Blender vs Houdini
Two of the top three 3D modeling programs, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Blender has 80 points and Houdini 72, 8 apart on our 3D modeling software rules.
- Blender earns more on licence and price; Houdini earns more on nothing.
- Cheapest way to use it for paid work: Blender $0, Houdini $24.92/mo.
- Only Blender meets: free version allowed for paid work and open source.
- Only Houdini meets: one-off licence you keep.
Points by group
| Group | Blender | Houdini |
|---|---|---|
| Systems of 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Licence of 33 | 21 | 18 |
| Modelling tools of 38 | 38 | 38 |
| Formats of 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Price of 15 | 12 | 7 |
| Total | 80 | 72 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Blender | Houdini |
|---|---|---|
| Other systems (8) | macOS, Linux 4 | macOS, Linux 4 |
| Free version without a time limit (10) | Yes 10 | Yes 10 |
| Free version allowed for paid work (6) | Yes 6 | No 0 |
| One-off licence you keep (8) | No 0 | Yes 8 |
| Open source (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Free licence for students (4) | No 0 | Not published 0 |
| Precise curve and solid modeling (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Digital sculpting (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Node-based procedural modeling (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Rigging and animation (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Physics simulation (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| UV unwrapping (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Built-in ray-traced renderer (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Scripting and add-ons (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Built-in export formats (6) | FBX, OBJ, glTF, STL, USD 5 | FBX, OBJ, glTF, STL, USD 5 |
| Cheapest way to use it for paid work (12) | $0 12 | $24.92/mo 7 |
| Full-feature trial (3) | No 0 | Not published 0 |
Blender
Blender suits anyone who wants a complete 3D package for paid work without paying for it. It scores high because it is free, open source, and covers modeling, sculpting, nodes, animation, simulation, UVs, rendering and Python scripting. The catch: there is no web or iPad version, and no STEP export for precise CAD work.
Houdini
Houdini suits artists who want to build models and effects from node networks, and it covers sculpting, UV tools, cloth and fluid simulation, Karma rendering and Python scripting. The cheapest paid-work route is Indie at $299 a year. The catch: the free Apprentice version bars paid work, and Indie is limited to $100K USD in annual gross revenue.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score 3D modeling programs.