Poly Haven

Poly Haven describes itself on its homepage as a small company based in South Africa that works with artists around the world. The site publishes three kinds of asset: HDRIs at 16k and above that are always unclipped, photoscanned seamless PBR textures at 8k resolution or higher, and 3D models it calls hyperreal. Everything is released under CC0, which the licence page calls effectively Public Domain, and the homepage states that no paywall or signup is required.

The project is funded through Patreon donations rather than sales. Our reading is that this is a curated library produced by a named team, not a market where independent sellers list their own work. The homepage lists team members by role, such as Director of HDRIs and Co-founder of Textures, but names no registered legal entity.

• CC0 licensing on every asset. The licence page says all HDRIs, textures and 3D models are CC0. Credit is appreciated but not required, which removes the per-asset licence review that most paid libraries demand from a studio.
• Unclipped HDRIs at 16k and above. The homepage describes HDRIs at 16k or higher resolution and says they are always unclipped. For lighting work that matters, because clipped highlights limit how convincingly a sun or window can light a scene.
• Photoscanned seamless PBR textures. Textures are described as photoscanned, seamless and at least 8k resolution. The pages we read do not list which map types ship with each material, so check a texture's page before planning a pipeline.
• Hyperreal 3D models. The homepage calls the models hyperreal. The pages we read give no polygon budgets or file format list, so a team should open a model page to see what it actually downloads as.
• No signup needed. The homepage states that no paywalls or signup are required. A downloader can take an asset without creating an account, which suits one-off jobs and classroom use where account management would be a burden.
• Funding through Patreon. The site is funded through Patreon donations, and the licence page encourages a small monthly donation to fund new assets and maintain the platform. It is encouraged, not required, and the pages state no donation tiers.
• Team named by role. The homepage lists people with roles such as Director of HDRIs and Co-founder of Textures. That shows who is accountable for each asset type, even though no registered legal entity is named on the pages read.

• A lighting artist building an image-based setup. The unclipped HDRIs at 16k and above give a source for studio and outdoor lighting without a licence fee. The artist still has to open each HDRI page to confirm what the download contains.
• A teacher running a rendering course. CC0 assets with no signup mean students can download materials without accounts or payment. The licence page's CC0 wording means course files can be shared on without tracking each item's terms.
• A small studio with no asset budget. Textures and models under CC0 can go into client work without credit or royalty. The limit is scope: the pages describe a team-built catalogue, so a specific model cannot be commissioned or bought there.

The pages we read describe a catalogue rather than a setup procedure. The homepage says no paywalls or signup are required, so the first step is to browse the HDRI, texture and model sections and open an asset page. Download what you need and place it in your own scene or material library. Credit is not required, but the licence page says it is appreciated, so adding a line in your project notes costs nothing.

If you rely on the library, the licence page suggests a small monthly Patreon donation, which is optional. Before using any content in a commercial job, read the licence page once: it separates the CC0 assets from the rest of the website, whose content remains protected by intellectual property laws. We did not see an API, a download manager or a bulk export described on the pages read.

Poly Haven calls itself a small company in South Africa and publishes HDRIs, photoscanned textures and models under CC0, with no paywall or signup. Licence review is simple for any buyer.

The catch is scope: the pages we read describe a catalogue built by its own team and artists it works with, not an open market of sellers, so you cannot commission or buy a specific model there.

Poly Haven is entry #1 of 12 in the 3D model marketplaces list: the next place goes to Kenney. Places 1 to 3 in every list go to challengers where the category has them, so this is a position on that rule and not a score.

Counting headquarters, 1 out of 12 sit in Africa; for Poly Haven that is South Africa.

Pricing as recorded: Free CC0 assets with no signup; funded by voluntary Patreon donations.

Poly Haven publishes no price list because the assets are offered as CC0, and the homepage says they are not just free but CC0 with no paywalls or signup. Revenue comes from Patreon donations, which the homepage names as the project's funding. The licence page encourages a small monthly donation to fund new assets and maintain the platform, but states it is not required. No donation tier amounts appear on the pages we read, so we cannot give a figure. For a buyer the practical cost is zero in money, with the trade-off that the library cannot be steered by paying for a specific asset. The licence page also notes that the site may suspend access at its discretion, which is worth knowing if a pipeline depends on live downloads rather than a local copy.

Source: the pricing material on polyhaven.com, as read for Best 3D Model Marketplaces in 2026 and last reviewed on 13 November 2026.

Access can be suspended at the site's discretion, and scraping or data mining without permission is prohibited.

Terms follow South African law.

The pages name team roles but no registered legal entity, so procurement cannot rely on a company record.

The pages we read describe assets, not accounts, and the homepage says no signup is needed, so there is little personal data in a basic download. The licence page says the website terms cover the site itself, that content other than the CC0 assets is protected by intellectual property laws, and that web scraping or data mining without permission is prohibited.

It states that the terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. The pages read show no security certifications, hosting regions or data processing details, and name no registered legal entity.

Integrations the vendor names (1):

• Patreon

Shared tags and a similar price model decide who is listed here; where none match, the neighbours in the ranking fill in.

• Kenney (#2 of 12): Not for: buyers needing product, architectural or photoreal models with a named supplier. Public domain game asset packs, with paid tools sold separately.
• 3DExport (#3 of 12): Not for: teams wanting a monthly plan or a shared library across many projects. Per-item 3D model store with Basic and Extended licences in dollars. (United States)
• RenderHub (#4 of 12): Best for: Hobbyists and small studios working in Daz or buying mixed 3D and mocap content.
• Unity Asset Store (#11 of 12): Engine-bound store for game assets, tools and verified solutions. Suits: Unity developers who want assets installed directly into projects, with a seat-based licence.

Read from the vendor’s own pages on 12 November 2026.

• polyhaven.com: Asset types, resolutions, no signup, South African base, Patreon funding, team roles
• polyhaven.com/license: CC0 licence wording, credit, scraping prohibition, suspension and governing law
• polyhaven.com/license: Optional monthly Patreon donation to fund new assets
• polyhaven.com: Homepage statement that no paywalls or signup are required

Four tests decide a position: how soon the product is useful, what the bill really becomes, how data leaves and who it suits. On those tests Poly Haven lands at place 1 of 12. Read the editorial process for the method and where paid visibility fits in.