained very well and offered just the help I was looking for
Keyshot is simpler and more intuitive compared to Octane. That being said, Octane is far less expensive and can take advantage of a GPU making it more versatile.
Although both have their pros and cons, Octane is far less expensive and it allows for more control over the geometry within a scene with better lighting and camera controls.